Thanks for your question. This is really at the heart of what we as followers of Jesus believe.
Jesus died “to bring [us] to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Of course, this immediately begs the question, why do we need to be brought to God?
The Bible tells us that we are separated from God because we turn away from him and to ourselves. Traditionally, this is called “sin.” Paul, in Romans 3:10-11, quotes the Old Testament, saying,
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
We’re separated from God not because of what we do, but because of how we are. Jesus’ death on the cross was our death for our sin. “But we do see Jesus … now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). Because of this, we are brought to God, if we decide to believe it. But this kind of belief is not just a mental assent, a kind of, “Sure, I believe it happened historically.” As John says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Notice we need to “receive” him as well. We need to let him direct and control our lives.
This doesn’t end with Jesus’ death, because he’s not dead! God raised him from the dead (Acts 2:24), and this resurrection is also promised to those who receive Jesus. When we receive him, we become children of God, and citizens of God’s kingdom (Philippians 3:20). And when we become this “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:14-21), when we let Jesus control our lives, how we live changes. God is in the process of restoring his creation, and we partner with him in that project. I can’t say it any better than one of our posts below: “We do this in two primary ways. First, we tell other people about what God is up to in the world and invite them to join with us to help restore creation. Second, we do the same creative acts that God does. We create beauty. We heal the sick and the hungry. In other words we are ‘lights’ in a dark place. And in the end, Christ will come back to finish the job (1 John 5:1-12, Revelation 21:1-5).”
I hope this answered your question. Please feel free to write back if it didn’t!
Leah Macinskas-Le
