Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…As you know, I have written many times about these “crazy times” in which we are now living, but it always serves as the perfect set-up for my subject matter. Each day it becomes more and more obvious that we are living out the prophecy found in Isaiah 5:20: “Destruction is certain for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is dark; that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.” During the past quarter of a century, it seems that the values and morals of America have been turned upside down. What used to be honored, valued, respected, and worshiped is now mocked, vilified, and even blasphemed. And what used to be shameful, disgusting, disgraceful and downright sinful is today’s moniker of the latest, greatest liberal thinking. It would appear that Isaiah’s prophecy was/is spot on.
I have pointed out more that once that I believe our culture is morally and spiritually bankrupt. While I have shared what I think is the solution to this dilemma, my idea was reinforced when I heard Jan Markell, host of the radio program, “Understanding the Times” answer a similar question about the state of our culture. Her answer was, “Godly people are good citizens. For the most part they are trustworthy, law abiding, and uphold the time-honored code of morals and ethics.” (I’m glad she prefaced her answer with “for the most part” because I’m sure neither she, nor I, would make a claim that all people who claim to be Godly are, in fact, Godly people.)
In last week’s post, I mentioned George Whitefield’s answer to our early colonies moral decline. “When the early American colonies had drifted away from their earlier religious training and were exhibiting moral and spiritual decline, the renowned British evangelist, George Whitefield, came to America and served as an itinerate preacher, traveling throughout the colonies preaching the message of Jesus Christ and our need for salvation. That message of love and hope transformed the colonies”. And that very transformation led our forefathers to pattern our Founding Documents some forty years later on Judeo-Christian principles. (This is just a mental exercise for all readers. If the Founding Documents were re-written today, what moral and ethical principles do you think would guide them?) OK. That’s enough set-up. Now on to the subject matter at hand.
I’m sure to no one’s surprise, I personally think George Whitefield’s method of transforming our nation three-hundred years ago is THE answer for our culture today. There is no message of love, hope, and freedom comparable to the Gospel of Grace. Our culture is lost! It is searching for that love, hope and freedom, but it’s looking in all the wrong places. Each of us has a God-shaped hole in our soul because that original connection was severed at the Fall, but to our detriment we try to fill it with drugs or alcohol, fleeting lustful pleasures, money, status, a bigger home, a new spouse, or more gadgets that we just can’t live without. All of that may work for a while, but then we’re ready to move on to the next shiny object in order to satisfy our never-ending need for fulfillment.
Here’s the Good News! The Gospel of Grace offers a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This is THE answer that never fails to fulfill. That’s why His plan for our salvation was to provide a Redeemer to save us from ourselves. In His omniscience, He knew we were going to go astray. (Ref. Ephesians 1:3-10) After the Fall, He let Man be in charge of his own destiny in order to prove that following our human nature (sin nature) would not produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control. Instead, Man found himself mired in sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, envy, psychosomatic illnesses, depression, anxiety, hatred, anger and fear. Romans 5:6 describes our pathetic state: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time to die for us sinners.” And what was “just the right time?” When we proved ourselves to be utterly helpless without God in our lives.
2018 years ago God implemented His plan as outlined in Ephesians 1:10: “At just the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.” Jesus Christ came in the form of a man to be our sacrificial lamb, to die for the sins of the world. He shed his blood on the cross to pay the sin-ransom for all Mankind. All we have to do to be saved is to accept what He did for us on the cross!
So you might be asking yourself, “How do I accept this? How can I know for sure?” I applaud those questions, because without those answers, how can you accept this?
I’m going to connect some dots for you through a series of bullet points.
- God IS Love. (1John 4:16) He created us for a relationship with Himself…an eternal relationship. He gave us free will so we chose that relationship.
- Because God is holy (sin-free), in order for us to spend eternity with Him in paradise, we too have to be holy. (1Peter:1-16)
- Man proved his inability to be sin-free through his own effort. (Romans 5:6)
- Under the Old Covenant (before Christ), blood was required from sacrificial animals to cover the sins of man. Blood was the proof of sacrifice. Without blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. (Hebrews 9:22)
- The Law (10 Commandments) is God’s standard for sin-free living. We can try our best to live that way, but if we break one of the laws, we’re guilty of breaking them all. (James 2:10)
- God knew we could not live a sin-free life. But because He wants an eternal relationship with us, He provided THE Sacrificial Lamb to pay the penalty for our sins. Otherwise, we would have to pay that penalty ourselves through eternal damnation. (Romans 6:23)
- When we come to realize that Jesus was the Son of God who came from heaven to earth to pay our sin-ransom (that was always God’s plan), we can accept what He did for us. In God’s eyes, we’re covered with the blood of Jesus. He proclaims us sin-free; He will remember our sins no more. (Hebrews 8:12)
- Three days after Jesus’ crucifixion, He was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit and is seated at the right hand of God. Because we are now in Christ, we too inherit eternal life…all because of what Jesus did for us on the cross!
All we have to do is accept God’s Gift of Grace. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Once we do this, the rest is supernatural. 2 Corinthians 5:17 explains what happens the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior: “You are a new creation in Christ. The old has gone (your sin nature); the new has come.” (Holy Spirit).
Next week I will write about what it means to be in Christ, and what it means to live by the Spirit. This is THE answer to everything our lost culture is searching for; they just have to be exposed to The Truth and learn how to tap into this treasure trove of blessings. The Ah-ha moments are inexhaustible!
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May God Bless Ya…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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