I can honestly say I didn't really understand the Old Testament's message until yesterday. I didn't understand why God kept punishing people in Israel for being, well, people. These were people, like you and me, who sinned over and over again. God saved them countless times, and they would behave themselves for a while, until they went back to their former sinful ways again.
I read countless times how God loved them and wanted their obedience, but the Israelites could only give it to Him for a short period of time before they slipped up badly and eventually lost the very gifts that God had given them. They were God's chosen people and boy did they ever mess up!
Yesterday I realized that the point of all of it was to prove to us that we really are powerless to save ourselves without the intervention of Christ. God set human shepherds, with all their own sinful battles, over Israel because He wanted their leadership among His people. The thing is He knew that those shepherds were going to fail already. God was showing us that we need Him to lead us.
We sin. All of us. There is not one among us who doesn't. We could all go around acting like we're righteous because we give to charity or we care about our neighbor or we go to church every Sunday. There are numerous reasons why we might think we are okay with God because of the wonderful things we do to make the world a better place. The fact is, while these things are important to do, we still mess up no matter how many great things we do.
John 3:15-16 says, “Everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” There is a saying that the truth will set you free. In believing this one passage I happen to know this is true. Being saved not only means believing that Jesus saves us from our sins, but it is also knowing that we really are incapable of doing so ourselves.
A lot of people do not want to admit that they can't control what happens to them from the perspective of eternity. They believe the lie that all will be well with them and God if they just go to church and try not to commit too many sins, especially if they don't break any of the Ten Commandments. While God does want us to fight the fleshly desires we all have, we can not do it without His sacrifice.
Jesus didn't come to Earth to condemn us but to save us. He knew that we can't do it on our own merits. I understand now what it means to hate the flesh if I follow Him. At first, when I read that, I didn't get it. I didn't see that my own flesh is the thing that leads me to sin. While I have turned from the worst ones I have committed, whether it's adultery; or I admit I have sinned against all of the Ten Commandments, I can only take myself so far alone. I am not able, in my own power, to completely free myself from the bondage that my flesh has over me. It is impossible.
I am so appreciative to have a Savior who cares enough about me to save me from myself. It is an awakening to realize just how much Christ has done, not only in my life but in all of our lives, but you have to accept His sacrifice in order to see that truth. I can't say that enough! You must accept the fact that no matter what you do you can not save yourself from sin. Only God's Son does that. He is beautiful. He came down from Heaven, absolute paradise, to our fallen world in order to save us. We are sinners. He knows all we have done and all we will still do, but He came here anyway out of love for us. No person on this Earth could ever free us in such an everlasting way as our Lord has for us. Why not thank Him right now? Why not get down and pray for His redemption from your sins? What are you waiting for? Don't put it off any longer. Your life and mine are so short. We do not know the number of hairs on our heads, but God does.
Don't let the lies of this world hold you back.
Think of it this way. I believe that some people don't want to admit they need a Savior because they are afraid to come clean to the fact that they don't have control over everything in their life. So many are willing to deny that they can't save themselves. Are they afraid if they get down on their knees and ask Jesus into their hearts and lives that He just might answer them? What do you have to lose, except the curse that sin has put over your life? Why not ask the Lord to cleanse you? Confess your sins, so you can truly be free! I know for a fact that, once I did it, I was saved that instant. It doesn't have to be any elaborate confession. You only have to admit that you need Christ in your life to cleanse you and He comes to you quicker than you can blink your eye.
He is waiting for you. He has been waiting for you for all eternity. Don't make Him wait any longer. Don't be afraid of losing control of your life. Let's face it, none of us really have that control anyway. Replace the darkness and the part of you that you know is missing something with the One who belongs there. He is the only one who can fill that void. Material possessions, lust, money, and all the other stuff that we try to please ourselves with only last a moment, and they never will fill that place we all have that craves more. Only our Lord belongs in that spot. There is no need to feel alone. There is only one answer, Jesus Christ. Please, make Him a part of you now. Don't wait for tomorrow to do it. Tomorrow may never come.
Jesus said to him, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
“ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” John 17:23
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:1, 14
“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14
