wE'VE GOT gOOD nEWS FOR YOU!
Christianity is all about something called the gospel. That is a word that simply means "good news." The central message of Christianity is the good news of Jesus Christ. And what is this good news?
Well, first, we need to talk about the bad news to understand why the good news is actually great news.
The Bad news
When God created everything, it was very good. He created mankind and placed them in the garden of Eden, where they were to tend to it and enjoy the presence of God. There was one restriction he gave them: they were not to eat from a certain tree; everything else was good for them.
Well, Adam and Eve (the first humans) disobeyed God's instruction. This disobedience was sin. And because they sinned, they became spiritually separated from God and would experience physical death. Because of their sin, all of their descendants (which is all of humanity) are born with an inclination to sin (and given the choice we will). Every single one of us has sinned (Romans 3:23). And because we sin, we experience both physical and spiritual death (Romans 6:23), separated from God forever. We belong to what the Bible calls the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13), and are under the power of sin and the devil. Our sins cause nothing but trouble in our lives and in our relationships.
What is sin? What makes me a sinner?
Sin is anything that contradicts God's character and will. God is perfectly good. He is holy and righteous and just. He does not tolerate sin forever, though he is very, very patient with us. When we sin, we are rejecting God; we are turning our backs to him. And God honors our choice to reject him. If we don't want to be in a relationship with him, he honors that. But that's not what God wants for us.
The Good news
You see, God loves us. He wants a relationship with us. He doesn't want us to experience all the problems that our sins cause us, nor does he want us to experience eternity separated from him. So, he made a way. (Romans 5:8)
He sent Jesus, his Son, to become one of us. The Son of God became human. He lived amongst us. Jesus came to take back what rightfully belongs to God. He started the invasion of the Kingdom of God into the domain of darkness. This is the good news he proclaimed, that the Kingdom of God had come and was present in him. He is the light of the world shining into the darkness. This was his mission: to seek and save the lost, to rescue those belonging to the darkness and bring them into his kingdom of light, but more than that bring them into God's family.
Jesus had to take care of our sin problem first. He did this through his death. Jesus was crucified for our sins. He took our sins on himself. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. Jesus died for all of us. But that's not the end of the story. On the third day, Jesus was physically raised from the dead to never die again. He conquered death and left our sins in the grave. (Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-5)
Here's where the good news gets even better.
He now offers you a relationship with God that will last forever. He offers you forgiveness for your sins. He offers you an abundant life. He offers you peace with God. This relationship is one that will last forever and ever. (Romans 6:23)
And there's only one thing that you need to do. You need to trust in Jesus. What does that mean? It means that repent of your sins; you turn from your way of doing things and you turn to him. You give yourself to him and rely on what he has already done for you. This relationship with God doesn't come from anything that we can do; we can't do anything to bridge our separation from God. Jesus did it all. And the only thing we can do is to trust in him and what he did. It's not about being a church member, or even having been baptized. It's not about rule keeping. It's not about doing enough good to outweigh the bad - you can't. It's all about Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Jesus invites you to trust in him. Have you done so? Have you given your life to him? If you haven't, know that you can have a relationship with God and peace and empowerment in this life if you trust in Jesus. You need to go to him in prayer. Talk with Jesus. It can go something like this:
Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I want a relationship with you. I'm sorry for my sins. Forgive me; I give myself to you. I'm turning from my sins and my way of doing things. I'm turning to you and submitting myself to you as my Lord and Savior. I trust in you and what you did in your death and resurrection. Save me, Lord Jesus. Amen. (Romans 10:9)
If you've said a prayer like that, and meant it, you have been brought into God's family. You have been transferred from the domain and darkness into Jesus' kingdom. You have a new life. You have been born again. You have been saved. You have a relationship with God. (Romans 8:1)
If you've made that decision of have questions about what it means to be saved and become a Jesus-follower, don't hesitate to contact us or come visit with us. We look forward to hearing from you.
The Next Steps
The Christian life begins with "getting saved." But that's not all that there is. We are saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus; the proper response is a life lived in gratitude. We respond to God's love for us by loving him in return and by loving others. We live in ways that please him. We must move beyond mere "believers" to disciples - Jesus-followers. We are to become more and more like Jesus as we live our lives. We are to live the way that he wants us to because he knows what is best for us.
The first step of obedience is baptism. Baptism doesn't save you; it is an outward symbol of what has happened when you trusted in Jesus. It is a public identification with him. By being baptized you say that you are his, that you have spiritually experienced his death, burial, and resurrection to new life. If you have trusted in Jesus but have not yet been baptized, we'd be glad to discuss that with you.
Next, you need to find a group of other believers to help you follow Jesus. We can't live the Christian life on our own; we need one another to encourage us, speak into our lives, teach us what we need to know, and train and show us how to live the Christian life. We call this discipleship. If you don't have a church home, we would look forward to welcoming you into our fellowship and helping you to follow Jesus with your whole heart.