Have you ever wondered why you’re here? Do you understand how the Bible explains why we’re here and what our purpose is? The Bible teaches that we exist to first know God, then to grow in a personal loving relationship with him. However, we messed up that relationship with God. So we learn that God’s plan of salvation for us is to put our faith and trust in the work and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Sin separates us from our Holy God
We were created to have a loving personal relationship with God and fellowship with him. However, Genesis 3 describes how we first went against the will of God by listening to the serpent. He tempted Eve to challenge God’s will and go her own way, which is called sin.
Genesis 3:4-5 “You won’t die! The serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
Our sin causes separation from God. This separation can be explained as both a spiritual death and a physical death. Every person has sin in their life and any sin separates us from God. This is bad news for us and our relationship with our God.
[Related: Eve’s Sin – What Really Happened?]
God had a plan all along
Right after the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, God made a promise he would take steps to reverse the consequence of sin and death. So what we had broken, God promised he would provide the way to fix it, through the seed of the woman.
Genesis 3:15 (God speaking to the serpent) “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
This promise from God is repeated and better clarified throughout prophecies and stories in the Old Testament. These writings explain how God will provide the way to restore our relationship with him. So all along, God planned to provide the way for us to go back to him through a Messiah who would be our Savior.
[Related: God’s Great Story – Creation, Catastrophe, Covenants]
Gospel actually means good news
So God has promised that he will provide the way for our relationship to be restored. This is very good news to us. God knew that everyone would have sin in their life and could not uphold his holy standards. God knew we could never be perfect or do enough to restore our relationship with him, nor could we pay the penalty of our sin. The characters and stories of the Bible display this time and time again.
Unfortunately though, many religions use this work based concept in their teachings. Many religions, even some that claim to be Christian religions, teach that we must perform certain acts or work our way to God.
[Related: God’s Great Story – Bible vs. LDS]
Jesus Christ is that good news!
Jesus Christ fulfills the prophecies of who the Messiah would be. He performed miracles and forgave people of their sin. Jesus taught he was the one who would ultimately pay for the sins of the world once and for all as a perfect sacrifice. In the Gospel of John it describes how Jesus told a crowd that if they believe in him, they could pass from death to life which is an eternal life with God.
John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death to life.”
Also, in John 10:11-18, Jesus is speaking to the Jewish people when he uses the common job of a shepherd to explain how he is the good shepherd for us. He explains there are others who are of a different fold, which are the Gentiles. So Jesus explains that he will be the shepherd of one flock, who will lay down his life for all, but will take it up again. Jesus was describing his own death on the cross paying the debt of sin for all, then his resurrection would show his power over death.
This Gospel of Jesus Christ really is the best news for us. If we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he is the plan of salvation God had all along.
