Endangered Species

When he finished the evening newscast, the announcer felt like saying, "Shall we pray?" No wonder. The news that evening had included a famine, an earthquake, wars on several fronts, protest marches, and an assassination. Almost every report seemed calculated to cause depression. If he felt like praying, what about his millions of viewers? The fact is that good news seems to be an endangered species in this world of ours. But just a minute. Don't give up in despair. There is good news. You won't find it on the evening newscast, in the daily paper, or in magazines like TIME. You have to go to the Bible to get it. In the Bible it's called the gospel. The word "gospel" means good news. You may be wondering, unless you think you already know, "what is the gospel?" Here it is in a nutshell: "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures...he was buried... he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (I Corinthians 15:3-4). This quote from the Bible is perhaps the clearest and most concise statement we have of the gospel. Let me borrow a couple of minutes of your time, and let’s think together about what these words of "good news" mean. "Christ died for our sins." That says a lot. It says that we are sinners, all of us. The proof that we are sinners is that we sin, in thought, in word, in deed, even in the omission of deeds. We all prove it daily in one way or another. Now stand out away from the crowd and try this part of the verse on alone. Christ died for my sins. I am a sinner. I sin daily. Good - now you're getting the idea. But this verse says more - not only that we are all sinners, but also that the penalty for our sins is death. "Christ died for our sins," we are told. The only payment that God will accept for sin is death. He tells us so Himself. Ezekiel 18:4 puts it clearly, "The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die." And again in Romans 6:23, "the wages of sin is death." All it takes to earn or deserve that penalty is one sin. So make it personal, remember - I am a sinner. The only payment God will accept for my sin is death. All it takes for me to earn or deserve that penalty is one sin. And – each sin I commit earns me that penalty again, and again. Whew! But don't panic, it gets better from here – as we really get into the good news. It says, "Christ died." Think of that. Islam denies this fact, but God declares it to be so. We did the sinning and He did the dying. Not logical? You’re right! God is telling us that on the cross of Calvary Jesus Christ became our Substitute. We should have died for our sins, but thank God (literally!), Jesus Christ, Who is God the Son - took our place. "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (I Peter 2:24). "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (I Peter 3:18). A mere man could never have done that - because he would have had sins of his own to die for. Besides that, even if a man were perfectly innocent, he could never pay all the spiritual, eternal death penalties for all people's sins. Think about it. If only human he could at best substitute for one other human. But Christ, being God – and Infinite, could die for our sins, all of us. Now don't forget to make it personal. My sins required the death penalty in God's court. I did the sinning and Jesus did the dying. He took my place, and when He died on the cross, He – God the Son, was paying the death penalty for me, a sinful person. That's why this is called the gospel. Gospel means good news - remember? - and it is good news that, although you owe God death (eternally in the lake of fire – Revelation 20:11-15) for your sins, Jesus Christ went to the cross and took your sins on Him there. And He suffered and died there as your Substitute. Amazing love. He took your punishment for you. And the good news is that you can be forgiven now based on this truth: your sins have already been judged by God, and the penalty for them all has been paid, in God's courtroom – Calvary. But look again at these verses. There's more. "He was buried." It is a fact of history, and a fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures that Jesus really died, and was buried. What a burial, too. Wrapped in cloth strips with spices between them. Laid in a tomb carved in rock – with one way in and one way out. Next they rolled a stone over the doorway. So much for the way out. Then they sealed the tomb and posted a guard of Roman soldiers – not of Boy Scouts! He was buried, sure enough, but if He was more than a mere man He wouldn't be stopped, not even by such elaborate proceedings. And if He had settled the question of justice for our sins (He had none of His own) then there was no reason why He had to stay in the tomb. So He didn't. "And...he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." Christ arose. Confucius, Buddha, and Mohammed are all still in their tombs. Maybe this is why some people from these religions feel so antagonistic towards Christians, because this truth discovers the difference between their man-invented religions and the divinely revealed, heaven sent Gospel! Jesus Christ is not like Confucius, Buddha or Mohammed. Christ’s tomb is empty, my friend! Not because He never was really there – but rather because He arose. "He is not here, for he is risen," was the message of the angels. It was also the testimony and preaching of the apostles and disciples. Now, think about it, if this message wasn't true it would've been easy to discredit and silence. Simply produce the body, and disprove the claims of resurrection. Or publicly challenge the apostles' story, accuse them of theft of the body, and take the whole matter before the court. This was never done. And unfortunately for the unbelievers, they couldn't produce the body, because He arose, just as both He and the Scriptures said He would. What this means is – the Gospel is not just a nice story, but the good news that Jesus Christ, Who died for your sins, is alive and well as Lord of all. He is the one Who is offering you a pardon right now. He is offering you forgiveness for your sins, based on the truth that He has already paid for them at Calvary. What is needed on your part, besides conviction that all this is true and applies to you, is to believe the gospel. To believe the gospel is much more than just saying, "I believe the gospel," or "I believe in Jesus." Many have said things like that, even with emotion, but their own lives show that there is no spiritual power or reality in merely repeating words, however true they may be. To really believe (trust), means to take action based on the gospel message - to turn from your sins, whatever they are, and to come to God to be delivered from them and their penalty. It is to enter into a new relationship with Jesus Christ, God the Son, in which you place your trust in Him as your Lord and Savior. You trust Him to forgive your sins based on His payment for them in substitutionary death at Calvary. You submit to Him and trust Him to give you a new life under His management. It will mean changes. But once you commit yourself to Christ, you'll have Him in you, giving you – now surrendered and saved – the power to live a new and different life for Him. Think it over... what have you got to lose, but your sins? Carl Knott