Gospel Presentation

Are You Missing A Piece of the Puzzle?

Contents:

1 – The Problem: The Fall and Resulting Curse

2 – The Law: The Proof that No One Measures Up

3 – The Consequence: Eternal Spiritual Death

4 – The Solution: Jesus Was Executed in our Place

5 – The Cost of the Solution: A Free Gift That Costs Everything

6 – Conclusion & Response

1 – The Problem: The Fall and Resulting Curse

We all live in a deteriorating universe. Sure, some things seem to be getting better: we have an increasing understanding of science, technology, medicine, etc. However, that is merely due to increasing global communication and sharing of knowledge.

The fact remains that this planet is coming unglued. Humanity lives under a nearly constant threat of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, etc. We are plagued by disease, cancer, pain, and death.

Additionally, we live in a world where people seem determined to hurt each other. If a person turns on the evening news, they are likely to be flooded with stories of people doing harm to other people: thefts, threats, kidnappings, rapes, murders, etc. Even in our daily lives we seem to be constantly getting hurt by somebody or hurting somebody else in return.

The Bible shows us the reason for this. God created the universe and everything contained within it in six literal, twenty-four hour days roughly six thousand years ago (Genesis 1-2). When God completed the universe, He declared everything to be good (Genesis 1:31) – everything was perfect! However, that did not last long. Soon our original ancestors, Adam and Eve, deliberately chose to disobey God (Genesis 3:1-7).

The result was catastrophic and immediate. Humanity’s natural purpose – the community and fellowship with God – was severed. By nature God is completely perfect and as a result is unable to tolerate the presence of anyone or anything that is less than perfect (1 Peter 1:15 & Nahum 1:2-3). Since God demands perfection and Adam and Eve were no longer perfect, they could no longer share in intimate fellowship with God.

God cursed humanity and the universe with a series of curses (Genesis 3:8-24). These curses were designed to be a constant reminder to humanity of just how seriously God views sin (anything less than absolute perfection). Amazingly, God was gracious even in the punishments that He handed out – God allowed physical death to enter the universe so that humanity would not have to live forever in a state of separation between us and God.

2 – The Law: The Proof that No One Measures Up

Many people believe that, despite the fact that imperfection and evil are overwhelming in the universe, they are better than most; therefore, they should be in good standing before God. However, God in His perfection and holiness cannot tolerate the presence of anything less than absolute perfection (Nahum 1:2-3).

God illustrated this for us by elaborating on what His standard of perfection really means. God teaches in the Bible that in order for an individual to meet His standard of perfection, that individual must: acknowledge that God alone is God and not worship (serve, sacrifice, or expend money/resources for) anyone or anything else. Additionally, God further elaborated through what is commonly known as the 10 commandments (honoring and obeying one’s parents; not committing murder, adultery, or theft; not lying or desiring someone/ something that belongs to someone else; etc. as found in Exodus 20:2-17).

God went on to declare that His standard of perfection required not merely following a strict external set of rules but also never desiring to do anything contrary to absolute perfection in an individual’s thoughts (Matthew 5:21-30). Additionally, an individual’s motivations must always be pure without selfishness or deceit (1 Samuel 15:22).

Finally, God provided the final blow to any individual who thinks that they are somehow in good standing with God. He revealed what should seem obvious to us, but that we still somehow manage to overlook anyway. If there is any infraction of absolute perfection (in deed, thought, motivation, omission, or commission) the standard of absolute perfection is not met – it’s like a shattered pane of glass or mirror (James 2:10).

If we are truly honest with ourselves we will admit that no human being could truly claim to attain God’s high standard – the standard of absolute perfection (1 John 1:8).

3 – The Consequence: Eternal Spiritual Death

Since we do not (and indeed cannot) attain to God’s standard, we deserve the consequences. The consequences are quite severe – spending eternity under the wrath of the holy (and just) God (Romans 6:23). Due to our rebellion against Him and resulting lack of perfection, God was forced to create a literal Hell.

At the end of time God will conduct what He refers to in the Bible as the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelations 20:11-15). God will go through every person that has ever lived since the dawn of time (with the sole exceptions of those whom He has saved through the Great Exchange – Romans 8:1) and judge them on an individual basis as to whether or not they met His standard of absolute perfection.

Let’s face it – we cannot honestly fault God for this. God will be sentencing individuals to an eternity in Hell (punishment for an infinite period of time due to our offenses against an infinite God) on the basis of our inability to meet God’s standard of absolute perfection. It is completely just for God to enforce the required consequence for the crime.

4 – The Solution: Jesus Was Executed in our Place

Fortunately, that’s not where the story ends. God is not only a perfect and just God, but He is also amazingly merciful and compassionate. God knew that there is no way for us to meet His standard of absolute perfection. So, God reached out to us and gave each and every one of us the opportunity to accept His payment of our sin debt so that we would not have to pay it ourselves (John 3:16).

God entered human history in the form of His Son, Jesus (100% God and 100% human). Jesus lived His life meeting God’s standard of absolute perfection. Then God did the unimaginable and seemingly unjust thing. God executed His Son, Jesus, so that the Great Exchange could occur (Isaiah 53:5, 10).

The Great Exchange is where God offers to legally exchange Jesus’ life of fulfilling God’s standard of absolute perfection for our life of breaking God’s standard of absolute perfection (Isaiah 53:5, 10 & Romans 8:1).

There is nothing that we can do to earn God’s favor (Ephesians 2:8-10) – we’ve already spurned God by failing to attain to God’s standard of absolute perfection. However, God offers to freely exchange our track record for Jesus’ track record. This is truly where justice is most at risk of being cast away – we deserve the consequence of eternity in Hell but God offers us what we do not deserve, eternity in Heaven with Him.

5 – The Cost of the Solution: A Free Gift That Costs Everything

Jesus paid the entire penalty of our rebellion and sin (John 3:16 & Romans 8:1). There is nothing that an individual can do to appease God (John 3:18). In fact, God tells us in the Bible that any attempt to appease God’s anger towards an individual, who falls short of God’s standard of absolute perfection, through the means of any or all possible good works actually offends God therefore increasing His anger towards that individual (Isaiah 64:6 & Philippians 3:8).

There is nothing we can do to avoid the penalty of our failure to meet God’s standard of absolute perfection except to accept God’s offer. For those who accept God’s offer, He has paid the price of our sin and rebellion with Jesus’ blood (John 3:16-18 & John 14:6).

If we accept God’s offer, we are actually purchased by God with Jesus’ blood from enslavement to sin to enslavement to God (John 8:34 & Romans 6:16-18). Fortunately, God is a good owner contrary to the curse and sin which lead only to an eternity in Hell. God offers eternity in Heaven with Him for those who accept His offer and become His slaves (Matthew 11:28-30).

For those that accept God’s offer, He removes the shackles of bondage to sin. The change is so marked and obvious that the Bible even says that we are recreated into a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are given a new mission for our life – to honor and obey God. We can no longer fulfill the common deeds and desires of the world (as a pattern of our life), but must now work for God to fulfill the jobs of good works that He has prepared for us to complete (Ephesians 2:8-10).

6 – Conclusion and Response

God exists as a perfect and holy God who cannot endure the presence of anything less than absolute perfection (1 Peter 1:15 & Nahum 1:2-3). The consequence of any individual not meeting God’s standard of absolute perfection is being sentenced to an eternity in Hell under the wrath of God (Romans 6:23).

Amazingly, God offers to exchange Jesus’ life of attaining God’s standard of perfection for our lives of failing to meet that standard (Isaiah 53:5, 10 & Romans 8:1). There is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor on us except to accept God’s offered exchange (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Upon the acceptance of God’s offered exchange, an individual is no longer a slave to sin (continued rebellion against God) but becomes a slave to God (John 8:34 & Romans 6:16-18), so much so that we are considered a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). Salvation (from the consequences of our failure to attain to God’s standard of perfection) is a free gift which we cannot earn by the use of any or all good works, but rather is evidenced by the good works that we perform out of thanks and duty to God (Ephesians 2:8-10). Finally, the individual who accepts God’s offered exchange and lives in service to God for the remainder of their life will be rewarded with an eternity in Heaven in the presence of God (John 3:16).

If you want to accept God’s offer of the Great Exchange, cry out to Him and tell Him. You can do that anywhere at any time. There is no “right way” to do it, no “magic prayer” to be repeated (Romans 10:9-10).

If you’ve accepted God’s offer and cried out to Him, then you’ll need to begin reading the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15). The Bible is God’s love letter written to humanity. If God has delivered you (and He has if you have truly, genuinely cried out to Him and accepted His free gift of the Great Exchange on His terms and conditions instead of bringing your own terms and conditions) then God will begin to transform you and change you into a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17) and you will begin to have a desire or hunger to learn more about God as revealed in His Word (the Bible). This “hunger” for God’s Word is the opposite of physical hunger: the longer you go without reading and studying the Bible, the less you’ll desire it and the more often that you read and study the Bible, the more you’ll hunger for it.

If you’ve accepted God’s offer, then you’ll also begin to notice a desire to talk to Him. Just like in human relationships, our relationship with God requires communication. God communicates with us through the Bible (another reason for us to dig in and begin reading and studying it) and we communicate with Him through prayer. Prayer is no special formula or pre-written cue cards; prayer is simply talking to God. You don’t have to be eloquent or perfect in prayer, all you have to do is simply to talk to God (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Finally, if you’ve accepted God’s offer, then you’ll need to get involved with a local church. Find a church that has the Bible as its foundation and start attending as often as possible. There are some really good, practical reasons for this. First, it’s much easier to learn and study the Bible with help from a pastor or teacher who has had years of experience studying it himself (so, make sure that you pick a church that teaches God’s word and not simply feel good or psychological messages or sermons). Additionally, God never intended us to live our life with Him by ourselves, we need help and accountability in our lives and that can be found through friends and mentors who are also seeking to follow God and the Bible with their lives (Hebrews 10:25 & Ecclesiastes 4:12).