Man never had
to be taught to be selfish or proud or rebellious. It happened naturally. No one taught us to want what others have or to
think that we are always right. It happened naturally.
The Bible tells us that everyone in the world has a debt problem. Not a financial debt - a moral one.
The Bible calls this sin. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23 - NIV) When we
sin we are committing a crime against God Himself. If we break just one of His commandments only one time, then we are guilty
and we must pay the penalty due for our transgression.
God’s word tells us that “the wages of sin is death.”
(Romans 6:23) If we have not yet paid what we owe then we are “in debt.” We add to this debt every time we don’t
do the things God asks of us, and then do the very things He asks us not to do. It is like a disease that we are born
with. We just cannot clean up our own act.
Sin is when we do not measure up to God’s perfect standard. We
intuitively know when we have done something wrong and we feel guilty. We end up with what some Bible teachers refer
to as a “mountain of moral debt.” In short, we are sinners and we are not going to get into Heaven.
Some people scoff at
the idea that there is a literal Heaven. However, we all intuitively know that there is more to life than what we see in front
of us. We were born with eternity in our hearts. The Bible tells us that God “…set eternity
in the hearts of men…” (Eccl. 3:11 – NIV). But our sin creates a barrier between us and God. We feel empty and lost. We are unable to fulfill God's Purpose for our lives in this condition.
When our first parents (Adam and Eve) disobeyed God, sin came into
the world. God is just (even more so that any human judge) and He must punish sin. He tells us that the penalty
for sin is death (eternal separation from God and torment forever in a place called Hell). In the Book of Romans the Apostle
Paul writes: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans
6:23 - NIV)
Imagine that you are visiting the Grand Canyon. You are holding your young son or daughter in your arms looking over
the edge of the railing on the South Rim and your child, awed by the majesty of the view says to you: “I think
God lives here!” Imagine that God is on the other side. The canyon represents our sin, a giant gap between sinful
man and a holy God. There is no way that you can jump across to get to the other side.
Many people think that if they do lot’s
of good things or attend church or give money to charity then God will decide that the good things they have done outweigh
the bad things and He will let them into Heaven. But God does not grade on a curve. He demands perfection. Jesus
said that we must: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mat. 5:48 - NIV)
God Himself came to
our rescue and solved this problem. He “built a bridge” in the person of Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for all our sins. By knowing Jesus, repenting (turning
away from our sins and towards God) and trusting in Jesus Christ alone we can have a personal relationship with God and receive
the Free Gift of Heaven and Eternal
Life.
If you are not certain
of why you need Jesus CLICK HERE.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®,
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are from The New Living Translation,
Copyright © 1996, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
