Practically everyone on the face of the earth, or at least the people that I know and have known over the years, agree that we're all jacked up. Something's wrong with us. Parts of us, sometimes all of us, feel broken...disconnected. We have this phrase that we throw around: "Nobody's perfect." The Bible calls this "sin" - falling short of perfection.
You see, in the Bible when God first creates everything, it's paradise. He had a perfect connection and harmony with his creation. But then the fateful day came: our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and the perfect, harmonious connection was lost. Life became a series of struggles, failures, and disappointments. People chose their own way instead of living the beautiful life that the Creator made us for. But not only did this break our connection with Him, this pride sent us down a path that leads further and further away from Him...ultimately to a place called Hell, where any glimpse of God doesn't exist. Complete and utter torment.
But God had a plan.
His plan was to come to earth Himself to live the life that he designed us for. He would come to rescue us from ourselves and from our sin that is bringing us closer and closer to total destruction.
Jesus lived the perfect life. A life unmarred by sin. Beautiful. Holy.
And then he was killed. Some people, mostly religious ones, were threatened by Him. They followed all kinds of rules that God had established, but they forgot that a deep love for God was to be the motivator for the rules, not self-righteousness.
But this was part of the plan. For sin to be forgiven by a perfect, holy God, a sacrifice was demanded. Blood was demanded. Typically the blood sacrifice of a beautiful lamb. But an animal couldn't take care of all sin - past, present, & future. It was just an animal...a symbol. For sin to be dealt with on a cosmic scale, that demanded the Ultimate Pure Lamb, God Himself, Jesus Christ.
Because of Jesus' death and His resurrection from the dead, you and I can be reconnected to the life that we were intended to have all along. You see, Jesus is our Rescuer. He rescues us from ourselves and our evil sin. It doesn't make us instantly perfect by any means. But as far as God is concerned, He just needs to see our sincere faith, hope, and trust in the finsihed work of Jesus. Then he begins to transform us over time to become more and more like Jesus...ultimately ending in a face-to-face reunion with our Creator in heaven...for all eternity...completely purified from sin forever...experiencing pure joy and peace.
That is the good news. It's all about God...His love...His plan...Jesus our Rescuer. That's the Gospel.
"Salvation belongs to the Lord." The Book of Jonah, chapter 2, verse 9.
3 comments:
Is it more too? The good news that joy does exist; that there is hope; that the light at the end of the dark tunnel is not a train but love: that I am loved.
That I am loved.
That even though I cannot get my sh** together- ever -I am still loved by my Creator. That I am a citizen of the kingdom of El Elyon; that I am a child of God Most High.
That the war is over, "It is finished."
Not to minimize the atonement aspect of the gospel, it's just that it is so much more..., I think.
You might think of it as the "event" of the Gospel, and the "benefits" of the Gospel. All of our hopes, dreams, and desires for all of the broken things in our lives and in the world to be fixed are realized thought the event of the Gospel (the atoning work of Jesus). The realization or working out of those hopes & dreams are the benefits of the Gospel. It's of primary importance to keep the cross in the center, or you risk promoting a self-centered Gospel (notice all of your "I am" statements - which are, by the way, very true). The atonement is the foundation of everything else.
Great comment.
Our women's bible study is going through "God is the Gospel" right now. Awesome stuff.
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