“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. Therefore, 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 lunatic.
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 also 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.
