You may ignore it, but you cannot miss the fact that something is terribly amiss with the world.
Despite all of the books, dreams, and revolutions, nothing even approximating utopia exists, but rather on every hand there is violence, tyranny and suffering. Many choose to blame God or deny His existence as the cause for mankind’s suffering, but He remains our only hope. He just does not always act as we would like Him to act.
God is infinitely complex, but He has two attributes which are of particular relevance when discussing His relationship to us and our tragic circumstances.
First, He is holy. Isaiah 6:3 states, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” The word literally means “separate.”
As God, He is totally separated from sin. He has never sinned! He cannot sin and He never will. All sin is deeply offensive to Him, even those things we consider to be insignificant. Recall how “small” the sin was that started all of mankind’s problems! Adam and Eve merely ate the forbidden fruit! But the Bible clearly states that God is sinless. He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin,” Hebrew 4:15, and I John 3:5 “. . .in Him is no sin.”
As Sovereign of the universe, He will end sin and judge all sinners. Because He hates sin and is the One who is ultimately responsible for what is allowed in the universe, He cannot permit sinners into Heaven. At one point this includes every one of us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.
This, however, is not the end of the story!
Second, He is loving. He is not willing to leave us in our sin without providing a solution to our sin problem, if we are willing to accept it. John 3:16 notes, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, (to die on the cross) that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (Emphasis added) But understand this: it does not mean that everyone who believes that Jesus exists is saved, for Satan himself believes that. Rather, it means that those who trust in Jesus as their Savior from sin will be saved.
Paul also wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief,” I Timothy 1:15.
Getting right with God is a personal matter between us and God. No one else can do this for us. In the same way that we must go to a friend we have hurt and ask forgiveness if we want the friendship restored, so we must repent of our sin, that is, turn away from it, go to God and ask Him to forgive us for our sin and ask Him to save us from the judgment that is rightfully ours. And then trust Him to do just that!
It is simple but not necessarily easy, as we all resist admitting that our sin is that serious. We like to think we are not so bad, that we are better than most, but we are wrong! It is not just that we “do” sins, but that we are sinners! It is our nature, or inclination, to sin. Thus, while we can alter our behavior, we cannot change our nature and therefore cannot save ourselves.
The simplicity of salvation is seen by how the thief on the cross, after acknowledging that he deserved the judgment he was receiving, turned to Christ and said, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Christ replied, “today you will be with me in Paradise.” That is grace!
Another man, a tax collector Christ mentioned who got saved, merely pled, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” Luke 18:13.
It is asking Him to forgive us and trusting Him to do so, which is the very essence of faith! It is understanding and trusting the compassion of His good and gracious heart for each of us sinners. Someone has well said,
“Life is short.
Death is sure.
Sin the problem,
Christ the cure.”
None of us knows how long we have. Do not wait to get right with God! You can be forgiven now! Just ask!
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,” (Psalm 33:12) Making Jesus Christ our Lord is our nation’s and the world’s only pathway to peace!
