In the last post we thought about our need as humans to ‘follow the manufacturers instructions’ i.e. to understand that we were created by God and cannot operate successfully in life until we accept this (for more details see the note below **).
Putting this in Bible language the original creation was perfect but as a result of an act of self will (the Bible uses the words sin, iniquity, transgression etc) we are broken, damaged by sin and spiritually dead. The verse from the Bible that I would use to substantiate this is Romans 5. 12 - ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned’.
The word of God, the Bible, also states that sin and the potential to do great evil lies latent in everyone of us (not so latent at times). We all think evil thoughts that thankfully are not always translated into evil behaviour but if we are honest we sin regularly in word, thought and actions. The Lord Jesus explained in Mark chapter 7 verses 14-23 that we have an internal problem of sin that comes to the surface and defiles us. Please don’t measure the accuracy of these statements by your own subjective assessment of what is good or bad. We have to consider what God, original law giver has to say about subject as His standards are well above ours. When measured by God and His word we are forced to admit that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (God’s glorious standard),’ Romans 3. 23.
If we want forgiveness, peace, joy, purpose and hope for the future we need to come to God for things to be put right. Acts chapter 20 verse 21 says, ‘I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus’ NIV. The speaker who is being quoted in this verse is an early church preacher, Paul. He is explaining to a group of elders from the city of Ephesus what his main message was as he traveled and preached across the ancient world. Effectively, he is saying that for people to have a relationship with God the creator they need to change the way they think (repent) and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He claims (as the Lord Jesus did and the Bible states) that that the death of Jesus on the cross was the only payment that God accepts for people’s sin and that we can trust Him (the Lord Jesus) to deliver us from the punishment that we deserve for having rebelled against the creator, God. In other sections of the New Testament this same man, Paul, makes it clear that the Lord Jesus is the only way back to God. Just as Jesus himself had said - ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me’, John 14. 6. I have added a few other quotations from the New Testament at the end of this post where three Bible writers state that the Lord Jesus is the only way of salvation (see Bible Quotes below).
Let's go back to the statement that Paul made. He talks about turning to God in repentance. The words repent or repentance seem to me to be very physical words. The picture in my mind is that you are heading in one direction and suddenly you make a 180 degree turn and are moving now in the opposite direction. This happens through an encounter with God, through His word the Bible. Your whole way of thinking is challenged and changed. You have just realised what truth is. But, it not only makes you think it changes your whole mindset i.e. the way you think. You see life now through a different lens. You were going in the wrong direction but through faith in the Lord Jesus and the salvation He offers through His death, burial and resurrection you have been made right with God and are now on the right road.
My prayer is that you will come to that point of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Please let me know if you do. My email address is stepcar61@me.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
All photos courtesy of Unplash
Bible Quotes referred to:
1. ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’. The Apostle Peter speaking of Jesus in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 4 verse 12.
2. ‘And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God’. The Apostle John writing in 1 John 4 verses 14,15
3. ‘Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses’. The Apostle Paul speaking in a synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia as recorded in Acts 13 verses 38, 39.
** Additional information referred to:
When you read the Bible you discover the truth about the origin of life. If this is true i.e. God is the creator and originator of everything then we become answerable to Him. We are not just free agents but morally responsible people and who live in and are sustained by our creator. The Bible says - ‘in Him we live and move and have our being’ (I’ve quoted the whole passage below as it makes interesting reading).
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Acts 17: 24-31
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