​“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12

Our society needs Christ, now more than ever. We live in a world that has turned towards hatred, towards God primarily. However, hatred of God inevitably becomes hatred of one another, since God is love. The root cause of this is our inherent sinful nature. However, a big component is also a misunderstanding of the Gospel.

I can’t blame someone for struggling to grasp something so radical, yet it’s the single remedy that wipes clean the sins of the world. In the midst of political mudslinging, if you don’t have Jesus, nothing else matters.

2,026 years ago, God became man and was eventually crucified to save the world from itself. John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” After rising again 3 days later, he defeated the grave and sin itself.

He didn’t do this because he needed us; he did this because he loved us so dearly. God, who’s seen you commit your worst sins, still deemed you worthy of forgiveness. That is the first seed you must plant to understand the Gospel. Accept Jesus into your heart, let his blood cover you and wash you white as snow, and be forgiven. If you take nothing else from this column, sit with that.

The next step of understanding the Gospel is acknowledging the weight of your sin. We are all dirty, rotten sinners who deserve the full wrath of God. We are selfish, arrogant, and we spit in the face of God daily. Even unintentionally, because that is our nature. Until we acknowledge that truth, we cannot fully appreciate what Jesus did on the cross.

The full weight of the sins of the world was upon his shoulders, and he willingly took it on for you. God cannot forgive you until you fully acknowledge your sins. Psalm 51 is the perfect example of this. When the Prophet Nathan confronted David with his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, David was trying to cover it.

Yet, God saw it all. It wasn’t until David recognized his sin, begged for forgiveness, and repented that he received the grace of God. This is how we must live. Do not run from your sin; do not act like it didn’t happen. Until you get on your knees and confess to the Lord, God cannot give you the fullness of his love.

I believe the most radical aspect of the Gospel is that of forgiveness. God not only forgives us, but he calls us to forgive each other. Even our worst enemies. In fact, especially our worst enemies. If we cannot humble ourselves to forgive those who harmed us, then we haven’t truly grasped the gravity of God’s forgiveness of us.

After acknowledging your true sinful nature and what Jesus did for you, you will be humble enough to forgive your enemies. The truth is, who are we to not forgive? If God Almighty forgave us and granted us eternal life when we did not deserve it, how can we not grant that forgiveness to those who hurt us? Are we bigger than God? Of course not.

To experience the fullness of the peace and love of the Gospel, we must also extend it to each other by forgiving as the Lord forgave us. Do not hold on to the bitterness of resentment. Don’t let that wickedness eat you away. Forgive your enemies, for they are no better than you. You’re just as much a sinner as they are, and they are also worthy of the same forgiveness you received. In a world of evildoers who hate Christ, this does not mean we condone their actions.

This means we release the right of judgment to God. “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19. Lastly, we must forgive ourselves for the sin we committed. This does not mean we validate our actions, nor do we willingly commit them again. We accept the fact that God does not view us by our sins. When we are covered by the blood of Jesus, God sees his perfect son. He sees us as his children, whom he loves so dearly. Not by our sins. Do not allow yourself to view yourself by your worst sin after you’ve received forgiveness. If God doesn’t view you that way, then you shouldn’t either.

Lastly, we must understand what love is, and enact it daily. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. This is the standard of true love. This is how we are called to love our spouses, our friends, our neighbors, and yes, even our enemies.

However, understanding love as weak and passive toward evil is incorrect as well. Unbelievers will gaslight those of us who stand up against evil as not being loving or accepting. When Christians stand up against that which is evil, we are not claiming to be God. We are not saying that we are any less sinful than you. On the contrary, we acknowledge our sinful nature.

However, this does not mean we sit idly by as anti-Christian ideology runs rampant. Loving one another is not allowing our community to fall away from the faith. It’s speaking truth and saving one another from living a life of sin. Love is not allowing sin to gain a foothold in our society. This does not mean we do so hatefully. We do so patiently, and not in a way that is self-seeking. Righteous backbones who love our society too much to let it fall to the evil one are desperately needed in our world today, and I pray they come quickly.

If you’ve been sold a story of Christ and the Gospel that has made you resent Christianity, I pray this has helped plant a seed in unlearning that lie. Jesus loves you and wants to spend eternity with you, and if you seek his face, he will find you.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13.

Justin “JP” Plott is the executive producer/co-host of “The Rightside with Allison and Amie Beth” and co-owner of Rightside Media. You can find him on X @JPRightside. Watch “The Rightside with Allison and Amie Beth” every weekday from 10am-12pm CT at www.rightsidemedia.org.