Basic Christian Beliefs Part 2
Romans 2: 14-15 When Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on theirs hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.
Romans 1: 32 Despite the fact that they are fully aware that God's law says this way of life deserves death, they fail to stop. And worse - they applaud others on this destructive path.
We are all ruled by God's law. Believers and unbelievers alike. Now certain philosophers wrongly say right and wrong are relative to your culture. They say your culture is what creates your conscience. But this is wrong it is your culture or lets say the atmosphere around you that destroys your conscience. Everyone knows from birth certain things like stealing, murder, rape and other things are inherently wrong. But if we are raised in a culture that looks past these things our conscience becomes dead to these things over time. It is also the same way when our culture deems it wrong and we do these things anyways. At first our soul screams out to us but the more we act on our sin the more we deaden our conscience until one day we wake up dead to what is right or wrong. At some point many of us try to justify our sin by leading others along the same path or finding others of similar dysfunction.
Our soul screams out. This the pain in your heart. That feeling in your gut. The one you can not get over. In essence it is you soul be ripped further and further from God. Every sin, every wrong widens the chasm that has formed between us and God. Until one day we reach the point that it becomes hopeless to ever think that we can find a resolution to bridge the chasm. Many of us give up. Some of us convince ourselves we have a new found freedom in sin.
This new found freedom in sin is not freedom at all. It is really a prison. It has consequences. It has consequences if we get caught; it has consequences if we do not get caught. I know I can look at my life and I did not control my sin but it controlled me. I am sure if you honestly look back at your life you can see the same thing unfolding before you also.
So what are we to do. We have a God that seems so far away and every time we try to reach him we find that sin is like a chain that is firmly bolted to the ground keeping us put.
John 3: 16-17 For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. Here's the point. God didn't send His son into the world to judge it; instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction.
It is true we can not find a resolution to the problem of sin that will bring us back into the presence of God. But we do not need to find a resolution to the problem Every thing we do will never be good enough. God however has found the solution for us and all we need to do is accept it by faith. The solution is Jesus died for the sins we have committed. Through his sacrifice we are made right with God. While all our hearts know the law and are convicted by the law of God. A few of us will be given a pardon from our conviction based solely on our faith in Jesus. There is no other way to save you from the conviction your consciences has already assured you of.
