The Good News

Because of God’s love for all people, He desires to have a relationship with you. (John 3:16, Ephesians 2:4-5)

Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7, Joshua 1:18). Sin is the breaking of God's law. If God says "Do not lie" and you lie, then you have broken His law and sinned. When you sin, you offend God because it is His law that you have broken. The truth is that sin, as defined in the original translations of the Bible, means "to miss the mark." The mark, in this case, is the standard of perfection established by God and evidenced by Jesus. Viewed in that light, it is clear that we are all sinners. (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:10)

"In the beginning Adam and Eve existed in a state of unadulterated direct union with God. However, when they chose to disobey what God had willed for them (sin). It was this initial act of sin which separated man from God. Once man sinned, man could not exist in the state of cohesion (togetherness) it previously had with God, because God cannot coexist with behavior contrary to His own. As a sinner, you can’t have fellowship with God. You are headed for an eternity separated from God. (Isaiah 59:2, Romans 3:23)

Scripture also teaches that no amount of human goodness, human works, human morality, or religious activity can gain acceptance with God or get anyone into heaven. The moral man, the religious man and the immoral and non-religious are all in the same boat they all fall short of God’s perfect righteousness. After discussing the immoral man, the moral man and the religious man in Romans 1:18-3:8, the Apostle Paul declares that both Jews and Greeks are under sin, that “there is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:9-10). People often think that through their efforts they can overcome the sin between themselves and God. That isn’t true. There’s nothing you can do yourself to restore the broken relationship with God. You can’t earn God’s salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, Romans 4:4-5)

God is not only perfect holiness (whose holy character we can never attain to on our own or by our works of righteousness), but He is also perfect love and full of grace and mercy. Because of His love and grace, He has not left us without hope and a solution. (Romans 5:8) This is the good news of the Bible, the message of the gospel. It’s the message of the gift of God’s own Son who became man (the God-man), lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sin and was raised from the grave proving both the fact He is God’s Son and the value of His death for us as our substitute. (Romans 1:4, Romans 4:25, Romans 10:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 3:18, 1 Peter 2:23) ​

Faith is trusting in what Jesus has done for you rather than trusting your own efforts to restore fellowship with God. Faith is complete reliance on Christ to put you in right relationship with God, allowing Him to live His life through you. Faith also involves repentance or genuine sorrow for sin and willingness to turn away from sin. (John 14:6 Acts 16:31 Romans 10:9-10) ​