We tend to externalize evil, and say to ourselves, “it affects us, but it’s outside of us.” What a terribly unbiblical view! Evil doesn’t merely come from the outside, but from the inside as well. We’re born sinners - that’s different from being born sinning. The one is a state of being while the other is a state of practice. The Scriptures are clear that in our natural state we are thoroughly sinful in our being, not just in our actions.
Think of the evil that’s outside of us: the evil of the world and of the Devil. These evils would only vex us, but never attract us unless there was something of that evil that dwelt within us. The reason that we are drawn to sin is because it’s part of our natural state. We sin simply because deep down inside we love to sin.
Once we confess that we sin because we love it, we will be able to overcome it by God’s grace. And what can overcome this love of sin? A greater love of God! Think for a minute about the relationship between love and hate. If you love children you’ll hate things that harm children. The same can be said of our love for God. If we love Him we’ll hate the things that cause Him pain. When we consider the great pains that Christ went through to pay for our sins how can we love Him and at the same time love that which killed Him? Can we love God and yet be entertained by movies and TV shows that take His name lightly, even using the name of Christ as a curse word? Are we deeply offended and vexed in spirit when our culture seeks to entertain us with the sins that kept our Savior on the cross, or are we entertained by such depravity? The Scriptures themselves tell us that …
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other… (Mat 6:24)
What are we serving: entertainment or God? What do we love? What do we hate? We can’t love Christ and that which killed Him! It’s time that we stopped playing church and started devoting ourselves to Christ. The Scriptures tell us quite plainly what this devotion should look like when they say to…
…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God… Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind… (Rom 12:1-2)
Let’s commit right here and now to stop living our lives for this world, and start living for God with a renewed mind! Let’s commit now to hold nothing back from God, but to give Him all that we are and have, to live sacrificially before Him!
If we find ourselves in love with the world, then we must take God very seriously when He tells us to…
…not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1Jn 2:15)
This condition is so serious that we can do nothing to rectify it ourselves. But we can thank God that He has done something to fix our natural inclination to hate Him and love the world. So we must put our trust in Him and not ourselves to redeem us from this terrible condition that we find ourselves in.
That’s why the Gospel is called, “Good news.” Despite our sinful nature, despite our love of the world, despite our hatred for God, despite our lukewarmness for God’s things and our passion for things that are not of God, despite all of this and more, God, in His mercy, has chosen to save His children. He is the one that saves us, we don’t save ourselves, we can’t – we’re too far gone. God demands perfect obedience and perfect love, and though we are unable, Christ is able - and Christ did live a life of perfect obedience and love. He kept every commandment; he loved God fully without any dissimulation. And this holy, pure Lamb of God suffered the terrible punishment and death on the cross so that our sins would be paid for. Everything that we have is tied up in Christ; nothing is our own except for sin and condemnation.
When we put our faith in Christ, trusting in Him fully and in Him only for our life and salvation, we’re given His holiness even as our sins are paid for by His death. Our sins are laid upon Him at the cross, and His perfect obedience and perfect love is laid upon us when we are drawn to Him for our salvation.
Nothing good dwells in us naturally, the only good that a man can have is Christ (Rom 7:18). Without Him we’re nothing, with Him we’re everything. Without Him we’re children of the Devil, with Him we’re children of the living God.
If you do not have faith in Christ, consider very seriously where you’re at. You’re a hater of God and man, a lover of sin and self. You are condemned and walk about this life with the wrath of God bearing down on you. Satan himself is dangling you over his mouth, ready to devour you throughout eternity. My prayer for you is that God would conquer your heart and make Himself Lord and Savior of your life. I pray that God would do whatever is needed – loss of family, loss of jobs, loss of health – to bring you to a saving knowledge of Christ. There is nothing more important …
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mar 8:36)
If you are unsure about your faith in Christ I implore you to search out the Scriptures to see if you are in the faith. If you are, ask God to give you certainty in your salvation. If you’re not, beg God to save you, for there is no one else who can.
If you have Christ as your Savior today be encouraged that this salvation is not just for your future in Heaven, but for your life right here and now. We’re not meant to be saved merely from Hell; we’re saved from the power of sin in our lives, the hatred that we harbor towards God and our fellow-man, the love of the world and the flesh. We’re saved from living a life that’s self-centered so that we can live a life that’s Christ-Centered by the power of His indwelling Spirit. Don’t settle for what this world has to offer. Don’t settle for waiting for Heaven without experiencing it here and now. Don’t settle for living a life of entertainment and ease, but live a life that is devoted to God no matter what struggles it brings. To put it simply, if you have Christ as your Savior then live the life that He died for you to live. And then we can say with Paul…
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)
As we consider the awesome grace of Christ in saving us from our misery, and bringing us into a loving relationship with God as our Father, we should shout and sing for joy for the deliverance that we’ve been blessed with!
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