The Good News & Why We Need A Savior

The Good News & Why We Need A Savior

Being a Christian and being saved is not simply about "choosing to follow Jesus". Or "accepting Jesus into your heart". It is about trusting and loving the Savior for the work He has done to remove the abiding wrath of God that is upon every one of us.

Salvation is not primarily about finding your purpose or having a friendship restored with God. It is about the forgiveness of heinous crimes against our Sovereign King, namely treason against our Maker, a mocking of His worth.

Yes our relationship with God is in need of restoration, but we must understand the type of relationship that is broken between ourselves and the King of the universe. Greg Gilbert helps us understand better when he writes,

"It wasn’t (a relationship) between equals, or a partnership of some kind. No, the relationship we have broken is that of creature to Creator, subject to King. If we think of sin as some sort of lovers’ quarrel or a spat between friends, we’ll lose

            sight of why it required the death of God’s Son to restore. A lovers’ quarrel

            doesn’t require all that. You just have to say “I’m sorry” and “That’s okay,” and

            it’s over. The treason of a rebellious subject against his righteous King, though,

            is different. That requires something rather more to restore."

If we are going to rightly understand our need of a Savior and the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we must understand the gravity of our personal sin against God. Our natural disposition is one of rejection, hardness toward our Maker and bent on self-seeking and finding satisfaction everywhere else but in God. This treasonous devaluing of God is a mockery of His authority and worth. This demands and deserves judgement and infinite punishment. This is why Jesus said we all "are condemned already" before a righteous and worthy God (John 3.18); and that the wrath of God abides on us.

Jesus own words tell us what we need, and it is not simply a restored relationship with God, or a life of meaning and purpose. We need God's righteous and justified wrath against us satisfied. We need forgiveness for our treasonous rebellion. We need forgiveness for our blindness to God's greatness and worth. We need to be spared, "saved", from the righteous punishment that we have each earned by our sin. We need God to declare us innocent, not guilty, even righteous.

And that is the Good News, the Gospel; Jesus' death and resurrection has accomplished this humanly impossible task. He has made a way for those who will trust Him and love Him, to be forgiven. He bore the wrath his people deserved because of their sin. He satisfied the righteous judgement against them. This is The Good News! Believe it, trust Him, love Him for what He has accomplished on your behalf and for what you do not deserve or earn, forgiveness for such heinous crimes against an infinitely loving and good God and King!