08. What is the Basic Message?
Key Verses / Passage
For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him (Jesus) should not perish but granted eternal life. For God did not send His son to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17
Song Lyrics
Jesus loves me, this I know; For the Bible tells me so,
Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes - Jesus loves me, Yes - Jesus lots me,
Yes - Jesus loves me; the Bible tells me so.
Anna Bartlett Warner, 1860. William Bradbury, 1862.
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Discussion
Although it is a complex and big book, the Bible contains a very simple message throughout the whole thing. Regardless of the mention of wars, famine, abduction and all the things that humans do to each other, the main message is one of LOVE. The trouble is we don’t generally understand this word the same way as people back then. I can love my ice cream and love my dog, but is that what the Bible is talking about?
The kind of love the Bible talks about is not a mushy emotion but a raw, strong desire by God that leads to a radical, extreme action. An action that bids to bring us back into the relationship that we humans had with Him in the beginning.
God create humans to be in a relationship with Him but humanity turned away from Him. We wanted to rule this world in His place. That’s treason, punishable by death. But... God loved Humanity so much that He sent His only divine/human son - the Lord Jesus Christ - as the payment for our treason. That payment was an awful and horrific torture that guaranteed death... but for a short time Jesus had taught people what God wanted in a relationship.
Once the payment was made, God raised up Jesus as the rightful ruler, the Lord. Now it’s up to each of us to make a choice. Do we want to live under His rule or our own?
God loves us so much that he wants us to make a good choice and so the whole Bible is a love letter about Jesus, to us in order to make things right.
Shortly after Jesus was resurrected, thousands of people were in Jerusalem and heard a nobody fisherman deliver a big speech about Jesus, who he was, why he had died and then was back to life as the Messiah. The people who heard this were terrified - it was probably the biggest “whoops” moment in all of history where they thought, “We killed the Lord of Glory - he is going be so mad... what do we do?”
Peter, the speaker, tells them to “Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. (Acts 2:38)
So, this is the basic message; humanity was given a gift of life and relationship. We messed it up and could not fix it. Jesus was sent by God the Father to pay the price of restoring the relationship, offering once again the gift to everyone. It is now our choice to receive that gift.
2 Ways to Live is a well known, short presentation of how to tell the Gospel. Click Here for the most recent way of reading this message
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Reflection / Questions
• You have a choice, between life and death, blessings and curses, freedom and servitude; Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father (God) except through me”. Jesus is the only way to restore the relationship with God, the Father.
• Consider how to condense this basic message into a 2 minute talk that you can easily share with anyone at any time so that others may know the importance of Jesus.
Consider your choice and the cost that was paid to “buy you back”
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Prayer
Lord Jesus - thank you for buying me back. Thank you for enduring all that you had to, in order that many would be redeemed to you. Thank you that I am redeemed. I trust you and want to follow you. Pease lead me all the days of my new life.