I’d be remiss to mention my faith and not share the details of what that actually means! Here, I’ll do my best to share the gospel of Jesus and the love of God with you, dear reader. In all that I do in life – in my interactions, in my family, here on my little blog – I want all of that to point back to this, to my faith in Jesus Christ. Sharing my faith in Jesus is the most important thing I can do, as everything else I do comes from that!
All have sinned…
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
You don’t have to look far in our world to see the presence of sin. We know that sin has been present in our world since the actual beginning of time! In Genesis 3, we read about the fall of man. Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan and desired to be like God. They ignored God’s commands and gave in to their temptation, thus performing mankind’s first sin.
Temptation still knocks today, and we are all prone to give in to that temptation. Be it lies, lust, envy, pride…fill in the blank. Sin is pervasive and it’s not going anywhere. What’s more than that, our sins separate us from God. As One who is holy, God cannot be in community with sinners.
Pretty bad news, right? And a really sad story if it ended there. Praise God it doesn’t!
While we were still sinners…
Throughout the Old Testament, we see believers fulfilling their duty of sacrificing animals at the temple. This was the system that God had ordained through his chosen prophets and leaders – atoning sacrifices to cover the sins of believers.
Many prophets in the Old Testament also spoke of one to come: one that would close the gap between God and humanity, that would build a bridge of peace from earth to heaven.
Enter: Jesus.
The New Testament picks up with the Son of God being born in a lowly stable. He was sent from his heavenly home to our lowly earth. Though he was a king, he didn’t come with fanfare and royal processions, but rather as a baby to a humble man and woman, delivered in a stable in the dirt.
Jesus showed true humility throughout his life on earth and during his ministry years. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and words to the mute. He spent his time with those that no one else considered worthy of community, even interacting with and loving those considered unclean by the day’s standards.
The religious leaders didn’t appreciate Jesus’ works or the way he captured the attention of the other believers. They were angered by his “unprofessionalism” and sought to have him killed.
Jesus ultimately was crucified. He hung naked on a cross and died the death that was reserved for the worst of the worst.
Don’t miss this part: he did this while we were still sinners.
God didn’t require all of humanity to get its act together before he’d forgive us. He didn’t wait even for a percentage of us to be sin-free, righteous-enough, perfect-ish believers.
While we were still sinners, God sacrificed his own Son. As Jesus had lived a perfect, sinless life, he was the replacement for those countless spotless lambs that had been sacrificed in the temple to atone for sins in the preceding generations. He was the ultimate sacrifice.
The wages of sin…
The Bible instructs that the wages of sin is death. It’s not speaking of a physical death – we will all die some day for one reason or another. Instead, Romans 6:23 refers to a spiritual death.
We learn about heaven and hell through reading God’s Word. Hell is an eternal separation from God. If we live in denial of their sin, or in denial of our need of a savior, we will be separated from God for eternity.
However, there is great news!
God looked on us, saw that we needed rescuing, and had compassion, setting about saving us through his Son.
It’s not that we earn forgiveness if we say the right things. It’s not just forgiveness if we act the right way. God’s forgiveness isn’t based on a single thing that you or I could ever do. It’s completely unconditional (as is his love for us).
This forgiveness means that, rather than being separated from God for eternity, we can live with him for eternity in heaven! Though our bodies will fail us due to age or incident or illness, as believers, we have the hope of living forever in heaven.
You will be saved…
The story doesn’t end with Jesus being crucified. It continues on to tell the greatest miracle in history: Jesus rose from the dead! He left behind an empty tomb on the third day following his crucifixion.
Jesus defeated death.
Since he defeated death, we no longer need to be separated from God. Because Jesus died on the cross for our sins and then rose again on the third day, we can be saved!
This gift of eternal life is not something that God forces on us. He’s not sitting in the heavenly realm, dictating what we do and making decisions for us. His gift is one that we must choose to accept.
If you’ve attended church services or heard evangelical preachers and teachers before, you’ve likely heard a version of a prayer of salvation. There are no magical or specific ways to pray this prayer.
It’s a prayer of admitting that you’ve sinned and that you know you’ve done wrong. It’s acknowledging that you need saving. This acknowledgement includes knowing that you can’t save yourself, but that only Jesus’ sacrifice is what atones. When you admit your sins, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and confess your faith in Jesus through prayer, you will be saved!
The good news, or what we call “the gospel,” is the story of Jesus coming to earth, following God’s perfect will, living a sinless life, dying on the cross, and rising again three days later. When you understand this and believe it with all your heart, the next natural step is to confess it with your mouth, as the Bible says in Romans 10. When the gospel takes hold in your life, you feel excited and empowered to share the good news with others!
To wrap it up…
I believe:
- God is the creator of the universe, and he is three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
- He sent his son to die on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity with him in heaven
- God’s love is unconditional and meant for everyone
- The gospel is for everyone
- The Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God
- Salvation doesn’t mean that we will never sin again – God’s grace covers us and will continue to cover us
- God is always with us!
- The Holy Spirit lives inside of us, guiding us and motivating us
I also definitely do not believe that I have all the answers or that I know all that there is to know. Sin is still a battle, and temptation still looms. Salvation does not mean that we are suddenly perfect. That’s impossible! But it is the promise that God will always be with us, and that his love for us is unending, as far as the east is from the west.
And for that, I’m eternally grateful.
Next steps
If any of this post resonated with you or if you have any questions, please free free to comment, or message me privately by hitting the “contact me” button below! I would love to further discuss the gospel and Jesus and salvation with anyone that needs a safe place to talk.