Good News - Part One

Heads Up. This might be a long one.

What is the Biblical Gospel in a simple, logical, un-cliched, reasonable form? What is Christianity as defined by the Bible? Well, here's what I think is what it boils down to - this, in the form of a Q & A. I'm starting with a presupposition that the Bible IS the only authoritative word of God. I could have gone into a lot more detail, but I'm trying to outline a basic, clear explanation.

My main purpose in this blog post is remembrance - there is rich joy in contemplating the work of Jesus in my life. I have found that it is essential to stay close to the cross if I want to remain devoted to Jesus. This is the basis of my faith, my love, my hope, my passion.

This post is in three parts: This is part 1.

PART I: The Need for Salvation.

Question 1: What have God and man have to do with each other? Who decided that there needed to be this connection - that man somehow is compelled to come to God?

Answer: Three issues.

Issue a. Isaiah 43:7
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”

There's a simple principle found here. God created all things. We are immediately confronted with the notion of accountability. The created owes its existence to the creator.

Issue b. Colossians 1:16
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him.

So we fine-tune the previous thought a little. Not only does all of creation owe its existence to God, but the purpose of all things is to give pleasure to God.
We're not only speaking now about accountability, but about specific duty. God created all things (not just man) to be actively giving him (God) pleasure. To "glorify" him. As a side note, this is what creation implicity does by just "being" (Psalm 19:1 - "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork".)the intricacy and beauty of creation gives glory to its creator.

Issue c. Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
The implications of this verse are very specific, because not only do they point to a special purpose for man's creation above and over the rest of creation, but they imply a means by which man can fulfil his purpose differently than the rest of creation (the purpose, as we have seen is the pleasure, the Glory, of God).
Man is in the image of God - this means not that he is God, but that unlike the rest of creation he can think, he can love, he can feel, he can have relationship connitively, by choosing to. In specific, actual ways, He can glorify God with words, with thoughts, with specifically chosen actions.
Also implied is God's tender love and special care when he created man.

Herein lies the uniqueness and specific purpose of man.


Question 2: Ok, so there is a connection between God and man. Man is accountable and his main purpose is to glorify God. So, what's the problem? Can't we just try to please him the best we can, as he intended us to?

Answer: There's a couple of issues we need to understand before we're ready to tackle the idea of glorifying God.

Issue a. The Character of God

Holy - Isaiah 6:1-5
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!
This is one of the phenomenal passages in scripture. Isaiah the prophet saw God. And this was his experience. The one thing that stands out is God's utter, unadulterated holiness. Even the perfect angels have to cover themselves in the presence of God. The idea of Holiness here is not just purity, but "otherness" - that God is set apart, above and beyond all else. And absolute purity is just an aspect of his holiness. It is this God who desires man to glorify him.

God's Standard - Leviticus 11:44
For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.Man or woman can only fulfil his/her purpose in the context of God's holiness. Because God is so utterly holy, only a perfectly holy life will give him pleasure, will truly glorify him.

Issue b. The Fact of sin

Adam's Sin - Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Man and woman were created perfect, in the image of God, with an unhindered ability to glorify God. The situation was perfect. No issue, no unholiness present. But by one act of disobedience, the situation changed drastically. It is only once we have a proper understanding of God from passages like Isaiah 6 (above) that this makes sense. Man's one sin put a permanent block between him and God. No longer was man's life pleasing to God, no longer could man fulfil his purpose of existence.

You might ask, "What's that to me, If the first humans God created sinned? I was not there, I had nothing to do with it!" It's a valid question, and the Bible provides an answer. Romans 5:12: Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned sin came to all, through that one man, Adam. The point here is that all human beings are now, as it were genetically "birthmarked" or stamped with sin. It is the characteristic of who we are, inherently, at birth. King David understood it well when he confessed his sin to God - Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me. Born in sin, because of Adam. All of us, without exception, are marked, and therefore, separated from God, unable to please him. This is what I mean by the "fact of sin".

Issue c. The Act of Sin

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of GodSee, we're not just marked even at birth by sin, we all, without exception faced with actual sin in our lives. Who of us can claim to be without sin? The Bible is clear that all have actually, physically, committed acts of sin. There is not much argument needed here. And so we're double sinful - both by just being human, and secondly, also by choosing to sin.

Sin is defined here as "falling short" of God's glory (see verse). To jump across a chasm, even an inch short means death. Same with sin - it results in both physical death, as we see in our own failing bodies, as well as eternal spiritual death. This, in short is the crisis. Because of factual and actual sin, we're unable to glorify God with the standard of perfect holiness that is required, which is our purpose for being.


Question 3: Well, I understand that sin is a problem. But I still don't quite understand what the big deal is... I mean, why can't I just do my best and can't God be merciful?

Answer: Sin has very serious effects that need to be understood if this question is to be tackled Biblically.

Issue a. Sin in Relation to God
James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. We've seen God's holy standard. But in addition to this, even one single disobedience to God's law means that we are in disobediece to all of God's law. It's all or nothing.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We saw from Romans 3:23 that sin prevents us from perfectly glorifying God. But it is important to understand that sin is not just a barrier that prevents us from communion with God. On the basis of sin being disobedience to all of God's law, we can see in this verse that it's not only a barrier, it's a crime. And crime demands punishment, and for us the "wage" is death.

Issue b. Sin with Relation to Man
Ephesians 2:1-3
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Sin is not only punished by physical death and eternal death, Sin causes spiritual death. The idea is of total inability. Dead things dont do anything. We're dead in sin, and without life, there is no possibility of us being able to do anything of ourselves to please God. This is our state without God.
In addition to this, because we have committed a crime before the Holy God, not only are we under punishment, but under his wrath, as the verse suggests. The Bible talks about judgement in very clear terms: Hebrews 9:27 - And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment... We will all be called to answer, and by ourselves, we will bear the punishment for our sins. This is righteous, this is just.
Here are some more verses about what our sin has done to us: Romans 8:7,8 - For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

This is where all men and women stand without God. This is the state of all humans - dead, unable to act, hostile to God, under the wrath of God, hopelessly lost, destined for eternal punishment.

Revelation 20:11-15
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

This is in clear Biblical terms, why we NEED to be saved.