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What is the Good News?
Is it possible for individuals to have a
personal and eternal relationship with God? This page will briefly
consider these questions.
God:
What is He like?
Man:
Why was he created?
Sin:
How does sin affect man and God?
Christ: Who is He? What did He do for
man?
Grace: Can salvation be earned or
deserved?
Faith: How can I have eternal
life with God?
God
God is perfect and is worthy to be honored and
served by His creation.
Deuteronomy 32:3-4, "For I proclaim the name
of the Lord; Ascribe greatness to our God! 4 "The Rock! His work is
perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and
without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
Revelation 4:11, "Worthy art Thou, our Lord
and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst
create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were
created."
Man
Man was created by God to reflect His glory.
Genesis 1:27, And God created man in His own
image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He
created them.
Psalm 100:1-5, Shout joyfully to the Lord, all
the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with
joyful singing. 3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who
has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep
of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts
with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. 5 For the Lord is
good; His loving kindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to
all generations.
But does man reflect God's glory? Does man
naturally love God and desire to serve Him in His way?
SIN
No, because man has chosen to SIN and go his own way. The "best"
person who ever lived has sinned.
"All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to
his own way." Isaiah 53.6
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans
3:23
Sinful man does not reflect God's glory, nor does man love God or
serve Him in ways acceptable to Him.
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us..."
John 4.10
Because man sinned there is a BARRIER between man and God.
"But your iniquities have made a separation between you and
your God, and your sins have hid His face from you." Isaiah
59.2
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The Barrier of Sin |
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Man
Sinful
Unthankful
Disobedient
Self-Pleasing
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God
Perfect
Honorable
Steadfast
Gracious
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Because God is perfect and righteous, He must judge
all sin. This judgment will result in eternal separation from God.
"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6.23
"And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die
once, and after this comes judgment." Hebrews 9.27.
All mankind is under God's righteous judgment.
This is not
Good News! However…
Christ
God, in his great love, sent His Son, CHRIST
Jesus, into the world to become a ;man so that He could take the
judgment for our sin upon Himself.
John 3:17, "For God did not send the Son into
the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved
through Him.
1 Timothy 1:15, It is a trustworthy statement,
deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
1 Peter 2:21-24, For you have been called for
this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an
example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who committed no sin, nor
was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being reviled, He
did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats,
but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He
Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to
sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Jesus Christ
paid the penalty for our sins by His death on the cross. After that
he arose from the dead and returned to heavenly glory.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4, For I delivered to you
as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures,4 and that He was buried, and
that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
Romans 8:34, who is the one who condemns?
Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at
the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
Believing in
Christ to save you is the only way that you can be saved from God's
judgment and have eternal life with Him
John 14:6, Jesus said to him, "I am the way,
and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through
Me.
Christ is the only way!
Acts 4:12, "And there is
salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."
Grace
God
offers this salvation to us by GRACE.
This means that we do not work for it. It is a free gift paid
for by Jesus Christ, His son. It is not given as a reward for any
good that we may have done…such as morality, good deeds, reform,
religious duty, or any other work.
Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.
Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Faith
Faith is the only way that you can receive the
free gift of eternal life. Faith means to believe, to trust, to rely
upon Christ to save.
Acts 16:31, And they said, "Believe in the
Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household."
This is the Good
News
Until a person believes in Jesus Christ as his
Savior, he is still under God's judgment.
John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life.17 "For God did not send
the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should
be saved through Him.18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he
who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Let Us
Review…
 | God:
Righteous, to be honored and served. |
| Man: Created to reflect
God's glory and to love and serve Him. |
| Sin: All have sinned,
are separated from God, and are under His judgment. |
| Christ: The God-man
who came into the world to die for our sins. |
| Grace: Salvation is a
gift, not a reward, that must be accepted by faith. |
| Faith: Believe in
Christ to save you. |
Questions…
- What do you now understand is the way for
sinful man to gain eternal life?
- Have you ever made the decision to trust
Jesus Christ to save you?
- If not, is there any good reason why you
cannot do so right now?
Sample
Prayer…
This prayer may be used now, or
at any time, to express your faith in Christ to give you eternal
life.
God, I understand I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus Christ
took my place and died for my sins and arose from the dead. I am
now believing in Christ to give me eternal life. Amen.
If you have believed in Jesus Christ, you can
be sure that you have eternal life right now.
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