The Choice We Face
1999-09-22
Many people get confused by exactly what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. This page is to shed some light as to who Jesus is, since there are a lot of people out there who intentionally or unintentionally pervert the Gospel of Christ.
You Are Worthy, O LORD...
First, even today in the hustle of American society and elsewhere, people have forgotten who God even is. God is the all-knowing, loving, just, merciful and righteous One who created all things, including but not limited to: the Earth, the stars, the water, all living things, including you who are reading right now, and me who wrote this essay. The Bible tells us this clearly: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).
This verse tells us many things. Not only is God our Creator and distinct from His creation, but He deserves to be served and honored and glorified. We should serve Him, and be conformed to His will alone. God’s will is perfect and He has set the standard for the entire world. He demands perfection (Matthew 5:48; Deuteronomy 18:13). If we were created by Him, we belong to Him and should also serve Him and honor Him.
But do we live our lives this way?
The Rebellion of Mankind
“There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way” (Romans 3:10-12).
Let’s face it. Have you conformed yourself completely to God’s will? Is there anything you can offer Him that He needs? Have you consulted God in every movement and decision in your life? I know I haven’t. Who is perfect? Who is righteous? God is a BIG God. He created the heavens and earth in six days. He has high standards, which we must conform to not only in what we do, but also what we say, and even what we think. We can keep nothing secret from God. God is all-knowing (Psalm 139). None of us have conformed, the Bible tells us, and in our hearts and souls, we know this well. Job 28:28 tells us that true wisdom and understanding is turning from evil. So in Romans 3:11, we know “none that understandeth” means simply that nobody has turned away from evil to worship God completely. So we are a rebellious people, all of us, because of our common ancestor, Adam, was rebellious. We were born in his Adam’s likeness (Genesis 5:3). Also we were given our own wills because of God’s generosity, as it says that we are children of the Most High (Psalm 82:6) to rule over the world (Genesis 1:28). But we have turned from our mission to rule over the world in the name of God to rule it for ourselves. Nobody has followed God, including you the reader and me the author. That is our selfish will, which is against God’s.
Will God let us continue in rebellion forever?
The Penalty for Rebellion
God will not let us rebel forever. God alone is good and just and righteous (Luke 18:19). He will let justice prevail. So what will He do in return for our sins? Because our hearts have told God in rebellion, “We do not need God, we our self-sufficient, we know what is best for us and our world, leave us alone...”
He will give us what we ask for, eternity being separated from Him:
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
So that is to say, not only will we die, but we will die a second time (Revelation 20:14).
This is a horrifying situation... no one would survive. Why would God let us continue in hopelessness? God had a plan in mind. God is not only just, but also merciful. His love must demand a pardon somehow.
The Light in the Darkness...
God then sent His only begotten Son into the world, Jesus Christ, born of a virgin (Luke 1:34-35), and therefore not the seed of Adam. He is one with God (John 10:30), is God incarnate (Zechariah 12:10) and has been sinless before God. He came to Earth, and suffered for us: the righteous One crucified for us, the unrighteous. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). This brings out three points:
- Jesus was sinless and was the beloved Son of God (see also Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 3:17)
- He took our rebellion, or sin, to the cross, for he served as a sacrifice for us that appeased the wrath of God (see also Isaiah 53:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:10)
- He died for the sake of rebels who did not deserve it (see also Psalm 14:3)
Does this mean all are saved automatically? Not at all, for all those who accept this free gift of God, their sins are forgiven. We need to have faith in Christ, that is, trust in Him alone for salvation. Those who do not trust in Christ have not received the free gift. Like Cain’s sacrifice was rejected by God because he had no faith (Genesis 4:4-5, Hebrews 11:4), those who do not believe the Son will be rejected.
Is that it?
Christ has Conquered...
“His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3)
So did Christ remain dead like all other people in human history who have died? Not at all. Because Christ’s sacrifice was accepted by God, Christ has been made the ruler of the Heavens, the earth and everything under the earth. He has conquered all enemies, including death. He rose from the dead on the third day, and appeared to His Disciples. This good news has been spreading since the day Jesus arose from the dead so that all the world can hear about God’s loving provision in Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:14). With faith in Christ, we recognize that we are sinners; that we have tried to rely on our own wills, have rebelled against God, but we realize that our sins are forgiven because of what Jesus did for us. Not only that, but we get new life (John 3:3), for the old life of living with our own wills has been broken, and we get new strength in Christ (Philippians 4:13). We will live with eternal hope, because we have relied on Christ.
A Revolution in Your Life
So I have told you, in short, the history of the world in a nutshell.
- God created the world and is worthy to be praised (Revelation 4:11). He made humankind to rule over the world (Genesis 1:28).
- But man has done things his own way, every man for himself, and has rebelled against God (Romans 3:10-12). The state of this world is evidence enough that people have turned aside to do things for selfish reasons (Genesis 3).
- God is just, and will not let the rebels go on forever. He will cut them off for eternity, because people do not want to be under God’s rule, but to live under their own wills (Hebrews 9:27).
But there is hope....
- God sent His beloved Son to die in our place as a sacrifice appeasing God’s wrath (1 Peter 3:18). Imagine giving your child’s life for your enemies.
- Christ rose from the dead to rule over the world, and conquered His enemies, i.e. sin and death (1 Peter 1:3).
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
I ask you, the reader, do you trust Christ alone and have the hope of eternal life? If Christ came back tonight to bring His believers into His kingdom of Heaven, would He know you and would you know Him?