What is the Gospel? Part 2: Man
God created mankind to be in relationship with him (See previous blog post in this series). He gave different guidelines and conditions to which this relationship was to function. So what happened to this relationship? Why did things go so wrong? Why do people lack this all-satisfying relationship? Remember how I said that God was holy and perfect? In the Bible He calls His people to be perfect and holy as He is (Matthew 5:28). Thus any moment that Man does something “wrong” he ceases to be perfect. If that is a tiny white lie or committing third degree murder, it taints our nature before God.
Where did this all go wrong?
Where all this went wrong was with the first man: Adam. God was with Adam in the Garden of Eden and had this relationship with him. God gave clear guidelines of how to live in relationship (Genesis 3:17). Adam rebelled and all creation fell (Genesis 3). He decided to seek out something other than God to satisfy himself. Man was created to worship God, but man worshiped creation in place of God (Roman 1:25). Instead of serving and adoring God he decided to serve himself and his selfish desires. Adam was the first to rebel/sin. After that the whole world was cursed for its rejection of God and this relationship with God was ruptured (Romans 5:12). This is called the fall of man, but I like to think of it more like an avalanche. This was a big fall, not a mere trip or mistake. This was a devastating act. Now everyone is separated from God and this fulfilling relationship.
Every human being has also sinned himself (Ephesians 2:1). Every person has fallen short of the standard of God (Romans 6:23). The whole human race is self-centered and that affects every area of life: social, spiritual, mental, physical.
There is a threefold consequence of sin:
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Moral Guilt (bad record)
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Corrupt Heart (bad heart)
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Corrupt World (cursed world)
Is God a just judge?
In this rebellion every human deserves punishment. Since we have rebelled against a holy God who is all-powerful and has all authority He needs to execute justice. He would not be an all-good God if He did not make the proper judgement. Imagine a man who was a thief, murderer and deceiver standing before a judge. Would it be right for the judge to just pass the judgement and say he is free to go? Would that do justice to the wrongs he has done? No, it would not. Instead a good judge punishes the wrongs. We are in need of rescue and restoration from our deserved punishment.
Since we have all sinned against God we all deserve punishment. What is most devastating is that we deserve eternal separation from this all-satisfying relationship with the almighty God. We cannot be in the presence of a holy God if we are sinful (Leviticus 16:2). It is like trying to put darkness into a room with a million halogen work lights. Darkness cannot exist in a room like that. So if we have any sin in our lives we will not be able to enter the presence of God. There is nothing we can to do to fix ourselves (Ephesians 2:9; Romans 3:28). We need someone to help us. Someone to rescue us! No “good” works can fix us!
Is this the end of the story?
This is a problem. What went wrong: sin. But this is not the end. There is someone that puts all things right. There is a new Adam who has authority to restore and make all right. It is the climax of this story! There is a rescuer who will offer renewal and restoration. That will be the next blog in this Gospel Series: Jesus Christ.
I would encourage you to read Galatians to understand the Gospel more! Simply read your Bibles more and more. Another helpful resource is Tim Keller’s post When Sin is Grievous and Grace is Stunning.
Author Bio
David received a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from University of Northwestern–St. Paul and is currently working toward earning his Master of Divinity from Bethlehem College and Seminary.
David is the youngest of five, with four older sisters. He met his wife, Kelsey, in Austria through Shamineau International. They were married in 2010. David enjoys the outdoors in all seasons, from swimming on a 90 degree day or camping when it is -40 degrees. When he is outside he loves cycling, running, hunting, fishing, camping and reading a book with a cup of coffee watching the sunrise. He also enjoys woodworking and making stuff with his hands.
David loves people and spending time with anyone. Anyone who joins him on the dock fishing and will talk about the glorious grace of Christ!
