Made by God in love.
Turned away in sin.
Brought back by grace.
Before anything else existed, God was. He created the heavens and the earth, and he created you (Genesis 1:1, 1:27). You are not an accident. God made you on purpose and for a purpose: to know him, to love him, and to find your deepest happiness in him. So the most important thing about you is not your work, your relationships, or your regrets. The most important thing about you is that you were made by God, for God.
But something has gone wrong. The world is not the way it should be, and if we are honest, neither are we. The Bible calls it sin, and sin is more than breaking rules. It is turning away from the God who made us, so we can run our lives our own way.
“My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”Jeremiah 2:13
That is why nothing we chase ever quite satisfies. Relationships, money, success, pleasure: we keep drinking from broken wells, and we stay thirsty (Isaiah 55:2).
And our problem is worse than thirst. Sin separates us from a holy God, and because God is just, he will judge it. The wages of sin is death, and beyond death, hell: an eternity away from the God we were made for (Romans 6:23; Matthew 10:28). The Bible is honest about that, and it warns us the way a true friend warns you about danger ahead. The people who warn you are the people who love you. And God does not stop at the warning.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”Romans 5:8
We could not get back to God on our own. Not by being good, not by being religious; even our best falls short (Ephesians 2:8–9). So God came to us. Jesus, God’s own Son, lived the perfect life we have not lived, then died the death our sin deserved, taking God’s judgment on the cross in our place. We deserved wrath; in love, Jesus took it on himself, so the debt is fully paid and we can be fully forgiven. On the third day he rose from the dead, defeating death and proving he has the power to give new life (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
No need to clean yourself up first.
He said, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Repent means turn: from your sin, from running your own life, from trying to be satisfied by what can never fill you. Believe means trust: rest everything on what Jesus has done, instead of on what you can do. Salvation is not a wage you earn. It is a gift you receive, and Jesus offers it to you now.
When you turn and trust, God forgives all of it, because Jesus took the punishment you deserved. And he gives you the new life you need: a new heart in place of the heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26), his own Spirit within you (Ephesians 1:13–14), and a place in his family, the church (1 Corinthians 12:12–27). No one who follows Jesus follows him alone.
And this good news is not only for the day you die. It is for every day you live. The gospel is for everyday life, and for eternal life: God’s love at work now, in broken relationships, in deep suffering, in the sin you cannot beat on your own.
“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”John 4:13–14
Four honest questions.
If your answer is yes, or you are not sure yet, we would love to talk with you. No script, no pressure. Come to Jesus, and drink (John 7:37).
Christians are not perfect people. We all had our objections, but God has answered all of them in the gospel.
Delona knows that objection from the inside. Her story starts with the search for happiness, and with where that search actually led.
Brian grew up around church. His story is about the difference between being near Jesus and actually knowing him.
Free resources to help you explore Christianity, the gospel, and the claims of Jesus. Nothing is locked behind a form.
A no-pressure look at Christianity through the Gospel of Mark with some of our church members. No question is off limits.
One of our favorite ways of explaining the gospel. Six short frames, about ten minutes.
Listen to the Bible teaching from our church to see how the gospel brings hope for both eternal life and everyday life.
The five movements in under five minutes. Share it with someone who has a “but” of their own.
What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert is a short, clear book that will help you more fully understand the core message of Christianity. Ask for one and we will mail you a copy, completely free.