ALL HAVE TURNED AWAY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Psalm 14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

A lot of people would like to hold a debate about heaven and what qualifies one to get there. This is because many hold the view that all you need to do is be a good person and you’ll get to heaven and they have no hesitation in spreading their worldly “theology” to all who would care to listen.

Of course, this “theology” is in no way close to being correct. You only need to look at the Bible and, in particular, today’s psalm to see that.

First of all, it is God who will judge who will be with Him and inhabit His kingdom. David’s words from the 14^th Psalm remind us that the Lord God, our judge, “looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.”

And what does God see?

He sees that “all have turned away” and “all have become corrupt.” He sees essentially that “there is no one who does good, not even one.”

So much for the qualifier of being good to enter heaven.

Indeed, no one is good because no one is perfectly righteous. Consider these words from 1 John about our sinful nature:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

The apostle Paul also writes, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

Short of having someone to help us, we have no chance at heaven for as God sees us, there is no one who is good because no one does good. All have turned away from God and His will and way.

So where can we find hope when we know God sees none of us as worthy of joining Him in heaven?

Enter God’s only Son Jesus.

For God so loved us that He didn’t wish for any of us to simply perish at death without an opportunity to be with Him forever. This is why He chose to give His only Son Jesus as a living sacrifice to pay the price for our sins. Our pardon was sealed by Jesus’ crucifixion on Calvary’s cross as He bore the penalty we should have suffered. And then God rewarded His Son by bringing Him to heaven to reign along with Him, opening the gates of heaven for others to follow His Son. All they would have to do is profess their faith and trust in Him, vowing to live as He did and offer themselves as living sacrifices.

In John 14:6, we find reaffirmation of this as Jesus tells us all that He is the way and the truth and the life - and – the only way to get to the Father. In other words, the way to the Father is through the Son.

Don’t allow yourselves to be deceived by anyone who would tell you there is any way to heaven except through belief and trust in Jesus as Savior. It’s true that all have turned away and all have sinned. It’s true that all fall short of the glory of God. And it’s true that there is no hope for any of us short of having a Savior. We can’t save ourselves.

David yearned for salvation to come for Israel and, in Jesus, it not only came for Israel but all mankind, Jew and Gentile. Jesus came for all and all have the chance to join Him and the Father forever. Death need not be the end but the beginning of an eternity in the light and love of our Creator and His Son.

You may have turned away from God through sin but please don’t make the same mistake and turn away from Jesus and the eternal deliverance He offers. He’s ready to save you today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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