The Gospel

Everyone in this world wants to be loved. That’s just how we are put together. We need people who honestly care about us. Each of us needs a friend with whom we can share the joys of the good times and the hurts of the bad times. This article is about having that kind of a loving friendship with God. It’s based upon the Bible. If you were to condense the entire Bible down to one phrase, it would be, “You Are LOVED”. Using LOVED as an acrostic, we’ll discover how people can enjoy a deep friendship with God.

L = Loved by God
Most people wonder if God really loves them. It is a common feeling among people that He does not like them very much. The Bible reveals that God created you to have a close relationship with Himself. Every moment of your life His heart overflows with an unquenchable love for you. He wants you to know Him as a friend and experience this love for yourself.

God’s love for you does not fluctuate up and down, depending on how many good things you do. You can’t do anything to make Him love you more or to make Him love you less. God doesn’t love you more some days and less others.

The reason God loves you is not because you are such a good person. His love originates deep in His own character. The Bible says, “God is love.” (1 John 4:8). His nature is love. Just as the nature of a bird is to fly, and the nature of a fish is to swim, God’s nature is to love you.

Even though God loves us, He doesn’t approve of everything we do.

O = Offended God
God always wants us to do what is right. But our conscience has convicted each of us many times that our actions or attitudes have been wrong. Each of us has fallen far short of God’s standard. The Bible calls it sin and says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). We have all turned our backs on God and chosen our own way. The result of sin is separation from God.

Most of us don’t think of ourselves as “bad” people. But God looks at the selfishness, greed, jealousy, anger, and pride inside our hearts. He knows all our thoughts. He hears all our words. He sees all our actions. Each of us has missed the bull’s-eye of perfection.

Our sin is a serious matter. Even though God loves us, He is also holy. Therefore, He cannot simply overlook our sin. The Bible warns us that “man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27). Each of us will face God after we die.

God’s judgment will be based on His standard of righteousness. It will not matter how sincere we were in our religious observances. We will not be able to use the excuse, “Well, I was better than so-and-so.” God doesn’t grade on the curve. God won’t care if our good outweighs our bad. His verdict will be, “Guilty of sin!” The sentence will be eternal separation from Him in Hell. There will be no appeal. There will be no second chance.

V= Voluntary Substitute

Because He loves you, God has made a way for you to avoid Hell and go to Heaven instead. Because we are powerless to change our hearts and deliver ourselves from sin’s power, we need someone to rescue us. In order to rescue us, Jesus left heaven, came to earth and willingly suffered the judgment our sins deserved.

This is the reason Jesus died on a cross. The Bible affirms this, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous [Jesus] for the unrighteous [us], to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18). Because He paid the penalty for all our sins, you can be completely forgiven of all of them.

Jesus further demonstrated His ability to rescue us in a dramatic display of power when He was resurrected. After dying on the cross, Jesus was buried in a solid rock tomb. The entrance was sealed with a huge rock and guarded by well-trained soldiers. “God raised Him from the dead on the third day.” (Acts 10:40). Jesus overcame death! Jesus is alive! Christianity, unlike all the religions of the world, celebrates an empty grave.

 = Eternal Life Is a Gift

This gift is not deserved. The Bible tells us of a great contrast. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). Because of our sin, our wages at the end of our life is death. More than physical death, the paycheck will be separation from God forever in Hell. In stark contrast, God offers us eternal life as a gift.

It’s an oxymoron to say you earn a gift. The Bible says that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” Heaven isn’t a reward that God gives for good deeds. Heaven is a gift.

D = Decide Now

To take possession of the gift of eternal life, you need to repent of your sins and receive Jesus as your Savior and begin following Him.

To repent is to be sorry for your sin, with the desire to stop offending God. It is a change of attitude toward sin. When driving, we make a U-turn when we realize we missed our destination. Repentance is to admit, “God, I have been going my own way, doing what I’ve wanted. I want to change, so I am turning around and intend to go Your way.”

To receive Jesus is to ask Him to sit in the driver’s seat for the rest of your life. He is not interested in becoming your passenger. Here is a sample prayer to receive Him: “God, thank You for loving me. I admit that I’ve sinned and gone my own way. Thank You, Jesus, for dying for my sins. I want You to take charge of the rest of my life. I surrender the leadership of my life to You.”