Faith check

 I would like to take the first section of this blog to speak about the reason behind this blog.
The reason is for the Glory of God and the spreading of His gospel.  The gospel if you don't know is the most important thing you will hear during your life.  The reason being, the way you react to the gospel will determine your eternity.  When I speak with people about this and I see them struggling, I often tell them to think about it like there life depends on it because it does. 

Lets start at the beginning.  Man is totally depraved. What is depraved you may ask?  Well Webster's dictionary describes depraved as the following,  a very evil quality or way of behaving.  The bible speaks of it in much the same way.  The bible tells of mans true evil heart. In Jeremiah 17:9 it says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?".  In this we see that it isn't about your surroundings as a child or how people treat you.  Jesus said in Matthew 15:11 "it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of mouth; this defiles a  person" and in verse 18 He says "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.".  So we can plainly see that depravity is a heart issue. 

Lets discover why we even have this issue.  Look at Genesis 3:6 and you will see that after the first lie from the devil to deceive Eve, came the first sin from human toward God. They ate of the fruit in which they were told not to. This first sin put enmity between us and God. Why? God can not have sin in His presence so He requires perfection. You may say this is harsh, but let me remind you of something - you aren't God.  Later on we see in the scriptures that God puts together His requirements for us to live a righteous life.  They are called the 10 commandments.  In Exodus 20:1-21 the law is laid out for us. The one thing in this that we have to remember that God didn't give us the law because He also lives by it but rather because He is it.  This is the way He is all the time and this is the way we must be all the time. In James 2:10 it says "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.". 

Lets look at a few of them and think about these for a moment.  It says that you shouldn't steal, have you ever stolen anything regardless of its value?  The next one says that you shouldn't lie, have you ever lied?  Another one says that you shouldn't use God's name in vain, have you ever taken His name in vain?  The last one we will look at is adultery, have you ever committed adultery?  You might say no to the last one but lets look what Jesus said about adultery in Matthew 5:28 "But I say to you who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.".  Can you say you honestly have never done any of these?

That is the point of the gospel.  The meaning of gospel is actually good news.  We can't do it but Jesus did.  Jesus is the son of God and is God at the same time.  He was born of a virgin, lived a perfect sinless life and died a bloody death on a roman cross for our sins.  It wasn't just a death, it was also a legal transaction that was happening on the cross.  In Isaiah  53:5 "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.". You may ask why a bloody sacrifice?  Look back at the old testament and you will see that a sacrifice must be paid for sin.  Now that the penalty for our sins have been paid in full there are no more sacrifices necessary.

Now that we have looked at the problem and the solution to the promise. Its time for a response from you.  You may read this and blow it off or it may even make you angry.  It ought to make you thankful when you realize who we are and who He is and what He has done for us.  Some say "pray this prayer and you will be a Christian.".  I am very sorry to say this but I cant find that verse anywhere in the bible.  What Jesus himself said in Mark 1:15"and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel".   Repentance and belief is what it takes.  Two sides of the same coin.  In Ephesians 2:8 it says "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,".  

I pray that you take the time and search your heart and seek out the truth in Gods word.  I pray that if you are a Christian that you share your faith.  I most of all pray that God's name is glorified and more and more people around the world learn of His loving kindness and the gospel!