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“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15)
This verse succinctly captures why the eternal Son of God took on flesh, lived among us for some thirty-three years, died on the cross, and rose from the grave: “to save sinners.”
But what does it mean to be a sinner? Who is a sinner?
In short, a sinner breaks God’s laws, a lawbreaker. A sinner knows what he ought to do but doesn’t do it (James 4:17).
Paul writes in Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” All. Every single person on the planet is a sinner. We have all failed to do consistently and perfectly what the Bible teaches.
If we ever expect to have a relationship with the One True and Living God, we have to be consistently sinless and perfect all the time. But we aren’t. Only God is perfect. He alone is perfectly holy, perfectly loving, and perfectly just.
We, on the other hand, are imperfect. We are unholy. We often act very unjustly. In a word: we are sinners.
And the Bible teaches that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Put another way: “What we get for being sinners is death,” spiritual death.
But sin is a condition before it is an action. We are born sinners. Ephesians 2:1 defines us in our natural state as “dead in trespasses and sins.” We are natural-born sinners. It’s not that we first sin and become sinners, but rather that we sin because we are sinners. And if nothing changes, we remain that way for eternity, separated from God forever in a horrible place called hell, separated because of our sin, unable to stand in God’s presence because He is perfect and we are not.
This is what we often call the bad news we must first apprehend before we can appreciate the good news (the meaning of the word gospel). We cannot fully appreciate what it means to be forgiven until we know we need forgiveness.
For God to remain just in all His ways, He has to punish our wrongdoing. He can’t just forgive our evil acts without some kind of punishment. That would be like an earthly judge simply letting everybody get away with every crime. If you’ve ever been a victim of a crime and a judge did that, you’d cry, “That’s unjust!” And rightly so because the acts of lawbreakers should be punished. Well, we’ve offended our holy God and broken His laws, and our sins must be punished.
Here’s what makes Christianity so different from every major religion. Every other religion is about earning God’s approval: “Do these things, and God will accept you. Do this. Do that, and you’ll earn a way to God.” It’s like climbing a ladder of deeds: “Do this, then this, and this, and you’ll finally reach God.” But it would require an infinite number of deeds to reach an infinite God. It’s impossible!
Christianity is not “Do.” Christianity is “Done.”
In other words, Christianity is not about climbing a ladder of good deeds in an attempt to reach God. Christianity is about God’s coming down the ladder to us. The eternal Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, comes down to us as proclaimed in the great Christmas lyric: “Word of the Father now in flesh appearing.”
God enfleshes Himself in human skin and dwells among us for thirty-three years. He lives a perfect life for us. We can’t do that, but He can, and He did. He lived without breaking a single law. He can do that because He’s God! He can also die as a perfect substitute for our sin, taking our punishment upon Himself. In this way, God remains just, and justice is served. God has punished sin by punishing our sin in His Son, Jesus Christ.
And on the third day after His death, Christ rises from the grave, demonstrating His power over sin, death, hell, and the grave. He is alive! And if we believe He is the rightful King of our lives, we can be saved from the penalty of our sin and have eternal life in Him. Indeed, when we place our faith in the Good Lord Jesus Christ, all of our sin is imputed–or charged–to Christ, and Christ’s perfect record of obedience is credited to us! (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Have you received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? If not, will you now receive Him, trusting Him alone for forgiveness of sin? The Bible says He is the only way we can be forgiven of sin and enter into a saving relationship with God.
- Admit your need. Admit you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness.
- Turn from trusting in anything or anyone else and trust only in Jesus Christ.
- Believe that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life for you, died for your sins on the cross, rose from the grave, and is your only way to acceptance with God.
Talk to God in prayer if you are ready to experience this saving encounter with the Good Lord Jesus Christ. Share with Him your understanding of what He has done for you and how you will turn from your sin in repentance and trust Him as your Savior and Lord. The following prayer may be a helpful guide as you talk to God and share the desire of your heart:
“Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for making it possible for me to have peace with You! I believe that when You died, You were paying the penalty for my sins. I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but through You, I understand I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. Thank You for paying my debt, bearing my punishment, and offering forgiveness. I turn from my sin and receive You as Savior. Thank you for the gift of eternal life!”
