The most important rescue of your life!

Imagine that when you were born, your mom had been captured by a mass murderer.  She dies in child birth leaving you to be raised by this person.  He and his cohorts keep you "kidnapped" and hidden from society.  You see horrific things and at some point realize that something is not right with your "family".  They are the only family you know and you love them but you are destined to end up just like them.  You can't get out!   On one hand, you might not even realize anything was wrong because everyone around you was acting  the same way.  This is your "normal".   You would need someone from  the real society to tell you how to get out of this way of life...how to be RESCUED!  

The real story is that you were born into what the Bible calls the domain of darkness.  (Colossians 1:13).  Psalm 51:5 is King David talking, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me."  This does not mean that his mother was in sin when he was conceived but that he was a sinner from birth.  God had

told Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed and ate of the tree in the middle of the garden that they would            die.  This was a spiritual death.  Romans 5:19 says, "For as through the one man's (Adam's) disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One (Jesus) the many will be made righteous."  But every person born after that is born into sin and spiritual death.  Ephesians 2:1 says, "You were dead in your trespasses and sins."  Do you see the "society" that you were born into?  God is a holy God that cannot even look on sin.

You might say, "Well, I'm not really a bad person and my good will outweigh my bad when the time comes."

Romans 3:10-12 says, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good."  It also says in Isaiah 64:6, "All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment."  If even our good deeds are like filthy rags...how can we expect a good judge to just let us off when, just as in our human courts, justice demands that sin be punished.  Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  WE NEED A RESCUER!

You might be saying, "Well, I haven't done anything that bad."  Have you ever lied?  Just one of God's Ten Commandments is to not lie.  James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."

Are you ready to die?  How will you get to heaven when you are born in sin and God cannot even look on sin?  Although God is a God that loves...He is also a God of justice and not to be trifled with.  Psalm 97:2-6 describes Him this way, "Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.  Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries round about.  His lightnings lit up the world; the earth saw and trembled.  The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.  The heavens declare His righteousness and, all the peoples have seen His glory."  YOU NEED TO BE RESCUED!!  How?  You know, the thing with a rescue is that the person being rescued doesn't initiate the rescue.  They are helpless to do anything to rescue themselves.  And like the person born into the mass murderer family, they don't even realize they need "rescuing".  

THERE IS A RESCUER!  His name is Jesus and He came and died in your place.  He could do that because He never sinned.  Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin."  Romans 6:23 says, "The wages (what we've earned) of sin is death (eternal separation from God in hell) BUT the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  You don't earn a gift, do you?  It is given by someone who loves you.  God made a way for your sins to be forgiven and go to heaven if you simply trust in what Christ did for you on the cross.  He didn't stay dead like all the other religions' leaders.  None of them are living...Mohamed, Buddha, etc.  The crazy thing is that He died for us while we were His enemies.  Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

All you must do is put your faith in what Christ did for you and seek God asking him for forgiveness of your sins.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through FAITH and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

This is not a "fire insurance" policy.  If God truly changes a person's life, their desire will be to read His word, the Bible, and fellowship with other believers telling others about what Christ has done for them through witnessing and baptism.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."  He puts a desire in you to live for Him and His glory!  You repent or turn away from sin and obey God and what He has said in His word.  You will not be perfect until heaven but you seek to obey God with all you have.  Then you can say with Paul what he said about the Colossian church in Col. 1:13-, "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

 

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