The Good News of Salvation by Faith in Jesus
In our day the human condition sometimes seems hopeless. This is not without reason. Because of our wrong and sinful choices, we have shattered our relationships with each other. Lies, sexual immorality, violence, gossip and the list goes on. Sin hurts, offends and builds walls between people. In a similar but larger way, our sins offend God and separate us from Him. Because God is the perfect Judge, “the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Romans 1:18). ” The seeming hopelessness lies in the fact that we are all guilty of sin, we will all be righteously judged by God and should therefore be rightly sentenced to eternal death, “for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). ”
That is not God’s desire. God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).” Because of His love for us, God provided one way for us to be forgiven for offending Him. Jesus Christ is that one Way. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).” This is our Living Hope. Jesus Christ, who is God Himself, came down to earth and lived a perfect life without any sin. Since death is the punishment for sin, Jesus did not have to die, yet He chose to die. He chose to take the death sentence that we deserved for breaking God’s Law. They spat on Him, beat Him and nailed His body to a cross. He suffered and died… in our place. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead proving that our death sentence had been completely paid and that He had defeated death. Because of Jesus, we can be forgiven of our sins. We have Hope.
In order to be forgiven of our sin we must do as Jesus said in Mark 1:15. He said, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the Good News!” God demands that we repent. This means turning away from sin and instead strive to know and please God. We can know God by reading His Word, the Bible, and we please God by obeying it. Secondly, God demands that we understand and believe the “Good News” that there is hope of being at peace with God because of Jesus’ death in our place. This is our Living Hope: Jesus paid for our sins with His life. Therefore, we can repent and turn to Him for forgiveness. We can have freedom from the control of sin in this life and freedom from the consequences of sin when we die. It is available only through faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
This was a great article on the Deity of Christ by MacArthur.
Jesus frequently spoke of His unique, otherworldly origin, of having preexisted in heaven before coming into this world. To the hostile Jews He declared, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world” (John 8:23). “What then,” He asked, “if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?” (John 6:62). In His high-priestly prayer Jesus spoke of the glory which He had with the Father before the world existed (John 17:5). In John 16:28 He told His disciples, “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.” Thus, John described Jesus in the prologue of his gospel with these words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
Amazingly, Jesus assumed the prerogatives of deity. He claimed to have control over the eternal destinies of people (John 8:24; cf. Luke 12:8–9; John 5:22, 27–29), to have authority over the divinely-ordained institution of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5), to have the power to answer prayer (John 14:13–14; cf. Acts 7:59; 9:10–17), and to have the right to receive worship and faith due to God alone (Matt. 21:16; John 14:1; cf. John 5:23). He also assumed the ability to forgive sins (Mark 2:5–11)—something which, as His shocked opponents correctly understood, only God can do (v. 7).
for more of the article go to http://www.sfpulpit.com/2007/03/01/making-himself-equal-with-god/#more-519
