“Gospel” means good news and it is the good news of salvation (deliverance or protection from danger). However, you cannot fully understand what the good news is until you understand the bad news.
It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.
“Hebrews 9:27”
Everyone will die, stand before God and give an account of every thought, word, attitude and deed. He will judge us by His standard, the Ten Commandments.
How you will do when you stand before God in judgment? Will you be innocent or guilty? Let’s look at a few of God’s Commandments and see how you would do.
#3 – You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Have you used God’s name to express disgust? That is called blasphemy and it would be fearful thing to stand before God having taken His name in vain. God gave you life and every good thing in life.
#6 – You shall not kill.
You may not have physically killed someone, but God looks at the thoughts, intent, and motives of the heart. God sees the thought life of every human being. Jesus said, that whoever is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court (Matthew 5:21-22). The Bible further adds that if we hate someone, we are murders (1 John 3:15).
#7 – You shall not commit adultery.
This one is also like the sixth commandment in that God also looks at the thoughts, intent, and motives of the heart. Jesus said that whoever looks at another person with lust has committed adultery already in their heart (Matthew 5:27-28). Sexual sin is not limited to adultery. God’s condemns all sexual sin (1 Corinthians 6:9).
#8 – You shall not steal.
Theft is theft irrespective of the value. Have you taken something that doesn’t belong to you? Have you cheated on a test? Plagiarized a paper? Downloaded music without paying for it?
#9 – You shall not bear false witness.
Bearing false witness in order to cause harm to another, or to avoid the consequences of our own wrong behavior, is never acceptable to a Holy God. Who of us could say that we have not told many lies in our life and yet all we have to do is tell one lie and we would be a liar. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 12:22) and all liars will have their part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).
We have only looked at five of the commandments and if you are honest, you will admit that you have broken them all. But even if you believe you have only broken one of these commandments, you are still guilty of breaking the God’s entire Law. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” The Bible says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Sin is breaking God’s Moral Law, the Ten Commandments.
God is a Holy and just judge. He must punish sin because He is just. A good judge here on earth will not allow the guilty to go unpunished. Neither will God allow the guilty to go unpunished.
The penalty, or punishment, for breaking God’s Law is eternal torment in hell. Hell is a lake of fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is a bottomless pit. It is forever.
Does it bother you that if you were to die today in in your sins that you would go to hell? It should.
The only way God can allow you to enter Heaven is if there is a perfect, sinless substitute who is willing to step in and take the punishment you rightly deserve. The same God who is holy and just is also loving and merciful. He has provided a way for His just demands to be met and yet allow you to go to Heaven. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who was a perfect, sinless man, to this earth. Jesus was crucified, died and buried. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus is that perfect, sinless substitute that was willing to take the punishment you deserve. But Jesus’s sacrifice is not automatically applied to you. For it to apply you must repent (agree with God that you have sinned against Him and turn from your sin) and you must trust in Jesus Christ as your LORD and Savior. You no longer depend on the good things that you do to hopefully get you into Heaven. You must trust only in what Christ has already done for you as your only hope to spend eternity with God.
It’s not enough to just believe in Jesus. You must obey Him. John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” You must be obedient to Jesus Christ and God’s Word. If you do not obey Jesus Christ, God’s wrath is abiding on you and you will spend eternity in hell. True repentance results in a change of actions. (Luke 3:8-14, Acts 26:20).
Think about your state before God before it is too late. You may not have another day. Cry out to God. Plead with Him to save you by His grace and mercy. Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus Christ and live.
Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.
Acts 17:30-31