The Gospel, Smashed

This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ – according to SmashLetters. 

What follows is a humble attempt to provide the Truth – about our current broken reality, and the wonderful, healing, restorative Reality that the most kind, most loving, Most High GOD offers to each one of us – in current terms. 

If you like it a bit more ecclesiastical and in the form of old school doctrinal – I totally get it; so do I.  And, I provide you the option of one of those, too: The Gospel, Egghead. 

But, regardless of how you like to hear it, they both say the same thing:  GOD loves you so so very much, that He gave us His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ – as the only way for human beings to be saved from spiritual death, fully restored to a right relationship with Himself, and receive eternal life with Him. 

Here's how:

Since the beginning of time, GOD has wanted perfect, pure, unadulterated, intimate relationship with what He created: human beings.

And nearly since then, ALL human beings – including me, you, and everyone else you know – haven’t been able to perfectly stick to what He said was required to live perfectly with Him. 

WAY back in the beginning, the first of mankind rebelled against GOD and caused an underlying spiritual-genetic-relational issue that we all have, called: sin.

Unfortunately:

any sin (from adultery, to being an ass to someone, arguing with another, or even adding in one too many deductions on your taxes), or

any amount of sin (no matter how immensely big it feels or insignificantly small we may rationalize it to be),

ALL sin results in an insurmountably significant break from a perfect relationship with GOD.

And since we were designed and created by GOD, to be in relationship with GOD, that means – whether we induced it or inherited it – our sin messes us up at our very core, from the very beginning.  Which, messes everything else up one way or another. 

Maybe you can relate.

But the even bigger, long-term problem with sin is that, because it causes a break in our relationship with GOD, it doesn’t just cause issues in our lives while we’re here on Earth.

Until GOD’s intended relationship perfection is restored somehow, we can never realize GOD’s intended perfect ending for each one of us: eternal life with Him, in Heaven.

That is the unfortunate consequence of sin: spiritual death. 

When our lives on Earth without Him are over, we’re also destined for an eternity without Him.  That is Hell.

But here’s where it starts to get amazing. 

If you read the Bible, you’ll see throughout all time, no matter how many times people keep screwing up, getting themselves into messes, causing havoc, and wrecking relationships they have with everyone else, and with Himself – despite all that, GOD proves time, and time, and time again that He’s never giving up on the Dream that He’s had in His Heart, since the beginning of time.

And knowing that humans would never be able to get it all right, all the time – all by themselves – GOD did what only GOD can do to save all mankind: He came down to Earth, in the form of a human; His one and only Son, Jesus.

While Jesus was on the Earth, He not only proved that He was GOD – through signs, miracles, and wonders that only GOD can do – He also did something NONE of us could ever do: He did everything without screwing up with GOD. 

Jesus never sinned, not even once.

That means, because He was already perfect as GOD, and lived perfectly as a man, Jesus could perfectly resolve the sin imperfection problem that plagued the world.

And, Jesus made sure we knew – through His teachings, actions, and references to the Scriptures that preceded His Time on Earth – what would be required of Him to fully restore GOD’s intended perfect relationship between humans and Himself, for all Eternity:

Jesus would give up His life – willingly suffering the physical and spiritual consequences of each, and all our sins – in our place. 

In GOD’s mercy, Jesus (the Perfect One) died for us (the imperfect ones), and took away the penalty for any wrongs committed, since the beginning of time.  Our guilt, our sin – our eternal problem – paid for by Jesus, in full, for all time.

This is what He did for us when He was brutally crucified – ironically, by the very ones He was there to save, 2000ish years ago. 

Jesus was buried, but GOD wasn’t done yet.

Three days later, GOD brings Jesus back to life – proving that neither sin (which causes spiritual death), nor grave (the result of physical death) – has any claim on Him, nor any human beings that truly believe that Jesus died for them. 

This was His Resurrection.

Jesus stayed on Earth for a little bit longer before going back to Heaven – but not before making sure those that believed in Him at the time, had everything they needed to tell everyone else what He did for us.  And they all did the best they could to teach, tell, reveal, and write to anyone that would listen: Jesus Christ is LORD, and Savior.

And we’ve been doing it, ever since.

Which brings us back to you.  In the Bible, Jesus teaches that to be saved from sin, and its eternal consequences, you just need to:

First, admit that there are things either about you now, or about your past (or both) that aren’t perfect in the eyes of GOD.  Like everyone else on Earth, you have sinned, and that’s a problem, and you need GOD to fix it.

And then simply tell GOD that you believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to fix it all.  And that He did. 

And that, is what is meant by confess your sins to GOD and your need for Jesus as Savior, and you will be saved.

GOD will hear that prayer. 

And what comes next is the most amazing, healing, reviving, renewing, hope-filled, and fulfilling rest of your life that He’s been waiting, since the beginning of time, to give to you. 

So, what are you waiting for?

The Gospel, Smashed. SmashLetters. Copyright © 2025 SmashLetters.

The Gospel, Egghead

Adapted from Voddie Baucham, 2022.

GOD created the world, and GOD created Man.  And He put man in the Garden to keep the Garden and He gave the man a command.  And He held that man to perfect perpetual obedience to that command and He promised him life, if he kept it; and, death if he didn't.

And man didn't keep it; he ate, and because he ate – because of that one man – sin entered the world, and death through sin.  And everyone born from that man – through ordinary generation – inherited that man's sin nature.

And because of that sin nature, sins proceed from it.  And our world is broken because of that sin. 

And we stand guilty before a Holy and Righteous God; and we know that He's Holy and we know that He's righteous.  And we crave justice – but the problem is that if God gives us justice, we all die.

And so, that God, in His goodness and in His mercy sent forth His Son – Who was not born of ordinary generation, but was born of a virgin.  Yes, the Virgin birth matters!  Why? Because if He's born of ordinary generation, He's born in sin.  But, because He's not born of ordinary generation, He's not born in sin.  Jesus is clean of sin; His record is clean.  And, He keeps His record clean; He obeys God's Law.

And because He's fully God, and fully man, He obeys the Law of God on our behalf in His active obedience. And then in his passive obedience, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us all.

We like sheep had gone astray – each of us had turned to his own way – but God laid upon Jesus the iniquity of us all and Christ died for sin – once for all. The Just for the unjust.  And God imputes our sinfulness to Him, and He nails our sinfulness to the Tree.

Christ dies and raises again on the third day for our justification.

And there's another imputation: the Righteousness of Christ is actually imputed to us – so that God can be both, just, and the Justifier of the one who places faith in Jesus Christ so that all those who come to Christ may enter in, so that all those who place faith in Christ might be saved.

But not only saved, but sanctified.  Because He's the Firstborn of many brethren, we're justified and we're adopted into the family of God and we're sanctified. And as His children we begin to bear the family resemblance, and we're further sanctified throughout this life by the very same Gospel that saves us.

Until one day when it's all said and done, we're not just saved from the penalty of sin, we're not just saved from the power of sin, but one day we're glorified and saved from the very presence of sin.

Amen.