The State of Man--Our Blessed Hope Devine

I have come to the conclusion that a lot of people think they are better than they really are. That God will welcome them into His kingdom because they are nice people. Good people.  Then I postulate why did God have to send His Only Son into the world, who suffered and died on the cross? Hmmmmm?????                                                                                 

Scripture tells us, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous no not one. No one who does good no not one. (Romans 3:10-18) In God's sight no one is good enough in and of themselves to enter the Kingdom of God.                                                                                     

                   

Now a certain ruler asked Jesus, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. (saying to him if you call me good, you are calling me God, in the flesh, the Savior of the world) Jesus continued with " if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’  ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. (so he thought) What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Jesus knew what His first love was. And it wasn't God.                                                                                                            

No one righteous, no not one. “Their throats are open graves;   their tongues practice deceit.”“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”    “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”“Their feet are swift to shed blood;  ruin and misery mark their ways,and the way of peace they do not know.”There is no fear of God before their eyes. No one seeks after God. (Romans 3:10-18 Paul quotes the Old Testament)                                                              

 The human condition toward God is enmity with their creator. Humans beings come into this world as God's natural born enemies.That is,  the God of Scripture. So they set up their own god to worship. A god that approves of their actions, deeds and spurious desires that satisfy the flesh. They become their own god that does not condemn and does not judge but obligingly sanctions whatever ones heart desires. It is a very dangeous path that only leads to the fiery pit of everlasting punishment. (Matthew 7:13-14)   

                                                     

                                                         

Even after God destroyed the world with a flood, and wiped out all of humankind from the face of the earth. Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.  (Gen. 8:20-21)                                                         

Man's heart is evil from his youth...Talk about a condemnation of the human race. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Yet God in eternity past had a plan. God the Father  would send His Son into the world. The Word who was in the beginning with God and was God. The eternal WORD made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil 2:5-8)                                                

The very Son of God was born of a woman, born under law. That He might fulfill the law and the prophets. The Holy Spirit would overshadow the elect vessel by which God ordained the Holy One to be born. A virgin would conceive and bear a Son. His name Immanuel meaning God with us. When the fullness of time had come, God sent fourth His Son, born to a virgin named Mary, and thus became the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. ( Gal. 4:4; Matt. 5:17-18;  Luke 1:35; Isaiah 7:14; John 1:29)  

                                           

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,  he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,

According to Your word;

For my eyes have seen Your salvation

Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,

And the glory of Your people Israel.”   (Luke 2:25-32)  

                                                

When Jesus came of age He went out to the people of Israel saying, "repent and believe the gospel. I am the Way, the Truth and the Light. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Mark 1:15;John 14:6) Jesus is the fulfillment of all those Old Testament animal sacrifices, which never could erase their sins. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. (Heb. 10:3-4)

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. (Heb. 10:5)  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

                                       

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:35-40)

If you seek after God it's because God is seeking after you. For no one can come to Christ unless the Father who sent Jesus draws them. (John 6:45;65) And that my friends is a gift by the Grace of God. The Grace that draws one to the Son to believe, confess, repent. And be born again, born from above into new life. For it is God who gives a cold dead heart of a lost soul the life of faith to believe and obey the God who bestows mercy on those who were once enemies of God. ( Titus. 3:5; Romans 8:7-8)                                                                                                                 

Jesus Himself called the people who gathered to Him "evil"  (Matt. 7:11) I had to chuckle. Imagine a preacher doing that today saying, "you wicked, vile, perverse, reprobates, lost and steeped in your sinful nature.  Repent or face the eternal wrath of Almighty God who is angry with the wicked everyday!" Yikes! Those pews would empty out quicker than you can say....Truth!                               

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

                                                   

God gave His Son, God sent His Son for He always did the Fathers will. That's the infinitude of the love of God. Who wants all to come to repentance. Yet from before the creation was spoken into existence.  God's plan was set and can not be thwarted. Those who are born from above will believe. A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation His own special people. Chosen by God, elect, with everlasting life, a citizenship in heaven. (1 Peter 1:1-2; 2:9-10)                                                                                                             

We can not fully comprehend or understand the sovereign workings of our Holy and Righteous God.  That is the secret thing that belongs to God alone. (Deut. 29:29) God's people will be regenerated and become citizens of heaven.  For Jesus came to save His people from their sins. Their desire will be to worship God with their obedience and as lights in a dark world. To hunger and thirst for righteousness. To ponder and pursue God's Word as the food for our souls.  If you are a child of God then let us then be bold in our witness, strong in our faith, with a pure heart, a listening ear, seeking wisdom, knowledge, understanding and truth from the Word of God.  Seeking God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strenght. 

                                        

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  (2 Cor. 10:3-5)