The Plan

So here we are. God is perfect, and we are not. Thus, we cannot have a good relationship with Him. It seems like a stalemate, but God has instituted a plan to overcome the problem of sin.

The plan is one of peace, joy, freedom (from spiritual death), and love—everything God created you to be but was lost through sin.

Because we cannot live a perfect life, God sent His Son to live a perfect life for us. To take upon Himself the punishment that we deserve.

For when we were still without strength, in due time [Messiah] died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, [Messiah] died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Romans 5:6-10).

God has provided this amazing solution to the problem of sin and our separation from Him. But He has also provided us with a choice. He doesn't want to force us to accept a relationship with Him because love, by definition, cannot be forced

If you want to choose to have a right relationship with God, you'll need to repent and believe. In the Scriptures, we read that Jesus preached this very concept:

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’ ” (Mark 1:14-16).

Repent?