The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple. It's a message from the Bible about God and his son, Jesus. It's about life and death, and the choice that we all face. And it all starts with a loving creator God.
God, is the loving ruler of the world. He made the world and he made us rulers of the world under him (Revelation 4:11). But is that the way it is now? We all reject the ruler - God - by trying to run life our own way without him. But we fail to rule ourselves or society or the world (Romans 3:10-12). What will God do about this rebellion? Well, God won't let us rebel forever. God's punishment for rebellion is death and judgment (Hebrews 9:27). God's justice sounds hard, but because of his love, God sent his Son into the world: the man Jesus Christ. Jesus always lived under God's rule. Yet by dying in our place he took our punishment and brought forgiveness (1 Peter 3:18). And that's not all...God raised Jesus to life again as the ruler of the world. Jesus has conquered death, now gives new life, and will return to judge (1 Peter 1:3).
So, where does that leave us? It leaves us with a choice of only two ways to live. We can continue in our way, rejecting the ruler (God) and trying to run life our own way, resulting in being condemned by God and facing death and judgment. OR we can live God's way, submitting to Jesus as our ruler (our Lord) and relying on Jesus' perfect life, atoning death and resurrection in our place (our Savior) resulting in being forgiven by God and given eternal life.
Quick question: Which way do you want to live?
If you have questions, grab a bible and read the gospel of John. And contact us - we'd love to share with you more about Jesus. The gospel is THE best news ever and your only hope to be made right with God and be saved from the judgment to come.
Below you'll find a brief video that we think might be helpful in understanding this most important story ever told!
What is the Gospel? from Southern Seminary on Vimeo.