Bad News…
Jesus saved sinners from the consequences of their sin. That is the message of the gospel in it’s most simple form. Every person who has ever lived, with the exception of Jesus, has been both a sinner by choice and a sinner by nature (HANG IN, THE GOOD NEWS IS COMING). We are born with a sin nature that is prone to disobedience to God. In fact, the one thing that we don’t have to teach our children is how to disobey. Everything else must be taught, but defiance comes hard wired in. We are also sinners by choice. We choose to do bad things. All of this is the bad news.
Worse News…
The really bad news is that our sin deserves punishment. God, being holy, can’t tolerate any sin. He cannot abide by any injustice, wickedness, evil, etc. Therefore, as Romans 6:23 states, “The wages of sin is death.” Wages. Earned. Deserved. Death. Our sin deserves eternal separation from God.
The Best News…
The good news is that Romans 6:23 doesn’t stop there. It goes on to say that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Free, not earned. Grace, not of works. God freely grants forgiveness to those who understand that it comes to us not because we deserve it but because Jesus earned it for us.
How it all works…
So how does all of this work? If I’m guilty and God is holy, how can I be forgiven? The simplest answer is this: Jesus trades me what I deserve for what he deserves.
I am a sinner by nature and by choice and deserve punishment.
He was holy and perfect and deserves life.
He died a death he didn’t deserve, paying a debt I couldn’t pay.
I receive life that he deserved.
For those who believe that Jesus is Lord and that He died for our sins, who turn to Jesus and trust him, there is a great exchange. My guilt is exchanged for his righteousness. By trusting Jesus to have paid for sin, God the Father accounts Jesus righteousness to me.
“It is the most counterintuitive aspect of Christianity, that we are declared right with God not once we begin to get our act together but once we collapse into honest acknowledgment that we never will.”
Am I Worthy?
This is one of the fundamental questions of the Christian faith. Am I worthy of the forgiveness that God grants to me in Jesus? The answer depends on what we mean by worthy.
Most of the time what we mean by worthy is deserving. Do I deserve to be forgiven? The answer, though it is sometimes hard to hear, is no. The Bible often speaks of God’s forgiveness as grace. Rights can be demanded. Wages are earned. But grace is granted.
It is God’s gracious, loving, slow to anger character that causes his heart to be drawn out towards the deadly and miserable plight of sinners (which is what mercy is). God saves sinners not because they are worthy, but because He is good.
So what then does it mean to be worthy of the Gospel?
If you have ever seen the movie “Saving Private Ryan” you might have an idea. In the film Tom Hanks sets out on a journey to get and send home one “private Ryan” played by Matt Damon. Ryan’s 3 brothers had all died in WWII and as such Damon’s character was being sent home so that his parents would not have to lose all other sons in the war. Many of the soldiers, including Hanks character, lost their lives sending home private Ryan. Just before he died, Hanks character tells Ryan “earn this.”
Private Ryan couldn’t earn it. He didn’t earn a trip home. His brothers had died and so he was granted a trip home. What Hanks was saying was that private Ryan should live his live in a matter worthy of what it cost to send him home alive.
Those who repent of their sin and trust Jesus get to go to heaven free of any cost to them because Jesus gave his life for ours. We cannot earn it, we don’t deserve it… but we’ve been given the opportunity to make it all the home (heaven) safely because Jesus gave his life for ours. The call on our lives is to live in a manner worthy of what was done for us, precisely because we don’t deserve it. But God was please to grant it.
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”