The Simple Gospel
"For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life" (John
Greetings
everyone,
I want to share something with you that if you take the time to
read and contemplate will change your life profoundly. This simple verse from the Bible is probably
the most known verse in the Bible. You
see reference to it everywhere, most notably hanging from the stands at major
sporting events. I want to share with
you what it means and how it can change your life.
"For God so loved the
world:" Simple words, but what do they
mean? Basically, they mean that the God
who created the entire universe including mankind also loves His creation. This raises several questions, not the least
of which is does God exist? Proving the
existence of God is a subject for another day.
Many non-Christians believe in a higher power that created the
universe. Many nonreligious people also
acknowledge that the universe is too vast, too complex to have spontaneously
come into existence. The actual number
of hard-core materialistic (materialists in the sense that matter is the only reality)
atheists is actually very low. Assuming
for the sake of argument that God exists, is there any evidence that He loves
the world? Most would deny that
statement based on the empirical evidence of history. Natural disasters, disease, famines all speak
of an ambivalent God at best and a malevolent God at worst. Let me take a moment to address this.
I obviously cannot deny that the world can be a harsh place in
which to live, but the Bible has a answer to this dilemma. When God originally created mankind, He
created them with the capacity to choose good or evil. Our ultimate ancestors, Adam & Eve, chose
to directly disobey God and chose to sin, and as a result the earth and the
human race were cursed in judgment. The
result of that judgment is what Christian theologians call Total Depravity. Meaning, mankind has within himself no
capacity to do good or please God. Now
when I say "no capacity to do good" what I mean is there is within
man, no inherent capacity to do true good; i.e., good that is motivated for no
other reason than the obvious goodness of the act. People all throughout history have done great
good, but that good was motivated by what Jonathan Edwards termed
"motivated self-interest." If
you take a real hard look at mankind's history, you will see that mankind has
been his own worst enemy. The myth that
man is climbing some evolutionary ladder is debunked by the evidence of history
that shows man perpetrating unimaginable atrocities on himself. The bottom line is that mankind is living in
a world largely of his own making and we have nobody to blame but
ourselves. Through it all God has been
watching and working and showering His love on us. He brings the sunshine that brightens every
morning, and He brings the rain that waters the ground. He has given the gift of life that everyone
enjoys. In my mind, there is no question
that God loves us.
"That he gave his only Son:"
The ultimate display of God's love is in Him sending us His one and only
Son, Jesus Christ. How is this the
ultimate display of God's love? God's
desire is for His created beings to enjoy His presence eternally and to have
fellowship with Him. However, because of
our natural tendency to sin and violate God's will, that relationship has been
broken. Again, the history of mankind
has revealed that mankind is on a never ending quest for meaning to life. Every person who entertains rational thought
eventually asks the question "what is the meaning to all this?" That is because sin has severed the
relationship to the only Person—God—that can give life meaning. Mankind searches and searches and at times
thinks he's found the answer only to be disappointed time and time again. That is because the answer does not lie
within us! When we reject God (and make
no mistake, we all have rejected God), there is a vacuum in the human soul that
longs to be filled. Nothing we can do
will fill that vacuum. Nothing! That is why God sent us His Son. Jesus Christ was sent to restore the broken
relationship between God and man.
How? By dealing with our sin
problem.
Now I've mentioned the word "sin" several times without
really defining it. Sin is any violation
of God's will. How do we know God's
will? God has graciously revealed His
will in the Bible, most notably in the Ten Commandments. Jesus further clarified that the commandments
cover more than overt actions, but secret thoughts as well. It's not enough to not commit murder, we
shouldn't even be angry at one another; it's not enough to not commit adultery,
we shouldn't even entertain lustful thoughts about someone else. You may say, "that's an impossible
standard to keep." Right! God's standard is perfection! That is where Jesus Christ comes in. According to the Bible, Jesus lived a
perfect, sinless life. How? He was God incarnate (God in a human body). The reason the Jewish leaders wanted to kill
Him wasn't because Jesus was a revolutionary nutcase, but because His sinless
perfect life was a direct rebuke to the religious hypocrisy of the Jews of that
day. Face it, it is human nature to
despise those who are obviously better than us.
We seek to find some flaw in their character and jump at the chance to
expose their weaknesses. The problem
with Jesus was He had no flaws or weaknesses, so the Jewish leaders had to
concoct phony charges to have Him executed.
Jesus Christ was executed as an innocent man in every sense of the
word. However, that was God's plan from
the very beginning. While Jesus hung on
that cross, God was unleashing His holy wrath on Him; the wrath that was stored
up for OUR SINS. Jesus Christ dealt with mankind's sin problem
by bearing the wrath that those sins deserved.
"So that everyone who believes in
him will not perish but have eternal life:"
If you've read
this far, you may be wondering, "how can I cash in on this thing?" If you want the forgiveness of your sins and
enjoy the restored relationship with God, your heavenly Father, all you have to
do is believe! Is it that simple? Yes!
But you have to understand what is implied in the word
"believe." If any of you are
from the
Friends, the choice is yours.
God has promised wonderful blessings to those who place their faith in
Jesus, but He has also promised eternal wrath for those who willfully reject
His gracious offer. Jesus promised that
He would return again, and that His return would herald in the final judgment
of mankind. Your entire natural life is
an opportunity to reject sin and turn toward God. Don't waste this opportunity that God has
given you!
If you have read this far and have
further questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. I would be happy to
discuss this further with you. I will
try to answer whatever questions I can, and those I cannot I may be able to
direct you to resources that may. Please
remember that God desires to have a relationship with you, but you must do it
on His terms and that means renouncing your sin and trusting in Jesus. The gospel is exclusive in that it claims to
be the only way to God, but it is all-inclusive in that anyone who places their
faith in Jesus can experience relationship with God.