If you haven’t noticed the stench of death permeating our planet, you haven’t been paying attention. That stench is the odor of rebellion and its consequences. A grievous wound will putrefy, turn gangrenous and kill you. Our rebellion against our Creator, both as a species and individually, is a grievous wound indeed, reeking and infected and deadly.
Human rebellion has affected the entire creation, inflicting death on animals as well as people, and sending the larger universe into a tailspin of deterioration. The universe and the animal kingdom will be set right at the proper time, when all will be restored to perfection, never again to be marred by our sin. But our personal disobedience to God must be dealt with individually, by each person.
A wounded person looks to a physician for healing, for deliverance from the harm of the wound, the ruin of her health, and the loss of her life. Likewise, each human being must look to Jesus Christ for deliverance from the consequences of his or her rebellion. That’s what church people mean when they say you need to be saved from your sins.
Three important things to note:
- Everyone has rebelled against God, even the most mild-mannered and kindhearted person you can think of. No one is perfect, and God’s perfection is the standard we are measured against. That may not seem fair, but what does fair have to do with it? What we’re talking about is who will live forever in God’s presence, in the most marvelous and joy-filled, adventurous and perfect surroundings (called Heaven). The answer to that is, only people declared to be perfect. It wouldn’t be much of a Heaven if my bad temper and your tendency to gossip were allowed in, let alone a little thievery here and there, a bit of lying and cheating…a little slander maybe. Ick! Heaven’s citizens will be completely sin-free, else they could not be in God’s presence.
- The penalty for sin is death. To reject the gift of salvation is to reject God, and he honors that decision upon a person’s physical death, removing them from his presence forever. Death means being separated from God and everything God provides. We call that Hell.
- There is only one remedy. There is only one path up the mountain. There is only one way to God. Regardless of the contrary messages filling websites, magazines and TV shows, Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life, and no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. (John 14:6)
When you look to Jesus to save you, you are trusting him, or putting your faith in him, just as you might trust a doctor to save you from death by gangrene. However, though doctors often fail to cure their patients, Jesus can never fail you. When you come to him for salvation, he declares you saved from death. This is justification. You were an enemy of God because of your sin. When you realize this and come to Jesus for help, he declares you to be right with God, a friend now and no longer an enemy. Jesus can do this for you because he paid the price for our rebellion, offering himself to be tortured and executed as a criminal on behalf of us all. His sacrificial death was effective because he is both God and man, and was never a rebel himself but lived his life on earth in perfect obedience and communication with God his Father.
You most likely are familiar with John 3:16, but look at it again. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God the Father sent God the Son to pay for our rebellion, because he loves us, all of us, and would rather we didn’t die and be separated from him forever, but wants us all to choose to be reconciled to him and live with him forever. When we believe in him we are no longer condemned to death, but saved.
That is just the beginning, however. We still stink. Our mortal wound has been cleaned, and we’re delivered from death, but the healing process is just starting. For the rest of our planet-side life, we will be learning to die to self and live for Christ. This is sanctification. We Christians have God the Holy Spirit living in us, guiding us into all truth, helping us to overcome temptations, break bad habits and become more Christ-like. We cooperate with the Spirit’s work in us by reading His instructions, talking to Him and listening to Him, meeting together with other believers for worship and encouragement and learning, and letting other unbelievers know about how to find the help and deliverance we have found. (In church language, this means we read our Bibles, pray, go to church, and share the Gospel.)
While justification is instantaneous, sanctification is a long process, continuing until our days on earth are finished. Then comes the very best part: glorification. Upon the death of our bodies (for most of us) or rapture (for one final generation) we are done forever with trying to be Christ-like. We shed our corruption and mortality and are made incorruptible and immortal. No longer will we have to struggle against sin, work to control our thoughts and speech, or ask forgiveness for missing the mark. We will be like Jesus, free from any sinful influence from that moment on.
We will be with Jesus, too, watching as he turns the last few pages in the story of life-as-we-know-it. At some point, not too far from now, the story of this world written down for us in Scripture will be finished, and whatever God has planned as our Next Adventure will begin. Whatever might be making you reluctant to come to Christ—unwillingness to give up your rotten ways, a desire to indulge yourself just a little longer, mistaken ideas about the truth of Christianity—I pray you will recognize those things, and lay them all at Jesus’ feet. Life on earth is so fragile, and the decisions you make here are so immensely important. Don’t delay, “for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
Questions? Comments? Talk to me in the forum thread for this article.
