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Gospel Tract:
What God Says to Us
September 10, 2014
Copyright © 2000, Ronald W. Leigh
Bible quotations are from the New International Version
God has spoken to you and me in the Bible. His message is very clear and can be summarized in just a few simple statements.
1st – God says, "I made you."
The Bible teaches that "God formed man from the dust of the ground" (Genesis 2:7). Mankind is not merely an accident of nature; we were purposely created by God.
Of course, God also made the animals. But we are much more than mere animals. Each of us has a soul or spirit which God created in his own likeness. When God created man he said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over … all the creatures" (Genesis 1:26).
Now, this does not mean that we are exactly like God. After all, he is the creator and we are his creatures. But it does mean that you and I are spirit beings who are able to interact with God. God created us with the ability to understand what he says and respond to him.
2nd – God says, "Do good, not evil."
There is a difference between right and wrong, good and evil. And since God is our creator, he certainly has the right to tell us what we should and should not do.
God clearly tells us in the Bible that certain thoughts and actions are good, and others are evil. For example, from the ten commandments we learn that such things as worshiping God and honoring our parents are good, while murder, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting are evil (Exodus 20:2-17). Jesus summarized God's requirements for man in these words: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39).
God sets the standard very high. In fact, he is the standard. He says to us, "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2).
3rd – God says, "You have sinned."
We have all sinned. In the words of the Bible, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6).
God sees not only our actions, but our thoughts and motives as well. "The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:2-3).
In spite of the fact that God tells us to love him and to love each other, we have done just the opposite. We have turned our backs on God and on his standard of holiness. We have separated ourselves from God because we have decided to go our own way. We focus on pleasing ourselves and have become very selfish.
Many times we sin by what we do, but we also sin by what we fail to do. "Anyone … who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins" (James 4:17). In addition to our actions, we often sin in our thoughts and motives (Matthew 5:22-28).
A lot of people assume that, if they have enough good deeds, God will overlook their sins. After all, it's very easy to convince yourself that you have plenty of good deeds – simply find someone worse than yourself, and that will make you look great. But instead of comparing ourselves with others, we need to use God's standard, and compare ourselves with God's holiness and with the life of Jesus Christ. Then we will see more clearly that we are lost and need to be saved. Remember that God has already said "there is no one who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:3). If we think we are good enough, we show how little we understand the huge contrast between God's holiness and our sin.
4th – God says, "Because of your sin, I must separate you from myself."
What does God do about our sin? He cannot simply overlook it and pretend everything is okay – that would make a joke of his own holiness and justice. He must do something. God turns his back on sin, and thus he turns his back on all of us since we are all guilty of sin. The Bible says, "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you" (Isaiah 59:2).
So the result of our sin is that we are separated from God. This is spiritual death – being disconnected from the God who created us and loves us. We were originally created to enjoy a positive relationship with God. But now, because of our sin, we are cut off and estranged from God. Once we were in his loving family, but we have run away. And nothing in life goes as well as it could – we often feel alienated from each other, we fear, we are sad, we feel insignificant and our lives have little purpose.
If it were not for God's love, we would have no hope at all. We would be destined to remain separated from God forever in hell, an eternal spiritual death.
5th – God says, "I still love you and I sent my son, Jesus, to be your savior."
The Bible makes it clear that God still loves every human being, even though we are all sinners. God is not only holy and just, "God is love" (1 John 4:8; Jeremiah 9:24). He provides a way for us to be saved from our sin and its consequences. "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9).
God, in the person of Jesus Christ (the second person of the trinity), came to earth and lived as a human being. Even though he lived a completely sinless life, he allowed himself to be crucified on the cross for us. According to the Bible, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
6th – God says, "Jesus died in your place, taking the punishment for your sins."
When Jesus died on the cross, he was forsaken by God the Father. Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). He was not paying the penalty for his own sin, but for ours! "He himself bore our sins in his body" (1 Peter 2:24). So God the Father had to turn his back on Jesus, because Jesus took our sins upon himself. At that point, Jesus was suffering the punishment we deserve.
Jesus suffered spiritual death for us. In other words, he died in our place, as our substitute. "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18). "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6).
Jesus not only suffered for our sins, he rose from death (Matthew 28:5-6). When Jesus rose, he proved his deity (Romans 1:4) and thus verified the truth of his teachings.
Since Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, we can be freed from that penalty, if we only ask. We have the opportunity to come back to God, to receive his forgiveness, and to live in his presence and favor both now and for eternity. No matter how terrible the sins, God stands ready to forgive even the "worst of sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15-16).
But this salvation is not automatic. God does not force us. He leaves it up to us to decide whether or not we will come to him. "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" (John 3:16).
7th – God says, "Jesus is the only savior."
Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Unfortunately, many people attempt to approach God in various ways, but the Bible says there is only one way. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). There is only "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).
Perhaps the most common misunderstanding is to think that you can gain favor with God by doing a lot of good deeds. Unfortunately, many people attempt to earn salvation through good works, or by keeping the Law of Moses, or by following all the regulations and rituals of their church. But it is illogical to trust in yourself and your good works, for "by observing the law no one will be justified" (Galatians 2:16). If we could save ourselves through our own efforts, we would not need a savior. In other words, if my own good deeds could save me, then Jesus didn't really have to die for my sins (Galatians 2:21). The Bible explains that salvation is "not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
8th – God asks, "Will you trust in Jesus? Will you accept him as your savior?"
What must we do to be saved? Decide to turn from your sin and trust in Jesus Christ as your savior.
The Bible uses the word "repent," which simply means to turn from your sin. "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out" (Acts 3:19). The Bible also uses the word "believe" which simply means to trust in, or have faith in Christ. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).
This decision to repent and trust in Christ is a very personal thing. Deep inside we recognize that we are guilty of sin, and we understand that Jesus died for our sins, and we say 'No' to sin and 'Yes' to Jesus.
This decision is also very important, for it determines our eternal destiny. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:36).
Some might think that this is all just too easy – that a decision to repent and believe and thus receive eternal life is too good to be true. But salvation is a gift from a gracious God. Salvation is "by grace … through faith … it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). When Jesus was asked what good work a person must do, he said "The work of God is this: to believe in the one whom he has sent" (John 6:29).
When you accept Jesus as your savior, God forgives your sins, places you back in his family, and gives you eternal life. Here is the guarantee from the Bible: "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12). And when you die, you are assured of spending eternity with God in heaven. You don't have to guess. "You who believe in the name of the Son of God … you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).