Part 4. Introducing God's Good News

We saw in the last study that, in the sight of a holy God, we all appear as guilty sinners, separated from God, under His condemnation and deserving hell.  And we saw that this is true of everyone of us - regardless of our respectability and our religious activities... "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

But thankfully there is a Gospel - there is Good News for everyone.  God prepared a remedy that deals justly with the punishment that sin deserves and yet at the same time provides pardon for the sinner.

(a) God planned our salvation and foretold it.

• Read Acts 2: 22-24
• Isaiah 53: 1-11

(b) Jesus became the substitute for sinners. (He took the place and took the punishment of sinners - and turned away God's anger and condemnation.)

• Read Romans 5: 6-8   "When we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
• 1 Peter 3: 18 "For Christ died for sins, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."
   
• 1 John 4: 9-10   "This is love:  not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son, an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

(c) Jesus is the sin-bearer. (Jesus took our sins when He died on the cross, as if they were His own.)

• 1 Peter 2: 22-24 "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree..."
   
• 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21   "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteous of God."
   
• Hebrews 9: 24-28

(d) Jesus is the Saviour (When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. When God raised Christ from the dead He demonstrated that He accepted His Son's death in the sinner's place and God offers a full and free pardon.)

• Luke 24: 45-47 "This is what is written:  The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations..."
   
• Acts 10: 36-43   "Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His Name."
   
• Matthew 20: 28
   
• 1 Peter 1: 18-21
   
• Romans 3: 23-26
   
• 1 John 1: 7-10   "...And the blood of Jesus, His Son (God's Son), purifies us from all sin."

(e) Read thoughtfully:

• Mark 15: 16-39

Now - if the Lord Jesus Christ has done this for you, what do you think your response should be?