Natural revelation (general revelation) highlights that God loves His Creation providentially, has infinite power and is eternal (Romans 1:19-20). If there was any doubt, the Bible underscores the depth of His love for humanity. The Author of Life desires a relationship with each and every human being He ever created (1 Timothy 2:3-6).
But the Bible also confirms what all of us know deep in our hearts, that all of us are sinful, even wicked, rebellious by nature. Given the free will opportunity to choose, we disobey and deny God. This places us in irreconcilable opposition to our Creator, because even a single infraction of His moral law consigns us to death and eternal separation from Him. Why? Because there has to be justice, for every wrong. Every one of us has injured, deceived, or been faithless to another. We’re selfish to the core. We don’t care what anyone thinks, let alone God. In fact, one of our favorite things to do is worship ourselves instead of God.
At the end of time, God will judge everyone: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10). The punishment is eternal banishment to a place called Hell, described as a “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15) where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:41-42). Every human being falls under the same sentence because we all have sinned.
This would be a real downer but for one thing, the most incredible thing of all. God became a human in the person of Jesus Christ. That’s what Christmas is about, celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Son of God who became a human through the only virgin birth recorded in history (Matthew 1:23). Jesus lived a sinless life in Galilee, teaching people about the Kingdom of God. He proved His deity by miraculous signs, healings, and even raising people from the dead.
But as His teaching and following challenged the religious leaders of His day, they found a way to wrongfully convict Him and execute Him by crucifixion on a wooden cross at the hands of Rome. They did not know it, but it was God’s plan for Jesus to die; His death was the sacrifice for the sins of humanity. God brought the full weight of His wrath for our sin down on His sinless, perfect Son, punishing Jesus instead of us. Jesus was buried in a tomb, and on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead—gloriously resurrected so we could have the hope of eternal life!
The overarching message of the Bible is God loves people and has made a way for them to be forgiven and saved from judgment! God’s son, Jesus Christ, said it this way: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The Gospel means confessing your sin, repenting of it, and putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. “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” (Romans 10:9).
Salvation isn’t just a “fire escape” from Hell. It means being in a right relationship with God! The Scripture says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). How can that be? The Holy Spirit both convicts us of sin in our hearts and gives us the power to overcome sin in our lives. Christians (believers in Jesus) grow, bearing fruit in their lives like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:23).
While Christians never attain sinless perfection in this life, they have fellowship with their Creator through a life of openness and honesty with their Heavenly Father. They fellowship with Him in study of God’s Word (the Bible), prayer, worship, and serving Him. It’s often called a “walk” in the Bible and a relationship in contemporary vernacular. Finally, God’s promise is that believers have the hope of eternal life—loving God, living forever with the glorious, magnificent Creator.
The gift, and it is a gift, of salvation is available to all who believe. If you feel drawn toward God and believe that He sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for your sins, just lift up a prayer to Him, asking Him to forgive you and come into your life. You can pray in your thoughts or pray out loud. He is not far from you (Acts 17:27-28). Jesus came to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21) and to set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
If you have questions about God and finding salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, please contact us. We would love to talk to you and pray with you.
