We are all about JESUS.
Jesus is why we do what we do.
We want to make Jesus known among all people. We are passionate about him because of what he has done for us.
The Gospel is at the center of all history, and it is at the core of who we are at Westwood Baptist Church.
So.
You may be thinking, “Who is this Jesus, and what is the Gospel?”
We are so glad you asked.
Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the World, and the greatest human who has ever lived.
To understand Jesus, we must first talk about God. At the beginning of time, God created the World. He spoke, and life came forth. Pretty incredible, right?
He created the World and everything in it, including us: humanity. He created us and said we were “very good.” But something happened to this perfect creation. God made humans, gave them a place to live, The Garden of Eden, and walked among them. When God placed humans in the Garden, he only gave them one rule, that they couldn’t eat from the tree at the center of the Garden of Eden. But Satan came, and tempted them, and they decided to rebel against God, and eat from the tree - the first sin.
From that moment forward, all humans have been separated from God, because in his perfection, he cannot be in the presence of sin. Not only that, but every human that has lived since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden has been stained by sin from the moment they are born.
Except for one: Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the only human to ever live a totally perfect life.
Really. Like, ever.
The Gospel is the story of his perfect life, and the Good News for all of us sinful humans.
This is The Gospel:
Due to the fact that Adam and Eve sinned, all humans that have come and will come are stained by sin. Sin put humanity in open rebellion against a holy God, and separated us from him. Not good.
But not only is God holy, but he is also loving. In his love, he made a plan to redeem humanity so we could once again be with him.
God sent Jesus to be our redemption.
The Bible tells us that Jesus came to Earth, was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless life.
God’s own son came, and lived among us, and as one of us , in order to fulfill the plan of His Father. You see, in order to dwell with God, we must be cleansed from our sin. In the Old Testament, they would sacrifice an unblemished lamb. But they had to make sacrifices yearly. They needed a permanent solution.
Humanity needed a savior.
Jesus is our Savior.
Because Jesus lived a perfect, unblemished life, he was able to be our sacrificial lamb, cleansing us from our sins.
Jesus, the Son of God, who lived a perfect life, showing us how to live, sacrificed himself on our behalf.
Though he had done no wrong, he was tried in a Roman court, and found guilty. His punishment? Death on a cross.
The most gruesome form of punishment given to the worst criminals of the day. And the Son of God took it for us.
But Jesus didn’t stay dead.
After he died on the cross, Jesus was buried. BUT, ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE.
Jesus, our perfect Savior, rose from the grave on the third day, defeating death, sin, and Satan for all time. He then ascended to Heaven, where even now, he is preparing a place for all believers.
One day, he he will return for his people, and usher in his eternal kingdom.
We are no longer separated from the Father. Instead, we have been given eternal life through Jesus’ sacrifice, and we can dwell with God forever.
Pretty amazing, huh?
So, what does this mean for us, as sinful humans?
It means a few things.
It means we have a way to be with God once again. It means we don’t have to be condemned to Hell for all eternity. Jesus made a way for us to have eternal life in Heaven. But we are still born in sin. Everyone is. There are two things that the Bible tells us we have to do in order to access this gift of life with God.
First, we must repent.
Repentance is the act of turning from our sin, and coming to the Father. It means that we are putting aside our sinful desires, because we desire the life Jesus offers so much more than our sin. This is not something that is only done one time either. We will continue to sin until the day we are before the Father. Because of that, we have to continue to live a life of repentance towards our sin.
Then we must believe.
We must believe that Jesus is who the Bible tells us he is. That he came to Earth, lived a perfect life, and died, taking our sins upon himself. Not only that, but we must believe that he rose from the dead on the third day, and is one day coming back for us. Only by repenting of our sins and believing that Jesus died making a way for us can we again enter the presence of God.