The impact of the gospel becomes real at the moment Jesus cries out with “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” while on the cross. This is the whole reason for the “good news” in the first place. Man, who is separated from God because of sin, can not pay back the debt he owes, so God becomes a man, who does not sin, to pay back man’s debt to God.
I. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. From incarnation to intercession, Jesus’ redemptive work at the cross and the tomb is called a matter of first importance and works together to save us (Hebrews 7:23-25). We each choose to obey or not obey the gospel (Romans 6:1-18) as Jesus overcomes our sin problem (Isaiah 59:1-4) by having our sins punished in Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21) and then solving our grave problem by resurrecting from the dead.
II. Romans 7:18-20. Sins are either those we commit (when we do what we shouldn’t) or omit (don’t do what we should). Even the smallest hint of either will separate us from a holy God (Ephesians 4:17–5:7). If we just look at the seven deadly sins (although every sin is deadly!), we can see how they all overlap in and work to destroy individuals’ spiritual, physical, and emotional/mental realms. We need Jesus’ redemptive work of the gospel to remove the separation that sin has made between us and God.
III. Romans 14:10-12. We must own our sins before Jesus can take them away. This means letting their devastating impact to our souls and the awaiting judgment for them truly strike us. Then, we can appreciate what Jesus has done for us and can obey the gospel by believing (John 8:24), repenting of our sins (Luke 13:3), confessing Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9), and being baptized into His Name for the forgiveness of sins (1 Peter 3:21).
But the gospel doesn’t stop there … as those who have come into Christ must continue to live obediently (Philippians 2:12-13). Jesus has died for you. Are you living in Him?