"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). But why did God have to give up His Son?
The Bible teaches that our God is a holy God (Leviticus 11:44; 19:2). In the Bible, holy means special, different and set apart for righteousness. God is described as pure (Hebrews 4:15). We understand the value of pure foods, medicines, etc. God is described as light. 1 John 1:5 says, "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all."
Man's record, however, has not been holy, or even good. "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen" (Romans 1:24-25). We were created "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27), but we have not lived in a holy manner. Paul wrote, "And you...were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others" (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Holiness begins with the heart. Even our thoughts should be holy (Matthew 5:28-32), and if so, our words will be holy (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 12:35; Ephesians 5:3-7) and our conduct will be holy (1 Peter 1:13-16). Holiness, therefore, is seen in every facet of our lives and there is something particularly compelling about holiness. When in its presence, it makes us want to do better.
It's what made David so great a leader, but Solomon, not so much, in spite of his vast wisdom, greater riches and political power than his father. David, of course, was "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22) and his life is listed among the faithful of Hebrews 11, a man who pleased God. But wait a minute, didn't David commit ADULTERY with Bathsheba, induce her husband, Uriah, to drunkenness and conspire to murder him when he would not go home and sleep with his wife to cover David's sin? (2 Samuel 11) Yes, and let's first notice that if David can be holy and please God after all that, anyone can! And let us remember Jesus' statement, "with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). God has found a way to remain holy and pure Himself, while justifying and purifying sinful men (Romans 3:23-26).
You see, once a man has sinned holiness and purity are impossible, much like tainted water cannot be made pure. We throw it out and start with a new batch. God gave man that chance with the flood and man became sinful again, but more on that on another occasion. James wrote, "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). It isn't how many sins a man has committed that condemns him, or how heinous and wicked his deeds might have been. Every man who has sinned, period, has been made unholy and impure. If God accepts into fellowship and joins Himself to those who are impure and unholy, He then becomes impure and unholy. Some may see no problem with that, but God has found a better way - justify all those in sin, take all their sins away as if they never happened, making them holy again, pure again. How is that possible?
Hebrews 2:10 teaches that the purpose of Jesus coming to this earth in human form was to bring "many sons to glory." He wanted to make sinful men righteous, godly, holy again. By coming to earth, Jesus could have compassion on tempted man (Hebrews 4:14-16). He could demonstrate that we don't have to sin (Hebrews 4:15). We are made "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27), so being human doesn't mean we can't help but sin. Even then, God knew we all would sin. It is a staggering reality, but all men have sinned and it is so pervasive, I've never met a man who did not freely admit he has sinned and fallen short of his own moral expectations. So God, through Jesus, determined to provide a way for sinful man to have all his sins removed. How did He do that?
First, Jesus had to come and lead a sinless life. That's a lot to take in. Jesus never had a thought sufficient to be sinful, He never said anything sinful and He never did anything sinful (Hebrews 4:15). Second, Jesus had to give that perfect life up, accepting the blame for all of man's sins - all the sins of all men who have ever or will ever live (John 10:17-18). That's more than we can fully appreciate. Jesus would die the death of a criminal, an excruciating death nailed to a cross. He would go to the grave for three days, during which time He would fight a war with Satan and win (Revelation 12:7-11). Then He would be resurrected from the grave with the power to forgive sins for all those who would be faithful to Him. Paul wrote, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:16-17).
This is what God offers you. God wants to bring you to glory and the importance of that is seen in that fact that Jesus was willing to die so we can achieve it! God was willing to give up His Son so we can achieve it! "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:8-9).
This is the story of Jesus. Now, there are likely more questions in your mind as you read this - questions that the Bible can answer. While every question ever wondered in the minds of men cannot be answered (Deuteronomy 29:29), the Bible answers our questions sufficient to produce confident faith in the hearts of all those honest enough to listen and consider (John 20:30-31; Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23).
What we propose at this point is a Bible study, someone to meet with you and find in the Bible the answers to the specific questions you have about God's plan for your life. That study will also outline what God expects of you if you give your life to Him to be holy and pure. The decision is yours, but I encourage you not to betray your soul. You will have all of eternity to think about what you did with your short time on earth and your one chance at life. So don't delay. If you want to know more about such a Bible study, fill out and submit the form below. Someone will contact you soon and arrange for your personal Bible study. You will not be pressed or encouraged to believe anything not found in Scripture, and your teacher will show you the book, chapter and verses in the Bible that answer your questions.
The Bible teaches that our God is a holy God (Leviticus 11:44; 19:2). In the Bible, holy means special, different and set apart for righteousness. God is described as pure (Hebrews 4:15). We understand the value of pure foods, medicines, etc. God is described as light. 1 John 1:5 says, "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all."
Man's record, however, has not been holy, or even good. "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen" (Romans 1:24-25). We were created "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27), but we have not lived in a holy manner. Paul wrote, "And you...were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others" (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Holiness begins with the heart. Even our thoughts should be holy (Matthew 5:28-32), and if so, our words will be holy (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 12:35; Ephesians 5:3-7) and our conduct will be holy (1 Peter 1:13-16). Holiness, therefore, is seen in every facet of our lives and there is something particularly compelling about holiness. When in its presence, it makes us want to do better.
It's what made David so great a leader, but Solomon, not so much, in spite of his vast wisdom, greater riches and political power than his father. David, of course, was "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22) and his life is listed among the faithful of Hebrews 11, a man who pleased God. But wait a minute, didn't David commit ADULTERY with Bathsheba, induce her husband, Uriah, to drunkenness and conspire to murder him when he would not go home and sleep with his wife to cover David's sin? (2 Samuel 11) Yes, and let's first notice that if David can be holy and please God after all that, anyone can! And let us remember Jesus' statement, "with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). God has found a way to remain holy and pure Himself, while justifying and purifying sinful men (Romans 3:23-26).
You see, once a man has sinned holiness and purity are impossible, much like tainted water cannot be made pure. We throw it out and start with a new batch. God gave man that chance with the flood and man became sinful again, but more on that on another occasion. James wrote, "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). It isn't how many sins a man has committed that condemns him, or how heinous and wicked his deeds might have been. Every man who has sinned, period, has been made unholy and impure. If God accepts into fellowship and joins Himself to those who are impure and unholy, He then becomes impure and unholy. Some may see no problem with that, but God has found a better way - justify all those in sin, take all their sins away as if they never happened, making them holy again, pure again. How is that possible?
Hebrews 2:10 teaches that the purpose of Jesus coming to this earth in human form was to bring "many sons to glory." He wanted to make sinful men righteous, godly, holy again. By coming to earth, Jesus could have compassion on tempted man (Hebrews 4:14-16). He could demonstrate that we don't have to sin (Hebrews 4:15). We are made "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27), so being human doesn't mean we can't help but sin. Even then, God knew we all would sin. It is a staggering reality, but all men have sinned and it is so pervasive, I've never met a man who did not freely admit he has sinned and fallen short of his own moral expectations. So God, through Jesus, determined to provide a way for sinful man to have all his sins removed. How did He do that?
First, Jesus had to come and lead a sinless life. That's a lot to take in. Jesus never had a thought sufficient to be sinful, He never said anything sinful and He never did anything sinful (Hebrews 4:15). Second, Jesus had to give that perfect life up, accepting the blame for all of man's sins - all the sins of all men who have ever or will ever live (John 10:17-18). That's more than we can fully appreciate. Jesus would die the death of a criminal, an excruciating death nailed to a cross. He would go to the grave for three days, during which time He would fight a war with Satan and win (Revelation 12:7-11). Then He would be resurrected from the grave with the power to forgive sins for all those who would be faithful to Him. Paul wrote, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:16-17).
This is what God offers you. God wants to bring you to glory and the importance of that is seen in that fact that Jesus was willing to die so we can achieve it! God was willing to give up His Son so we can achieve it! "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:8-9).
This is the story of Jesus. Now, there are likely more questions in your mind as you read this - questions that the Bible can answer. While every question ever wondered in the minds of men cannot be answered (Deuteronomy 29:29), the Bible answers our questions sufficient to produce confident faith in the hearts of all those honest enough to listen and consider (John 20:30-31; Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23).
What we propose at this point is a Bible study, someone to meet with you and find in the Bible the answers to the specific questions you have about God's plan for your life. That study will also outline what God expects of you if you give your life to Him to be holy and pure. The decision is yours, but I encourage you not to betray your soul. You will have all of eternity to think about what you did with your short time on earth and your one chance at life. So don't delay. If you want to know more about such a Bible study, fill out and submit the form below. Someone will contact you soon and arrange for your personal Bible study. You will not be pressed or encouraged to believe anything not found in Scripture, and your teacher will show you the book, chapter and verses in the Bible that answer your questions.