HOPELESS ON OUR OWN

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In Christ, Mark

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

“What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written:”

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;  ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 3:9-20, 23

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

Apart from knowing God and accepting His offer of salvation through His Son Jesus, a person is hopeless in life.

Utterly hopeless.

God made all things and therefore is the Master and Maker of all creation. He is the Supreme Judge and all things submit to Him. He hates sin and so sinners will feel the full weight of His wrath and judgment.

So who are the sinners of the world?

Every single person. Period.

The scriptures are truth and God’s word in the third chapter of Romans tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And all means all which translates to all mankind living in hopelessness when left to their own devices. No one is capable of saving themselves from damnation and eternal torment. And there is no mere human being who can spare another from God’s righteous anger and divine punishment.

It’s not a great place to be, is it?

Everyone is under the power of sin and therefore why we transgress.  

How do we know this?

Again, because the word of God says so. Apart from Him we are hopeless sinners.

Going back to Paul’s day, many Jews believed they were somehow favored over others because of the Law that God gave to them. But the Law intended to show the Israelites that they too were just as hopeless as everyone else without a God-appointed Savior, the Messiah promised by the prophets.

Using Old Testament excerpts from the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah, Paul underscores that not only were all people sinners but because of this, the following other truths existed:

1. No one was righteous.

No one could do right by way of their own devices because everyone was wicked sinners.

2. No one understood.

Separate from communing with God, an action missing from the lives of sinners, no one could have wisdom or true understanding. Only the Lord could provide that.

3. No one seeks God.

If all people really sought after God, they would have no problem finding Him. And after they found Him, they would be led to a place where they could be pardoned from their sins as the Lord led them to His Son and taught them how to walk the path of righteousness.

4. Everyone was worthless.

The only true value one could have was gained through the priceless influence of God and since no one was seeking God, they were worthless by nature. Sin will never lead a person to a place of merit in God’s sight.

5. No one did good.

Sin is anti-good behavior and since all sinned, all failed to live in a spirit of goodness.

6. Nothing good came out of their mouths.

Sinfulness can be easily seen through what comes from the mouths of sinners. Three separate passages from the Psalms highlighted four distinct indicators of a person’s iniquity-based behavior: deceitfulness, poisonous rhetoric, cursing, and bitterness.

7. Sinners show no regard for the sanctity of human life.

Sin can lead a person to do far more than lie, spew venomous words onto others, curse, and be bitter. In its worst stages, it can lead a person to snatch away the life of someone else underscored by the words of the prophet Isaiah who said a sinner could be “swift to shed blood”.

8. Sinners will leave a wake of ruin and misery.

Transgressions and the wickedness they produce never lead to anything good. Sin is destructive by its very nature and therefore sinners become to instruments of that destruction.

9. Sinners live a life far from the way of peace.

Paul writes in another letter, one to the Philippians, that the only way to the peace of God was to turn to Him in prayer, petition, and thanksgiving. In other words, one needed to live near to God in order to gain the benefit of His peace. Sinners weren’t associated with God in any way for if they were, they wouldn’t sin in the first place and they would fully know the “way of peace” because they would know the Lord who was its source.

10. Sinners have no real fear of God.

Perhaps this is the root of the problem, above everything else. A sinner wouldn’t sin if they had a heartfelt, uncompromising respect for God. True respect for Him would have a sinner NOT want to sin because they know such behavior raises God’s ire against them.

Through Paul’s words and the excerpts from the Old Testament, we find validation that every single person is hopeless on their own. Thanks be to God that He didn’t wish to leave us in such a place. Instead, He so loved His people that He gave up His one and only Son Jesus to die in their place and atone for the sins of mankind. Jesus paid it all for us. Every sinner’s pardon is purchased by way of His precious blood. All one has to do is believe in Him as their Savior, their Great Deliverer and Rescuer sent by God Himself.

My prayer today is that you have accepted God’s offer of salvation and secured your eternal future, moving from hopelessness to a hope that can never be taken from you.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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