1. God is the loving creator and ruler of the world. He made us to rule the world under him. 

Unlike human rulers, God is infinitely wise, powerful, just and loving. He always does what is best for his subjects. He rules the world because He made it out of nothing. He fashioned each intricate detail and continues to uphold His created order by the word of his power.

He also made us. He created people in his own image, something like himself, and put them in charge of his creation - to rule it, care for it, and be responsible for it. He appointed humanity to supervise the world and to enjoy its beauty and goodness. But this appointment was always to be under his own authority, honoring and obeying his directions.

Revelation 4:11 states, "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."

Obviously, not everything is right with the world, or us. Why is this?

2. We all reject the ruler – God – by trying to run life our own way without him. But we fail to rule ourselves, or society, or the world.

Sadly, from the very beginning, men and women everywhere have rejected God by doing things their own way. We all do this. We ignore him or just get on with our own lives or we disobey his instructions for living in his world. This rebellious, self-sufficient attitude is what the Bible calls “sin.”

When we reject God’s good will, we make a mess of our lives, and the lives of those around us. The whole world is full of people bent on doing what is right in their own lives. We live like little gods, with our own crowns, competing with one another. The result is misery, suffering, and injustice.  
 
Romans 3:10-12 - As it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside…there is none who does good, there is not even one.”

By rebelling against God, we’ve made a terrible mess of things. The question is: since God is a good God, what will he do about it? What is God’s response to this rebellion?

3. God won’t let us rebel forever. His punishment for rebellion is death and judgement. 

Since God is good and just, he cares enough to take our rebellion seriously. He calls us to account for our words, thoughts, and deeds because it matters to him that we treat him and other people so poorly. He will not allow the rebellion to go on forever.

So God passes a just sentence against us. His judgment on rebels is to withdraw from them, to cut them off from himself – permanently. But because God is the source of life and all good things, being cut off from him means death and hell.

This is a terrible thing, to fall under the sentence of God’s judgment. It is a prospect we all face since we are all guilty of rebelling against God.

Hebrews 9:27 states, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement...”

You may say, “Is that it then? Are we all destined for death and eternal ruin? If not for God’s miraculous intervention, we would be. God’s justice sounds hard, but…

4. Because of his love, God sent His Son Jesus into the world. Jesus always lived under God’s rule. Yet by dying in our place he took our punishment and brought forgiveness.

God did not leave us to ourselves, He brought salvation to his world though his son. Jesus came to become a man – Jesus of Nazareth. Unlike us, Jesus did not rebel against God, but lived perfectly under his Father’s rule. He did not deserve death and punishment but Jesus did die on a cross. Why?

Because of the exciting news that he died as a substitute for rebels like us. Jesus paid the debt that we owed God by dying in our place. He took the full force of God’s just wrath and so that forgiveness and pardon might be given to us.

The apostle Peter writes, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

All of this is not deserved by us. It is an immeasurable gift of God. But that’s not all…

5. God raised Jesus to life again as the ruler of the world. Jesus has conquered death, he now gives life, and will return to judge.

God received Jesus’ death as payment in full for our sins, and raised him from the dead. The risen Jesus is now what humanity was always meant to be:  God’s ruler of the world.

As God’s ruler, Jesus has also been appointed God’s judge of the world. The Bible promises that one day he will return to call all of us to account for our words, thoughts, and deeds.

In the meantime, Jesus grants new life, both now and eternally. Our sins can be forgiven through Jesus’ death and we can begin a new life in him. God himself comes to live within us by his Spirit. We can experience the joy of a new relationship with God.

1 Peter 1:3 states, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

And when Jesus returns to judge, we can be assured that we will be acceptable to him.

So where does this leave us? It leaves us with a choice of only two ways to live. 

6. There are only two ways to live:  our way, or God’s way.

Our way: reject the ruler (God) and try to run life our own way. The result of this way is condemnation by God and facing death and judgment.

God’s new way: submit to Jesus as our ruler, rely on his death and resurrection. The result of this new way is forgiveness by God and we are given eternal life.

Sadly, most people continue to live their own way. God actually gives them what they want and deserve. They not only have to put up with the messy consequences of rejecting God here and now, but they face the dreadful prospect of an eternity of separation from him, without life or love or relationship.

But there is a lifeline. If we turn back to God and ask for his mercy, trusting in Jesus’ death and resurrection, then everything changes.

God wipes our slate clean. He receives Jesus’ death as payment for our sins and forgives us completely. He transfers the righteousness of Jesus onto our account. He gives us his own Spirit into our hearts and grants us new eternal life. We become part of his family.

John 3:36 states, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

The two ways to live could not be more different. Which of these represent the way you want to live?

We pray that you would experience the new way of life through Jesus! Here’s now:

1. Talk to God.

Admit to him that you have rebelled against him, that you deserve punishment, and that you punishment. Ask him for mercy on the basis of Jesus’ death in your place.

Ask him to change you from being a rebel to his child, who lives with Jesus as their ruler.

You could pray something like this:

“God, I know that I am not worthy to be accepted by you. I don’t deserve your gift of eternal life. I am guilty of rebelling against you and ignoring you. I need your forgiveness.

Thank you for sending your son Jesus to die for me that I may be forgiven. Thank you that he rose from the dead to give new life.

Please forgiven me and change me, that I may live with Jesus as my ruler.

Amen.

(If you prayed this pray, then welcome to the family of God! Your next step is to get connected with a group of believers in your area who can help you grow in your faith in Christ. We would love to help you make that connection. Please contact us at 972-625-1FBC or use the Contact Form so that we can celebrate in your decision to follow Christ or if you have any questions about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ).

2. Submit your life to Jesus.

Having prayed the above prayer or something similar, you’ll want to start putting it into practice: submitting to Jesus. So there will no doubt be all kinds of areas in your life in need of change.
Get rid of the old rebellious habits (like greed, anger, selfishness, etc.) and start new ones (like generosity, kindness, love, and patience).

This process of submitting to Jesus is a life-long pursuit. God will keep speaking to you through His Word (the Bible), he will keep listening to you and helping you through prayer. He will empower you to change and to live his way by his Spirit. He will provide brothers and sisters to encourage you along the way.

And he will lead you to engage your world with the good news of Jesus. 

Find a Bible-believing, Bible preaching church and join it.

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3. Keep trusting.
 
We must never stop relying on God – and him alone – as the means by which we are forgiven and granted eternal life.  
 

This presentation of the gospel has been adapted from http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/.