Relearning The Gospel

Today, I’m going to be doing something I’ve wanted to do on this platform for the longest time. I’m grateful to actually have a platform to share my faith in the first place. But I think I’ve shyed away from so many important topics on here. When I started blogging, I had no idea what I was doing. It was just something I did for fun. Some way, some how, I felt the need to post inspirational content and thats how faith was incorporated into this fun space I have.

So yes, today is a very important day. You’re going to be hearing the most important message of the ages. Dont want to get your hopes up so much but, tbh, I don’t see any other thing more important in this life than this. It’s the greatest message I’ve ever heard, that produced the greatest gift I received. Fam, I’m talking about the Gospel. The GoodNews! So sit back, relax and enjoy this post. Fyi, I made this into a pdf and posted it on my IG a few weeks ago. So everything is from the original pdf that I posted earlier this year. Nevertheless, the message is still steaming hot and ready to be served. It’s actually going to be divided into two parts so, here you go!

Would you believe that in my 21 years on this planet, I had never heard the gospel of Christ? Or maybe I heard it, but never understood it as it applied to me.

You see, I was what you call, Christian by association. Christian parents, Christian friends, went to Christian schools, brought up in the Christian faith and taught Christian values. But never ever did I hear this Gospel, this thing that is the crux of all I was drowned in. It was until recently, when I had a conversation with a fellow friend, did I actually understand this thing called Gospel.

Let me tell you a story.

Before that, let me ask, where do we go after we die? Pause and see if you know the answer.

Well since I was brought up Christian, I knew that we would face God and he would judge us and give us our eternal reward. But the why of it, I never knew. I knew there was a heaven and hell, but the reason, I did not know. I knew there was a God, but when I was questioned further as to why I believe in him, I would say something like, well I just know. I know because I was taught and so I know. Does that really make sense? I think not.

How can I know and at the same time not know. It’s either one or the other. And so I began to reexamine and reevaluate my entire life.

I had passed the first hoop of realizing that there is a God. The entirety of creation declares it. I’ve flown on planes and seen first hand the magnificence of this world. It is absolutely breathtaking. Insanely beautiful, it literally makes me gasp in awe. Resembling a work of art. And that is even the tip of the iceberg. I look at myself. A uniquely complex being. My physical form alone, so intricately woven, from the smallest to the largest parts. I begin to dissect myself and turn to one basic component, my DNA. I know in biology class, I was told the full meaning of the acronym and what it does. It is the molecule that carries instructions of life. Genetic code. It’s what determines everything else in me.

The color of my eyes, the length of my legs and the texture of my hair. Everything down to even the sound of my voice is as a result of these instructions written inside me. And is it possible that these instructions formed by chance? These codes just appeared and arranged themselves in specific order by pure luck. The chances of all this just randomly occurring would be incredibly microscopic, literally impossible. Because the suggestion of a well constructed code indicates that there is a coder. An intelligent design like this has to have a more intelligent designer. And so this is God, the creator of all things.

Now that’s out of the way, who is this God? I cannot fully comprehend who he is. He is beyond my human understanding. But he exists, this I know. His nature has however been revealed. He is good. What does good mean? Let’s go by the dictionary definition. Moral excellence. Literal perfection. No, flaw, no defect in any area imaginable. And with this I can point out all other attributes of him that revolve around this one statement- good. God is just, loving, caring, compassionate, selfless, kind, patient, the list goes on. He is all good and good is all Him. So if he’s good, he cannot do bad. He cannot sin. But, but but but, you know who has the ability to not be and do good?

Ding ding ding! If you said me, you got it! I am number 1 on the list. I am a million percent certain that I’m not on the level of perfection. I’ve done so many things that are not good. These deeds are all seen by God. And there is a consequence for all I do. Who told me that? Okay, if there is no consequence for anything, I might as well waltz down to the nearest ATM machine, fill my pockets with cash and be on my merry way to spend it. Or go downtown to any of the stores and fill my bags with as much clothes and jewelry as I can. You would look at me as one devoid of common sense. If I don’t get arrested or even beaten with the speed of light, then I am not living in reality. So there is indeed a consequence for my actions.

And so is the nature of this earth. If mere imperfect human beings can figure this out and have a justice system in place, how much more a perfect and holy God. If God is good, then he is just. And his justice is not biased like the world. It is fair and equally applied to all. His scale is perfectly balanced and he is very thorough. He is a good and perfect God and so he must be a good and perfect judge. Weighing not only the actions, but the intentions of the heart. Because our hearts indicate who we truly are.

So here it goes. I stand before a perfect and good God that happens to be a perfect and good judge. What is my plea? Well duh I plead innocent. I’m not bad. I’ve done some good in my life. I know I’m not perfect but I’m not in the category of bad. Oh but you see, there is no middle ground. You are either on the level of perfection or you aren’t. All good or not at all. I examine myself under God’s standard of good i.e. the law.

Have I lied? Yeah, a couple of times. Then I’m a liar by Gods standards. Have I stolen? Not really, then I remember those test answers I copied in class and immediately own up. Yes, I have. Then I’m a what? Lying thief. Have I committed adultery? Woah, of course not. I’m not even married. But the standard of God is if I look at someone with lust, I’ve committed adultery in my heart. So what am I? A lying, adulterous thief. And on I go, compounding my case as I go through Gods law.

Man, so this is who I really am. I can’t even open my mouth to speak. So if God were to sentence me here and now, what is my sentence. Well, if I have ever seen a guilty sentence, it is right here. Guilty as sin itself. And the wages of sin is death. What does that mean? Wages are like payment for doing something. Salary of a sort given weekly or daily. So it means that God pays me with death. That is my consequence. And not just physical death, but eternal death. Oh man this is some heavy stuff! What am I to do now? Is there no hope for me.

Remembering that God is a merciful and compassionate God I say can’t he forgive? Forgive just like that? If a murderer and rapist is sentenced in court and he tells the judge that he is sorry and the judge should forgive him, what do you think would happen? She would say, well that’s good, but what about the sentence you have to pay. It can’t just be canceled in an instant because you’re sorry. The criminal has to literally pay for what he has done regardless of his sorry state.

Okay but there must be something that he can do. What else can he do to remedy the situation? Can he go back in time and undo what he has done? Nope. Can he do a bunch of good things and hopeful cancel out the criminal case before him? Nope. Doing good doesn’t fix the bad that has been done. That sentence must be faced. He must pay the price.

And so that is how it is with me. I must also then pay the price. It is because God is good. He is a perfectly good judge, and if he is good, he is also just and must deliver justice for all that is done in the world. Not just justice to murderers and rapists, but also every other living soul on this earth. His justice is unbiased. It is applicable to all. If I measure myself with this then I certainly do not stand a chance. I am hopeless. The whole world in fact is. But wait, something happened. Something incredibly amazing took place.

Like in the case of the criminal, there is a way to remedy the situation. A fine can be paid. The fine is paid to pay for the crime and so the criminal can be sent on his merry way. He can be justly set free. Not by bribing the judge, but paying the fine. But who is going to pay my fine? Can I offer God money or treasury bills to pay my bail? Of course not. But you know what can be offered? Blood.

The deed can be paid for with blood. Because the death sentence is literally paid in death, i.e. my death. But who is willing to die that death for me? Who is willing to step in and take my place? Well I guess my mom can do it. She’d be happy to save her child. But she is also in the same predicament. She has her own sentence. And so does all humanity. So what then is left? This is a price that is impossible to pay. Hmmmm. Let me remind you that there is yet one that is perfect. Who? God himself.

This is the whole crux of the gospel message. Since no one is good but God, and all have sinned and have a sentence over them, God decided to pay that price for me. Because He is full of mercy, he came down by himself and died the death I am supposed to die. Woah! How can God die? This is God of course and God cannot die. Or can he?

The message of salvation is that God became flesh. He literally became a human being with all human qualities including blood and the ability to die, and then did the dirty for me. He took my own punishment. The sentence that I had to face and could not remedy in any way shape or form, this good and perfect God, came down and paid it. What the?!

How on earth?! What, why, how can that happen? What would motivate God to do such a thing?

Well I just told you. He is good. He is merciful. And he is loving. Literally the personification of love itself. And he couldn’t just let me go down like that. He loves me to the superlative degree. love. His goodness is also shown in his love. His love is so deep that it makes him do the unthinkable, yet without sinning. He in his goodness, looked at me in my lack of goodness, and said, don’t worry, I’ll fix this right up. Poof, here you go, your debt is paid by me, myself and I. Just like that? Without me doing anything?

Yes, just like that. That is grace. That, my friends is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, God in the flesh who came down to save me. I began to think about what it means to save. If Christ is my saviour then I must acknowledge that there is a meaning behind that. To save=To rescue.

I remember some movies I watched. Tony Stark in Iron Man 3 saving his fiance, Pepper. Or Barry in flashpoint saving his mother, Nora. These people were saved because they were in imminent danger. And because the person cared for them enough to actually save them. And so I was saved. Because I was in a predicament. A peril. A certain and undeniable peril. I needed a saviour. Oh I needed an answer not from any man or woman, but from God himself.

Jesus was that answer.

Oop, seems like this is the end. Or is it?

Its actually not, dont fret. I’m going to finish this post up in a second part. It’ll be up next we, same time, same place 😁.

Hope you enjoyed the post and I’m really hoping and praying that it at least got you engaged.

Anyways have an amazing day and stay safe.