So What's the Problem?‏

Hello Friends! 

A well-known Christian philosopher, Francis Schaeffer, was once asked this question: If you had only one hour on a train to tell someone about Christ, what would you do? He answered:

“I would spend forty-five minutes showing him the problem, and fifteen minutes showing him the solution

Do you have a problem? Perhaps it is not so easy for you to see. If you have good relationships, make good grades, have a family that loves you, and feel hope about the future, then you may not think there is anything that needs to be “fixed” in your life. But there is. Your problem is with God, and it is serious enough to cost you everything good for all of eternity – eternal separation from God!

 

You may not feel your problem right now. A man may be condemned as guilty and yet not feel guilty, just as a person might have cancer and not feel it or even know about. There is real or “legal” guilt and there is emotional guilt. But regardless how your emotions are experiencing your dilemma, God makes it clear that you have an insurmountable problem…. 

So What's the Problem?

The Word of God, the Bible, uses several words and phrases to help us understand the problem.

First, it says you are dead – not sick, not desperately sick, not sick to the point of death – but DEAD!

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…. – Ephesians 2:1

The old analogy that claims salvation is likened to a Christian throwing a lifeline out to a floundering, drowning man is not the whole truth. It is much worse than you thought. No, you're not drowning – you're already face down on the ocean floor…

 

Second, the Bible says that you are BLIND:

The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ – 2 Corinthians 4:4

Just as a person in a cave cannot see his hand in front of him when there is no light, so you cannot see Christ without God shining his light on you:

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ – 2 Corinthians 4:6

In a world of sightless people, everyone imagines his own inward reality. However, they cannot see the truth unless God gives them sight. They see lies, but they cannot see truth.

 

The Bible also says that you are LOST!

 

In the New Testament book of Luke chapter 15, Jesus Christ described your “lostness” by telling the stories of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. There is nothing more hopeless than being lost. Like the man in a blinding blizzard, every turn seems right for the moment – but all is futile.

 

The Bible goes on to say that you are CONDEMNED. This means that you are under the judgment of God for your sin and disobedience against Him.

Whoever does not believe stands condemned already…. – John 3:18

God condemns every unbelieving person to an eternity in hell, even if he or she is in the remotest part of the world. He is right and just in doing so, because unbelievers have sinned against whatever knowledge of God they have and He cannot look upon sin (Please read the New Testament book of Romans chapter 1 for God’s full explanation)

What I am trying to say is that you do indeed have a problem, and it is the type of problem that can only be solved from the outside. As a dead person you cannot make yourself alive; as a blind person you cannot give yourself sight; as a lost person you cannot find your way out; and as a condemned person, you cannot absolve yourself from your actual guilt. You have a problem and you really don't have a solution unless it comes from somewhere else besides you.

 

Trying to overcome your problem on your own is a useless exercise. The famous preacher of the 1700s, George Whitefield, once said:

"What! Get to heaven on your own strength? Why, you might as well try to climb to the moon on a rope of sand!"

Like trying to jump one hundred foot hurdles, you simply cannot accomplish what God requires. So, how does God solve your problem?

First, He sets His heart on you from eternity past. Think about that! What an exciting thing to know that God has forever loved people just like you:

I have loved you with an everlasting love – Jeremiah 31:3

Next, He sends His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to cover the cost of your sins by dying on the cross in your place as final payment:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us – Romans 5:8

In Christ's death the full payment for all the sins – past, present & future – of all who come to Him are fully met. In this way God's justice is satisfied and you are fully pardoned. This is why Christ is called the Savior of the world.

 

Finally, He pursues you by His Holy Spirit, convicting you of your sinfulness, teaching you about the nature of salvation, and drawing you to Jesus Christ's beauty and worthiness (see John 16:9-11; John 6:44 & John 6:45). Christ becomes absolutely irresistible to you. 

The Bible teaches that even the faith you exercise is a gift from Him:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast – Ephesians 2:8-9

You have a problem and God has the solution – the only solution. The God-man, Jesus Christ!

…Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures –  1 Corinthians 15:3-4

The people who have received God’s solution are called Christians – believers. They look away from themselves to Jesus Christ. They believe that God has loved them from eternity past. They believe that the payment of Jesus Christ's death on the cross for sins was for them. They find Jesus Christ irresistible and following Him the greatest privilege of all life has to offer. They have faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for them. They trust Jesus Christ, looking outside of themselves to Him alone. They believe.

Now to you who believe, this Stone (Jesus Christ) is precious – 1 Peter 2:7

Do you believe?

Time is running out. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now before your heart is so hardened, you are unable – or unwilling – to hear His voice. Please take heed to this warning! Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to the Father! These are His Words:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me – John 14:6

Without Jesus Christ's substitutionary death on the Cross of Calvary for your iniquities, you will die in your sins and face the Wrath of God at The Great White Throne Judgment. You will then receive your just sentence – a literal, physical and eternal place of torment, a place known in the Bible as Hell. Heaven will NOT be your final destination apart from Jesus Christ! Please heed this warning – time is running out!

 

If you have any questions about how to become a true follower of Jesus Christ, please contact me, another Christian or a Pastor – but please do not delay... Today is the day of Salvation!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)