We ended off the previous message saying that we're sitting with a problem, on the one hand eternal life is freely available to all, but on the other hand, our sin prevents us from obtaining it ... so how is this problem solved?
One of the things we know about God is that He is merciful. The Bible says in 1 John 4:8 that God is love. However, in Exodus 34:7 the Bible says that He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Based on this we must understand that even though God is merciful, God is also just and therefore He must punish sin.
Suppose I went and robbed a bank and was caught on camera, along with eyewitnesses identifying me as the robber, and then was later caught with the money. I now stand before the judge and they ask me, "how do you plead?”. Given that the evidence is overwhelming I say, "guilty, your Honour. But, I am very sorry. The bank got all their money back, no one was hurt, and I promise that I will never rob again if you let me go”. Would the judge be just if they let me go? Of course not ... regardless of my best intentions, motives or level of remorse, justice needs to be upheld ... In the same way, God is just, much more just in fact than any human judge, therefore He cannot and will not excuse our sin.
The Bible also tells us that everyone will stand before God one day and give an account of all the things they did on Earth:
2 Corinthians 5:21
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
Revelation 20:11-15
"Then I saw a Great White Throne and Him who was seated on it. The Earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."
Ecclesiastes 12:11-12
"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
So how do we resolve this issue? On the one hand, the free gift of eternal life is freely available to all, but on the other hand we've established that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23), and how because of our sin, justice needs to be carried out. How are we saved from such a difficult position?
A story is told of a freedom fighter who was called Garcia. He was the leader of the group and there was a famine in the land, so there was a shortage of food and resources. One day one of the soldiers came to him and said that someone had been stealing food from their supplies. Garcia then called everyone together and said that the person that they find stealing the food will be whipped publicly.
Some time passed and after a while one of the soldiers came to him and said they had caught someone trying to steal. Garcia then said to gather everyone together so that the public whipping/punishment can proceed so that everyone can be aware of the consequences of their disobedience, and that he was a man of his word ...
... But when he came outside, he found out that the thief they had caught was his mother!
Now he was faced with a dilemma, on the one hand it was his mother, he loved her and wouldn’t want to harm her but on the other hand justice had to be carried out otherwise what sort of message would that send to the rest of the people. They would undermine his authority and possibly look to replace him as their leader if he didn't stick by his word … Garcia had no choice but to allow the punishment to proceed.
However, as the soldier was about to begin the whipping, Garcia removed his shirt, stood in front of his mother and covered her, so that he could take the punishment that was meant for her! Garcia demonstrated love and mercy, all the while carrying out justice. The penalty was paid, but it was paid by Garcia himself.
In the same manner, God demonstrated love and mercy, all the while carrying out justice, by sending His Son Jesus Christ to the Earth to pay the penalty/price for our sins, a debt that we should've paid, so that we can be forgiven.
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
This gospel presentation is sourced from Evangelism Explosion International: https://www.ee3.org.za/