THE STORY OF GOD
The Bible is one continuous story of who God is and what he has done as spelled out in the six movements below.
In the beginning, God made everything we see and all the things we don’t see. As a reflection of his goodness and perfection, everything he designed was “very good!” God’s design for human life was that humans, using the abilities and creativity and connection to God and each other, would expand God’s presence and fullness and abundance throughout all of the earth, until the whole earth was filled with people who would live with and enjoy him forever.
Part of being God’s representative means being created with dignity and purpose. Along with that dignity comes the choice to reject the purpose for which we were made. Given the choice between following God’s wisdom or choosing their own, the first man and woman (Adam & Eve) intentionally rejected God’s wisdom, which unleashed sin and death into God’s good world. As a result, they experienced sorrow, shame and separation from the goodness and abundance of God’s presence. Humanity now stood over against God as his enemy and deserved to die for their treason.
But God wasn’t finished with humanity. In his mercy, he didn’t crush them where they stood, but instead promised that one day He would crush evil once and for all. God chose a middle-eastern man named Abraham and made a promise to him, that from his family tree rescue would come and redeem the rebellious human race. Until that rescue would come, God’s people would find relationship with Him through his Law (The 10 commandments), and making animal sacrifices to cover their sins.
Jesus
John 1:1-18; Isaiah 53
Generation after generation, a small segment of Jewish men and women continued to faithfully cling to the promise of a Redeemer who would take away sin and restore right relationship to God. And at just the right moment in human history, God fulfilled His promise by sending His own Son, from heaven to earth, to be FOR us what we failed to be. Born of a virgin, he grew up to be a man, was named Jesus, and willingly gave his life, dying to become The Sacrifice, once and for all, so that sinners could be made right with God; bought back from sin and death and adopted as children of God – enemies become family. After his death, God raised Jesus from the dead to prove that his death worked. The payment for the sin of humanity was paid in full, and the check cleared!
Holy Spirit/Church
Acts, Romans
Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus returned to his Father's side and sent humanity a new helper — His own Spirit, to live in, not just with, all who believe. God's people, now called the Church, act as his cross-cultural ambassadors – still sinning on occasion and yet at the same time, made holy through Christ.
New Heavens, New Earth
Revelation 21,22
For those who have been redeemed by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, this life here on earth is as bad as it gets. There is a fully restored world, free of evil, sin, tears, death, and darkness that is coming for all who believe. One day Jesus will return to claim those who have called on him to save them, and he will cast out all evil and wickedness, defeat the Accuser, the Enemy of our souls, and on that day, the whole earth will be full of His glory! For eternity, those who have been redeemed by his life, death, resurrection, will worship him and enjoy him for his marvelous grace.
THE GOOD NEWS
If the Story of God is true, then we are forced with a decision: Remain in our sin and under God's wrath, or repent and be forgiven.
Sin Brings Death
Romans 5:12
In Genesis 3, the first humans, Adam and Eve unleashed sin and death into the world by wanting to be sovereign themselves. As a result, they became separated from the Author of Life – dead in their sin. Scripture tells us that since we're Adam and Eve's descendants, we are born in sin... AND we choose it! We have God's revealed will right in front of us (in the Bible), we are able to see his eternal power and divine nature (in creation) and we have purposely refused to seek him, honor him, or worship him as he is due. The paycheck for sin is death – death to our relationship to God and to others which, carried on into eternity, results in eternal suffering and judgment apart from the mercy and goodness of God.
Salvation is Not From Within
Romans 3:10-25
In that sinful state, scripture tells us we are spiritually dead. Dead people cannot do anything to resurrect themselves. Salvation is not about "becoming a better you" or "living your best life now." It's not found in self-help, self-discovery, or self-anything. There is no excuse or argument you could make for your sin that will hold up in the courts of heaven, no amount of "becoming a better person" or "let me explain my situation" that would be able to bring you up to God's standards of holiness and righteousness. Salvation must come from somewhere else. Someone else. "But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The good news of Jesus is that he didn't ask you to get your act together before he decided to pay the penalty for your sin – it would never have happened! Without your permission, God lovingly stepped in and acted by sending His own Son, Jesus to take the penalty for sin (death) and the consequence of sin (separation from God) by dying a cruel, lonely death.
The Resurrection Matters
Colossians 1:13
If Jesus stayed dead, though, no one would be saved. If the story of Jesus is a story about a nice guy who had an unlucky death, we all still face the ultimate enemy (physical death) and lose. But that's not where the story ends. Dead and buried for only 2 nights, Jesus was raised to life again by his Father, and appeared to over 500 people in 6 weeks time. If Jesus' death was the payment for sin, then his resurrection means God accepted the payment and rose Jesus back to life which in turn does two things: 1) it proves Jesus was who he claimed to be, and 2) it makes dead-in-sin sinners now righteous (and spiritually alive) as their record of sins is removed! With that payment, God transferred us from the kingdom of darkness (sin, evil, death) into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Jesus). God didn't need to wait for or ask anyone's permission before doing this. He did it of his own free will out of love, because he knew it was the only way to redeem sinful humanity.
You Must Choose
Romans 10:13
Every major world religion teaches that you can't know if you've done enough to "get in" until you die. Christianity teaches that you can confidently know before you die, because we are saved by the good that JESUS did, not the good we've done. In other religions, you work hard and hope you get in. The good news of Jesus is that, when you've trusted his life, death, and resurrection for your salvation, you don't have to wait to get in – You ARE already in! The good works come AFTER salvation, not before. We are saved by grace! Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” That’s a big statement! But another big statement is, “anyone who believes in me will not perish, but have eternal life.” Anyone! It’s all-inclusive… unless you think you're doing just fine on your own and don't need a savior. But "if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. If you refuse this salvation, you still stand under the crushing penalty and consequence of sin (death, eternal judgment).
Acts 2:28 says, "Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the hearts and minds of those who have called on Jesus for salvation. This is monumental, because His presence in you is your downpayment, your guarantee that you are no longer dead in sin, but alive in Christ. He convicts, comforts, encourages, protects, and strengthens us as we begin to follow Jesus in a process called "discipleship." It's the idea of being an apprentice, where we spend the rest of our lives growing more and more like Jesus. Talking like him, walking like him, acting like him, thinking like him, so that when the world sees us, they see Jesus is still alive and still at work in the world. On our Next Steps page, you'll find helpful resources for everything from baptism to Bible reading and prayer, as well as a list of gospel-teaching churches around the world you can look into.
