How Can I Know God?
The Problem
The gospel is the good news of all that God has done to provide salvation for men and women. The gospel starts with God. The Bible tells us that God is holy, perfect, righteous, good, and just. All that He does is good and right. Psalm 119:68 says of God, "You are good and do good." Because God is holy, righteous, and just, He cannot tolerate sin or allow it into His presence. Habakkuk 1:13 says that God is "of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong."
This presents a tremendous problem for men and women, for all of us have sinned against God and broken His laws. In Romans 3:23 we read, "For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." All of us have willfully rebelled against God and disobeyed His good and perfect laws. We have all rejected the ways of God, choosing to gratify our sinful desires rather than obey God.
The punishment for such willful disobedience is spiritual death.
Romans
6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death." All
men and women are spiritually dead because of their sin, and God
must pour out His full, furious wrath on sin. The punishment for
sin is an eternity in hell.