This lays out the Good News that God has reached out to mankind and that forgiveness is available to all who accept the free gift of eternal life.
Choices
In the beginning, God created the heavens, the earth and all the living things on the earth including a man, Adam, and a woman, Eve. The human race began with these two people. Adam and Eve were different from all the other living things God created as they were created in God's image. God let them rule over the fish, birds and livestock. God provided a paradise for Adam and Eve called the Garden of Eden and God walked in the garden with them. One of the trees was the tree of life that provided food and would have allowed Adam and Eve to live forever. In the garden there was also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from that particular tree. Adam and Eve had freewill and could choose to follow what God said or they could disobey. God warned them that if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would die.
If a person takes time to really wonder about the world around them, they'll stand in awe as in their heart they'll know there must be a Creator. The miracle of life itself and the pinpoint precision and synchronicity of our immense universe point to a powerful Creator. To believe that the staggering complexity of the human body could have come into being without a powerful outside intelligence (God) defies logic.
Choosing to rebel
Then the serpent (the devil) came and told Eve that what God had said was not true. The devil said that they wouldn't die if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Both Eve and Adam then disobeyed God and ate fruit from this tree. Because of their disobedience (or sin), God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden so they could not take from the tree of life and live forever. Because of their sin, Adam and Eve died spiritually as they were separated from God, and their bodies began to age. Eventually they also died physically. The consequences for disobeying God were exactly as God said they would be. They believed the devil's lies rather than God's truth so God brought judgment on Adam and Eve when they rebelled.
Like Adam and Eve, we have all disobeyed God and gone our own way. Deep down we desire to know God, to be His friend and escape the judgement that will come when we die but our sin gets in the way of our relationship with God and clouds our understanding of these things. Our sin places a barrier between God and ourselves … a barrier that we alone cannot break down. Our sin separates us from God making Him seem vague, remote, and unknown. God tells us that the result of our sin, disobedience, and rebellion is death … in both a spiritual and physical sense. This separation from God makes us restless and gives us the feeling that something major is wrong and missing in our lives. We feel that way because something major is missing and the missing part is an 'in touch' relationship with our Creator.
Only two possible destinations for eternity
We only get one life and when we die God Himself will hold us accountable for our thoughts, actions and our words. Imagine a video that showed everything we ever did and said and included our thoughts as subtitles!
Heaven
Heaven is the destination of those who have their sins forgiven by God. The bible describes heaven as a place where God will be with his people and there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain.
However, some reject Jesus and His free gift of salvation from sin. Hell is the place reserved for those who refuse God's forgiveness. Jesus refers to hell as 'the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Filling the void
The good news is that there is a solution to this spiritual dilemma. Some people try to fill the void by doing good deeds, taking drugs, chasing money (in effect making money their 'god'), or striving to 'succeed'. However, people invariably discover that these things are ultimately unsatisfying. The spiritual void we experience can only be filled when our sins are washed away (forgiven) and we come to really know Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. Only a relationship with Jesus Christ will fully satisfy this longing and give our lives a true sense of meaning.
Sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin
In Old Testament times (between Creation and the coming of Jesus), God set out His laws but the people failed to keep them. God's laws demanded justice and detailed punishment for offences and restitution. But God also provided a way out for the people, forgiveness through the sacrifice of animals that were without 'spot or blemish'. The animal's blood was shed in the place of the person who had sinned. Sacrifice, involving the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins, is found throughout the Old Testament record. The bible states that there can be 'no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood.'
Falling short
The reality is that we have all sinned. If we fall short of our own standards on occasion, how much more so do we fall short of God's standards? We try to 'be good' and we try to do better but we so often fail to keep 'New Years' resolutions and make those elusive breakthroughs for which we have hoped. We may not realise it and may even try to deny it, but each one of us needs God's forgiveness.
Jesus - the one sent to rescue us
Throughout scripture God promised the Messiah (the Christ) would come. This Messiah would be perfect and without sin. He would suffer in our place for our sin so we could receive forgiveness. The bible said regarding the Messiah. "He would be pierced for our offences, crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment that would bring us peace would be upon Him. His wounds and injuries would bring healing to us. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and God would lay on Him the iniquity of us all."
When the Messiah came and laid down his life for us, the sacrifices of the Old Testament would no longer be necessary. Further details in the Old Testament foretold that this Messiah would be 'born of a virgin' in the town of Bethlehem and ultimately betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver. He would suffer and die for the sins of mankind, only to rise from the dead and heal the broken-hearted. He would be God Himself coming to earth on a rescue mission for mankind!
Jesus loves you so much
Jesus fulfilled all these prophecies concerning the Messiah. Jesus is this Messiah, the Christ … the one God promised would come. Jesus was without sin and He shed His blood to take away the sin of the world. Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Jesus loved us so much He laid down His life for us. His wounds have healed us. Jesus has freed us from our sins by His blood, as there is no punishment for those who have accepted His free gift of eternal life. Only Jesus who had no sin Himself could die in our place for our sin. Jesus did not need to die for His own sin as He was without sin.
We cannot earn eternal life by our 'good' deeds. If we could be good enough to get into heaven by our own 'good' deeds, Jesus died and suffered on the cross for no reason. Yes, Jesus died but He is alive today because He rose from the dead on the third day as the prophets before Jesus predicted and as He Himself said He would. Jesus voluntarily laid His life down for you. Jesus loves you that much!
In this life, this is the most important question that you can consider.
Option 1: Just a good moral teacher? - JESUS IS MUCH MORE THAN THIS!
We will let the former skeptic C.S. Lewis answer this one.
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say.
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.
But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher.
He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book 2, Chapter 3, The Shocking Alternative)
Option 2: A Liar? - NO!
Speaking on the question "Was Jesus a liar?" historian Philip Schaff responded by saying,
"How, in the name of logic, common sense, and experience, could an impostor … have invented, and consistently maintained from the beginning to end, the purest and noblest character known in history with the most perfect air of truth and reality?"
(As quoted in From a Ready Defense by Josh McDowell)
Option 3: A Lunatic? - NO!
Speaking on the question "Was Jesus a lunatic?" historian Philip Schaff responded by saying,
"Is such an intellect - clear as the sky, bracing as the mountain air, sharp and penetrating as a sword, thoroughly healthy and vigorous, always ready and always self-possessed - liable to a radical and most serious delusion concerning His own character and mission? Preposterous imagination!"
(As quoted in From a Ready Defense by Josh McDowell)
Option 4: Our Lord, God and Saviour - YES!
Without a doubt, Jesus was a real historical person.
"The persons commonly called Christians ... Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea for the reign of Tiberius ..."
(Cornelius Tacitus, Roman historian, 112 A.D.)
All the evidence 'screams out' that the historical Jesus of Nazareth is our Lord ,God and Saviour! We have a free will and we can either accept Jesus as our God, our Lord and our Saviour or we can reject Him.
The Bible clearly states that Jesus is equal to and is God Himself, who came to earth to rescue us from our sins.
"In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word (Jesus) was with God, and the Word (Jesus) was God" (John 1:1).
Jesus says; "If anyone has seen me, they have seen the Father" (John 14.9).
"But about the Son (Jesus) he (God) says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever" (Hebrews 1:8). (This verse shows us God the Father referring to His Son (Jesus) as God.)
"Thomas said to him (Jesus), 'My Lord and my God!'" (John 20:28)
Giving Jesus complete control
If a person chooses not to accept Jesus as their Saviour and Lord, they are effectively choosing to be separated from God while they are on earth. God will respect their choice and this separation will continue after they die. Hell is the place the bible says is reserved for those who do not receive forgiveness and where they will be eternally separated from God. To have eternal life and go to heaven after you die you need to accept God's free gift of salvation before you die.
Wash away my sins
If you want to turn from your old life … your old ways … from the things you know are not right and turn towards God and give Him the control of your life receiving forgiveness and eternal life, the following prayer may help you. These words are not a magical formula but they may help you focus on what God requires from you. God knows what is going on in your heart.
"Lord Jesus Christ
Forgive me for the things I have done wrong in my life.
Help me to turn from everything, which I know is wrong.
Forgive me for not making you the centre of my life.
I believe you died for my sins when you died on the cross.
I believe you rose from the dead.
I open my heart to you … come in and wash me clean from my sins …
Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen."
Please email Greg and Dave at changinglives74@yahoo.com.au so we can encourage you and help you in anyway we can. You can get to know us better by reading our life stories (see below).
Look around and contact other Christians as God has a whole family of people waiting to help.
Living the Christian life is an exciting, challenging journey in which the aim is to transform you to become more and more like Jesus. Martin Luther King Jr. captived the essence of the Christian life when he said:
"I may not yet be the man I should be or the man, with Christ's help, I someday will be - but thank God I'm not the man I used to be!"
THE BIBLE PUTS IT THIS WAY
God - the Creator
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Revelation 4:11).
Disobeying the Creator
"And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die'" (Genesis 2:16).
"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it" (Genesis 3:6).
The complexity of this world points us to a Creator
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:18-20).
"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59.2).
It's all about Jesus …
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
"But he (Jesus) was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6, word in italics added).
"God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us … " (2 Corinthians 5:2, word in italics added).
"He (Jesus) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24, word in italics added).
" … having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:14-15, word in italics added).
"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (Jesus). He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12, word in italics added).
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Accept the gift of eternal life
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Believe the truth that sets you free
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved" (Romans 10:9-10).
