I realize that we are in the middle of the “magical holiday season,” but I’d like to take a minute to talk about the most important topic in the world: death, and the salvation of your soul. You see, what good is Christmas, the season that most Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, if we don’t talk about the reason why he really came to earth.
One day, dear reader, you are going to die. Your breathing will stop, your heart will cease to beat. Your friends and relatives will mourn, clean out your house, divide up what remains of your estate, and move on. Do you believe that your soul lives on? Do you believe in an afterlife? Do you believe in a judgement of your life and soul? You see, death will come to you and me whether we are ready for it or not, and we better know BEFORE that moment, the answers to these questions.
There is a God, who is an all-powerful, all-knowing, holy, and just God of the universe and all eternity. I know Him. Do you?
He made our souls to exist forever. Sin entered the world when the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, sinned by disobeying the commandments of the One who made them. Since then, mankind has been born in sin. Sin is not some external force of evil that only affects us when we give in to it. It is in us from birth. It is a blatant, willful, nature of rebellion against the very God who rules all of creation. We are all wretched souls unworthy of standing before a holy God.
Do you believe God is holy? If we are sinful and God is holy, we cannot stand before Him. On that great judgement day, He will not excuse you because you are a “good person.” He will not excuse you because you think you have good morals. He will not excuse you because you go to church on Sundays.
Based on your own merit, He cannot excuse you at all.
The good news: God has made a way for us to be excused, pardoned, and set free from the penalty of sin, which is death and punishment in hell (yes, a real, eternal, hot, hell.) He has sent His blameless and righteous Son Jesus Christ to suffer the punishment that WE should have suffered because of our sin. The blood that he shed for us is powerful enough to wash our sins away. The righteousness of Christ covers our sin, if we believe, and it’s as if God doesn’t see our sin anymore. After death, those that believe in Jesus’ atonement for sin will be pardoned and ushered into fellowship with God in paradise.
There is much more that can be said about what salvation is all about, and I know I probably haven’t explained it as well as it can be said. It’s about God, who He is, and what He’s like. It’s about His love for His creation, and it’s about His provision for a way our of hell. I plead with you. Do not depend upon yourself or anything else to save you from God’s judgement upon your soul. May the good, gracious, and merciful Lord give you ears to hear and eyes to see today. TODAY is the day of salvation. Do not be deceived into thinking that you have a lot of time left on this earth because you are young, or healthy, or rich. Do not think you will escape the judgement of a holy and righteous God. God did not create the earth and all that is in it and then leave us here to fend for ourselves without any instruction. He has given us His word, the holy scriptures: the Bible. Open it and read it. Start at the beginning and don’t stop. Make sure you know what it’s really all about.
Photos by NASA and Bogdan
