Your mother? A kind or likeable person? A good person? What does the Bible say? God demonstrates His love for us in this: “. . . while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified (to be declared right with God, to be found not guilty) by His blood, we shall be saved (rescued, delivered from Hell) from wrath (anger) through Him” (Romans 5:8-9).
The Bible says that Christians have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1) and that “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
So why does it seem that most people are not having such a wonderful experience? Aren’t most of us born Christian in America? Not really. We have a problem. God created us in His image to have a full and great life. But we chose to disobey God and to go our own willful way. This led to separation from God. The Bible says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Through the ages people have tried many things to bridge the gap between themselves and the holy God. Good works, religion, philosophy, morality, and other things have all failed. “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
God, in His love, has provided the only way through His Son, Jesus Christ. He died on the cross and rose from the grave to pay the penalty for the sins of all who will turn from sin and trust Him. It is Jesus who bridged the gap between God and sinners. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
The story does not end there. God’s provision calls for a response. We must trust Christ and receive Him as Lord. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God . . .” (John 1:12) “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). The choice is ours. We may remain in the sin and rebellion that separates us from God. Or, by God’s grace, we may believe in Jesus Christ and cross into peace and forgiveness, into eternal life which is full and abundant and marked by costly self-sacrificial love.
The Christian has chosen life by receiving Christ. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). The believer is born into God’s family through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. This is called regeneration or the “new birth”. We were made to know God and live under His lordship. It is great when we finally do!