The Truth... What is it?





The Best News Ever:

Level 1 explanation

When we consider the sins that all humans do (commission) and sins of all because of what we don't do (commission), did you know that the Bible never records Jesus telling a specific sinner that, "You are going to hell!"? The truth is that God doesn't send anyone to Hell. We are all born headed for "darkness" as part of the consequences of "The Fall" of Adam & Eve. Even when divinely saved in this world, Jesus promised (John 16:33), "I have told you these things, so that you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." There is one true God who is spotlessly Holy and who cannot be surrounded for eternity by stained, sinful souls. You can't be there for eternity spotted and dirty with sin...unless you get washed or cleansed (get sins forgiven & nullified). You can't save yourself; and you can't transform your heart yourself!!

Guess what! God devised a way out of this downward spiral to spiritual darkness. And He has no limit on the number who can escape this otherwise inevitable darkness. Here is that "good news":

Problem & solution summary:

Axiom: Eternity in general is from prior infinity to future infinity. The smaller sub-segment of eternity involving earth is from creation on to the end of future time. Your personal segment of eternity is from your biological conception through future infinity. We all are sinful & not naturally able to have truly "right relationships" (live righteously...right relationships CHART here) and cannot cleanse ourselves. But the price for that cleanser has already been paid...your free ticket to eternal salvation (the saved life) is reserved for you, & that ticket "buys" TWO "eternal salvation" components:

  1. salvation on earth (and true potential for a fulfilled life while on earth)
  2. eternity in Heaven where God  is waiting...guaranteed.

The "cleanser" just needs to be realized...applied...by claiming the ticket. Please don't resist...don't choose to refuse...accepting & claiming the "ticket".  That cleansing process requires a savior who stands for (paid for) immediate eternal salvation (complete = earthly plus afterlife), followed by His work in you (which can transform you...a changed heart..."heart transplant"...into a new life) and give you peace (Philippians 4:6-7) on earth. That Savior will accept YOU exactly like you are right this minute!! Because of Jesus alone, there is NO unpardonable sin any longer (while Jesus was a man on earth...and only then...He noted that speaking against the Holy Spirit was an unpardonable sin [Jesus speaking, Matthew 12:32]). The good news...the Gospel (from Jesus) of God's Love & Grace is As follows:

Bible summary of situation:

God had/has purpose for His creation and, therefore, for each human being. The rules and commandments of the Old Testament of the Bible  serve as a mirror to us to make us realize what is negative ("bad")...what is wrong...in our lives. These wrong things impair/damage/destroy right relationships! It recounts...over & over & over... God's chosen people trying & failing to be righteous (to justify their worthiness before God by obeying...and then failing to obey...commands & rules).  The New Testament of the Bible recounts details of the fact...the Gospel (the "good news")...that our worthiness before God is on the coat-tails of the already-finished work of our Savior and Lord (boss...master...the one whose directions we intend to follow), Jesus Christ...by His Love & Grace only!! Jesus gives many hard sayings in parables & elsewhere that further serve to let us know that not a single human can can be worthy before God without a savior. And the story of all of this contains those fundamental, Holy-Spirit-inspired, handwritten directions which constitute God's word (the Bible)...His Holy Scripture.

Man needs God:

Blaise Pascal, an amazing man in the 1600s, is credited with the statement that all humans have a God-shaped vacuum in their hearts. So, essentially all societies in the history of mankind have tried to fill that vacuum with a "god" or "gods". Think of the myriad religions and sub-religions of the world with billions of members. The good news is that there actually is one true, holy, and perfect God! And, this God created and loves you and wants an on-going earthly relationship with you that makes you whole, joy filled, at peace, and fully involved in "right relationships". He has a kingdom in Heaven (Mark 1:14) and wants you to be there in optimally right relationship with Him for the entire rest of eternity. He wants you satisfied and joyful during all of your life...not fearful, not uncertain, not sad and discouraged and of negative attitude . He wants to strengthen you with the indwelling of His Holy Spirit so that you "can do all things" (Philippians 4:13)...God supplies all that you need to "do all things". It is a lifelong process of growing in capability.

Getting to Heaven with God:

You may not see the value in this unless you contemplate where you will be for your personal segments of eternity (an average life on earth lasts for less than 100 years...eternity is endless)! The good news is that He has a Way...His guaranteed way...for you to qualify. That Way is a free gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9)...free so no one can boast of what they did to earn it. God seeks you. There is a Way to make you "clean". And that Way just requires what seems like a decision ("coming to belief") by you...though God enables & promotes the entire process. Some believe that scripture indicates that, for practical purposes, such a decision of "the Elect" (more on this later) is implanted or essentially the destiny (predestined) of those who will go to Heaven. Or, you could have spent eternity some place other than Heaven...endlessly separated from the true God, except for the work of Jesus. You (we all do) need that cleanser (a transforming savior)...we need a Savior who can get us presentable for eternity before this righteous & holy God. [see deeper link, below, which leads to deeper links for more thorough understanding]

The Savior: 

God sent the prophecy of the good news that He would provide a Savior to mankind...to His then-chosen people, the Jews of Israel (Isaiah 53:4-12). Many hundreds of years later, He sent the angel Gabriel to tell an imperfect, engaged (but unwed) woman & betrothed of a righteous man (Joseph), Mary of Nazareth, that she would give birth to the Way of the good news, the Messiah...the Christ, Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). Months later the announcement that the birth had happened earlier that day came FIRST to the lowest-class humans in Israel, the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20). That announcement had been heralded by a "star" which the "Magi" saw "in the east"...Matthew 2:1-2 (this was a "star" that moved north to south down the Damascus road...the end of the route from "the east"...down to Bethlehem). NOTE: all celestial stars & the sun and the moon rise in the east and "move" westward (BUT, check this)! The Savior, Jesus, was born to average-class Jews of Judea, but He became a resident of the insignificant town of Nazareth at about age 2-3 (Matthew 2:21-23), his mother...Mary...being a lowly Nazarene (Luke 1:26-27) Jew. And He was born in an animal stall and cradled in a  feed trough (manger...Luke 2:7)) in that stall in Bethlehem...born a Jew. Jesus was put to death  about 32+ years later in the worst way possible (by scourging followed by crucifixion...a death customarily reserved for the very worst criminals) and shed His cleansing blood on the cross...always being a Jew. He was resurrected from the dead. And the first two humans (Matthew 28:1-10) to literally see this great news (the absence of Jesus' body in the tomb [John 20:2]) were women (the female gender being highly respected but very socially inferior to the male gender in 1st century AD Israel [and everywhere else in the world in those days]). One of the women was a Jesus benefactor, Mary of Magdala (Mary Magdalene); and she saw him crucified & buried (Luke 23:50-56) and was also the first to whom the resurrected Jesus spoke & appeared (Matthew 28:1-10, Luke 24:1-9 & John 20:10-17).

The strategic location for the Savior to appear:

God deposited this Savior...Jesus...south of the very North, East, South, and West crossroads of the known world, where the Via Mare road from Europe, Italy (Rome), and Greece caught the trade route from the far east (Mesopotamia, China, etc.), and then passed southward around the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and formed a funnel passing through Israel southward-bound to Egypt.

About your lifetime on this planet:

Is life perfect for you? Life on this earth is not perfect for any human! In fact, there is a lot of divinely promised (John 16:33) difficulty in life. Life doesn't have to be the way that it is...with you depending on your skills and luck, with or without the help & advice of other people...even whether you are a failure or success. Is your heart perfectly joyful? The good news is that He can heal your heart (Luke 4:18-19)! You can truly relate to God...now. You can have divine empowerment (Philippians 4:13..."God help") and a peace-filled, fulfilled life (as you go through all that "life" brings or presses onto you) if you'll only accept/realize the free gift from the one true God...a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) available to anyone who will accept/realize it. Jesus died to pay the human penalty owed (death...eternity apart from God) for the past, present, and future sins of all of mankind. Jesus arose from the grave as proof that He could conquer death for us. Jesus is available now as your personal, living Savior! There is personal, divine help for YOU to realize your purpose in life.

Please know that there is spiritual warfare (forces of Satan, the devil, versus the forces of God) always ongoing in the world and that, if you become a Jesus believer, a personal "civil war" will commence as demonic forces try to pull you back to the "old life". Jesus is the Commander-in-chief of the forces of God...call on Him to help you! Good news!...you'll have help against such forces as you endeavor to do God's purpose in your life. Satan is commander-in-chief of the worldly forces, the forces of evil.

About your death:

No human is able to live a sin-free life either justifying (1) eternal living with our spotlessly holy God in Heaven or (2) the saved life on earth & into eternity. In essence, all humans are living lives that would place them on "death row"; and most just don't realize it! So, humans needed a Savior. Therefore, the wonderful news is what God  (in His perfect love & grace) did...and He did it for every human...He provided the free gift of that Savior! Though not a single human deserved it, the love of God and the grace (giving of undeserved favor) of God caused Him to devise the Way to satisfy all aspects of His (God's) character. We have been delivered from detailed-rules legalism: obeying rules perfectly in order to get the prize!

It matters greatly that you can know that:

  1. forgiveness: the penalty for your sins has already been paid by the death of Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb. And,
  2. freedom: you don't have to work for it; eternal salvation is there for you as a free gift & the Savior, Jesus, is always available to you (just as you are right this second...no matter what you have done or not done in your life) and is always willing to become your personal Savior (if you'll just ask/realize & believe); and,
  3. security: that salvation, once obtained/realized, is secure...it can't be lost; and,
  4. union with God: even here on earth, you will be in an actual relationship with God, indwelt by God in the person of the mentoring & empowering Holy Spirit; and,
  5. eternal life: that, upon becoming saved, there will be (1) a new beginning with life on earth forever after with Jesus (God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit) and (2) a happy ending to your earthly life as you subsequently dwell in a perfectly right relationship with God in Heaven!!! See the concept of "The Elect" in Level 3 link, below.

By the way, do you already say that you are Christian? If so, which of these are you talking about (what do you mean by "I am a Christian?)?

***A gift hidden away in the attic has no actual use unless it is actually obtained/realized by the receiver. How can you get this gift (explained later)? On obtaining the gift, we are urged to be always ready to explain our hope (I Peter 3:15-16). First, check out a little more deeply & thoroughly:

[go to slightly deeper...Level 2...explanation & that page will link to another with additional depth of discussion]...

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(posted 20 June 2003; latest addition 31 December  2016)