This is the bad news. We have all sinned against the one holy and supreme God of the universe. Sin is part of our human nature, and we have all been declared guilty before the righteous God who never makes a mistake. We are declared spiritually dead (without hope), and our destination will be punishment in hell.

None is righteous, no, not one;  ¹¹ no one understands; no one seeks for God. –Romans 3:10-11 ESV

¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. –Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. –Romans 3:23 ESV

We have been given the bad news. We are guilty of sin and already condemned to eternal punishment. BUT there is good news! God loved us in spite of our sin. God provided His Son to pay the penalty for the sins of each and every person. Because Jesus was the sinless Son of God, He was wrongly condemned to death, beaten and nailed to a violet Roman cross of torture. Yes, Jesus’ wrongful punishment paid the penalty we should be required to pay. As the blood left Jesus’ body, His death accomplished the opportunity for our forgiveness. Jesus not only died that day, but He bodily rose from the dead three days later and walked among His people, declaring victory over death, hell and the grave.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. –John 3:16-18 ESV

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 6:23 ESV

⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. –Romans 5:8-9 ESV

Jesus successfully paid the price for the sins of all mankind, but that payment must be individually received. A transaction must take place. Through the teaching and preaching of the Word of God, the Holy Spirit brings about conviction of the sin in our lives. We then come to the realization that we are in a desperate situation to which only God has the solution. We must respond earnestly to God, recognizing our guilt and the Gift of His Son (Jesus) as He was sacrificed on our behalf. That sincere act of desperation and faith results in our salvation as we fall before Him in worship and cry out to Him for help. When we trust in Christ, we are never the same again. We can’t help but tell others about what God has done for us.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. –Romans 10:9-10 ESV

When we respond to God with faith in Jesus, our sins are forgiven, and we are declared not-guilty by the holy and righeous God of the Universe. Jesus took all of our punishment onto Himself, and God treats us as if we have never sinned. In the eyes of God, We are given the righteousness of Jesus.

¹ There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. –Romans 8:1-2 ESV

When we trust Jesus as our Savior, we will never be the same again. God has declared that we are a new creation. We have a new reason for living. Our values change. Our desires change. We have a new want-to that becomes more and more focused on the things of God. We want to know God better. We have a desire to study His Word. We have a new desire to please God in everything we do.

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. –2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ESV