God is glorious and loving. He is so loving that he desires to have a relationship with people, so that we can enjoy His glory and live a life of joy and peace in Him. He offered this kind of life to our first parents Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve enjoyed a perfect relationship with God, but they disobeyed God.
When they rebelled and sinned against God, their relationship with God was broken. The reason their relationship with God was broken is because God is holy. Because God is holy, he hates sin. And because God is just, he must punish sin. Psalm 7:11 says, "God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day."
Without a relationship with God, Adam and Eve were left with a sin nature. And that sinful nature has been passed on to each of us. The Bible says that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Our sinful hearts are exposed when we look at God's commands. God says, "Do not lie," but all of us have lied. God says, "Do not steal," but we have all stolen something before. He commands that children honor their father and mother, but we have all dishonored our parents in various ways. Clearly, we have all sinned against God and deserve His punishment. Because God is eternal and infinitely holy, this punishment is an eternity in a place called hell.
But there is good news! God is so merciful and loving that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible says that "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Jesus was fully God, so He was able to live the life of perfect obedience that God required. And Jesus was fully man, so He was able to die to death that sinners deserve to die. Jesus died on the cross taking my punishment for sin that we deserved. The Bible says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21)
After dying on the cross, Jesus rose from the grave three days later proving that God has fully punished sin and sinners can be forgiven and given a right relationship with him.
Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through Me" (John 14:6). Through Jesus, God gives every person the opportunity to have a relationship with him. God gives all sinners the gracious command to turn from sin and to trust in Jesus alone to save them. This doesn't mean that you will be perfect, but it means that you turn from a lifestyle of sin and begin a lifestyle of seeking to obey Jesus. Jesus said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15). The Bible teaches that if you repent of sin and trust in Jesus alone to save you, you will be forgiven, and Jesus's perfect righteous will count for you.
Do you think you have ever truly repented of your sin and put your faith in Jesus? If not, what is keeping you from doing that? The Bible teaches, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). God promises, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). If you desire to turn from your sin and trust in Jesus, we encourage you to get alone with God and tell him that. It's not about the words you use. It's about the attitude of your heart. The decision to turn from sin and trust in Jesus is the most important decision that anyone can ever make.
