No man can or will come to know the forgiving grace of God freely offered in the Gospel until he has been humbled and brought to know his exceeding misery before a holy God.
Man comes to know his misery through the law of God (Rom. 3:20; 7:7-25).
God’s law requires absolute perfection (Matt. 5:48). Christ, in Matthew 22:37-39, teaches us a summary of what God requires in His law:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:37-39)
The problem is all men by nature and by choice hate God and their neighbor (Gen. 2:6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:23-24; 8:7; Eph. 2:1-3; Titus 3:3). There is no one who is righteous (Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:9-20, 23; 1 John 1:8, 10). All have fallen short of God’s requirement to measure up in every way to His divine law (Rom. 3:20, 23). No one’s righteousness can pass God’s scrutiny and stand in His judgment (Psalm 76:7; 130:3; Rev. 6:17). Because man has willingly broken God’s law, he lives under a curse, as it is written, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them,” (Gal. 3:10; [Deut. 27:26]).
God will not permit such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished. God is terribly angry with the sin man is born with (Ps. 51:5) as well as the sins man personally commits and thus will punish sinful man both now and in eternity (Ex. 34:7; Ps. 5:4-6; Nahum 1:2; Rom. 1:18; Eph. 5:6; Heb. 9:27). Though God is merciful, He is also just (Ex. 34:7; Deut. 7:9-11; Ps. 5:4-6; Heb. 10:30-31). The Lord God is a holy God (Isa. 6:3; Hab. 1:12-13; Jam. 1:13). He is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deut. 4:24; 12:29). Thus, His justice demands that sin, committed against His supreme majesty be punished with the supreme penalty (i.e., eternal punishment of body and soul, Matt. 25:35-46).
How then shall a sinful man reply to the Heavenly Judge when he calls him to account? For the Scriptures teach that, “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account,” (Heb. 4:13). Since sinful man cannot pay the debt which God’s justice demands, the debt must be paid in full by another (Isa. 53:11; Rom. 8:3-4). The answer then lies in the Gospel. The Gospel is the answer to man’s greatest problem.
What is the Gospel?
The Gospel is “good news.” It is an announcement of joyful tidings, revealed from heaven to man (Luke 2:10-11; Gal. 1:11-12).
Man comes to know his deliverance through the gospel of God (Mark 1:14; Rom. 1:1, 16).
The Gospel promises and proclaims, on account of and for the sake of Christ alone, out of God’s utter free grace and mercy, to forgive man’s sin (Luke 24:47; Acts 5:31; 10:43; Eph. 1:7), deliver him from death (John 5:24; 8:51-52; 1 Cor. 15:54-55; Heb. 2:15; Rev. 20:6, 14), the devil (Eph. 2:2; Col. 2:15) condemnation (Rom. 8:1) the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9; Eph. 2:3-5; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9) and to raise him up from death, reuniting his body and soul to a blessedness in which to praise and enjoy God forever (1 Cor. 15:20, 42-46, 54; Philip. 3:21; 1 John 3:2; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 2:9).
God promises to give these benefits to all who repent and believe (Mark 1:15; John 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:40, 47; 17:2-3; Acts 10:43; 16:31). Through the preaching of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit works effectually in the hearts of the faithful and produces in them faith, repentance, and the beginning of eternal life (John 3:5; Acts 11:18; 16:14; Rom. 1:5; 16:26; 1 Cor. 2:10-14; Eph. 2:8; Philip. 1:29; 2 Tim. 2:25).
God first revealed the Gospel in the garden of Eden immediately after the fall of man into sin (Gen. 3:15). Afterwards, though less clearly and to fewer persons, God revealed the Gospel by the Patriarchs (Gen. 12:3 [John 8:56]; 22:18; 49:10; Deut. 10:15; Num. 21:9; 24:17; 1 Cor. 10:1; Heb. 11:13) and Prophets (Isa. 53; Jer. 23:5-6; Mic. 7:18-20; John 5:46; Acts 10:43; Romans 1:2; 10:4; 1 Peter 1:10; Heb. 1:1-2), and by the shadows of sacrifices and the other ceremonies of the law (Lev. 1-7; John 5:46; Heb. 10:1-10).
But, in these last days, He has more clearly and broadly revealed the Gospel by his only begotten Son (Mark 16:15; Luke 2:10-11; 24:47; John 1:18, 29; 6:41; 14:6; 15:5; Acts 1:8; Rom. 10:4; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Gal. 4:4-5; Eph. 2:15–19; Col. 2:17; 1 Timothy 2:5; Heb. 1:1-2); The Gospel declares the good news that Christ was manifested in the flesh. “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” (Luke 2:10-11).
Why was the incarnation necessary? Because sinful man cannot pay for others the debt they owe to God (Heb. 7:26-27; 1 Peter 3:18), Christ, the Mediator, had to be born of a virgin and become a man because God’s justice demands that human nature, which has sinned, must pay for its sin (Rom. 5:12, 15; 1 Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:14-16). Yet, our Mediator also had to be God so that by His own power, He might bear the weight of God’s anger in His humanity and earn for us and restore us to righteousness and life (Isa. 53; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21). “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means 'God with us'),” (Matt. 1:23).
The Gospel declares that Jesus Christ was given to us to set us completely free and to make us right with God (Matt. 1:21-23; Luke 2:11; 1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Cor. 1:30). And so Christ came and lived a life of perfect obedience to God (Ps. 40:8; John 8:29; 1 Peter 2:22-24) and fulfilled all righteousness (Matt. 3:15), not for His own well-being but for His people.
The Gospel declares that Christ freely offered Himself as a sacrifice on the Cross in order to satisfy the just and righteous demands of God and His law, which has been broken by sinful man (Rom. 3:25-26; 1 Peter 2:24).
The Gospel declares that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (Acts 2:24-32; 1 Cor. 15:3-4), “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it,” (Acts 2:24). Christ’s resurrection demonstrated that His sacrifice on the cross achieved victory over sin, death, and the devil; and that the good news about Jesus is true (Acts 2:24; 17:31; 1 Cor. 15:1-11, 20, 54-57; Col. 2:12-15). Again, Christ was not raised for His own well-being but for the believer’s forgiveness and justification (Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 5:17; 1 Pet. 1:3) and future resurrection (John 11:25-26; 1 Cor. 15:12; 1 Thess. 4:14).
Afterward, Christ ascended to heaven (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11; 2:34; Philip. 2:9-11), where He is seated at the right hand of God, presently reigning as King and Head of His church (Eph. 1:20-23; Col. 1:18; Matt. 28:18; John 5:22-23) until He comes again to judge the living and the dead (John 5:22, 27; Acts 1:11; Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:5).
How then may a sinful man come to share in the benefits of the Gospel? How is a sinful man made right with God?
The Gospel declares that a man receives God’s righteousness and makes it his own solely by grace through the gift of faith alone in Christ alone (Rom. 3:21-28; 10:10; Gal. 2:16; 3:7-9, 14; Eph. 2:8-9; Philip. 3:8-11; 1 John 5:10-12).
Man comes to share in the benefits of the gospel through faith, which is the gift of God (Rom. 4:4-5; Eph. 2:8-9).
“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…”(Rom. 4:4-5).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast,” (Eph. 2:8-9).
No amount of good works will make a man acceptable to God (Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:10-14; Titus 3:4-7).
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 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, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)
All one needs to do is accept this gift of God with a believing heart (John 3:18; Acts 16:30-31). When a man trusts in Christ alone, his sins are forgiven, he is declared just by God, and adopted into God’s family as a beloved son (John 1:11-13; 3:16, 18, 36; Eph. 1:3-14; Rom. 4:4; 5:1).
What about you? Will you come?
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” is both Christ’s invitation and promise. Will you come? Jesus is a kind, gracious, merciful, saving Lord. If you come, He will receive you.
Trust in Him to save you from the guilt and power of your sin (Matt. 26:28; Acts 13:38; 1 Cor. 1:8; Col. 1:14). Trust in Him to save you from His wrath and condemnation (Rom. 8:1; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9). Trust in Him to save you from the dominion of the devil (Acts 26:18). Trust Him to give you a new heart (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:26-27; 2 Cor. 5:17). Will you trust on Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins?
“Desperate cases are the glorious triumphs of His art of saving.”
Christ will save the vilest and most wretched of sinners who come to Him for salvation. You do not have to delay. You do not have to prepare yourself to come. Christ calls you to freely believe in Him who justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5). He does not require you to be godly before you believe. He came not for the healthy, but for the sick (Matt. 9:12). He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matt. 9:13). He did not come to call the rich, but the poor (i.e. those who recognize their spiritual poverty; Matt. 11:5; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 4:18). All that man brings to the Lord in salvation is his sin, sheer disgrace, and emptiness.
“The vilest sinners are properly qualified and prepared for the gospel’s design, which is to show forth the exceeding riches of grace when God pardons their sins and saves them freely (Eph. 2:5-7).”Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh.Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.View Him prostrate in the garden;
On the ground your Maker lies.
On the bloody tree behold Him;
Sinner, will this not suffice?Lo! th’ incarnate God ascended,
Pleads the merit of His blood:
Venture on Him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude.Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.
Jesus has given full satisfaction to the justice of God for sinners (Rom. 3:25). Come to Christ just as you are. He will receive you when you come to Him for salvation. Those who trust in Christ will never perish (John 3:16; John 10:28). Come to Jesus and He will not cast you out. “All that the Father gives me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out,” (John 6:37). Let whosoever will, come.
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David…“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isa. 55:1-3, 6-7)
“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Rev. 22:17)
Works Cited
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.