What is the “Simple Gospel”, and what does it mean to me? These are very good questions, and they deserve answers.

 Simply stated, the gospel is “good news”. The good news is that, contrary to all other religions, Biblical Christianity states that you can be set free and forgiven of all your sins by trusting in Jesus Christ as your savior. Many have probably heard this, but don’t really understand what it means.

 Deep down, we all know something is wrong. We look at nature and we see beauty, but we also see ugliness. We look at ourselves and we see a longing toward goodness and nobility, but in our heart we also see embedded selfishness and wrongdoing.

What’s wrong and why?

 What’s wrong is that as free moral agents with the ability to choose right and wrong, we have chosen to do wrong as well as right. However, since we know there must be a perfect standard, and that we have fallen short of that standard, we lack the ability to “make up” for our wrongdoing. We have all failed to properly reflect God’s character, which is the perfect moral standard of the universe.

  Since God created us in His image, to reflect His character and nature, and since He is perfect in all goodness and righteousness; and since we’ve failed to properly reflect His goodness, then there is an inevitable sense of judgment for our failure. We sense it deep down, but try to ignore it, or make up for it by doing good deeds. The problem is that no matter how many good deeds we may do, we can never make up for our failure. It is like trying to work off a debt we can never pay.

 A person before a judge in a courtroom may tell the judge of all the nice and wonderful things they’ve done, but when the judge asks if they’ve broken the law, the answer is “yes”. When the judge asks what we can give to make up for our transgression, the answer is “nothing”. So here is our dilemma. We cannot be who we were created to be because we sin, yet we cannot make up for that sin because we have already violated God’s perfect standard, and we have nothing to offer a perfect Being.

Enter Jesus.

 Jesus existed with the Father before He created the world. The dilemma of man was discussed between the Father, the Word, and the Spirit before time began. The Word (Jesus), volunteered to pay the penalty for mans’ sin, so that God could maintain His righteous standards, and still pardon man’s sin     "… that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Romans 3:26 (NKJV)

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God,  1 Peter 3:18 (NKJV)

 We stand guilty before the judge, and the judge has rendered the verdict. All of a sudden a man stands up and says, “Judge, I know this man has violated the perfect law and must be punished, yet I have perfectly obeyed your requirements, and request that you punish me instead”. The judge says “It is done”, slams His gavel down, and says to the guilty person, “do you accept this man’s offer to take your place?” Of course, you would be crazy not to. Then you find out the man who will take your place is the son of the judge, and that it pleased the judge that his son volunteered to take your place. You also find out that the offer of freedom has been extended to everyone who will say “yes, I accept His payment for me”.

 This is the Good News, the Gospel. Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, stepped into time, lived a perfect life, and then died a horrible death to pay your penalty all according to the Scriptures. He proved He was God by raising Himself from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, interceding on behalf of anyone who will say “yes” to His offer of forgiveness and eternal life with Him.

 He will return soon to judge this fallen world, and restore everything to the way He intended it to be before man rebelled against Him. Those who accept His payment will be given eternal life with Him in a new heaven and a new earth. Those who reject Him and His payment will remain under judgment, and be separated from Him forever in the lake of fire. The question for you is, “will you say ‘yes’” to Him? It really is good news, and it is a very simple question: “yes” or “no”. It is the deepest desire of a good and loving God that you say “yes”.

The Lord is…not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  1 Tim 2:3-4 (NKJV)

But you must make this choice for yourself.

…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… Josh 24:15 (NKJV)

May you choose life!

Jeff Exner

Ezekiel 33:1-6