|
KNOWING JESUS CHRIST AS LORD By Larry Kreider A Solid Foundation Day 3: Missing the Mark First of all, in order to be saved and know Jesus personally, we need to realize that we are lost. Romans 3:23 tells us, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." The word "sin" literally means: to miss the mark (of God''s perfect will). And the Lord's will is outlined for us in His Word, the Bible. Recently I was trying to shoot a rodent that was making a huge hole in our property. I aimed, but I missed the mark and he kept on running. I had great intentions, but the truth was, I did not hit him; I missed. There is an old saying, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." People may say, "Well, I'm not sure I've sinned that much. In fact, I'm not nearly as bad as some of my friends." But according to the Word of God, the greatest sin that I can commit is simply not believing and trusting totally in Jesus Christ. And we have all been guilty of that. Jesus once said, "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me...." (John 16:8-9) Jesus also said in John 3:18, "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is concemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." All of us have sinned. The Bible tells us that if we keep the whole law (of God) and yet stumble in one point, we are guilty of all (James 2:10). In other words, if I have sinned one time or a million times, I am still lost without God. If an airplane crashes 50 feet from the runway or 500 miles from the runway, it doesn't make any difference. It still crashes and the casualties will be devastating. 
Questions to Consider: Read Romans 3:23. What have we all done? What does the word "sin" really mean? Read John 16:8-9 and John 3:18 from your Bible. What is the greatest sin that we can commit? Have all of us sinned? Read James 2:10 from your Bible. If I have sinned one time or a thousand times, does it make any difference to the Lord? Explain. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
|
