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The gospel begins and ends with God, the creator and sustainer of all things. The all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present God is perfect, holy, and just. He is good, though not always as we understand good. God created our world and called it “good,” but it wasn’t long until things began to fall apart. He is jealous for His glory and punishes sin (1 John 1:5, Revelation 4:11, Romans 2:5–8).
Humans are infinitely valuable because they bear the image of their creator. Yet sin has separated them from a holy God and made them His enemies. The very humans God created rebelled against him, bringing sin, death, pain, and suffering into the world. Left to themselves, human beings are spiritually dead and hopeless in their sin and unable to save themselves. The good news is that our story doesn’t end there! God didn’t leave us in our predicament — instead, he chose to enter into our world to rescue and redeem us. (Genesis 1:26–28, Genesis 3, Psalm 51:5, John 1:14, Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:1–10).
Jesus’ story actually begins, fittingly, in the beginning. In the Bible, we learn that Jesus was present and active in creating our universe. It’s here that we learn that Jesus is God. Jesus, creator of the world, chose to become fully human and take the consequences of sin and death upon himself so that we might have a restored relationship with God, right relationships with one another, and that we might share in eternal life. Jesus lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death, and rose from the dead, proving His victory over the power of death. He ascended into heaven and waits to bring his bride, the church, home. The Holy Spirit lives in all of His people, and they will live with God forever (John 1:1-5, Romans 3:21–26, 1 Corinthians 15:20–22, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 1:15-20).
When the first humans (Adam and Eve) rebelled against God, they brought sin and death into our world, and we still feel the consequences today. Put simply, everything and everyone is broken. God’s word tells us that we live under the curse of sin and death, which is precisely why we need a Savior. We all continue in sin by doing evil, failing to do good, and by not living up to God’s good standard. Because of sin, we have earned the consequence of death: ultimate separation from God. Jesus matters because he chose to stand in our place and take the consequence of our sin on himself. Jesus, who is fully God, became human, lived a perfect and sinless life, died on the cross, rose from the dead three days later (defeating death!), and now reigns as our victorious liberating king. And he did all of this because of his great love for us. (Genesis 3, Romans 3:23, 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, Ephesians 2:4-6)
Through the person and work of Jesus, God offers each of us the free gift of salvation. We can accept this gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is our response to God's salvation, which is a gift from God. To receive this gift, God asks that we turn away from our sin and toward him (what the Bible calls repentance) and trust in Jesus for what he has done on our behalf (what the Bible calls faith). There is nothing we can ever do to earn God’s grace; it has all been accomplished by Jesus already. God invites us simply to repent and believe – in other words, turn away from sin and toward God. “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”. Because of our gratefulness to God for salvation, we offer our bodies as living sacrifices of worship and service to God. In Christ, we are members of His church. God's people are ambassadors for Christ, sent into the world to proclaim this gospel to all (Mark 1:15, Acts 20:21, Romans 10:9–10, 12:1, Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus’ gift of grace is available to you. Jesus is looking at you and says, “follow me.” How will you respond?
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for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28