HOPE Share
At Hope Closet, we aim to take a 5-minute break each time we are open to share stories of hope with you from people who have been changed by Jesus or from what we find in God’s Word.
What is the GOSPEL?
G is for – God’s Good News
From John 3:16 we learn, “For God so loved the world that he sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That’s good news of a loving God coming for us! But, in order for us to truly appreciate what this God of the Bible says, we must understand our problem.
O is for- Opposition
All people are born in Opposition to God, instead of a right relationship with Him. In Romans 1:21-22, we see our opposition before God because He has shown us in His creation that He is divine and has eternal power, yet, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles..” We are people of praise. When we don’t give God the praise for our lives and the world He has made and what He has done for us, we praise created things like famous people or amazing products instead, which puts us in opposition to God.
S is for- Stuck in Sin
We are born not just opposed to God, but we are all stuck in sin as well. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” In the same book, we learn that, “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator…. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty…” and the list goes on! (Romans 1:24-25) From infancy, we have wanted our own way and think that it will be better for us than trusting God’s way.
P is for- Penalty
The big problem with our opposition and sin is that it deserves a penalty. In Romans, it says “Though we know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them… Therefore you have no excuse O Man… we know the judgement of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.” Because God is just, He makes sure that sin gets its deserved penalty. We all want that for those who hurt us or our loved ones right? My son’s bike was just stolen and his first response was that he wanted the person who stole it to pay! Right? However, we all want justice, until we are the one in the wrong…
E is for- Evidence
All the evidence so far points to us being guilty- of sin and opposition to God. I was on a jury this summer, and we had to decide whether the defendant was guilty or innocent of the crime based on Minnesota law. After watching video evidence, we all agreed that the guy was clearly guilty of disobeying the law. This was our condition before Jesus came!
We were opposed to God, but Jesus came and was oppressed by us!
We were stuck in sin, but Jesus came to be the sinless sacrifice.
We were deserving of a penalty, but Jesus came to take our punishment by dying on the cross.
The evidence showed we were guilty, but Jesus became the evidence that no one could deny by rising from the dead and showing himself to over 500 people that he conquered death!
This all leads us to the last letter of the word GOSPEL-
L is for- Life
God’s Good News is that he sent his Son to save godless people and give them life!
John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Our lives our full in Christ though only when we surrender our selfish desires of opposition and sin to live God’s way. Galatians 2:20 states, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
1 John says, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” That is truly Good News!
