“For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not parish, but have
everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be saved.”- John 3:16 & 17
In our
land and country today a major Biblical truth has been tampered with; this is
not a statement made with great pleasure, or high-minded feeling, but rather
extreme sadness. This truth, that some have conveniently altered is this:
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; on a personal, case by case,
basis. Now, how has this been altered? As such, Jesus Christ came
into the world to save sinners; and did, you are now saved, no personal change
required. In short, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote: “It is
justification of the sin, without justification of the sinner.” A minor alteration,
to a major Biblical truth, that has caused and is causing massive issues.
When
Adolf Hitler was campaigning for political power in Germany; one of the
political institutions that he needed behind him was the German Church.
Dietrich Bonheoffer (the same man as mentioned above), who was right in the
middle of it, wrote that if the German Church would have shunned Hitler instead
of embracing him; odds are good he would have never been able to make it to the
status of Fuhrer (dictator). However, the atmosphere of the German Church
at that time was one that: confirmed, offered sacrament, and ordained; pretty
much anyone. In short, they had been, and were still, a Church without
any Biblical standards. They were a church that encouraged zero personal
salvation. So, when Hitler began persecuting the Jews; the “Church”
should have stood up for them, but they stood behind Hitler. Moreover,
the people of Germany stood behind Hitler as well. Why was that?
The German Church had cultivated a country of spineless Christians; and a
spineless Church. They were being led by those who “desire to be
teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they
affirm.”(1 Timothy 1:7) These men tampered with that most base
Biblical truth, and cultivated a Christian culture that had no Biblical knowledge
and no personal experience with Jesus Christ. So, when their country
needed them the most, needed them to be their moral compass that compass had
lost its heading and Germany was lost to the storm of this madman.
The
minor alteration of justification of sin, without justification of the sinner;
gives rise to just that, a nation of sinners who are not justified. This
ideal of Jesus saved everyone no matter how you live totally undermines all
that Christ stood for; all that he died for.
He died to “save his people from
their sin;” in “this present world.”
God has always wanted a personal relationship with his creation and to say
otherwise is not only grossly untrue, but counterproductive. As an
illustration of what I am trying to say; consider if you were to walk into the
doctor’s office next week for a check-up, and the doctor finds some cancerous
cells. However, when returning to see you he simple says: “yep, fit as a
fiddle.” You go home thinking all is well, but then by and by your health
tells you otherwise, but it’s too late. The failure to deliver the truth
results in a lack of action to change your lifestyle, to seek treatment, to
eradicate the sickness that is killing your body. The same is true for
your spiritual man; the failure of those who know the truth to deliver the
truth results in a lack of change, and the sickness of sin continues to
destroy. Moreover, it raises a crop of
Christians who affirm in themselves and others the very thing that is
destroying them, and we wonder why our country is losing its moral compass.
The
truth is the antidote to the apathy. It will eradicate the false influence,
and abolish the inbred sin in a man’s heart and life. What is the
truth? Jesus Christ. If Christ be lifted up he will “draw all men unto him.” He is the
healing of the nations. Jesus Christ
came into this world to save sinners, on a personal level. He came to save us, each one, from our sins. He has saved and will save all who come unto
him. So, let us “search the scriptures” for in them we will find a treasure to call
our own.
