I have been a Christian for most of my life. I grew up in the Church. The Gospel is something that I know, and something that feels familiar. Recently I have noticed that because it is so familiar, I don’t always stop to remember the enormous implications that it has for my life. This is something that I have felt convicted about lately, and I don’t want to take advantage of all that the Lord has done for me.
As I have travelled, both this year and last, I’ve realized that this isn’t just something that I struggle with; lots of Christians have a tendency towards forgetting the power of the Gospel. Not just that, I never realized until I started traveling and meeting people all around the world and all around our country, just how many people have never heard the Gospel. Doesn’t that seem crazy? And it’s not just people overseas, there are people here within the United States who have never heard all that Jesus has done for them.
I feel compelled more and more to share the truth that I know. I can’t imagine going through life without this hope that I have to hold onto.
Guys, this is the Gospel:
The God of the universe made you and wants a relationship with you, but sin separates us from God because He is holy, perfect, and good, and He can’t associate with things that are not, which is you and me because every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. All of us deserve not only to be separated from God, but to die because of the sin we commit.
But God loves us so much that He sent His one and only son, Jesus, down to earth to live a perfect, sinless life and die in our place. This isn’t something that we can earn for ourselves by good works or something that we deserved, but it’s a free gift from God, simply because He loves us and He desires a relationship with us. He didn’t wait for us to choose Him first, He did this for us while we were still sinners in active rebellion against Him.
Jesus died a criminal’s death and was buried, but on the 3rd day He rose from the grave, defeated death, and ascended into Heaven to be with the Father. He bore our punishment and in doing so allows us the opportunity to live in relationship with God.
Y’all that’s INSANE! The God of the universe died for us! He didn’t just die, He was tortured for us and took on the wrath of God in our place!
When was the last time that you stopped to contemplate the furious wrath of God? My team recently did an in-depth study of the book of Amos (who even remembers that this is a book in the Bible?), and Amos paints a terrifying picture of what the wrath of God is like:
“I saw the Lord standing by the alter, and He said: ‘Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds will shake. Bring them down on the heads of the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one will get away, none will escape. Though they dig down to the depths of the grave, from there my hand will take them (Ya’ll take a moment to realize that we can’t even escape His wrath by DYING- absolutely terrifying). Though they climb up to the heavens, from there I will bring them down. Though they hide themselves on the top Carmel, there I will hunt them down and seize them. Though they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them. Though they are driven into exile by their enemies, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.’’’
Amos 9:1-4 (Emphasis added)
Y’all THAT is what we deserve. That’s what we have earned for ourselves, but now contrast that with how David describes a relationship with the Lord in Psalm 139:
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed int he depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say ‘surely the darkness will hide me, and the light becomes night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:7-14 (Emphasis added- also Psalm 139 is one of my favorite chapters in the whole bible. I HIGHLY encourage you to read the rest of it)
There is no escaping the Lord. We can either be pursued by His wrath, or His love, the Lord gives us that choice.
So what should our response to this be? Romans 10:9-10 says that “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it it is with your heart that you believe and are justified; and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
That’s it. That’s all that He has asked of us. Just that we believe and confess. How beautiful and amazingly simple. Everything that we do as Christians comes out of an overflow of that relationship build on God’s love. THANK YOU JESUS!
If this is your first time hearing this, and you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I want to encourage you to pray this prayer of salvation:
“God, I am a sinner. I know my sin deserves to be punished. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died for me and rose from the grave. I want to turn from my sin and trust Jesus Christ alone as my Savior. Thank you for the forgiveness and everlasting life I can now have through faith in Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen.’
And if you prayed that prayer and want to know what’s next, I want to talk to you! Shoot me an email at [email protected]!
Much Love,
Morgan
As always, I invite you to make my journey, your journey. Here are four simple ways:
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