GOOD NEWS

The GOOD NEWS is that God has made a way for us to have a personal relationship with Him, to go to heaven when we die, and to have a meaningful and happy life here on earth.

Because this good news is authentic, we must first face reality. The eternal God of the universe is perfectly righteous and always acts in conformity with His character. We humans, on the other hand, fall short of God’s standard of perfection. We are morally flawed – some of us worse than others! Our moral imperfection (sin) makes it impossible for God to have a relationship with us or to accept us into His perfect heaven. In fact, the opposite is true: His righteousness and justice demand that He find us guilty of moral imperfection and separate Himself from us eternally, which the Bible calls spiritual death.

To make matters worse, we cannot earn God’s acceptance by following or keeping a set of religious rules or laws. We are simply incapable of being perfect. That’s the reality of it. No matter how relatively "good" we are, we are just not good enough to satisfy God’s righteous standard of perfection.

But there is good news! God is also loving and gracious and has provided a way for us imperfect humans to be accepted by Him without compromising His righteousness and justice. God sent Jesus Christ (the God-man) to accomplish this in His death and resurrection.

The heart of the good news is this: Jesus Christ died for us (in our place). On the cross Jesus voluntarily took our imperfections (sins) upon Himself and, as a result, suffered the consequences of those sins. God found Him guilty instead of us. God the Father then had to mete out to Jesus (God the Son) the just punishment for those sins, which was spiritual death. On the cross Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" It was at that moment that He bore the full penalty for our sins. As man, He was able to die for us; as God, He was able to bear the eternal consequences for sin, that is, being forsaken by the Father (which is the same as spiritual death).

Jesus’ resurrection clearly demonstrated that He was who He claimed to be – the Messiah, God in a human body. The resurrection was also proof that God the Father accepted the death of Jesus as full payment for our sins. God’s perfect righteousness and justice were satisfied. God could then, consistent with His character, extend His love and mercy to us. He could now forgive our sins and give us the gift of right-standing before Him, thereby "saving" us from the consequences of our sins, namely guilt and spiritual death. This is grace – God’s undeserved blessing to us!

This gift of salvation is available to everyone who "believes." The gift cannot be earned; it can only be received by faith. Genuine faith can be expressed in a prayer to God similar to this:

Dear God:
· I acknowledge that I am not good enough to get into Your perfect
   heaven.
· I believe that Jesus Christ bore the consequences for my sins.
· I believe that You accepted His death as payment in full for my sins.
· I receive your gift of salvation now. Amen.

At the moment you place your faith in Christ, a host of spiritual blessing flow to you, including the following:
· God in fact forgives all your sins (past, present and future).
· God gives you the gift of righteousness (right-standing before Him).
· God finds you "not guilty" for your sins.
· You begin an exciting personal relationship with the eternal God of the
  universe.
· You are guaranteed a place in heaven.
· You become a new person in Christ with a new life and a fresh start.
· You receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as Christ’s representative to lead,
   guide, help and empower you in your new life.
· You become part of the family of God (the church) where you can grow
   spiritually and enjoy fellowship, encouragement, and support.
· You now have a purpose for living – to serve Christ by serving others.

(*Based on Romans 1-8 of the New Testament)

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