The Good News!

Posted in , , , By Nick Smith 0 comments

I realized a few days ago that although we have some awesome posts so far on this blog, we don’t yet have a post that is simply about the good news of Jesus Christ.  It’s time to change that.  This is the Christian story in a nutshell.  (There’s a whole lot more to the story, so check out your Bible if you’re curious.  Or hey, you could always post questions in the comments and we’d be happy to do our best to answer them.)

The Bad News

Okay, so here’s the deal.  In order for the good news to make sense, you have to know the bad news first.  Here it is:
There is one God, you are not God, and you are not perfect.  This statement applies to every human being there has ever been and there ever will be (Jesus Christ being the only exception).

Since God is God and He created everything, He knows what is best for us way better than we know what is best for ourselves (1).  So a long time ago, God gave us a bunch of rules to help us out.  It is called the Law and the most well known portion of it is the Ten Commandments (2).

God loves each of us a lot (and I mean a WHOLE LOT) and so He showed us how we could enter Heaven by giving us the law.  But the problem is this; we don’t follow it – not a single one of us (3).  And when we break even one law, we break all of it (4).

I know what you’re probably thinking: “I’ve been a basically good person, so won’t I get into Heaven anyways?”

That is a common myth that people believe.  The problem is that when you say that, you are allowing yourself to define “good”.  But let’s take a moment to honestly look at ourselves using God’s definition, the Ten Commandments.
Have you ever told a lie?  Even a small one?  A white lie to make someone feel better?  I know I have.  And if you’re being honest with yourself, you have too.

Well, the ninth commandment is “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (i.e. You shall not lie.).  That’s one down.

Have you ever stolen anything?  Even something of very little value or even no value?  I stole some candy from a store when I was a little kid.

The eighth commandment is “You shall not steal.”  That’s two.

So, if you’ve been honest with yourself, you have admitted that you are a lying thief (and we’ve only gone through two of the Ten Commandments) and you have to face God on Judgment Day.  If He judges you by the Ten Commandments, will He find you innocent or guilty?  If He is an honest, fair, and true judge, He will find you guilty.

So you’re sitting in the courtroom, the judge has just found you guilty, and he has set the fine at an amount that you cannot possibly afford.

The Good News

In walks a man you have never met before.  He walks up to you and sets the full amount on the table.  Then He says to you, “Here is your fine.  I have sold my house, my car, and every other possession I own.  I give this to you freely so that you can go free.”

Yep, you guessed it, the man is Jesus Christ.  As I mentioned before, God loves you a lot.  He also knew that you were going to mess up and that you would need help.  And so He sent His only Son to save you (5).

Jesus Christ gave His life so that you could have everlasting life in Heaven.  That is the good news!  All you have to do to receive His great gift is accept it and follow Him.  To use the courtroom analogy, you have to accept the money, place it before the judge, and he will say that you have paid in full.
But whether or not you accept this generous gift is completely up to you.  You cannot pay the fine yourself and no one else can pay it for you.  Jesus Christ is the one and only way (6).

When you face God on judgment day, you will face Him alone.  There will be no one else there to defend you.  When He shows you all of the laws you have broken, there is only one response that will suffice: “Jesus Christ has paid for my sin in full.”

And hey, after you accept this gift and walk out the courtroom door, what do you think you would do?  When the man who sold everything for you approaches, would you brush him off and then keep acting the same way you had before?  No way!  That guy has done so much for you!  You’re going to be grateful and you’re going to want to change.  This will be a sign that you have truly accepted Christ’s gift with your heart and not simply with your words (7).

Obviously there’s a lot more involved with the whole Christian story.  Read the Bible and check it out (8).  Get involved with a local church (9).  And hey, read this blog (no Bible verse for this one; it’s just good advice, haha!).