"¹⁸God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. ¹⁹We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." -- Hebrews 6:18-21

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." -- 1 Peter 3:15

Hope. As believers, we have hope. But what is this hope? What is it that believers hold on to that gives them hope in the deepest depths and in the highest highs? It is a hope we hold in our heart; a hope that comes from Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ is God's own Son. He was crucified on our behalf and risen from the dead by our Father in Heaven.

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the good news, or Gospel that fills our hearts to overflowing with blessed hope:

³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. -- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Who is Jesus Christ? Why did He have to die for our sins? Well, it's about a relationship. A relationship between you and God. God wants a relationship with you. That's why He created man! God created man to form a relationship with, and He did:

¹⁵ The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." -- Genesis 2:15-17

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" Genesis 3:8-9

Adam and Eve hid on God because they were ashamed. They had disobeyed God by eating the fruit on the tree which He had told them not to. That act of disobedience severed the relationship between God and man:

²³So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." -- Genesis 3:23-24

But! When that happened, God put into place a plan that would restore the relationship:

¹⁴So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. ¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." -- Genesis 3:14-15

That is where Jesus comes in. Jesus is the offspring who crushed the head of the serpent. The serpent, or Satan, struck at his heal by inciting the Jewish leaders to have Jesus killed. In that, he was successful. However, what the devil did not realize was that Jesus dying was part of God's plan!

When God told Adam not to eat of the fruit, He warned him, "When you eat of it you will surely die." Further, the Bible tells us, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). All men have sinned, therefore all men must die. However, God does not want us to die. "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

God wants to be in a relationship with us, but sin has separated us from God and will lead to our death. Therefore, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die in our stead. All of our sins were place on Him, so that His death might satisfy the wages of sin:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. -- 1 Corinthians 5:21

⁵⁵"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. -- 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Jesus overcame death, defeated sin, and crushed the devil! Now, man is no longer separated from God by sin. Now, man has the opportunity to enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

So how do you enter this relationship? First you must face that which has separated you from God: your own sin. Nobody likes to. It's dark, it's dirty, and it's stinks, but it is there. God can remove it from you. He can cleanse all the sin from you. All you have to do is ask! Go to God, repent of your sins, ask Him to cleanse you. Then, acknowledge what Jesus did for you. Acknowledge His sacrifice and his resurrection. Finally, invite Him into your life. He is waiting: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

Open the door. Let Jesus in, He will stay with you forever, and through Him you will have a relationship with God...for all eternity!

If you have any questions on what you have read here, what you need to do to enter into a relationship with God, or what you need to do right after you enter into that glorious relationship, please contact us, and we will help you in any and every way we can!