The Gospel



	Sometimes, we make "religious" things difficult when God actually makes them quite simple. Perhaps the most important example is the Gospel itself. The Lord tells us that if we place our trust in Him, He will forgive our sins and will one day take us to a place of rest, peace and joy that He calls Heaven. We tend to think that it can't be that simple - just trusting in the work that Jesus did. But in spite of our doubts, the Gospel message is still simple, amazing and true. If you will permit me, I would like to share with you the sweetest story ever told.
The need
	When God created this earth. He placed two people here, Adam and Eve. He told them to begin to populate the earth, but before they had any children, the most terrible thing happened. When God gave them instructions on how to live, He warned them that the results of disobedience would be death. The Bible says it this way, "The wages of sin is death..." (see Romans 6:23). But Satan convinced them that they would be better off trusting him than trusting God. When they believed that, they began disobeying God's instructions (God calls that sin) and they became separated from God. That separation affected several areas of their lives, including the fact that they were no longer God's friends, their bodies began to die, and even worse, just as He promised, their spirits died immediately! Ever since that day, men and women have lived separated from God. When Adam and Eve did have children, their children inherited that same spiritual condition. And because our spirits are dead, we don't even know how badly our relationship with Him is damaged. Our thoughts are so foreign to His, and our acts are so different, that He says that even our good deeds are like dirty rags compared to His standards (Isaiah 64:6). As a result of our sin God's anger is kindled against us and He says that we deserve His wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3, Romans 1:18-20).
The cure
	But when God spoke to Adam and Eve after they fell away from Him, He told them that He would make a way to bring them back to Himself. And that is just where the Gospel comes into the picture. The verse in Romans 6 says more; "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord." When Jesus Christ was born into this world, it was no ordinary birth; He was a human being, but He was also God. The phrase the Old Testament used in predicting His coming was "God with us". When He came into the world, He taught us, and preached to us, but most importantly, when the right time came, He willingly let us - His own creatures - crucify Him. While He was on the cross, His Heavenly Father poured out His anger and wrath - that we deserved - on the Lord Jesus. The punishment that we should have gotten, Jesus took upon Himself. The Heavenly Father punished Jesus as our substitute! Since He had no sins of His own, the Father accepts Christ's death in payment for your sins. The Bible says it this way, "He (the Father) made Him (the Lord, Jesus Christ) who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21). He took our sins on Himself and let the Heavenly Father punish Him instead. In return He gives us His righteousness. What a TRADE!!! I couldn't pay for your sins - I would be too busy dealing with my own. For the same reason, you could not fix my sin debt. But He had no sin, so when He died, His death became payment for the sins of all that will ever trust in Him. And the Bible says that His resurrection is the proof that God accepts His sacrifice on our behalf (Romans 4:23-25).
What if I have sinned too much?
	Now, you might say, "Yes, that is all well and good, but Bill, you don't know the things that I have done. You don't know what I'm like." That is true but do you know something really neat? I didn't make the promise! God knows everything you have ever done, everything that you have ever said, everything you have ever thought, and He still tells you that if you confess your sins He will forgive you and clean you from everything that you have ever done wrong (1 John 1:9). It is not that God takes your sins lightly, or that it’s no big deal. And it is not as if He thinks you are going to solve the problem yourself by doing better. The only reason that God can forgive your sins is that they are already paid for! That, my friend, is the truth of the Gospel. God cared enough about you that He personally came to earth and personally died for you! The only thing that remains, then, is for you to answer the question, "Are you going to trust Him to save you from your sins?" My dear friend, you will find that everyone will fail you or let you down in some way. All of your friends - including me - have imperfections. But you will never find any fault in Jesus, and He will never let you down. He may take you through some difficult times as He leads you in His ways but He will never fail you, and He will never forsake you. He is a wonderful Savior!
How can I make it personal for me?
	There is no "magic" way to talk to God, there are no "special" words to say; what you really need to do is be honest with God. He knows everything anyway. Pray in your own words. Admit that you have sinned against Him, and tell Him that you can't undo that. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and to start changing you into the kind of person that He wants you to be. If you are not sure what to say, pray something like this: "Heavenly Father, I admit that I have sinned. I wish I could undo that but You know even better than I do that I can't. God, You say in The Bible that when Your Son, Jesus died on the cross that You actually punished Him for my sins and that now - since Jesus already paid for them - You will forgive me of my sins and clean up my soul so that I am right with you. Please forgive me for the things I have done wrong and start to change me to be the person you created me to be. I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen." He will save you, my friend. You can count on it.
Now what?
	There may be times when you won't feel close to Him. There may be times when you feel that you are not worthy of His love. That's OK. As you fellowship with other Christians and learn from God's word, you will begin to understand that you are not saved by your works or your feelings. You are saved by His grace, and the changes in your life will be the result of the change in your heart, not the other way around (Ephesians 2:8-10).
May God bless you as you trust Him and seek to honor Him with your life.