Written by Mark Kennicott ©2000

Just as there are physical laws that govern the universe around us, there are spiritual laws that govern our relationship with God.  Understanding them can unlock the door to personal fellowship with our Creator.  What you are about to read will change your life...for ever.

God in perfect fellowship with man.  

That is the way the Bible begins, and that is the way it ends.

In Genesis 3 we read of the Lord walking with Adam and Eve in the garden in the cool of the day.  In Revelation 21:3 we find that the tabernacle of God is with man.  The fact is, God desires to know, to walk with and to have fellowship with His creation.  Not the animals, and no, not the trees.  You.  Me.  Men and women, boys and girls.  Mankind was the only of God's inventions created in His image.  And as such, we hold a special place in His heart.

You may wonder then, why so many people are unhappy with life.  Any why God seems so distant, even though He truly wants to be close to us?  That is because...

"...but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you so that he does not hear."  Isaiah 59:2 RSV

You see, while there was indeed a time when God and man had a beautiful relationship, it was short lived because of the advent of sin.  When Adam and Eve fell, they introduced an obstacle into the hearts of all mankind that still plagues us today.  Sinfulness has become the hallmark of the human spirit, the inheritance of every child born into the world.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."  1 John 1:8

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

There is simply no denying that no one man or woman possesses the purity or virtue to merit access to the heart of a Holy God.  And if the present distance between us and God was not already bad enough, there are also eternal considerations...

"The wages of sin is death..."  Romans 6:23

Not only does our sinfulness hinder our relationship with God, but it eventually leads us to our ultimate demise.  Physical death in this life, and eternal separation from God in the next.  

"...the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4

Because it is not God's will for any to perish (2 Pet. 3:9), He prepared a way for mankind to have a means of atonement for his sins.  Atonement can be defined as "at-one-ment."  That is to say, through God's plan of redemption, we can be "at one" with God, restored to a loving relationship with Him.   This is possible because...

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." Lev. 17:11

When Adam and Eve fell into sin, they covered themselves with fig leaves.  Even today, we often attempt to cover our guilt and shame through man-made devices.  And still today, these efforts are not acceptable before God.  There are no special arrangements with the "man upstairs,"  there is no way to cancel our wrongs by doing more "rights."  God gave Adam and Eve the skins of animals for a covering, establishing a spiritual law that has remained true through the centuries,

"...without the shedding of blood there is no remission."  Hebrews 9:22

God established the pattern of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament to point forward to the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ. He became the perfect "Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world." (John 1:29) 

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

The beautiful truth behind the agonizing ordeal of the crucifixion is that Jesus made that incredible sacrifice for us motivated not by our pleas for help, not by our worthiness of such a sacrifice, and not because He owed us anything, but simply because of His amazing grace!  He LOVED us, and so He died FOR us!  Death was OUR penalty, our punishment, our "paycheck."  We earned the wages of sin, but Jesus TOOK our place, and in doing so, became the PERFECT substitutionary sacrifice for our atonement.

"...But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."  Hebrews 9:26

It was you and I who were lost in sin and separated from fellowship with God.  But God, in His grace, provided a way of atonement through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross.  Without His sacrifice, we could not hope to truly know God in a personal, loving way.  The message that Jesus died to atone for our sins and reconcile us to God is called the Gospel, which means, "Good News."   Because of the "Good News" we can be saved.  In fact...

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."  John 14:6

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."  1 Timothy 2:5

It cannot be stated more simply than the above verses.  There is just NO other way to deal with the reality of sin in our lives.  We NEED atonement.  Jesus ALONE can provide that atonement.

So important was the Gospel message that Jesus commanded his disciples, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)   The Apostle Paul affirmed that the Gospel "is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." (Rom. 1:16)  Given it's supreme importance, it is vital that we define the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ with nothing less than Biblical terms.  Turning to 1 Corinthians 15:1-3, the Apostle Paul spells it out for us... 

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scripture:" 

According to the above passage, the Gospel, or "Good News," is that Jesus Christ died, was buried and rose again the third day.  Why is this good news?  Because through the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we can have the wedge of sin removed from our lives, and be restored to fellowship with God!  When Jesus died, he was paying the price and penalty for our sins.  When he rose again, it was proof positive that the judgment of sin had been satisfied, and that the victory over sin and death had been secured.

Although Jesus died for the whole world, sadly the whole world will NOT be saved.  Likewise, most people today do NOT have a close relationship with God, in spite of what Jesus has done for them.  Why is that?  It is because...

"...the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His holy angles, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."  2 Thessalonians 1:7-8

The Gospel is not simply a message to be believed, but it is a message to be obeyed.  We must identify with the Gospel, making the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus personal to us.  In other words, we must apply the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our lives.   Jesus said this of how the Gospel would be preached:

"Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."  Luke 24:46-49.

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples received the promise of the Father in the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.   Peter stood up and preached the first gospel message of the Church Age.  He preached the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord (Acts 2:22-36).  Upon hearing the Gospel, the people were "pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37)  They had believed the Gospel message, and wanted to know how to apply it to their lives.  Peter answered and said:

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."  Acts 2:38-39

As you can see by comparing the highlighted portions of the above texts, Peter's message was faithful to Jesus' command, and reveals to us how to apply the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus to our lives.  For this very reason Acts 2:38 is considered by many to be the Original New Testament Plan of Salvation.  Just as Jesus died, we must die.  Jesus was buried, and we too must be buried.  And just as Jesus rose from the grave, we too must rise again.  Acts 2:38 shows us how.  The chart below further illustrates how we identify with each aspect of the Gospel...

From the above chart we can easily see how the Gospel is applied to our Lives.  We make Jesus' death personal to us through our own repentance.  We identify with the burial of our Lord by being baptized in His name.  And we experience the resurrection of Jesus in our lives by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Have YOU applied the Gospel of Jesus Christ to YOUR life?

Applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ to your Life is what the Bible calls being "Born Again."  (See John 3:3-8)  It is the only way that we can be restored to perfect fellowship with God.  And lest you should think that this message is not for you, that somehow God cannot or will not save you, consider the following invitation:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."  - Jesus  (Rev. 3:20)

Jesus said ANY MAN.  That means EVERY MAN.  He loves me, and He loves YOU.  Give Him a chance today, won't you?  You will doubtless want assistance on your journey back to God.  You can certainly pray right now and ask Jesus to forgive you as you repent of all of your sins.  Seek a local ministry where you can be baptized in the precious name of Jesus, and pray together as you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  There are people who want to help you - http://www.threeq.com/pages/onlinecounseling.html.