Who Is Jesus? Jesus is God, coexistent with Father and Holy Spirit as Triune God. Through him all things came into being and were created, yet moved by love and in obedience to His Father, the eternal Son became human: fully God and fully human being, one Person in two natures. He was perfect in nature, teaching, and obedience. He is the only Savior for the sins of the world, having shed his blood and died on Calvary’s cross. By his death in our place, he revealed the divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having redeemed us from sin, the third day he rose bodily from the grave, victorious over death and the powers of darkness. He is the Head of his body, the Church, and should be adored, loved, served, and obeyed by all. The Gospel The events of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension are known as the gospel. “Gospel” means good news. It is the good news of Jesus Christ: who He is, what He has done and what He is going to do. Why is it good news? It is the explanation of and answer to why everything is wrong with the world and with ourselves. We must explain this from the very beginning: God and us: God is eternal, unchangeable, independent, omnipresent, all-powerful, spirit, knowable, glorious, wise, loving, truthful, good, holy, just and perfect. Not only is He these things, He is the definition of these things. God created everything there is and sustains it. He owns and rules everything. He created people as spiritual beings able to relate to Him on that level. We are to reflect His nature. He desires a right relationship with us – one that is personal, intimate, reflects His person and gives glory to Him – this is our purpose. Sin, rebellion and judgement: From the beginning and in our nature, we have chosen to disobey God. This is known as sin. Everything that is wrong in the world is because of sin. Because of this, we have been separated in our relationship with God, unable to approach Him and please Him. Not only does this result in physical death and decay, we are spiritually cut off from God – something far worse than physical death. This separation between God and us cannot be overcome by our own effort. We are powerless to save ourselves from our sin. Because of our sin, we are infinitely removed from God’s paragon of what is good, holy and perfect. If God were to judge us now, in our state of sin, we would fall infinitely short, and face an eternity in hell. Hell is where we are irreconcilably cut off from God – the essence of goodness and life. This is a just end for us. God our saviour: However, because of God’s love for us, He intervenes to spare us from the penalty of sin. God Himself, the one whom we know as God’s Son, became a man –Jesus. As a man, Jesus lived a sinless life – never disobeying or rebelling against God. He healed the sick, raised the dead and performed many miracles. Jesus' death and resurrection: Even though He had the power to prevent it, when the time came, He allowed Himself to be killed in a most painful way – crucified on a cross. He was also cut off from God – the essence of every good thing. In this way Jesus, God himself, took the penalty for our sin, even though He was completely innocent. After His death, Jesus, being God, rose again on the third day, ascending to heaven. God's justice and wrath is satisfied: Because of this, Jesus is the only satisfactory substitute to take our punishment. He has satisfied God’s justice for all the sin we have and will ever commit. By His death and resurrection, He is able to restore our relationship with God to what it was meant to be. God wants you: Not only is God able to forgive you and restore your relationship with Him, He also desires it. God made you, loved you and paid a high price to clear the way for reconciliation. The Bible tells us that God is overjoyed when a person repents of his rebellion and receives the grace and forgiveness that He gives freely. What are our options? 1. Some choose to reject the story of God altogether: They disbelieve what has been said and reject the forgiveness and salvation offered by Jesus Christ as well as His lordship over them. People who do this normally try to ignore this relationship by filling the void with hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure), humanism (belief in oneself), accumulation of knowledge or faith in other gods. 2. Some attempt to please God by themselves without Jesus: Many try to fix this broken relationship by attempting to earn God’s love and acceptance. This is done by refraining from evil, doing good acts, even going to church and practising “religion”. They reject Jesus and hope that they will be good enough to earn God’s favor. God tells us, however that none of these things will ever restore our broken state. The end of these options is death, separated from God in Hell for eternity. The only way that we can be reconciled to God is by faith in His Son, who died in our place. 3. Rely on Jesus: If we truly accept these words as the truth then the only real option we have is to recognise the rulership of God over our lives and receive the free and full salvation that He offers through Jesus Christ by faith. We must rely fully on Jesus’s death on the cross to commend us before God. We must accept Him as saviour and lord of our lives. The Bible talks a great deal more about God and the salvation He has provided for us. Contact us if you want to know more about what we believe or how you can get a copy of the Bible. If you do choose to live God’s way, take some time to tell God that you have decided to do so. When you accept the death of Jesus as payment for your sins, you become God’s child, God’s friend and God’s servant. Now, when God looks at you, He sees the purity and perfection of Jesus that has removed your guilt. You have become His child, adopted into His family. Talk to God. Thank Him for what He has done. Relate to Him like a father and friend. Submit to Him and obey His instructions. One of the things God tells His children to do is to build relationships with others who have also become God’s children. Talk to someone you know who is truly following God and not rebelling against Him or merely practising “religion”. They will be able to guide and support you as you grow in your relationship with God. You can also talk to someone from Redemption Hill Church: Simon Murphy (simon@redemptionhill.sg) +65 82686350 You can also look for us in person at any of our weekend services. |
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