Page 6 - Good News May 2012 paper

BY JOHN BLANCHARD ment in a perfect relationship with you? How can you get right with God which is your reasonable
Life is full of questions. Some are each other and in perfect God? How can Christ become service, And be not conformed to
trivial, some more serious and harmony with God. This is hardly your Saviour? this world: but be ye transformed
some tremendously important. the situation today. What hap- ¦ ADMIT you are a sinner and that by the renewing of your mind, that
Even as you read these words you pened? only the Lord Jesus can save you. ye may prove what is that good
may have questions about your The first man and woman (Adam “For all have sinned, and fall short and acceptable, and perfect will of
health, your financial situation, and Eve) were given great of the glory of God” (Romans God” (Romans 12:1-2).
your job, your family or your freedom, but also one serious 3:23). ¦ READ your Bible every day and
future. warning: “You must not eat from ¦ REPENT: Be willing to turn away get to know Christ better. “Let the
But the greatest questions are the tree of the knowledge of good from sin and submit to God. “But word of Christ dwell in you richly
about God and your relationship and evil, for when you eat of it, you except ye repent, ye shall all in all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16).
to Him. Nothing in life is more will surely die.” This was an ideal likewise perish” (Luke 13:5). ¦ TALK to God in prayer every
important than this. test of man's willingness to obey ¦ BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus day. “Pray without ceasing”
Good health, financial stability, what God said, simply because Christ died on the cross and shed (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
secure employment, a contented God said it. His blood to pay the price for your ¦ FIND a church where the Bible is
family and a hopeful future are all But the devil tempted Eve to sins and that He rose again. “That taught as the complete and final
things that people want. Yet even disbelieve and disobey God's if thou shalt confess with thy Word of God.
these are temporary and even- words and she (and Adam) did. At mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt “Sanctify them through Thy truth:
tually pointless unless you have a that moment “sin entered the believe in thine heart that God Thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
living relationship with God. world”. hath raised Him from the dead, ¦ OBEY Christ's command and be
When we communicate with one By his deliberate disobedience, thou shalt be saved. For with the baptized. “Repent, and be
another, we rely heavily on words. man cut himself off from God. heart man believeth unto baptized everyone of you in the
God also speaks to men through God had said that man would die if righteousness; and with the Name of Jesus Christ for
words - the words of the Bible. he disobeyed, and he did. Death mouth confession is made unto remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).
Nearly 4 000 times in the Old means separation, and in one salvation” (Romans 10:9,10). “Go ye therefore, and teach all
Testament alone you will find terrible moment man became ¦ ASK Jesus Christ to be Lord nations, baptizing them in the
phrases like “the Lord spoke”, separated from God; he died (take control) of your life. Name of the Father, and of the
“the Lord commanded” and “the spiritually. He now had a dead “Present your bodies a living Son, and of the Holy Ghost”
Lord said”. This is why it is soul and a dying body. sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto (Matthew 28:19).
claimed that “All scripture is From then on, like pollution at the
given by inspiration of God, and is source of a river, the poison of sin
profitable for doctrine, for has flowed to all Adam's descen-
reproof, for correction, for dants, and in this way “death
came
instruction in righteousness” to all men because all
(2 Timothy 3:16). sinned.”
No other book has had such a life- Many of today's newspapers,
changing power. Millions of television and radio headlines
people, over thousands of years, remind us of the fact that the
have proved that the “law of the world is in a mess. It is easy to
Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. condemn violence, injustice,
The statutes of the Lord are disorder and wrongdoing in
trustworthy, making wise the society, but before criticizing
simple. The precepts of the Lord others, ask yourself whether you
are right, giving joy to the heart. are perfect and leading a life
The commands of the Lord are pleasing to a holy God. Are you
radiant, giving light to the eyes.” absolutely honest, pure, loving
The pressures and problems of and selfless?
modern living are driving many God knows the answers to these
people to a restless search for questions - and so do you! “All
meaning and purpose in life. Why have sinned and fall short of the
do we exist? Why are we here? glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Does human life have any You are a sinner by birth, by
meaning or purpose? nature, by practice and by choice
Man is more than an accidental and you urgently need to face the
accumulation of atoms which all facts - and the consequences.
happened to fit together into a On the Day of Judgement “each
convenient package we call “a one of us will give an account of
human being”. The Bible tells us himself to God. Man is destined to
that he was specifically created die once, and after that to face
by a wise and holy God. “God judgement.”
created man in His own image, in Those in a right relationship with
the image of God He created him; God will then be welcomed into
male and female He created him.” heaven to spend eternity in His
Man became God's personal glorious presence. All others will
representative on earth, with be “punished with everlasting
authority over all other living destruction and shut out from the
creatures. Man was created as a presence of the Lord and from the
spiritual, rational, moral and majesty of His power.”
immortal being, with a nature that How can any human being escape
was perfect. from being condemned to hell?
Not only was man totally fulfilled The Bible's answer is this: “God
and completely satisfied with his demonstrates His own love for us
position in the world but God also in this: while we were still sinners,
was satisfied with man! We know Christ died for us.”
this because the Bible tells us that As part of an amazing rescue plan
when His work of creation was God the Son volunteered to take
complete, with man as His the place of sinners and to bear
crowning glory, “God saw all that the just penalty for sin. The
He had made, and it was very sinless Son of God willingly
good.” suffered and died for them, “the
At that point in history, perfect Righteous for the unrighteous.”
people lived in a perfect environ- But how does all this apply to