Good News!
The gospel about Jesus Christ is amazingly good news. Here it is, in brief: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4).
You are a sinner
“Christ died for our sins.” Though the idea of sin may be out of fashion today, its reality must be faced squarely. All of humanity has fallen short of God’s perfect standard, so you are laden with a very serious problem. “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:20-23).
This is a picture of your condition before the all-seeing God. You are morally filthy and unclean. Consequently, God is displeased with you. You may be surprised to learn that he is even angry about your failure to observe his holy will. “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans1:18).
Apart from the Holy Spirit’s work in your heart, you will never sincerely agree with such an evaluation. However, it is necessary for you to come to a point where you admit your present guilt and condemnation if you ever hope for eternal salvation. You must approach God as a beggar, poor in spirit, spiritually bankrupt. As a sinner you must acknowledge your hopelessness because of your guilt before God, the judge of all the earth.
You must understand that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), that is, eternal separation from God in hell. Again, the idea of hell may be taboo, but it would be foolish for you to deny what we are warned about repeatedly in the Holy Bible. One day you will face judgement. Without this foundational truth, you will rightly consider the gospel to be irrelevant. Only when you are convicted of your sinful state before the holy and righteous God, you will realise the urgency to take action.
You cannot save yourself
God uses his holy law to make you aware of how wicked and disobedient you are towards him. “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19-20).
You must also realise that you can never make satisfactory amends by your own moral efforts, or by trying to lead a good religious life. Being a church member will never do. You can never settle accounts with God when you are already irremediably deep in debt. Nothing less than total perfection, from birth to death, is accepted by God.
But do not despair; this is only a preliminary assessment - bad news indeed! But now we can proceed to explain what is the good news!
Christ saves sinners
The good news tells us about God’s loving initiative on behalf of sinners. What was impossible for us to do, God did! Through Jesus Christ, he redeemed, or bought, his people so they would no longer be slaves to sin.
Jesus is God’s eternal and unique Son who also became man for our salvation (John 1:1,14). Being the God-man, he was appointed by the Father as the sole mediator between the Creator and his fallen creatures. Being absolutely sinless, he was thus qualified to die as a substitute for sinners. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed ... Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 2:24; 3:18). As the Good Shepherd, Jesus went to the cross to pay the debt that his sheep owed to God. As a result, those who are covered by his sacrifice will inherit the kingdom of God (John 1:12).
Unlike all other religions, Christianity alone possesses a Founder who has conquered death and who promises that his followers will not be hurt by death. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus claimed. “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). All other religions were founded by men whose end was the grave. By contrast, Christ is alive today, exalted on high. Therefore “he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
Christ offers His salvation, which he gained by his sacrificial death and resurrection, without any payment whatsoever. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 5:15; 6:23).
Come to Christ
You can receive forgiveness by faith, apart from any works or merit on your part. Christians are told: “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
In believing, you are required not only to hear the historical facts about Jesus Christ (which you just did in brief), and agree that they are true. You need also to trust in him from now on. “We also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law” (Galatians 2:16).
You are called to repent of your sins by turning to Christ, knowing that he will welcome you as you are. Listen to his invitation: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). But this must be clear: no repentance, no salvation! (Luke 13:3).
Repentance means forsaking sin, hating it and fleeing from it, with a new intention to walk the narrow path that leads to life. This is essential because Christ intends to radically transform people who come to him. He will change your way of life, your thoughts, speech and actions. Christ not only forgives, he also cleanses you.
Act now!
Do not postpone this important decision. “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). God is faithful; he will not go back on his promise.
There you have it! The gospel is God’s proclamation to you that now he has opened a way for you to approach him and enjoy fellowship with him. The gospel is God’s rescue plan to bring guilty rebels to himself and make them heirs of the heavenly kingdom. He did this through his Son, who declared: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Salvation is yours as soon as you turn from your sin and respond to Christ with child-like faith. Do not delay! Such a faith introduces you to a new life-style of love, obedience to Christ’s commands, together with a humble and grateful walk with God in response to his mercies to you.
Author: Pastor Paul Mizzi.