First, the Hard News

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23

Nature, conscience, and the Bible all bear witness concerning your and my sacred duty as human beings. We were created and privileged with life, not to spend it selfishly upon our lusts and arrogant passions, but to offer ourselves back to the Creator in grateful love, and in compassionate service to our neighbors, whom he made in his own image.

Tragically, all people have sinned against God’s holy will (Romans 3:10-12; 6:23; Psalm 14:1-3). Consult your own conscience. Does it not accuse you, how often you knowingly refuse to do what is rightly required? Does not the Holy Spirit convict your spirit within, that you daily, hourly, withhold portions of your heart, mind, soul, and strength from obedience and affection to God, despite knowing that he who is infinite Goodness desires and deserves your all?

“But isn’t God merciful?” you say. “Perhaps he will overlook my faults and accept my partial efforts.” Yes, God is merciful; but he is also just and holy. If your hope is simply for him to turn a blind eye to the wrongs you have done, and the corruption lodged deep in your heart, what you desire for is a devil and not the Lord of light. As fearful as it is, God’s unswerving commitment to justice alone offers hope that all wrongs will be righted. He will not permit evil to triumph through leniency.

The hard truth is that God is perfectly justified to condemn all sinners, including you and me, to everlasting separation from his presence. He did so with the fallen angels, and he will do so with countless multitudes of human beings. Indeed, his unchanging moral purity obligates him to deliver evildoers to final judgment—that is, unless there can be found some way to atone for our evil and restore us to righteousness.

Now, the Good News

Long ago, God revealed his determination to rescue sinners. Through his servants, the prophets, his declared that deliverance would not be based on our good works, but would unfold in a way that allows him at once to be “just and the one who justifies sinners” (Rom 3:26). Somehow, he maintains his integrity even while passing over our faults. How can this be?

At just the right time, God the Father sent forth his eternal Son, Jesus Christ, to become incarnated among us. He who is truly God became a true man, with a body and soul in every way like ours, except for sin. By his two-fold nature, the Son was uniquely qualified to offer himself in our place as an infinitely worthy substitute. Jesus’ lifelong obedience to God’s law fulfilled the righteous requirements for inheriting eternal life. Through faith, believers become united with Christ in such a way that his obedience is reckoned to our account. God pronounces the verdict of “righteousness” over us, as though we had never sinned, but had always done what is right. Moreover, Jesus presented himself as the atoning sacrifice for sin. He suffered in body and soul, even to death on the cross, the full punishment due to those he calls, “my sheep, for whom I lay down my life.” After it was finished, he died and was buried.

The third day, God raised Jesus from the dead. This supreme miracle testifies to his righteousness, power, and victory over sin, death, and the devil. Now, by his Word and Spirit, Jesus assures all who hear the Gospel that his benefits and blessings belong to everyone who turns away from unbelief and self-righteousness, to rest alone in his promise to bestow salvation freely as a gift. Moreover, Christ pledges by his Holy Spirit to enable believers from now on to live for him, until we are raised and perfected in glory.

Turn and believe

This good news is for you. This very day—this moment, even—God calls you to turn away from sinful unbelief. It leads nowhere but misery and hell. Look away from everything else, and look instead to Christ. Place your confidence in his supreme grace and power. He can and will accomplish everything you cannot. Only confess your sins and ask him to them all—past, present, and future; outward and indwelling—and trust him immediately to do so. He cannot go back on his Word. He will save you. Only believe and you will experience adoption as God’s child.

Begin also to trust the Holy Spirit, who dwells in Christ and all believers. As you lean upon his power, he will transform your heart for righteous living, “for he who began a good work in you shall complete it” (Phil 1:6).

Finally, place yourself among a true and faithful congregation of Christians. Now that you are part of Christ’s spiritual body, the Church, he calls you to gather with them. It’s in this environment of preaching, fellowship, and mutual service that God will nourish and mature you. If you haven’t been baptized, ask to be formally initiated into their membership. And if you need help finding a church, feel free to contact us.

The Lord Jesus Christ be with you.