As a church we have a message to proclaim. A message that is Good News. It is not often in our world today that someone wants to share Good News. We live in a day and age where a lot of what we hear is not only bad but down right awful.
Now to understand the Good News we have to understand that we must begin on what I would suggest is a bit of a sour note. Paul wrote to the church in Rome and for us today and he said, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Now it is not enough for us to know that we have sinned, we also must be aware of the fact that there are consequences for our sin and disobedience to God. Paul continues by saying, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). I know what you are thinking, I thought you said that you had Good News, and we do, in the latter portion of this text it talks about the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now this is the point where the news gets good for us. Most of us are familiar with John 3:16 which simply says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Paul puts it like this, But God demonstrates His own love for us in this while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Often times we hear these verses but we do not know what they mean for us personally.
Paul went on to write, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and justified (made right with God), and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved' (Romans 10:9-10). Confession serves a two fold purpose. The first and foremost it is an acknowledgment that we are guilty of sin (and we are all guilty....until we confess). The second element is a confession of who Jesus is and acknowledging that what He has done on the cross is all sufficient to take care of our sins. When we confess to Jesus in this manner the Bible tells us, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1John 1:9). Now that is great News - Jesus died in our place in order that we may accept Him as Lord and Savior of our life.
Jesus has done His part, He paid the price for our sins on the cross of Calvary. He died so that we would not have to face the punishment we deserved for our sins. How will you respond to Jesus will you accept Him as Lord and Savior today? Understand this it is not enough to accept Jesus and His forgiveness, the Bible says that we must also call Him Lord which means that He is to be the master of our lives. Our lives are to be lived in a manner that bring Him glory. God does not save us from sin to go on living in sin. When we confess in this manner the Bible says that we are filled with the Holy Spirit which enables to live lives free from sin, we cannot do it on our own, we need the power of God working in us and through us. "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9).
