GOSPEL CHANGES EVERYTHING

Gospel, the Good News is in the centre of Christianity. The centre of Gospel is the person, life, death and resurrection of Jesus from Nazareth, the Messiah.

Gospel is simple, but what follows it changes everything.

It gives us answers to two very important questions that  torment us

What is the hope for the world? Is there any hope for me?

Do you know what it means? It is as simple as 3,2,1 ….

3 is the story about God, 2 is the story about the world and 1 is the story about you.

3 – God is three persons united in love

The Father , the Son and the Holy Spirit. Not three different gods. One God who is an unbreakable unity of three, a tri unity or Trinity. The trinity is not a  maths problem or an ancient riddle but good news that God is love. Forever the Father has loved His Son in the unity of the Spirit.

How can we picture this? Jesus is the image of God, He gives us a window into the life of Trinity. Let’s picture His baptism in the Jordan river. There we see the Holy Spirit  descending on Him, while the Father declares “You are my Son who I love, with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). The Father made the world through His Son and by His Spirit because He wants billions more children to join the family. You and I were made to hear His verdict:  “You are my child whom I love. With you I am well pleased”.  The meaning of life is to find our place in the Three.

2 – the  story of the world is the story of two men

God placed one man Adam at the head of the world to bless it and care for it. But through mistrust Adam turned from God, turned in on himself and plunged the world into death and curse. This fall from God’s grace was cosmic. Now we all share in this broken humanity and we experience   the curse living in this  broken world.

Human race is like a Christmas tree that has been cut down and taken from its natural habitat. We might dress ourselves up in fancy decorations we might perform all sorts of good deeds,  but we are perishing. We have no spiritual life in us. And we are all headed for the  rubbish dump. The race of Adam  stands under God’s condemnation who said ‘no’ to this way of life. Why? Because He wants something very different for us. He wants us all to find true life in a Second Adam: Jesus Christ. Jesus was born as a man. He entered into our  broken world and took up our lost cause. He lived a perfect life, like none of us is able to live.  He did it for us, instead of us. Like a champion who won the contest  for all of us. Then on the cross He died the cursed death that we should die. He summed up Adam’s nature and curse and took it down to the hellish death it deserves.  But three days later He rose again to a new life, beyond death and curse. And He invites us to His life and into His family.

1 – You are one with Adam. Will you be one with Jesus?

We inherit first Adam’s nature from birth together with its selfishness, curse and death. As a result of this unity, there is no life in us and no hope for the future. Jesus comes to offer a stunning oneness with Himself.  Like with the Christmas tree we can be snipped out of the dying tree and grafted into the Christ’s tree. Or like in the story of a poor girl to whom a prince has proposed. She is poor and filthy with a shameful name and a hopeless future. Yet the prince loves her and offers himself in marriage. What happens as soon as they get married? The prince takes all the debts of the poor girl. She takes all his riches. He covers over her shameful name and gives her his name. She is invited into his life, his family, his inheritance. Thanks to her prince, she can call the king Daddy. It’s all because of their marriage union.

It is just like that with Jesus. Everything that is ours, our sin and curse, becomes His. He pays it all off on a cross. And all that is His, his righteousness and inheritance becomes ours. If we are one in Jesus right now we are adopted into the family. We have His spirit as our spirit, we have His father as our father. We belong to his brothers and sisters in the church. We call on the same father and hear his love declared on us: “You are my child whom I love. With you I am well pleased.”

We have access to these privileges now and when Christ returns we will also share in his physical and immortal  life. He will raise us bodily and set the world to right. On that day God will judge the world, forever confirming His  ‘no’ to Adam and His ‘yes’ to Christ.

There is no future in being one with Adam and with His arms outstretched Jesus makes a proposal. He offers you Himself, His life, His family His future . He is yours if you take this invitation. Be one with Jesus.

The Trinity invite you in, the Two determine the world. Will you be one with the Son of God?

the Gospel demands our reaction. Below you will find two prayers that might help you react to it.

If you need help in searching for answers in your journey of seeking God, or if you have just prayed the Prayer of Faith, we need you to let us know about it. We are here to serve you.

The prayer for those who seek the truth

Lord Jesus, you claim that you are the way, the truth and the life. I am considering whether to follow you. Please help me not to give in to the fear of the price that comes with it. If your claims are true, please lead me and teach me to understand who you are. Give me the understanding that is consistent and convincing, such that leads to the life you have promised. Amen.

The prayer of faith

Lord Jesus, I confess that I am weak and more sinful that I have ever had courage to admit. But thanks  to you,  I am loved and accepted more that I have ever hoped for. Thank you for paying my debt on the cross, taking up on yourself what I deserve and forgiving me. I know you have risen from the dead and that is why I am turning away from my sins and I confess you as my Lord and Saviour. Amen