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Articles by Bob Martin, Senior Pastor The Antichrist, Christ And The Future Eternal Life, Life Everlasting, Eternal Security - Which? Have You Ever Wondered Why No
One Had To Teach You The
Slipping, Shifting, Side Stepping Church or HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY NO ONE HAD TO TEACH YOU HOW TO
LIE? Come on, tell the truth! Did you ever wonder why no one had to teach you to lie? Or, for that matter, have you ever wondered why no one had to teach you to cheat, or steal, or practice deceit in any way? Chances are your mother never pulled you up in her lap and said, “Dear, today I’m going to teach you how to lie and cheat, and tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to steal. We’ll start off by stealing hubcaps off parked cars. But, you developed the knack for stealing, practicing deceit, and even taking things that didn’t belong to you, without being taught to do so. Why? Why did these practices develop in your life as a natural expression of your life? Children, at a very young age begin to practice deceit. When they are told not to touch something, they try to do so unobserved. When observed touching the forbidden object, what do they do? They jerk their hand back and pretend they were not trying to touch the forbidden object. By their very actions they practice deceit and when old enough to do so, will compound their disobedience by verbally lying about their actions. Why? This article answers that question, and, in doing so, answers a lot of other questions about why people do what they do, and are the way they are. In short, this article is about you! To better understand yourself, your spouse, your children, your co-workers and all those around you, read on.
Man, in his original created state, had a sinless nature that was in perfect harmony and fellowship with God, his Creator. Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness...” God placed all that He created under the dominion of man. Genesis 1:26 “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” God placed only one restriction on man. Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ ” You may ask, why would God put a tree in the Garden of Eden at creation from which man was forbidden to eat? Simple. There had to be a point of reference around which man could choose to obey God, or choose to disobey God. The problem lay not in the fruit that was on the tree, but, would man as an act of his will, choose to obey or disobey God.Man is not a robot. God created him with a will that he could use even to violate his own nature and God’s command. Man chose to do exactly that – they ate from the one tree that was prohibited. Genesis 3:16 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her: and he did eat.” Man’s original sin lay in his act of rebellion against God – in exercising his will against God’s will. When man did that – his nature changed, he lost his sinless nature. Man has ever since been born with a sinful nature or one, that without any training whatever, tends toward rebellion toward God. That’s why no one had to teach you to lie, to cheat, to think unclean thoughts, or to say unkind words or any number of other things that you do, think or say that are ungodlike. Man is born with a sinful nature.
God only knows one solution for sin and that is death. Genesis 2:17 “But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Sin introduced death into the human race. Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” That’s why everybody dies, everybody has sinned. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” God does not forgive sin, God kills sin, for “...without the shedding of blood is no remission” (forgiveness of sins) (Hebrews 9:22). That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. God forgives sinners by putting their sins to death in Jesus Christ.
When man originally sinned, God instituted a “blood sacrifice” for sins committed, but He expressly forbade that humans should ever be used, but rather commanded that certain animals should be used – the innocent for the guilty. (Animals are incapable of sinning.) The reason for a “blood sacrifice” for the sins of man is also explained. Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” The life is in the blood, so in the shedding of the blood, life was given. At the time the sacrificial animal was offered as a sacrifice for sin, the sins of the offerer were vicariously transferred from the offerer to the animal through prayer so that the sins were put to death in the animal. Every animal sacrifice in the Old Testament of the Bible was pointing to the future when Jesus Christ, “THE SON OF GOD,” “THE LAMB OF GOD,” would die as a sacrifice for sin on a cross on a hill called Calvary outside of Jerusalem – the innocent for the guilty – a blood sacrifice. II Corinthians 5:21 “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” You see, Jesus Christ is God’s solution to sin and to death. For all who will believe on His Son, Jesus, The Christ, God “reckons” (counts) their sins transferred to Jesus, and put to death in His death! His blood sacrifice was sufficient for all the sins of all who would believe on Him and trust in Him and Him alone for their salvation. God suffered His own wrath, and His own judgment by becoming God incarnate, that is, God in human form, and called Himself Jesus. As the Messiah, He became His own sacrifice for sin. He took our sins upon Himself, and when He voluntarily gave up His life and died, the sins of all who would believe in Him and trust in Him as their savior, were put to death in Him! When we receive Him in childlike faith as our Lord and Savior, we are “born again.” and receive “a new nature.” John 1:12 “But as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” That’s really what it means to be “born again” – it is to receive a “new nature” through believing in and trusting in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, asking Him to forgive you for your sins, thanking Him for His blood sacrifice on the cross for your sins and asking Him in simple childlike faith to be the Savior of your soul and the Lord of your life. Only those with a "new nature" can face death with confidence and inherit eternal life in Heaven, the Kingdom of God, and avoid the punishment of hell. Search the Scriptures through, from front to back, and you will find that God only knows one way to accept you as His child and assure you of full forgiveness of your sins and full acceptance into His family, and that one way is having your sins put to death in Christ on the cross thus giving you a new God-given nature, as you receive the Spirit of God to indwell you. Christ summed it all up when He said: John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.’ ” Now you know why no one ever had to teach you to lie. Sin is in the old fallen nature you were born with! Now you also know that you don’t have to live with the old nature in control of your life. You can have a new nature and a new life in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Perhaps you’re wondering if it’s possible for you to be “born again.” given the life you have lived. The answer is simple. If you feel some desire to have you’re sins forgiven, and your past forgotten, and, if you are thinking, “If God would forgive my sins and let me be born again, I would like for Him to do that.” That my friend is a sign that God, right now, is inviting you to receive His free offer of salvation. Don’t delay, pray right now! SAMPLE PRAYER “Lord Jesus Christ, I confess that I am a sinner with a sinful nature. I ask you to forgive me. I believe that You are the Son of God, that You love me and that You were the blood sacrifice for my sins when You died on Calvary. I believe that God raised You from the dead and I here and now invite You into my heart as my Savior and to be Lord of my life. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for putting my sins to death in Your death on the cross. Thank you for saving me. Now lead me, I pray, to a place of worship, to be baptized, and to be discipled. Thank You and praise You, Lord Jesus Christ!” AMEN
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If you would like someone to further explain these Bible truths to you, or if you would allow us the honor of sharing in your decision, please call, write or fax us. May God richly and warmly bless you as you receive Jesus Christ as your God and Savior!
Bob Martin, President
Challenge Ministries International © 2010
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