Starting Fresh (ESV)

That may seem like an impossible dream, just too good to be true. But did you know that God specializes in giving people new beginnings? He is fully aware that every one of us has gone wrong. In fact, the Bible says that we have all gone our own way.1 The trouble with going our way is that it’s not God’s way. “All have sinned,”2 the Bible says, and that not only gives us a guilty conscience and a lot of problems in this life, but puts us in danger of eternal punishment in the next. We definitely need a way to start over! Payment was made At this point the Bible has a surprise for us. Trying to do better—even the absolute best we can do—will never erase our guilt. Our sins must be punished before God can forgive them. Our sin has to be paid for—but how? We can’t possibly do it and we need someone else who can. Here’s the wonderful news God has for us: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”3 The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world with a mission, and that was to take away our sins and give us a fresh start. On the cross, he suffered God’s judgment for all our sins. Willingly becoming our substitute, he paid the immense price that we could never pay. Pardon is offered Now God offers us the forgiveness of sins as a free gift. For anyone who will trust the Lord Jesus as their Savior, God says “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”4 The guilt of your sins—past, present, and future—can be erased forever through what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross for you. You can start on your way to heaven today! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”5 1Isaiah 53:6 2Romans 3:23 31 Timothy 1:15 4Hebrews 10:17 5John 3:16