The Gospel
Who is this Jesus guy?
There's a great story that's been told millions of times over the last couple thousand years. It's a story about a guy in Palestine who changed the world not only because of his great life but because of his death. The story (and the facts behind the story) still matter today.
The story begins "in the beginning." Literally. God. The loving ruler of the World. God made the world, and he made us to rule the world under his authority. But as soon as we hear that God's supposed to be the authority, we rebel. We want to be free. Especially here in Boston, the birthplace of America, freedom seems to be the thing we want most. And so, in our desire to be free, we reject the ruler, God, and try to run life our own way with out him. The problem is, we make a mess of things. We fail to rule ourselves or society or the world. We think we're in charge, but we're not. When we pursue money, or success, or relationships, we end up slaves to those very things.
When we reject God, we're essentially saying "I want to be in charge. Get out of my life." And God will give us exactly what we want. But since he's the author of life, life without God is death. God won't let us be rebels forever. The punishment for our rebellion is death and judgment. God's justice sounds hard, but, because of his love for us, God sent his son into the world, the man Jesus Christ. Jesus always lived under God's rule, yet, by dying on the cross, in our place, he brought forgiveness, relationship, and true freedom for us. The Bible rings with the incredible news that Jesus died as a substitute for rebels like us.
God accepted Jesus' death as payment in full for our sins, and raised him from the dead. The risen Jesus is now what humanity was always meant to be: God's ruler of the world. As God's ruler, Jesus has also been appointed God's judge of the world. The Bible promises that one day, he will return to call all of us to account for our actions.
In the meantime, Jesus offers us new life, both now and eternally. Now, our sins can be forgiven through Jesus' death, and we can make a fresh start with God, no longer as rebels but as friends. In this new life, God himself comes to live within us by his Spirit. We can experience the joy of a new relationship with God. What's more, when we are pardoned through Jesus' death, we can be quite sure that when Jesus does return to judge, we will be acceptable to him. The risen Jesus will give us eternal life, not because we have earned it, but because he has died in our place.
He came to set us free. There's a saying: ?The truth will set you free.? It was originally said by this guy Jesus. He said we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. But he believed truth wasn't just a set of facts to be learned. He said the truth was a person: himself. It's only by getting to know Christ that we're truly set free.
We say we want to be free. That's a great desire. The problem is how we're going after that freedom. When we act as if we're in charge of our lives, we end up a slave to the things we pursue. The result is not only unfulfilled lives, but the fact that we're rejected by God and facing death and judgment.
For those of us who truly want to be free and who have realized that our situation is hopeless, there is a lifeline. If we turn back to God and appeal for mercy, trusting in Jesus' death and resurrection, then everything changes. For a start, God wipes our slate clean. He accepts Jesus' death as payment for our sins, and freely and completely forgives us. He pours his own Spirit into our hearts and grants us a new life that stretches past death and into forever. We are no longer rebels, but part of God's own family as his adopted sons and daughters. We now live with Jesus as our ruler.
That leaves us with a question: Which way do I want to live? As if I'm in charge, or as if God's in charge?
Often people say, "Oh, you have such great faith," as if faith is some mystical thing you have instead of facts. "Blind faith" comes to mind. But should a decision as important as what's going to be at the center of your life be based on "blind" anything? We think that Christianity, if it's true should stand up to intellectual scrutiny. You should be able to ask your big questions and get good answers.
Want to investigate more thoroughly?
Here are some options:
Back to that question: Which way do I want to live. If you know that you're a rebel against God, and would prefer to live his way, the next obvious question is: