The world is full of questions, but what if just five of them held the key to everything? What if the most important answers in life could be found by asking just five questions? Five crucial questions that unlocks the heart of the Biblical Gospel—a message that has power to change your life. Let’s find out what they are.
- Who is God?
- Who is man?
- Who is Jesus Christ?
- What is in it for me?
- What should I do?
Question One: Who is God?
Despite the existence of many religions, every man’s conscience knows that there is one God who is the Creator of everything. Bible reveals this one living God in 4 acts: He is God of Creation, God of Providence, God of Justice and God of Redemption.
God of Creation: This one God is the Creator of the vast universe, bringing it into existence out of nothing through the power of His spoken word over a period of six days. He could have just casually made a bland world, everything white and black, and asked us to eat mud and survive! But the intricate planning and intentional design in every structure, symmetry, colors of this world, all reflect the beauty, wisdom, power, and goodness of the great Creator. Furthermore, Bible states this Creator God is inherently righteous and holy. As a reflection of His moral character, He has inscribed His law within the conscience of every human, outlining our duties both to Him and to fellowmen. This law generally called 10 commandments specifically forbids actions such as covetousness, lying, stealing, adultery, murder, dishonoring parents, breaking the Sabbath, taking His name in vain, and the creation or worship of idols or any other objects besides true God. Breaking any of these laws is called sin.
God of Providence: This Creator God is also known as the LORD–a title that underscores His absolute sovereignty and control over all that He has made. In work of providence, God actively sustains and governs every aspect of His creation. It is He who gives life, breath, and all things to humanity, determining the times, places, and circumstances of each individual’s existence.
God of Justice: This God being omniscient is fully aware of every action and thought of every person. He sees beyond our outward lives and into our hearts. He considers lustful thoughts as adultery, and anger as murder. As a just God, He has to ultimately punish all sin. He has fixed a day to do that. So He meticulously records each instance in which we transgress His law, recognizing them as sins committed against Him. The magnitude of sin is measured not as to who committed it, but against whom it is committed. Humans sin against an eternal God, hence their sins deserve an eternal punishment in hell. As God’s creatures, we are ultimately accountable to our Creator, and we will one day be judged for our thoughts, words, and actions. This is the God presented in the Bible.
Many question God’s existence, pointing to the much suffering and pain in the world. To respond to this, it’s essential next to understand: Who is man?
Question Two: Who is man?
Crown of God’s creation. Man was created wonderfully and fearfully in the image of God to glorify and enjoy God forever. The bond between the Creator God and His creature man, is the most profound, intricate, and powerful relationship conceivable. The image of God with its inherent likeness forms an unbreakable connection between man and his Creator, a connection no fallenness can fully erase. Bible states God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” and then on every breath of man yearns for bonding with his Creator. We do not just exist because God created us; we continue to exist because He sustains us every second. In him we live, move, have our being. Our life force, our very animation, comes directly from Him. This indescribable bond was designed for eternal communion between God and man. Dim sample of that is reflected in bond between mother and her child. No mother is involved in forming of child in the womb, but this God forms every nerve, artery, bones of every infant in womb. This bond between man and his God is woven into the very fabric of his existence, foundational to his being, and ultimately for his purpose. All restlessness of mankind is a yearning for this profound bond. We all feel it—a deep, aching void that nothing seems to fill. “Our hearts are restless until they find Thee” is a famous quote from Saint Augustine of Hippo. Though created as a glorious creature to glorify and enjoy God forever, man fell !
Fallen Creature: The Bible narrates first humans, Adam and Eve, though created perfectly in God’s image, exercising their freewill, they both disobeyed God, leading to a departure from their perfect state, which is referred to as the “Fall of mankind.” As Adam and Eve represented the human race, all subsequent humans descending from those first parents inherited not only the consequences of their wrong, but also their sinful flawed nature. Like a chain of dominoes, all of us who come after them have been toppled by their fall. You know that parents pass on certain traits to their children. Your eye, skin, and hair colour, for instance, comes from your parents. Even some diseases can be inherited. The tendency to do wrong instead of right is just like that. It is passed down the generations. We are born with that bias for what’s bad, and every day we see, read about, or suffer the symptoms of our human disease. We violate and break God’s holy law by envy, lying, hating, stealing, resentment, divorcing, breaking the Sabbath, taking God’s name in vain, and prioritizing idols over Him. So man is fallen sinful creature.
Why Do Man and Woman Suffer? The book of Genesis attributes the origin of all human suffering to the disobedience of Adam and Eve and the subsequent curses God placed upon them.
The Curses on Woman
Every woman suffers in two key areas: her children and her husband. The curse related to children began when Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. Consequently, every woman not only gives birth in pain, but just as Eve broke God’s heart through her disobedience, her children will regularly break her heart by disobeying her. The curse in marriage stems from Eve causing her husband to eat the fruit. She will always desire to control her husband, while he will try to dominate her, leading to constant marital conflicts.
The Curses on Man
Every man suffers in two key areas: his work and the inevitability of death. Since the first man, Adam, disobeyed God by eating the fruit, he was driven out of Eden and condemned to toil for his food and that of his family. His life is now characterized by the pressures and challenges of providing through hard labor. So every man wakes up, goes to work, and faces daily labor and job pressures. When he returns home, his children often don’t obey him, and he finds himself in a constant marital struggle with wife. This is the life man is allotted to live, separated from his Creator. Where does all this lead? To an ideal, bright future? No. Instead, it leads to physical decline, sickness, and eventual death. God cursed man, saying, “From dust you came and to dust you shall return.” The Bible states, “the wages of sin is death”
I hope now you can see small word ‘Sin’ explains the human predicament. The news gets worse: Humanity is depicted as inherently powerless to escape this fallen condition, unable to avert the inevitable decline towards death, followed by divine judgment and eternal punishment in hell for all their sins against this holy God. Man is fallen sinful creature, so cannot approach his holy Creator.
But do you see the human dilemma? On one hand, every breath and atom of man unconsciously yearns for deep bond with his Creator, and on other hand, as sinful being it is impossible for him to acceptably come to this holy God on his own. An infinitely holy God one side, and an utterly sinful creature on the other. Who can bridge this impossible gap?
This drives us to ask the great question of ages: How can a sinner be reconciled to a holy God and find peace that can fill every aching void in his life. This leads us to third question.
Question Three: Good news comes to us in the third Question: Who is Jesus Christ.
God of Redemption: Bible reveals this God of Creation, God of Providence, is also God of redemption. In order to redeem mankind from this deplorable state, he designed an infinitely wise and marvelous plan. This plan is all centered in His Son, Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity and God’s uniquely begotten Son, who possessed absolute equality with God. Yet, in profound humility, He took on human nature, entering the world through a humble birth in a manger. During His thirty-three years on earth, He authenticated His divine identity through unparalleled miracles, authoritative teachings, and a life of flawless purity.
To save us from our predicament, He fulfilled the two greatest needs you and I have. Firstly, He lived a perfect life on our behalf as our second Adam (representative) and purchased a perfect righteousness for us. Secondly, He endured unspeakable shame, suffering, and agony on the cross, offering Himself as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Did God accept His work on behalf of sinners? Yes, God demonstrated His acceptance by raising Him from the dead on the third day. This is indeed good news. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul states, “I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received by which also you are saved, … that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Question Four: What is in it for me?
Beyond mundane ordinary needs of money, convenience, and health – though God certainly attends to our needs – there exist blessings of an immeasurably greater magnitude. The Bible beautifully illustrates this by portraying God as a Father who can meet all our deepest needs, but we have strayed from him and now struggle with an unsatisfying life. Upon our return, He doesn’t just welcome us; He throws a lavish feast. The profound joy awaiting you transcends comprehension until you personally experience it! Consider just a few of these transformative gifts:
Forgiveness: Imagine the complete erasure of every sin – past, present, and future. Not a single transgression holds the power to condemn or punish you. Experiencing this profound forgiveness ushers in unparalleled freedom and joy within your conscience.
Justification: Beyond forgiveness, God imputes Christ’s own righteousness to you, declaring you perfectly righteous in His sight.
Adoption: You are welcomed into God’s family as His cherished child, inheriting inestimable blessings as a result of this divine adoption.
Provision: As a loving Father, God promises to provide for all your needs throughout this earthly life (Philippians 4:19).
Correction: When you stray, He lovingly guides you back onto the right path through correction (Hebrews 12).
Providence: Know that every event in your life, without exception, is orchestrated for your ultimate good (Romans 8:28).
Peace of God: You will experience a deep and abiding peace with God and a tranquility within your heart that permeates every moment of your life. This peace will flow like a river, bringing a calmness you’ve likely searched for in vain throughout your life. You’ll realize this is the very thing your soul has been yearning for.
New Heart: The desire for genuine and lasting change in your habits and character, often met with the frustration of failed New Year’s resolutions, finds its answer here. God promises a new heart, a complete regeneration that transforms you from the inside out. Every destructive habit – addiction, substance abuse, alcohol, pornography, short temper, covetousness, among others – can be overcome. The destructive things you once desired will become repulsive, and the good you once overlooked will become your delight. You’ll discover a new inclination to think, speak, and act in ways that honor God.
Eternal Life: God bestows the gift of eternal life. This gift wonderfully takes away all the fear of death replacing it with the knowledge that death is not an end but a glorious new beginning. Just as Jesus rose, you gain an unwavering hope beyond the grave, knowing an eternal inheritance awaits you in heaven.
Glorification: Ultimately, He crowns you as His heir, granting you access to everything He possesses!
Indeed, these blessings are utterly transformative! They elevate you to a summit of pure bliss, filling your heart with overflowing joy! Doesn’t it make you realize how truly impoverished our lives are without these extraordinary gifts?
Consider this: Without forgiveness, we remain shackled with guilty consciences by the weight of our past sins, the power of present sins, and more sins in the future. Without justification, we stand condemned and never truly accepted. Without adoption, we are orphans in a vast and often cruel world. Without God’s provision, we are left to our own limited resources and anxieties. Without His correction, we stumble blindly down the wrong paths. Without His providential hand, our lives are subject to the chaos of chance, and all things will work for our ultimate ruin. Without His peace, our hearts remain restless and unfulfilled. Without a new heart, we are trapped in cycles of destructive behavior and habits. Without eternal life, we face the ultimate fear and loss without hope. Finally, without glorification, we not only miss out eternal inheritance, but we inherit eternal wrath in hell!
My dear sinner friend! Embrace these incredible blessings! Do not for another moment live a diminished existence when such profound and life-altering gifts are within your reach!
Question Five: What should I do?
To truly experience these extraordinary blessings, the Gospel presents two fundamental conditions: Repentance and Faith.
Repentance: This begins with a profound realization – acknowledging that you are a sinner and understanding that the seemingly small word “sin” carries immense weight. This is the root cause manifesting in all struggles and sufferings of your life. True repentance involves turning away from your sin and turning wholeheartedly towards God, your loving Father. It’s a change of mind and heart, a conscious decision to abandon your own way and embrace His.
Faith: This involves believing, with unwavering conviction, in who Jesus Christ is – the Son of God, fully divine and fully human and what He has accomplished through His life, death, and resurrection. It’s trusting that His sacrifice was the ultimate payment for your sins and that through Him, you can be reconciled to God.
Embrace these two conditions, and all the immeasurable blessings previously described become yours. Repent of your sin, turn to God with an open heart, and place your complete faith in Jesus Christ. The summit of bliss and the fullness of life await you!
God bless you. If you want to know more about the Gospel, contact the Grace Reformed Baptist Church (GRBC).
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 