by Robert Dodson<\/p>\n
I do not have to tell any of you that we live in an evil world. We are all quite aware of the sorrow, heartache, misery, suffering, and death in our world. Some are angry at God about it. It raises questions and doubts in our hearts, causing some to wonder if God even exists.<\/p>\n
God did not make the world that way (Genesis 1-2). He made everything very good. God made the woman for the man, and they had everything they needed in the Garden of Eden. All was at peace. There was no suffering, pain, or death.<\/p>\n
Man sinned against God (Genesis 3). The old serpent, the devil, tempted the woman, and she sinned. The man followed her into sin. As a result, they were both ashamed and, in their guilt, tried to hide from God. Their sin brought God’s curses on every creature, including the serpent, which was destined to crawl on its belly. The woman was given pain in childbearing and would desire to rule over her husband. The ground was cursed to bring forth thorns and thistles so that the man could only eat of it with hard work. Sin changed everything.<\/p>\n
Since that time, we have all sinned, and the world has only become worse (Romans 3:10-18, 23). Each of us has contributed to the mess we have created for ourselves in this world. None of us is without guilt. Like the man and the woman in the beginning, our sins have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23) and brought much grief into the world.<\/p>\n
We are not without hope (I Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:2; I Peter 1:3-9). God still loves us (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8; 1 John 4:10-11, 19). In His grace, He has provided a way for us to be forgiven of our sins and be reconciled to Him forever (Ephesians 2; II Corinthians 5:19). There is a Savior for us all (Matthew 1:23; John 4:42; I Timothy 4:10). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent from heaven to the earth as a man (John 1; Philippians 2:5-8). He was born of a virgin and was begotten by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-2). Living in the flesh, He was tempted and tried but did no sin (Hebrews 4:15; I Peter 2:21-22). Having lived a perfect life, God would accept His death as a sacrifice for our sins (II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 5:8-9; I John 2:1-2).<\/p>\n
Only the sacrifice of an innocent person could appease God’s wrath and satisfy His justice regarding our sins (Romans 3:24-26). I could not die for you, and you could not die for me, because we all have our own sins (Romans 3:23). So, Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves (Ephesians 2:8-9). In giving Himself upon the cross, He paid for our sins so that we might be forgiven (Matthew 20:28; John 1:29; I Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 2:9; I Peter 1:18-19).<\/p>\n
After His death, He did not stay in the tomb but arose from the dead and ascended back into heaven where He lives forever (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21; Acts 1-2). In doing this, He has defeated the work of the devil (I Corinthians 15; Colossians 2:14-15; Hebrews 2:14-18). Jesus conquered sin and death, so we are all able to overcome temptation and rest in the assurance of eternal life (Romans 8). Even as we endure the suffering of this evil world, He can give us a peace that surpasses our understanding, an indescribable joy, and a living hope that sustains us through every trial of life (Philippians 4:4-19; I Peter 1:3-9).<\/p>\n
Do you believe this good news? If you believe, you will decide in your heart to turn from sin to live for God (Acts 3:19). You will confess your faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Lord and Savior of the world (Romans 10:9-10). You will be immersed for the forgiveness of sins, committing yourself to Christ (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6). You will be faithful to Him for the rest of your life (Revelation 2:10). He will give you an abundant life now and in eternity with Him (John 10:10; II Peter 1:10-11).<\/p>\n
If you do not believe, you are condemned already because of your sins and will be forever separated from God (Matthew 25; John 3:18; II Thessalonians 1:7-9). If you lose your faith, turning away from Christ never to repent, but go on knowingly and purposefully sinning against Him, or if you place your faith in anyone or anything else but Christ for your salvation, it will be worse for you than when you were first lost without Him (Hebrews 10:26-31; II Peter 2:20-22).<\/p>\n
God has made a way for us all to be saved through Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). How you respond to His love and grace will make the difference between heaven and hell, eternal life and eternal punishment. Choose life!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Robert Dodson I do not have to tell any of you that we live in an evil world. We are all quite aware of the sorrow, heartache, misery, suffering, and death in our world. Some are angry at God about it. It raises questions and doubts in our hearts, causing some to wonder if…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[99],"class_list":["post-89925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-becoming-a-christian"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4116,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-people-have-to-die\/","url_meta":{"origin":89925,"position":0},"title":"Why do people have to die?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why do people have to die? When you think about it, it can make people mad at God, or it will drive them away. Why does God let suffering happen? Suffering is hard for people. Answer: To understand why people die, we have to go back to when death\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1937,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-there-have-been-a-gap-between-genesis-11-and-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":89925,"position":1},"title":"Could there have been a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are you familiar with the \"Gap Theory?\" Since the Bible isn't exhaustive, could something have taken place between\u00a0Genesis 1:1\u00a0and\u00a01:2? Answer: Ever since evolution was espoused in the late 1800s, people have struggled with making the Bible conform to the current popular scientific theories. Of course, it is a never-ending\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48944,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-sin-spread-if-it-was-not-inherent-in-men\/","url_meta":{"origin":89925,"position":2},"title":"How did sin spread if it was not inherent in men?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I agree with your belief that the Bible does not speak of inheriting a \"sin nature\" from Adam. If you wrote your own version of the Bible, how would you translate Romans 5:12? Or, can you explain how death \"spread\" to all men, since it's our own personal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2128,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-the-consequences-of-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":89925,"position":3},"title":"What are the consequences of sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the consequences of sin? Answer: Whenever we sin, there are consequences that come as a result of sin. Some of those consequences are spiritual and some are physical. When Adam and Eve sinned they experienced both physical and spiritual consequences (Genesis 3). The first result of their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9241,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-make-the-handicapped\/","url_meta":{"origin":89925,"position":4},"title":"Does God Make the Handicapped?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Exodus 4:10-12 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We desire explanations for the world and its events \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is not enough that things happen, most of us are curious as to why they happen \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even the three-year-old will drive his parents to distraction asking \u201cWhy?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hence, when disciples come across a blind man, it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22111,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-jesus-fully-human-when-he-was-born-into-this-world-and-could-he-have-sinned\/","url_meta":{"origin":89925,"position":5},"title":"Was Jesus fully human when he was born into this world and could he have sinned?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Jesus fully human when he was born into this world and could he have sinned? Answer: In discussing Jesus, the writer of Hebrews stated, \"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood,\u00a0He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89925\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}