THE LOVE
Did you know that God loves you? Take a moment to really think about that statement - God loves you. Regardless of your race, age, background, past failures or any other aspect of your life, He deeply cares about you and is personally aware of all that is going on in your life. In short, God has an incredible love for you and wants more that anything else to have a genuine, personal relationship with you that can last forever.
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son..."
THE PROBLEM
You have a problem; in fact, we all have it - we have broken God's commands. The Bible calls this sin. Have you ever lied, stolen, or thought a wrong thought? Each of those actions breaks a command of God. Looking honestly into our own hearts reveals the truth - we have committed sin and are now forced to live with its devastating results. Sin did not always exist though. It all began with a choice that Adam made in the garden of Eden. God had given him just one rule - to not eat of a specific tree - and he broke it By that choice, he corrupted his own nature and would eventually pass that ruined nature on to us. When we were born, we took on the physical traits of our parents, but also received the sinful nature passed down to us by Adam.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
THE PENALTY
Sin has a penalty, a punishment for wrong actions. You may think that you are a good person who does good things, but we are all guilty of breaking God's commandments. Because of this, we have to be punished. If someone were to commit a violent crime against you, but then the judge released that person unpunished because they attended a church, volunteered in community events, or helped out their neighbor, you would rightly say that the judge was not a just judge.
God is a just judge, because of this, He cannot let sin pass. We've all sinned and we deserve the penalty for that sin - an eternity separated from God, which the Bible refers to as spiritual death.
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
THE SOLUTION
The only accepted payment for sin is death (which is separation from God), but God created a plan so that someone else could die to pay for your sins.
Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God did not want to be separated from you.
We mentioned earlier that God loves you. The biggest obstacle to God's reconciliation with you is your sin. God will not allow sin in heaven or build a relationship with those who have sin in their lives. There would have to be a full payment for your sin before you could have a relationship with God or enter Heaven.
God provided a full payment for your sin.
In His love and mercy, God chose to give His son Jesus to pay for your sin. Jesus is just as much God as God the Father is, yet He came to earth and walked among us. God literally wrote Himself into human history in order to save mankind. While on earth, Jesus faced all the trials and temptations that we face, but never sinned. After a few years of preaching, some civic and religious leaders who didn't think that Jesus really was God had Him crucified. As He died on the cross, having done nothing wrong, He accomplished His greatest work - He paid for your sin. Three days later, He would rise from the dead, proving to all that He truly was God.
What will you do with this free gift?
Jesus died for you, but like any gift that has been given, you have a choice. You can accept it, ignore it, or reject it. God loves you the way you are. Knowing your imperfections and struggles, He gave His Son to free you from them. Will you accept His love?