Happy Resurrection Sunday! Sometimes, on holy days such as this, we go through the motions of tradition without thoughtfully evaluating the meaning. The gospel is only powerful to us if we truly understand what we have lost through sin and what we have gained through Christ. So, to help us do that, here is...
The Gospel in 300
Words
God created
the world perfectly. He also created people—his children! Though in communion
with God, they didn’t trust he was good. When they disobeyed, sin entered the
world. This sin became part of man
and permeated humanity with brokenness.
But God, truly good, was also just; he couldn’t tolerate sin. He sent
these children away (though he spoke of a future Savior!). Banned from their Eden home, and living
in a world of brokeness, they were separated from their Father. It was as
if God regretfully said, “I love you, but don’t come near.” These people, now
sentenced to death, spent generations trying to mend the rift they had created:
following laws God had given, making sacrifices to cover their sin, trying to be good
enough. God required they be perfect to pay the price for sin; they knew
they couldn’t succeed. Then the
unexpected appeared! The promised
Savior! Jesus was born a baby but
still fully God. And because he
was God, he was able to live the perfect life that God required…of us. He fulfilled all the laws and became
the One Perfect Sacrifice…for us.
He did this in our place…instead of us. Just as sin had come
through one man, “so by the one man’s obedience…many will be made righteous.” He died on a
cross…in our place. At the
moment of his death, the curtain of the temple was torn apart;
as if God was saying, “Now, finally, come close.” When he rose
from the dead, he defeated all sin for all time. But he didn’t just leave us
sinless; he imputed his righteousness in us! Now this is the heart of
the gospel: By his life, his death, and resurrection, he reconciled us back to
God!
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13