_Alfred

The Gospel - By C.J. Mahaney

By Alfred - Published: 2012-05-08

To understand the gospel we must first comprehend the character of God. Fundamentally, God is holy. The holiness of God is a weighty concept, signifying His royal authority over all that He creates and that He is unstained by anything sinful or spiritually unclean. This holy perfection is essential to perceiving His majesty, splendor, and beauty (Psalms 96:9).

And because He is a righteous King, He is committed to impartiality. "He loves righteousness and justice," which also means He cannot let sin go unpunished (Psalms 33:5; Exodus 34:6-7).

So, here's the really bad news: God's holy anger is provoked by our sin (Colossians 3:5-10). When God's righteousness and man's sinfulness collide, the result is God's wrath.

We may shy away from speaking of God's wrath because we find it unpleasant, or even distasteful. But when we read the Bible we discover God's holy anger on page after page after page. It is not an unpredictable, arbitrary, or irrational wrath. Nor will His wrath be satisfied by our religious activities or set aside by acts of personal obedience. Nothing we do can remove God's anger toward us, and what awaits us is a "great day of wrath" and eternity under His judgment (Revelation 6:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

To comprehend the gospel we must begin with this bad news. It doesn't get any worse than this. Yes only those who are aware of God's wrath can be truly amazed at God's grace.

Salvation in Christ

But there is good news--unimaginably good news! This holy God, who is angry because of our sin, is also merciful beyond all comprehension.

How can God remain holy and yet offer mercy to sinners like us? Wouldn't that be terribly, scandalously unjust?

The cross of Christ resolves this dilemma. God's love and God's wrath meet here. His mercy to sinners like us is displayed in the substitutionary work of the Savior.

In ancient Rome, crucifixion was a common execution for criminals--thousands had been executed that way. Yet Christ's suffering and pain was unique. At the cross the sinless Savior did what no other person ever could do--He became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), standing in the place of sinners and bearing a divine punishment. At the cross, our Savior was exposed to the unmitigated wrath of God on our behalf. The cup of judgment we deserve was poured out on Him (Mark 14:32-42; 15:34). At the cross we see the Father's abounding mercy toward wrath-deserving sinners like us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10).

Only Christ's death and resurrection make it possible for sinners to be saved from God's wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10). In the gospel of Jesus Christ we are justified, forever free from condemnation for our sins (Romans 8:31-39). We have peace with God--the enmity is removed (Romans 5:1). We are adopted into the family of God, forever His children (Galatians 4:4-7). These and many other blessings are offered to every sinner who will turn from their sins and trust in Christ.

So what's more important than the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Nothing.