You are not an accident. God designed you, wanted you, and made you. He loves you as a Father loves his child.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”
—Jeremiah 31:3
God wants nothing more than for you to live in a true relationship with Him. Not religion, but relationship.
But something has come between you and God: sin.
Sin is anything we do, think, or feel that goes against God’s will. Lies, pride, jealousy, selfishness, anger, etc. Everyone has sinned.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
—Romans 3:23
Sin creates distance between you and God. Not because God doesn’t want you, but because God is Holy, and sin creates a gap between you and God.
The punishment for sin is death—spiritual and eternal.
God is just. Sin must be punished. That is fair, just as a judge must administer justice. But that punishment is severe: death.
“For the wages of sin is death…”
— Romans 6:23
That means: a life without God, now and after this life. Eternal separation. That sounds harsh—but this is where the miracle begins.
The Good News
Jesus came to bear your punishment.
God is not only just, but also loving. He could not stand by and watch you perish. That is why He Himself came to earth in the person of Jesus.
Jesus lived without sin. Yet He died on the cross. Why?
“Christ died for our sins…”
— 1 Corinthians 15:3
Jesus died in your place (substitutionary sacrifice).
“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree…”
— 1 Peter 2:24
“But God demonstrates His love toward us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
— Romans 5:8
Jesus was sinless (Hebrews 4:15), but he took the punishment you deserved. He died in your place so that you could be forgiven.
“God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
— Romans 5:8
He took the punishment you and I deserved. He hung on that cross in your place.
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So that you will not be condemned, but saved.
So that you can receive forgiveness and eternal life.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”
—John 3:17
By accepting Jesus as Savior, you are forgiven. You are acquitted. As if you had never sinned. God then sees you in Christ—beautiful, loved, forgiven.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
—1 John 1:9
“…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
—Romans 6:23b
Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, you can receive forgiveness, healing from guilt, restoration of your relationship with God, and life forever.
Because you are valuable to God.
You are not an accident or a number to God. You were created in His image (Genesis 1:27), and He longs for you to know Him.
What must you do?
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
—Romans 10:9