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Introduction
Of all the endeavors to which a man may give himself, there is none greater than to seek to understand theGospel of Jesus Christ and to search out its infinite glory -
God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself
. Itis a glory too deep for our intellect, too wide for our hearts, and beyond the power of any language to describe,and yet within so great a mystery we find our salvation.
The Divine Dilemma
Webster’s Dictionary defines the word dilemma as “a situation involving a choice between equally unsat-isfactory alternatives” or “a problem seemingly incapable of a satisfactory solution.” In the Scriptures, thegreatest of all dilemmas is set before us on almost every page -
How can a just God pardon the wicked? If God simply pardons the wicked, He is no longer just.
The Scriptures declare: “He who justifies thewicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD”(Proverbs 17:15).
If God does not pardon the wicked, all will perish
. The Scriptures declare: “For all have sinned”(Romans 3:23); and “The wages of sin is death...” (Romans 6:23); and still, “The soul who sins will die”(Ezekiel 18:4).One might ask why God cannot simply forgive man’s sin and be done with it? The Scriptures command usto freely forgive, so why would it be wrong for God to do the same? The answer to this question is three-fold.
First
, God is a being of infinite worth. Even the slightest form of rebellion is a grotesque offense to His person,a crime of highest treason, a strike against the very order of creation. It is worthy of the strickest censure.
Secondly
, God is righteous, and His love is a righteous love. God cannot love unrighteously anymore than Hecan love unrighteousness. There is no contradiction in the character of God. He must be both righteous andloving, and cannot be one at the expense of the other.
Thirdly
, God is the Judge of all the Earth. It is His placeto see that justice is done, that evil is punished, and that right is vindicated. It would not be appropriate for theheavenly judge to pardon the wicked any more than it would be for an earthly judge to pardon the criminal whostands before him in a court of law. Is it not our frequent complaint that our justice system is corrupt? Do we notcringe when convicted criminals are pardoned? Should we expect less justice from God than we do from our own judges? This is the great dilemma - How can God pardon men and still be just? The answer is found in theGospel of Jesus Christ.
The Divine Answer - The Gospel
The word “gospel” comes from the Greek word
euangélion
which is properly translated “good news.” Inancient history, the word was given to any message of great joy. In the Scriptures, the Gospel is the “goodnews” that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the penalty of sin has been paid and sinfulmen may be saved!In accordance with the Father’s good pleasure, the eternal Son, who is equal with the Father and the exactrepresentation of His nature, willingly left the glory of heaven, was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the wombof a virgin, and was born the God-Man - Jesus of Nazareth. As a man, He walked on this earth in perfectobedience to the Law of God. In the fullness of time, He was rejected by men and crucified. On the cross, He bore man’s sin, suffered God’s wrath, and died in man’s place. On the third day, He was raised from the dead.This resurrection is the divine declaration that the Father has accepted His Son’s death as a sacrifice for sin,that the penalty for man’s disobedience has been paid, the demands of justice satisfied, and the wrath of Godappeased. Fourty days after the resurrection, the Son of God ascended into the heavens, sat down at the righthand of the Father, and was given glory, honor, and dominion over all. There in the presence of God, Herepresents His people and makes requests to God on their behalf. All who acknowledge their sinful, helplessestate, and throw themselves upon Christ will be fully pardoned, declared righteous, and reconciled to God.This is the Gospel of God and of Jesus Christ His Son.
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