God as creator
God is the creator of the universe. He created everything that exists out of nothing. This great Creator God is not only incredibly powerful (even omnipotent!), but also good, just and absolutely holy.
He created human beings in His image so that they can have fellowship with Him, worship Him, and rejoice in Him. Because God is our creator, we are not autonomous and do not belong to ourselves, but to Him. We have to answer to Him, and He has the right to tell us how to live because He made us. Because God is good, His commandments are also good and lead to blessing and joy.
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
– the Bible in Acts 17:24–25
Man as sinner
Soon after their creation, the first humans (and with them: all of us) rebelled against their Creator: Instead of honoring God and enjoying Him, they turned away from Him and rebelled against His good rule and perfect orders. So the “good news” also includes the bad news about our sin, our missing the mark, our rejection of God’s commands, His care, and His authority as our Creator.
The Bible makes it clear that the sin of the first humans affects all humans:
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (….) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (…) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
– Romans 1:21; 3:23; 6:23
Sin not only breaks our relationship with God and separates us from Him. It also causes everyone (without exception) to be guilty before a good, holy and righteous God and deserving of a just and adequate punishment (namely death and eternal separation from God). And precisely this is our biggest problem! At the end of our lives, the condemnation and righteous wrath of God awaits us.
But this bad news is followed by the good news …
Jesus as savior
The climax and center of the good news revolves around Jesus Christ:
Because we could not come to God ourselves, he came to us: God himself became man, lived a life in perfect accordance with God’s good commandments, always did his Father’s will, and lived entirely without sin. Yet, although he was the only human being who was actually without any guilt, he gave his life voluntarily on the cross:
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
– 2 Corinthians 5:21
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.
– 1 Peter 3:18
Jesus, out of love, grace and mercy, died the death we deserved. He gave his life to pay for the guilt of our sin. On the cross, the righteous God pours out all the wrath and punishment on sin – on Jesus, that is, on God, and thus on Himself. Jesus died this death in our place. As a sign that God the Father accepted this payment for our guilt of sin, Jesus did not remain in the tomb, but was raised from death again after three days. He showed himself to many hundreds of people and then ascended to heaven to his Father.
Faith as our response
These events demand a response from us. But how do we respond to this breathtaking, undeserved and precious gift?
The Bible sets forth repentance and faith as the only appropriate response:
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
– Jesus in Mark 1:15
To repent means to stop one’s own rebellion against God and instead accept, obey and enjoy God’s good rule. Faith means no longer trusting in one’s own deeds, but in Jesus alone, to be reconciled to God.
Ultimately, there are only two ways we can justify ourselves before God as our Judge: Either we trust in our works, our deeds, and thus in our own „righteousness.“ Or we admit that we could never stand before the holy and righteous God and therefore trust in the perfect, perfect righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ, which is imputed to us by faith.
He who repents to God and trusts in Him is justified and will not be condemned in the coming judgment. He may rejoice to be with God for all eternity.
And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness
– Romans 4:5