God is Good
"O taste and see that the LORD [is] good: blessed [is] the man [that] trusteth in him."--Psalm 34:8
Have you tasted God? I know that sounds strange, but what that means is, have you proven Him? Have you asked Him to show Himself to you? In this world, we seem to have so many choices for God. But there is only One God, Jesus Christ. In the following paragraphs, my desire is to show you Who He is and what He did for you. I pray that those who already know Him are encouraged, and that those who have yet to know Him, as He’s revealed Himself in God’s word, will get a “taste” of Him and truly know He is good.
God’s Love
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”—John 3:16
One of ways in which man “tastes” God, is to get a glimpse of the depth and breadth of His love. The above verse states that God (the Father) gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, because He “so loved the world.” In other words, for God so loved you that He gave His Son to you. While not specifically stated in the above verse, but found elsewhere in Scripture, when God gave His Son to you, it was to die for you. But why did He die? What does that mean? (Keep reading!)
Our Sin
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”—Romans 3:23
The Bible is very clear in its description of man’s state before Him—“all have sinned.” You know that feeling we get when we know we’re doing something wrong? Well, that is our conscience telling us we've broken one of God’s Laws. Let’s look at the Ten Commandments. For example, have you ever lied? Well, it only takes one lie to be sinner, and many of us have committed more sins than just one lie. Jesus went to the cross to die for these sins because not only do we sin, but we are in bondage to our sins. Through His death, He provided man a way to overcome his sin.
Sin’s Source
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”—Romans 5:12
Sin’s first cause began with Adam when he disobeyed God’s command to not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. The consequence of that sin was that all mankind will now be under sin’s curse—death. With Jesus, though, there is hope of eternal life! In the Bible, one of His names is “the last Adam.” So, while the first Adam brought death into this world, the Last Adam, Who is the Lord from heaven, brought eternal life to mankind.
Sin’s Penalty
“For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”—Romans 6:23
We know sin causes death, but not just our physical death. The Bible talks about a second death, which is the eternal separation of God in a lake of fire. Again, there is hope in Jesus Christ! Notice that word, “gift.” When we receive gifts, they are unearned, unmerited, and a joy to get. A gift is no good sitting in a box waiting to be unwrapped. Jesus provided all mankind a way to be free of the eternal consequences of their sin. Through His death on the cross and shed blood, He offers you the free gift of eternal forgiveness, if you receive it.
God’s Request
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”—Isaiah 1:18
God asks us to reason with Him about His existence and His purpose on earth in the person of Jesus Christ. He died for our sins and took sin’s penalty, death and hell, upon Himself, so that He may make our sins “white as snow.” We can’t do that by our own works, lest we think we had a part, but only through His grace. He, then, rose again, by “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3), and in doing so, He provided the way to have eternal life through Him.
Our Response
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. … For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”—Romans 10:9-10, 13
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost—not the self-righteous, not the “good-enoughs,” not the final rejecters. He came to save someone like me who knew I was lost and on my way to hell and who believed Jesus was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.... When I trusted Him as my Savior, with a little prayer of asking Him to forgive me, to come into my heart, to save me, and to take me to Heaven when I die, I was born again. That day, He became my Heavenly Father, my Best Friend, and my Savior. Won’t you trust Him today?
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