What is it that God wishes to reveal to us? The Bible has much to say on many topics. But if I were to summarize the total message it would be this: God has revealed Himself to us, and in doing so has shown not only His perfect nature in judgment, but also His perfect love in mercy.

How does God reveal Himself to us? First we see that His invisible attributes are shown in nature, in His creation. Much as a painting reveals much about its creator, the world we live in reveals God's majesty and creativity. Second, He reveals Himself in our hearts. All people groups in the world seem to share a set of morals despite their religious beliefs. All seem to acknowledge the existence of right and wrong, and usually the laws governing these societies are remarkably similar, although the manifestations of those laws may differ. These kinds of revelations are referred to as "general" revelations. These serve to provide man with a knowledge of something beyond himself, they are questions posed that man has tried to answer since the beginning (Romans ch. 1-2).

Particular manifestations of God into this world are called "special". God has revealed Himself to the Old Testament prophets, in His word, and finally... in His Son. It is this final revealing that provides the answers to the questions that general revelation asks. In Him we see that worship of nature is worthless (Romans 1:20-23), as is striving for perfection through religion (Romans 2), or law (Romans 3:20) for no one is perfect and can hope to fulfill God's perfect will (Romans 3:23).

God is perfect. He has perfect power (which cannot be diminished by sin), perfect love (which cannot be diminished by partiality), perfect knowledge (which cannot be diminished by surprise), perfect being (which cannot be diminished by change) etc. A list of God's attributes is, in reality, a list of perfections. For in every way He is perfect, complete, lacking in no way. Any lack in this perfection is what the Bible calls sin. The word for sin is likened to an archery term that means "to miss the mark", anything outside the bulls eye is "sin".

Far more extensive than any list of "do's and do-not's", sin is anything that is outside God's perfect will. God cannot tolerate sin, and being perfectly just, He will not allow sin to remain in His presence. Therefore, to be in fellowship with God, we must be perfect just as He is (Matt 5:48).

We see here that love = obedience. No one is perfect, and yet God commands it. If we claim to love God, we must be obeying His commands. How can He then command us to do the impossible? What are we to do with this? The answer lies in the greatest commandment, the one on which hangs the entirety of God's law...

Just as in a human relationship we strive to please the ones we love (by obeying their will, even when it goes against ours), love for God is the same. Though there are some who obey only out of fear, God's perfect will is for us to love Him. As we have seen, we cannot hope to obey all that God commands, no matter how hard we strive... (The sermon on the mount in Matthew ch 5 should convince anyone of this fact!) Christ was not showing us what we must do to be good enough for God, He was showing us that we can never be as good as God... The disciples asked Jesus an important question, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered,

When we believe, what happens? Are we then empowered to be perfect? Are we then able to perfectly obey God's wishes? NO! Christ promises something infinitely better, something we can never lose.

"Because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."
-Heb 10:14

When we come to understand these things, it is much easier to see our need for Christ. Christ is God revealed in the form of humanity. He was, is, and will forever remain perfect. Christ came not only to reveal God, but to bring to mankind the ability to attain the impossible. Being the perfect sacrifice for our sins, Christ's death for us made it possible for us to have a relationship with a perfect God. Death is separation... (i.e. the separation of soul from body), and eternal death is eternal separation from God in Hell where all things not of God must reside in the end. Death is the penalty of sin (going against God's will separates us from Him), and yet Christ died for us. His death contained all the penalty of the sin of mankind. He who was without sin died for those with sin. If we trust in that sacrifice and believe in the one who God sent to accomplish it we will be saved from eternal death (forever being separated form God) and brought into eternal life (forever in the presence of God)!

What will happen top you when you die? Can you know for sure? Yes, you can. God has said so in His perfect word. When love for God overcomes our selfish desire, our pride, our ignorance... we will believe, we will trust, we will obey, we will love... and perfect love casts out fear.

Believe and be saved!