There is a horrendous disease that has killed billions of people and will kill billions more. Every single person on this earth has this disease and without a cure, we will all die from this devastating disease. But don’t despair, there’s a cure! This is fantastic news! This should be on the front page of every newspaper, on every radio station, on every television and it should go viral on the internet. We are all dying from the same disease, but there’s a cure!
Before we get to the cure, let’s talk about the disease. What disease are we all dying from? The disease is our sin disease. Because of our sins, we are separated from God (Isa. 59:2). If you die in your sins, you will be separated from God for all of eternity in Hell (Matt. 25:41). This is horribly bad news. You see, God lovingly made each and every one of us, but we have all rebelled against God (Romans 3:10-12).
We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we have a sinful nature and we all gladly take part in this sinful nature (Romans 5:12). Look at a tiny child of one or two years old. Do you have to tell that child how to be bad? Of course not. They willingly choose to do the wrong thing. You tell a child to stay away from a coffee table and they will most certainly go right toward that coffee table, usually with a smile on their face. We don’t have to teach children to be disobedient. Just the opposite, we have to teach them how to be obedient.
So what’s the big deal you say? Who cares if we are a little mischievous? God cares, that’s who. God is a God of love, mercy and grace. But he is also equally a God of justice, righteousness and Holiness (Isa. 6:3-7). You see God is perfect. He cannot sin. God cannot be evil. He can do no wrong. That’s where the rub comes in. We can be evil and we are evil. We choose to do wrong. Because God is perfect, He can’t tolerate sin (Hab. 1:13). So that’s why our sin separates us from God. We physically die because of our sins and if you die as an unbeliever, you will be separated from God forever. Not just separated, but the Bible says you will suffer horribly for eternity.
Because God is just, He will send you to Hell if you die in your sins. God doesn’t want you to suffer that horrible fate. God wants you to get back in a right relationship with Him. So He provided a cure for your disease! That cure is Jesus Christ. Jesus walked this earth 2,000 years ago. He was fully God and fully man, born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary. Jesus did what we couldn’t do. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He didn’t break the 10 Commandments at all. He never lied, never stole anything, never lusted and he never coveted anything. He always put God first in His life. Even His thoughts were pure.
In fact, He kept the 10 Commandments to a higher standard than just the letter of the Law. He also kept them in the spirit of the Law. For example, Jesus said that you have heard that you aren’t supposed to commit adultery, but I say that if you lust after someone, you have committed adultery with that person in your heart already. Jesus didn’t sin in thought, word or deed. His actions, speech and thought were always righteous and His focus was always on pleasing God, doing what God wanted Him to do.
Then God allowed Jesus to be beat beyond recognition by the Roman soldiers. After that He died an extremely painful death on the cross. He rose from the grave on the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Jesus did what we couldn’t do. He lived a perfect life and rose from the grave. He defeated sin and death.
God graciously offers you everlasting life if you turn from your sins and put your faith in Jesus (Acts 20:21). Do this and God will no longer see you as the guilty sinner that you are, He will see you through the shed blood of Jesus. He will see you as righteous. Not for your own righteousness, but solely through the righteousness of Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21). God calls you to repentance and to surrender your life to Jesus fully from this day forward. Are you willing to accept the cure? Jesus said you should count the cost to be His follower. You are to deny yourself and follow Him, on a daily basis.
There is no disease more deadly and there is no disease that causes you to suffer so much as the disease of dying in your own sins. After we die, we will stand before God on Judgment Day (2 Cor. 5:10). This isn’t a court date where you stand before the Holy Judge and plead your case. No, this is the day of sentencing. You will be found guilty on that day and sentenced to go to Hell for eternity, unless the Advocate, Jesus Christ has taken your place. Jesus has already paid the price for your mountain of sin debt as long as you turn from your sins and put your faith in the Savior. You have to do this in this life. Now is the time to reach for the cure. If you wait until you die, it’s too late. Cry out to God to save you and beg Him to cure you. That cure is Jesus Christ our Lord.