GOOD
NEWS
Why Christianity is Different
A short explanation of the gospel.
The word gospel means good news. The good news of Christianity is that Jesus solves the problem every person and religion has.
We All Have a Problem
Sin
Every person has a problem the Bible calls sin.
We do things we SHOULDN’T and neglect the things we SHOULD do. Greed, cheating, pride, anger, unforgiveness, and shame are all part of this problem.
The Bible says...
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
Sin weighs heavily on our minds, and we live in anxious anticipation of God's judgment.
Our Efforts Cannot Save Us
Most people try to earn God's acceptance through their own efforts. They try to balance the scales by doing enough good, but no one can. All our good is weightless and all our sin is too heavy.
GOD IS JUST AND GOOD.
For God to be JUST and GOOD He can’t overlook our sin.
For example, if a criminal killed someone, went to court, and the judge decided to let him go because he’d been mostly good in every other area of his life, that judge would not be JUST or GOOD.
Likewise, even if we’ve been mostly good in every other way, the Holy God of the universe can’t just brush our sins under the rug; He has to judge them.
It takes only one crime to be a criminal, and it takes only one sin to be eternally separated from God.
Every other religion has no solution to this dilemma but Christianity says something different.
The Bible says...
“For the penalty of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
Jesus Paid the Penalty
For God to be JUST and GOOD He can’t overlook our sin.
The penalty cannot be avoided so Jesus willingly paid it for us.
Jesus is the only one who ever weighed down the scale with all His good on one side and no sin on the other side. And the only one who offered his perfect life in exchange for ours.
He willingly paid the penalty that we deserved so that our guilt could be forgiven and we could be reconciled to God.
The Bible says
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
Romans 5:8
RESPOND TO JESUS TODAY
Jesus died and resurrected; defeating the problem of sin that we all have so that all who trust in Him can have eternal life.
Jesus invited everyone to ‘repent and believe the gospel.’
Jesus is inviting YOU to step off the scale.
Your life can be changed forever through these 3 choices:
Acknowledge that your sin tipped the scale and deserves the penalty of death.
Believe that Jesus is God who died and rose again to pay that penalty for you.
Commit to turn from your sin and follow Jesus as Lord.