The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” was spoken by Jesus and recorded by St. Mark. Adam and Eve rejected God’s instructions and their sin was disastrous to all mankind once God responded to their blatant disobedience. Paul tells us in Romans 3:10 and 3:23; “None is righteous, no, not one.” and “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We’ve heard time and again that God is a loving God and wants the very best for our lives. This is true, but God’s judgement on Adam and Eve’s actions was real and has everything to do with knowing the solution He offers us in order to have that ‘very best’.
It is crucial, to not just know, but Scripturally comprehend the nature of our sin, meaning to know the history and properties of it. There is no vagueness in God’s words concerning the severity of our sin nature, the dislike He has for sin nor His historical wrath on peoples and nations that have denied His instructions. Latter 20th century and current 21st century churches often avoid Old Testament ‘wrath’ stories as well as Jesus’ admonitions that align with God’s promises of judgement upon us. Promises of wealth, prayers answered or eternal salvation by proclaiming with your lips that Jesus is our personal Savior, without genuine confession AND repentance of our sins, is simply not Scriptural. It is not what Jesus said.
There is little worse than the belief our physical death ends our existence knowing the belief diametrically opposes what is designed within us. Our inner self, if we are honest, continually questions our purpose and the matter of eternity. God designed us to long for eternal life and denial of this results in tensions that are exhibited in unnecessary fears, worries and worse. The longing He created within us for eternity is about being with Him in this life. He created us to know, love and ultimately be with Him. When one pursues the truths of God; envy, malice, racism, jealousy and unrighteous anger get directed to the ‘junk’ folder. The *sin of offense and gossip wither away as they become unwanted and unnecessary. The irony is the simplicity of solution is not only easy, it is free. To be continued……..
Image courtesy of Unsplash artist Rocco Caruso. *an upcoming blog regarding how we to Scripturally address the sin of being offended easily. Yes, this is a very real issue with some.
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