Thanks Ricky!
I was watching a documentary on NFL player Ricky Williams recently. In an interview he said that there is one good man in a thousand. Williams had seemed to notice that there is something wrong with the state of mankind. It truly is a great observation. Simple, but great.
Nobody is perfect right, but think about that for a moment. We’ve got issues that shouldn’t be downplayed. A lot of people don’t want to focus on it because it lowers our self esteem. We don’t like to focus on the negative.
However, may I suggest that we be a little negative in order to understand a huge positive? That positive is Jesus Christ. Did you know that without the negative, there would be no need for what He accomplished 2,000 years ago? It would be absolutely pointless if mankind wasn’t messed up and in need of salvation.
So it is of the utmost importance to ponder the negative in order to receive the positive. Without understanding our state or just simply denying or ignoring our state we run into a huge dilemma. The work of Jesus becomes vague. He may be still be God in our minds, but He just becomes one who comes along beside us in life to help out occasionally when we need it. We don’t receive the fact that Jesus died to save us from a truly corrupted state.
The truth of the Bible, that is glazed over way too often, is that mankind is messed up. Observe the world around you. Be honest with yourself. It isn’t only in our actions, it’s in our thoughts and intentions. That’s sin. That has separated us from God. God hates sin. We sin. That’s the truth. Without Jesus Christ, God is angry with us. That is the truth. He isn’t smiling upon us. He loves us, but that does not change the fact that He will judge us with righteous judgement. You see God cannot associate with sin. He is holy and pure. You must focus on this negative for a moment, because if you ignore this reality then the good news of Jesus Christ will not hit you like a ton of bricks the way it should.
As the song “Amazing Grace” goes, “I once was blind, but now I see.” This has spiritual connotations. Blindness is darkness. Without Christ, we are in a state of darkness, which the Bible associates with sin. Jesus died for sinners! He didn’t come for those who want to ignore their depraved state and just claim that nobody is perfect! It is true that nobody is perfect and that is a huge problem when it comes to a perfect God. Compared to God’s standard it isn’t one in a thousand that are good. The Bible says none are truly good.
That is what makes the love and grace (undeserved favor) of God so amazing! You see, that the one who realizes his or her sinful state will cling to the cross of Jesus Christ with all the faith they can muster because they realize just what they have been saved from. The point of what Jesus accomplished in dying for our sins and defeating death through His resurrection was to bring us back into a relationship with God through faith in Him. That is the whole point! He appeased God’s anger because He took our punishment upon Himself. Simply amazing, but only understood in light of the negative fact that we are messed up. Thanks Ricky for at least acknowledging this one obvious truth. Now you must receive it through repentant faith in Jesus.
I thank God that He is making all things new through His Son Jesus Christ! His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Begin trusting Him today!
Nobody is perfect right, but think about that for a moment. We’ve got issues that shouldn’t be downplayed. A lot of people don’t want to focus on it because it lowers our self esteem. We don’t like to focus on the negative.
However, may I suggest that we be a little negative in order to understand a huge positive? That positive is Jesus Christ. Did you know that without the negative, there would be no need for what He accomplished 2,000 years ago? It would be absolutely pointless if mankind wasn’t messed up and in need of salvation.
So it is of the utmost importance to ponder the negative in order to receive the positive. Without understanding our state or just simply denying or ignoring our state we run into a huge dilemma. The work of Jesus becomes vague. He may be still be God in our minds, but He just becomes one who comes along beside us in life to help out occasionally when we need it. We don’t receive the fact that Jesus died to save us from a truly corrupted state.
The truth of the Bible, that is glazed over way too often, is that mankind is messed up. Observe the world around you. Be honest with yourself. It isn’t only in our actions, it’s in our thoughts and intentions. That’s sin. That has separated us from God. God hates sin. We sin. That’s the truth. Without Jesus Christ, God is angry with us. That is the truth. He isn’t smiling upon us. He loves us, but that does not change the fact that He will judge us with righteous judgement. You see God cannot associate with sin. He is holy and pure. You must focus on this negative for a moment, because if you ignore this reality then the good news of Jesus Christ will not hit you like a ton of bricks the way it should.
As the song “Amazing Grace” goes, “I once was blind, but now I see.” This has spiritual connotations. Blindness is darkness. Without Christ, we are in a state of darkness, which the Bible associates with sin. Jesus died for sinners! He didn’t come for those who want to ignore their depraved state and just claim that nobody is perfect! It is true that nobody is perfect and that is a huge problem when it comes to a perfect God. Compared to God’s standard it isn’t one in a thousand that are good. The Bible says none are truly good.
That is what makes the love and grace (undeserved favor) of God so amazing! You see, that the one who realizes his or her sinful state will cling to the cross of Jesus Christ with all the faith they can muster because they realize just what they have been saved from. The point of what Jesus accomplished in dying for our sins and defeating death through His resurrection was to bring us back into a relationship with God through faith in Him. That is the whole point! He appeased God’s anger because He took our punishment upon Himself. Simply amazing, but only understood in light of the negative fact that we are messed up. Thanks Ricky for at least acknowledging this one obvious truth. Now you must receive it through repentant faith in Jesus.
I thank God that He is making all things new through His Son Jesus Christ! His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Begin trusting Him today!
posted by Scott Hescht at 9:36 AM
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