Want to know God?

First Baptist Church, Haleyville

Whenever I buy something at the store that has to be assembled, I quake in fear. I know I am going to encounter multiple pages of detailed information about the item I have purchased. So many times I long for simple instructions to make it easy to accomplish what I am trying to do.

Sometimes we think knowing the Lord is just as complicated. The road to salvation can become cluttered and seem so complicated. All you want is something simple you can understand that will give you a chance to know God in a personal way.

The apostle Paul felt the same way. In the Book of 1 Corinthians, he brought everything about salvation back to basics. In 1 Corinthians 2:2 he wrote, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

Here is the simple gospel that verse teaches:

Jesus Christ is the only One. He is God’s one and only Son, and only He can give you the gift of salvation. You can’t do enough good things, learn enough wise things or accomplish enough holy things to earn salvation. He is the only way to God.

Jesus was crucified. He gave His life away as a perfect sacrifice. Nobody took His life; He gave it away, just the way the Bible had always said it would happen.

Jesus was crucified for you. It was a personal act of love. On the cross He took the judgment for your sin. There is a wonderful word in the Bible for what He did. That word is “propitiation,” which means “took the punishment.” When you trust Christ, your sins are wiped away because He literally took the punishment for your sins.

You have to trust Him. That is why Paul wanted the crucified Christ to be his only message. 

How can you know God? By believing in the crucified Christ. By asking Him to forgive your sins and come into your heart. By trusting Him to take away your sins and give you eternal life. It is so simple, but it is necessary for every person to make the choice for himself. Will you trust Christ today?