Your New Life in Christ

This article is an excerpt from week two of the My New Life Bible Study.

If asked, most people would say, “I am a good person.” Not only do we believe our own hearts are good, we often say the same of others. The Bible, however, presents us with a different perspective that turns our thinking upside down.  

David said it bluntly in Psalm 14, and the apostle Paul reiterated this truth to the believers in Rome: “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). And God Himself said it to Jeremiah like this: “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). 

There is only one way for your heart to be healed. There is only one way to be in relationship with God after sin caused us to be separated from Him. There is only one way to be set free from the sin that has corrupted our hearts. The answer is Jesus, the One in whom you have chosen to place your trust.  

We are broken people living in a broken world. We sin. Thankfully, God offers us forgiveness because of what Christ has done on the cross. Forgiveness is a precious gift. Jesus made this gift available to us, and we receive it by confessing our belief in who He is and our recognition of our sin. God willingly forgives those who admit their sin. When we confess our sin, we also must repent, or turn from that sin, and turn to Jesus. Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of that sin, and a sincere commitment to turn from it and walk in obedience to Christ.  

Jesus Died in Our Place

During the Great Depression, the mayor of New York City was a man named Fiorello La Guardia. In January of 1935, La Guardia heard the case of a woman charged with stealing bread. The woman shared that she stole the bread to feed her grandchildren, who were in desperate need. La Guardia told the woman he could not ignore the law and must either fine her ten dollars or sentence her to ten days in jail. As he pronounced the penalty, he worked his hand into his pocket and pulled out the ten dollars to pay the penalty on behalf of the woman. Further, he charged everyone in the courtroom fifty cents each for living in a town that forced a woman to steal bread so that her grandchildren could eat. As the story goes, the woman left the courtroom with her penalty paid and in a better state than she had entered. And that story is a picture of the gospel story. 

All people are guilty of sin and in need of grace, and God is unable to ignore the penalty that must be paid for sin. If He did, He would not be just. Yet God has not left us in our helpless state. He loves us so much that He made a way for us to be restored to a relationship with Him. We do not deserve this grace. God would have been perfectly right to condemn all people to hell for our sin, separated from Him forever. Instead, because of His great love for every single person who has ever lived or will ever live, God sent Jesus, who was sinless, to pay our penalty by dying on the cross. And what is the result? We are counted as righteous before God. Truly, this is good news! 

Only Jesus is able to pay for your sins because only Jesus was able to live a perfectly sinless life on earth. If Jesus had sin of His own, He would not be an acceptable sacrifice for your sin or anyone else’s. He gave His perfect life in exchange for your sinful one. On the cross, Jesus took your penalty and gave you His righteousness. 

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). On the cross, Jesus accepted the punishment for your sin, so God’s love for you does not waver. It is not based on what you do but on what Jesus has done. The cost has been paid and will never be unpaid. This is the heart of the gospel and the best news the world has ever known.