Created by God
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth … And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” - Genesis 1:1-31 (ESV)
Before our world began there was God. It was God who said, “Let there be light”. He created the earth and caused the planets to spin into space. It was God who made the flying creatures and swimming creatures, who made all the animals who live on the land. The pinnacle of God’s creation was one special man and one special woman. They were special because there had never been anything like them before. Physically perfect and innocent of all evil, they lived together in a garden planted by God Himself.
Because of Sin
“there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” - Romans 3:22,23 (ESV)
We don’t become sinful by doing wrong, we do wrong because we are born already sinful. God’s standards are very high and even those society regards as ‘good people’ are not good enough for God. Because the first man sinned, that tendency to sin passed down to all his children. No amount of good works can balance out our failure. It’s as if Mother Teresa was caught speeding. Just because she’s Mother Teresa, doesn’t mean she shouldn’t pay. But the cost of sin is greater than a speeding ticket. The penalty for sin is death.
Jesus Died For You
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8 (ESV)
Although it is God who judges us, and it is God’s own holiness that makes us unacceptable to Him, He still showed His love for us. He sent Jesus to die in our place. Just as in ancient times, a lamb or dove was sacrificed as a temporary measure to remove sin and God’s anger against us. So, Jesus was sacrificed, to once and for all remove our sin and God’s anger against us.
Jesus Rose For You
"But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died." - 1 Corinthians 15:20 (NLT)
Jesus died to set us free from sin, but he also rose again to set us free from death. If our hope in Jesus was only for this life and there was nothing after death, we would be fools indeed. But, when this life is over, those who receive Jesus will be raised from death, just as Jesus was raised. We will meet Jesus at His return and live with Him forever.