Nobody is perfect

We have all messed up and made mistakes. The Bible word for this is that 3 letter word called “sin.” We Have Fallen Short of God's Standard!

The Gospel teaches that mankind, apart from God, is completely sinful. God had given His commands (do not lie, do not steal, honor your father and mother, etc.) And we all broke them. There is no such thing as a person who has perfectly obeyed all of God’s commands, every moment or every day in every way.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

That means that we are all lawbreakers. None of us can claim any measure of perfection. We have all violated the commands of God. Therefore we are cut off from God and are deserving of His eternal punishment.

“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

This is serious and frightening. God is a perfect judge. No judge would be considered good if he let criminals go without punishment. Neither could a good God allow us to go without punishment.

Deep down, we all know this is true. We know we have fallen short of perfection, and that there will be consequences. Our conscience is there to tell us that we have sinned and we greatly need to be cleansed. We need someone to save us.

We Can't Fix the Situation

People try any number of solutions to cleanse or deny their conscience. Some choose to ignore the nagging demands of their conscience by numbing themselves with the temporary thrills life can offer. Some choose drunkenness and drug use to numb the pain.

Some try religion to make themselves feel better about whom they are on the inside by cleansing the cup on the outside while leaving it filthy within. Jesus criticized these religious hypocrites by saying, “woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25).

All of our attempted fixes come up short, and in sober moments those who are chasing meaningless thrills realize how empty they are. The religious folks realize how phony they are. They are all still lacking a real solution.

The fact is, we are so broken and imperfect inside that we can’t solve this one on our own. No good works or efforts to turn our lives around produces deep enough change and the cleansing of our conscience. The Bible says, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

No amount of time that elapses can take away the guilt that we have for the wrongs we have done that have gone unpunished. The penalty for our crimes must be paid eventually.

What's the Solution? Jesus Christ has Good News!

God is the only perfect judge and he will make sure every sin is paid for. However He also loves His people and does not want to see them perish. So the Gospel is the solution! God became a man, Jesus Christ. He lived the only perfect life ever lived. Around age 30, He started publicly preaching, teaching and serving others. Three years later, He died on a cross to take the punishment for sin, from God, on our behalf. To prove that His death had power and that it was the infinite sacrifice necessary to pay our debt, He rose three days later!

The Bible, which is God’s word to us, says, “God so loved the world, that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16.

Belief is more than acknowledging Him in our heads. It is a deep repentance, turning from our sin, and hanging our lives on Jesus. To use a poker analogy, it is moving “all in” and betting it all on Him. If we never have this repentance, it proves that our faith was not real.

“Also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:17-18).

When we do trust in Him like that, we are cleansed, we are forgiven, and we enter into a right relationship with God. But the story doesn’t end there…

Living Our Beliefs

We believe that, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.”(2 Corinthians 5:17)

When Jesus does forgive us and save us, He makes us new. He creates in us a new hunger for closeness with him, and a new desire to keep our consciences clean on a daily basis.

The fundamental truths of the Gospel are what shape all of our life. If we believe the Gospel message, it makes us:

Joyful: Because our ultimate problem was solved and we have a God who has proven that He is for us! He is working all things together for our good, even when we can’t make sense of it all (Romans 8:28).

Humble: We can’t think highly of ourselves for being righteous. Believing in the good news of Jesus Christ dissolves our self-righteousness and any judgmental attitudes toward those who have not yet been saved. It crushes any idea that we are better than other Christians who have different philosophies and methods than our church.  Philippians 2:5-8 says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Worshipful: We express our joy in God in songs, prayer and in our daily living for him. We engage in activities that will increase our faith, like reading and studying the Bible, gathering for meals together, listening to Bible teaching, confessing sins to one another, etc.

Generous: Because we have a God who has proven His desire to bless us, we give to one another and to our church. We give, not because we are forced, not because we are manipulated and not because of false promises of wealth and prosperity, but because it is our joy!

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Loving: Because the cross shows the extent of God’s mercy toward us, we can extend a similar mercy to others by caring deeply for one another. On the cross, Jesus modeled love.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” - John 15:13.

If you have questions about this Good News, please contact Pastor Alex or one of the other ministry leaders here at Cornerstone. Nothing is more important than these truths.