Please read and understand this following article. Your eternal destiny may be at stake!
People today are constantly searching for the meaning to life. The problem is they most often look in the wrong places to find it. In an endless stream of noise, our society screams for everyone to do whatever they feel is right and good for them. The system claims to point people in the direction of truth and right behavior but at the same time states that there is no absolute truth. Throughout history no man-made government or its propaganda machines have ever been able to handle eternal truth correctly, at least not yet. I declare to you that our lives, our very existence, is actually an audition for Eternity. God created mankind for the sole purpose of knowing Him, to have a relationship with Him. But our own sinfulness, our own glaring imperfections, keep us forever separated from Him. God is perfect and He cannot even look upon our sinfulness. Once already in the history of the world God destroyed the Earth because of Man’s violence and corruption. In Genesis 6 we learn how Noah and his family were spared when God destroyed all the inhabitants of the Earth through a great flood. “So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’ ” (Genesis 6:12-13) Contrary to what most scientists try to tell you, that account of the flood was real and it was universal. It covered the whole world with water, even the mountain tops. Evidence of a world wide deluge can be seen scattered everywhere across the entire globe, not to mention that tribal peoples all have their own stories handed down to them of such a cataclysmic occurrence. But the many proofs are ignored by the “wise.” Every living creature, apart from those God placed on the ark, was wiped out. God’s judgment is real and He has promised in His Word to destroy the Earth once again because of Man’s sinfulness, but this time He said He will do so with fire. (II Peter 3:7 & 10)
The Bible tells us quite plainly that we are all guilty of sin. “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) This sinful condition applies to all of mankind, to every man, woman and child. No one is exempt from this pronouncement. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10) Many people have tried to claim they were good and righteous but I John 1:8 tells us otherwise. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
The Bible is quite clear when it tells us that the penalty for our behavior, the payment for our sinful actions, is death. “For the wages of sin is death . . .” (Rom. 6:23a) Death actually occurs in two forms. Most of us are only familiar with one kind of death, physical death, and we don’t much like the idea of it. Death is basically a separation. Obviously, when our bodies die, our spirits are separated from their fleshly husks. This is what we know as physical death. But even before we go through this process, we can experience spiritual death, as well. Because of our sinfulness we experience a total spiritual separation from God in terms of our relationship and fellowship with Him. While physical death is only temporary, a one time event, spiritual death can be permanent, and affect us throughout eternity. Our souls will live on even after death. Without knowing God, we are already in a state of spiritual death, and that will eventually lead to actual physical death. Both kinds of death are a result of our sin.
This whole understanding of sin presents a hopeless problem for us. We want to be clean and acceptable to God, we want to enjoy everlasting life, but we just cannot achieve that on our own. We cannot earn life with God even by the feeble good things we have done, and no amount of money can buy our way to Heaven. The gap that exists between us and God is unbridgeable by man. But God solved this problem by making a way for us to be forgiven.
Blood atonement is a concept that has been around since Adam and Eve. Something innocent had to die to cover over their sins. Their transgressions weren’t taken away but temporarily covered over, hidden. In the days before the coming of Christ, each time a person sinned, they had to bring a new sacrifice. It was messy and costly. But in God’s perfect time He sent Jesus to die once—and only once—on the cross for us, to pay for all our sin. (Heb. 9:12) That is wonderful news, great news! That’s actually what the word “gospel” means, the “good news.”
While we were still God’s enemies, while we were still haters and revilers of both God Himself and His absolute purity, God showed us His love by making it possible to know Him. He didn’t have to do that, but He loved us so much, He sent His Son to die in our place. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Just think of it, it’s like two opposing forces at war and the leader of the opposite side decides to kill one of his own men to make things right between the two groups. He didn’t consult with the enemy army, He just did it out of love. That’s what God did when He sent Christ to die for us. It’s absolutely inconceivable.
As a result of God’s plan, we can now be forgiven. The heavy debt of guilt we have could be taken away. The remainder of Romans 6:23 explains it for us. “. . . but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23b) Jesus Himself said the very same thing when he talked to Nicodemus, a prominent religious leader of Israel. Almost everyone can probably quote this verse. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) The problem for most of us is that we can’t believe that salvation can be obtained in such an easy manner. It just cannot be that simple, can it? Just to “believe?” There has to be more; that can’t be all that it takes to be saved. In our pride and arrogance, most people ignore God’s simple instructions and they look for another way, a harder way. There must be another set of rules to follow, there has to be an alternate savior to embrace, something much more difficult. But regarding other methods to the truth or other saviors to get us there, Jesus said that He was the only way. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Romans 10:9 tells us that if we “believe” in our hearts we “will be” saved. Here’s where people get confused. To “believe”—to have faith—is not just some warm, fuzzy feeling. Simply put, faith is an action, not a feeling. Biblical belief is not just simply having knowledge about something. It means to act upon that knowledge. For example, I can have a lot of information about a particular chair. I can study the plans and the guidelines for its construction, look at all the manufacturer’s specifications, until I’m blue in the face. But that’s not faith, that’s knowledge. Until I actually put that knowledge into practice and actually sit down in it, I don’t have faith in the chair. Faith means to trust in something which is out of our control, to rely on someone else to get the job done, and, in the case of salvation, there is only one person who can actually save us—Jesus Christ. So let go of whatever you’re holding onto to try to save yourself. Act upon the truth that God has already revealed in His word.
This life is only temporary and the world itself is passing away even before our eyes. (I Corinthians 7:31) Those who love God, who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, will live forever. “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (I John 2:17)
We are saved by faith alone, in Christ alone. Nothing else can save us. There is no other person who can redeem us. Not Joseph Smith, not Buddha, not Mohammed, not even Mary. There are no types of religious activities which can cleanse our souls, there is no amount of money we can pay which would get us into Heaven. Nothing! But God’s sense of justice must be observed, someone has to pay for our sinful actions. But we cannot do it. Jesus paid the price for us in full with His own death. We simply must accept that truth for ourselves, and when we do, God grants us eternal life with Him.
So, where will you spend eternity? Will you choose to take God at His word and accept Jesus Christ’s offer of the free gift of eternal life with him? Or will you decide to refuse His offer and live throughout all eternity in the Lake of Fire? (Revelation 20:15)
As someone once said, “Choose wisely!”