The Goodness of God Re-revisited

Here's a blog entry from around this time last year. I thought it was worth sharing again: Is God really good? That seems to be a major question in today's culture...How can we get to a place where we trust in the goodness of God?

I'm glad you asked...

In 2 Corinthians 5:19, Paul (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) said: "...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." He goes on to talk about their ministry as ambassadors for God - sharing this message of reconciliation. It is through our understanding of what God has provided for the world through Christ where we can see the goodness of God. If there is ever a doubt in your mind about His goodness; all you have to do is look at the Cross.

The Good News of the Gospel is this: God has already forgiven men's sins. Jesus died and carried the sins of the entire world. Not only did He take care of the sins of the world but He took the punishment for those sins. When Jesus said "It is finished", God said that we are forgiven. Our salvation isn't a matter of God being willing to forgive. Our salvation is a matter if we are willing to believe.

Reconciliation - 1a) to reconcile (those who are at variance). 1b) return to favor with. The Bible says that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Jesus was the "Christ" (Anointed One) sent into the world to bring about this reconciliation. It was the Christ who bore our sin, shed His blood, took our punishment, and overcame death to conquer sin once and for all. The Bible goes on to tell us that God no longer "imputes" our trespasses to us. In other words, He no longer takes inventory, estimates, or reckons our sins to us. You and I are saved when we believe upon the finished work of Jesus Christ and confess Him as Lord of our lives.

Romans 10:9, "...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." It is that simple! We have got to stop with the idea that people go to Hell because of their sins. People go to Hell because they don't believe in the finished work of Jesus. What God offers us in Christ is His righteousness. If we refuse His righteousness, we can never be fully reconciled to God. God has already reconciled the world to Himself - we just need to believe it, accept it, and confess it.

"The message of reconciliation tells us that God did all we would ever need through Jesus. He became our sin so we would not have to stay sinners. He took the curse of the law so we would never have to be punished for our sins. He went to hell so we would never have to pay the ultimate price for our sins. He conquered our sins we He arose from the dead so we would never need to fight the battle with our sin. He obtained our righteousness so we would never have to earn it. He gives it to us as a free gift, thereby, qualifying us for all of the promises of God. In so doing, He is worthy to be our Lord." {James Richards}

Only when we believe and accept the finished work of Jesus can the grace of God empower us to experience the life of God. Once we do that, we have a message to share with the rest of the world: Be reconciled to God! He has already done His part.