"He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." 1 John 2:2
Paul taught that "there is no one is righteous, not even one ... all have turned away ..." (Romans 3:10,12). This led to his famous proclamation that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Humankind was doomed at that very moment when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit.
A Holy God cannot tolerate sin. His sovereign character requires that He has to judge every sin. Every sin elicits a penalty.
Why is Jesus Christ central to the Good News?
Simply because He imputed righteousness to all sinner by taking upon Himself the punishment for ALL sin (1 John 2:2). We are justified freely by His grace through redemption that came by Jesus. (Romans 3:24).
As we preach the gospel, don't just quote Romans 3:23 which condemns us all. Remember that the most important part of the story is the good news in Romans 3:24. It gives us the only hope for redemption and reconciliation to our Abba Father.
And one more important point.
Most, if not all, other religions demand that their followers perform specific tasks to appease their gods. Christianity is the only one for which God does everything for His followers to be redeemed.
There is absolutely nothing that we can do to get right before God ... "there is no one righteous .. not even one.." There is then "no boasting" (Romans 3:27) because our salvation comes solely through Christ's effort, not ours.
Jesus is indeed the Good News for mankind.
Hallelujah, praise the Lord! So let's go out there to preach the Good News as it is.
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God bless.
Steven
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