The Gospel

Getting right with God?

Ultimately, there is one, overriding purpose in life. People have different ideas about what this purpose may be. Some think it is to find significance, to have a family, to enjoy life, to help others, etc. The Bible tells us though, that the most important thing is to have a restored relationship with God.

In a nutshell – it can be summed up as Good News, Bad News, and then more Good News.

First the Good News:

God loves every human being, including you.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

But there is some Bad News, very bad news:

Every human has violated God’s laws, including you. The Bible calls these violations sin which is defined as “missing the mark.” We have all missed the mark for God’s standards of behavior in our thoughts and actions:
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
A violation of the law must be punished (would we expect anything less from a fair judge?). Thus, every person has a sentence from God for their violations of his laws. This sentence is death and eternal separation from God in a place called hell.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Luke 12:5 "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
The Bible also says that there is no good work we can do to pay for these sins.

However, God has given us some additional Good News about this situation:

Since we cannot pay for our sins, God in his love provided a payment for us. He allowed his Son, Jesus Christ, to come and die in our place. Because of his payment for our sins we can have forgiveness and eternal life.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
To receive this gift all God requires is that we believe on Jesus to be forgiven and receive eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
John 6:47 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

So what now?

What should you do with this information: God loves you. You are a sinner condemned. Christ died for you.

The Bible says to “Believe on Jesus Christ” or in other words to have “Faith” in Him. This means you must believe in him, and his work on the cross, to be forgiven. You should quit believing on other things to get right with God such as being good, going to church, being religious, trying your hardest to please God, etc. To believe on Christ is to transfer your trust to get to heaven from yourself or other things and trust in Jesus.

If you do this, the Scripture promises you will be forgiven and have eternal life – as it says above in John 6:47, “…he who believes in Me has everlasting life.”

Are you ready to trust in Jesus for eternal life? If so, you could express it to God with a simple prayer like this.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me. I know I have sinned many times and deserve to be punished. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and came back to life from the grave. The best way I know how, I am putting my trust in Jesus for salvation from hell. Please forgive me and give me eternal life. In Jesus name, Amen

If you have trusted in Jesus Christ today we would love to know it and celebrate with you – email one of our pastors. God bless!

(Scripture quoted from the New King James Version)