GOD...IS MERCIFUL. Therefore He doesn't want to punish us. The Bible says, "God is love," (I John 4:8b).

GOD...IS ALSO JUST. Therefore He must punish sin. The Bible says, "and that (He) will by no means clear the guilty" (Exodus 34:7b).

God solved this problem in the person of Jesus Christ.

Who would you say that Christ is? He is the infinite God-Man. The Bible says, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth" (John 1:1, 14).

When Jesus Christ, after his death, rose from the grave, one of His followers named Thomas was so amazed at His victory over death that he cried out, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). Thomas recognized Jesus as God.

He died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for our sins and to purchase a place in Heaven for us which He offers as a gift.

Let's imagine this book in my right hand is a minutely detailed account of my life. Each page details the sin of a particular day every word I have spoken, every thought that ever crossed my mind, every deed I've ever done.

Here then is the problem - my sin. God loves me but He hates my sin and must punish it.

To solve this problem, He sent His beloved Son into the world. The Scripture says, "All we

like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). All of my sin which God hates has been placed on His beloved Son. The Bible says, "Christ bare our sin in His own body on the tree" (I Peter 2:24). When He died He was buried in a grave for three days; but He rose from the dead and went to Heaven to prepare a place for you and me. Now He offers Heaven - eternal life to you and me as a gift.

This gift is received by faith.