Fellowship... that's the primary reason God created man in His own image. By its very definition, fellowship is reciprocal, where all involved participate in a give and take relationship. When God desired fellowship with man, He desired fellowship with a thinking, feeling being - not a robot. This is why He gave man a personality and a free will. Adam's will gave him the capacity for choosing whether or not to fellowship with God.
In Genesis 2, we learn that God placed this perfect man and woman in an incredible garden named the Garden of Eden. In Eden, Adam and his wife lived in perfect harmony with God and fully enjoyed His creation while living forever. God had placed the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden, not to tempt Adam and Eve, but to give definition to their choice because obedience is meaningless if there is no option for disobedience. God wrned Adam and his wife that choosing to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would mean cetain physical and spiritual death. It is important to note that this was not an unreasonable restriciton, for after all, Adam and Eve were free to eat from every other tree in the garden, including the Tree of Life.
It was at this point that Satan, the fallen angel and hater of all that is Godly, tempted Eve to ignore God's warning and to eat from the forbidden tree. When she and her husband ate, God's words proved true. Immediately, Adam and Eve were transformed into sinful, fallen creatures and death was introduced into what had been a perfect world, In punishment for their sin and to protect them, God expelled Adam and his wife from the Garden into the harsh world where they were forced to live out their remaining days in toil and struggle. But even in the midst of their failure and sin, God extended his mercy by promising to provide a Savior for them.
That Savior was God's sinless Son, Jesus. He came to this earth, lived a perfect life, proclaimed God's message of redemption, and then died on a cruel cross in payment for all of man's sin. One of Jesus' disciples, John, explained it in the simplest of terms when he wrote in John 3:16-18: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." After three days in the grave, Jesus came back to life confirming that God, the Father, was pleased with His sacrifice on the cross. Some forty days later, jesus ascended back to the Father in heaven and is now seated at His right hand to intercede for all who will look to Him for salvation.
The Gosepl then, is simply this:
1. Eternal life is a gift and cannot be earned or deserved.
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Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV
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Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by graceyou have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. NIV
2. Man is a sinner and cannot save himself.
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Romans 3:10 There is no one righteous, not even one; NIV
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Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, NIV
3. God loves man and does not want to be his judge.
4. Jesus paid the penalty for mankind's sins on the cross.
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Isaiah 53:6 We all like sheep, have gone astray, each one of us has turned his own way, and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. NIV
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1 Peter 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. NIV
5. Through placing our trust in Jesus and what He did for us, we can receive the gift of eternal life.
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John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." NIV
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Romans 10:9, 13 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved...Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. NIV