God has a design for the way we should treat our families, work our jobs, and interact with friends and strangers: the plan is perfect. The challenge is that there is something within people that pushes us to depart from God's design. The Bible has labeled that departure from God's design "sin." Sin leads to a world of consequences.
A SIMPLE WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE GOSPEL
The feeling of brokenness is the result of our poor choices or even the choices of others that negatively affect us. This state exemplifies itself in ruined relationships, addictions, unease, fear and a mountain of other negative circumstances and states of being. Our brokenness leads us to look in many different directions for change. The Bible's word for change is "repent." We want to change and repent but we realize that we can't do much on our own. The good news is that God has a plan to fix the problem of brokenness; it's called the "Gospel."
The death and Resurrection of Jesus opens up the path by which we might return to the design of God. The path to restoration and redemption is this: repent and believe. When we make the step of turning from our sins (repentance) and turning toward Jesus (belief), God restores us. We are then able to recover and pursue Christ, which brings us back to God's design for our lives: purpose, forgiveness, community, hope, and joy.
