The Gospel
Are you a liar?
Wow – we are hopping right out of the gate with a pretty brutal question here.
Try to ignore the “smacked in the face” feeling you are probably going through right now, and just answer the question honestly – not for our sake, but for yours.
Are you a liar?
Have you ever told a lie?
Looking back on your life, how many have you told?
Lying obviously comes in many shapes and sizes, and most of us would say that some lies are much bigger and more damaging than others.
But according to the Bible, all liars will ultimately be thrown in a lake of fire. This probably sounds extreme, but it’s really in the book. You can look it up yourself. Revelation 21:8.
As human beings, we tend to minimize our sin. A little of this, a little of that, and as long as we’re not Hitler, we think we’re “generally good.”
“Generally good” may be enough to get you through life. It may be enough on an everyday level. But on a more important level – an eternal, forever level – “generally good” just isn’t good enough.
The Bible says that ever since our first parents Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, all human beings have been born with a sin nature. Because of this nature, all people sin.
The Bible also says God has chosen a day on which He will hold us accountable for these sins (Acts 17:31). On that day, He is going to have a very long list to present to each of us.
Only He won’t just be judging the things that we did, but the things that we thought, and the things that we felt. According to 1 Samuel 16:17, it is man who judges people on the outside. But God looks within. God judges the heart.
There is no amount of good or moral living you can do to overcome this judgment. You’re welcome to try, but it’s not going to work. The Bible says even the good things we do are like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6).
This may sound like bad news, and it certainly is, but the message we refer to as "the gospel" is the fact that there is good news to go with it.
God is just, but He is also merciful. Two thousand years ago, He sent His only begotten son – you may have heard of him; Jesus Christ – to live the perfect, sinless life that you and I couldn’t.
The point of this perfect life was not to score points. It was not to prove that it could be done.
It was to provide an unblemished sacrifice, to absorb God’s wrath for our sin.
Though he did nothing wrong, Jesus was sent to a Roman cross and executed by the people of his day. Three days after his burial, he rose from the grave, enjoyed fellowship with his followers – even ate meals with them – then ascended into heaven with a promise to return.
In doing all this, he took the punishment not for his own sins, but the sins of all those who would believe in him.
So the million dollar question is, now that you know this, what are you going to do with it?
If you’ve ever lied, ever stolen, ever misused the name of God – if you’ve ever dishonored your parents, coveted something that didn’t belong to you, or hated or lusted, which Jesus called murder and adultery of the heart – you already know that you are a sinner. We don’t need to convince you. You’ve already convinced yourself.
Because of your sin nature, your problem is probably worse than you realized. If you sin even once a day and live to the age of 80, you will commit more than 29,000 sins in your lifetime.
This is why you can’t stand before God and plead that you are “generally good.”
But simply cleaning up your act isn’t going to keep you out of hell. Most people are capable of making some positive changes if they try hard enough. But that still won’t make you morally perfect, and it still won’t account for what you’ve already done.
No, you need the perfect sacrifice that God has already provided for you in the form of Jesus Christ.
The Bible tells us over and over again to repent of our sin and put our trust in Jesus. Repentance comes from a word that means to turn around. It’s the changing of one’s mind, or the transforming of one’s heart.
We like to think of it as admitting that sin has been at the center of your universe, and kicking it off that throne, so Jesus can sit down.
Rather than trusting in your “general goodness” to get you into heaven – and keep you out of hell – you transfer your full faith and trust to the goodness of Jesus and the sufficiency of his sacrifice. You start to keep God’s moral law not in an effort to save yourself, but out of belief that Jesus has saved you and a genuine desire to be obedient to him.
Perhaps what you’re hearing is brand new information. Or perhaps you have heard this a hundred times. Whatever the case, please bear in mind that you could pass away mere moments after reading this. We certainly hope that this does not happen! But the point is, even the rest of this day is not guaranteed to you.
So please consider the weight of what we are saying. The Bible says today is the “day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2), so we urge you to repent and believe without delay.
Then check out our church finding page and get into a local church for discipleship and fellowship. If you don’t have a Bible, go out and get one, and begin to read it daily. Finally, introduce prayer into your daily life. The Bible is God’s way of talking to us, and prayer is our way of talking to God.