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With a heart that remains thankful unto God, for granting you a divine perspective of the circumstances of your life, that you may be transformed, to be satisfied with His goodness, may He help you to experience it, through His promise that comes to you, declaring – Young lions may suffer want and hunger; But those who seek the Lord, lack no good thing. [Psalms 34:10] And as we have studied earlier, every good and perfect gift, comes to you, from the Father above. [James 1:17] The greatest gift, is the gift of salvation. It is a gift, for you can only receive it, by faith, and the cost of it, that no human being can ever pay or earn, was paid on the Cross of Calvary. [Ephesians 2:8] And it is by understanding the perfection of the gift of salvation, that you are enabled to appreciate the Giver, to move on to enjoying it and expressing it to the world around you. While still sinners. It is by grace you have been saved, by faith in Him, the scripture makes it unequivocally clear. [Ephesians 2:4] It is so because, the God who is love, does everything out of His love towards you and I, and all of humanity. He gave His life for us. He gave His life to us. He lives His life through us. And the narrative began while you and I were still sinners, dead in our transgressions.
Sin –> death –>separation from God:
Death which is a separation from God, is the outworking of sin in a person’s life. And the law of first mention, when applied to it, takes you to the garden of Eden, when Adam was expressly forbidden by God, from eating the fruit of the tree of good and evil, for ‘they would surely die’. [Genesis 2:17] It was not physical death, that is a cessation of natural life in the body, as the union with the soul is cut off. But man was created to be a spirit being, as the Lord God breathed into the first man, to give him life. Therefore, man’s inner being was in union with God. And when he sinned, by going against what God had spoken, death or a spiritual separation, was the consequence, as man lost his communion with God. Thus, the primary truth is that you are separated from God, by sin, while the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, reconnects you to Him, as you believe in Him, and what transpired on Calvary. It is the good news of salvation.
The root of sin – unbelief:
If you trust God, you will obey His word; and if you do not trust Him, you will end up disobeying or sinning against Him. It is what happened in the Garden of Eden, to the first couple, as they disobeyed Him, by rejecting His command, that they ought not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [Genesis 3:17] Rejecting the word of God, leads you to end up accepting a voice that is sin. For, if you do not believe the truth, you will believe the lie that is of the devil, for he is the father of lies. And even after you are saved, the sin principle remains, and the devil is prowling around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. [1 Peter 5:8] You have been saved from the penalty and power of sin, and will one day be, from the presence of sin itself, as you dwell in the new heavens and new earth, in the New Jerusalem, where nothing vile will ever enter in. At present though, it is always a battle against the evil one, for sin still operates to separate you, from everything godly. It separates, enslaves, and dominates. But the wondrous message is that you will come out of it in success and victory because of what Christ has accomplished on the Cross.
Sin separates, divides:
It brings division in you, by planting a seed of doubt, making the path for the enemy easy and convenient to enter in, and slowly proceeding to take root and ultimately overcome you. It is why the need to know the scriptures is so paramount, for, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. [Deuteronomy 8:18] It is the path that the Lord Himself practiced and taught when it came to successfully overcoming the temptations that the devil brought against Him, to lure Him away from His purpose of redemption.
Separates intimate friends:
A perverse man spreads strife, And a whisperer separates close friends. [Proverbs 16:28] Slandering or gossiping, it has been said, is vicariously enjoying the sins of other people. And it is how the evil one operates to bring separation, even in intimate God-given relationships. It happens because, the sin principle, the old man still lies dormant in you, even after you are saved, and putting on the new man takes time. It also establishes the need for man to live by the word of God, watching out for slanderers who may try and enter in, sometimes camouflaged in religious attire and jargon.
Forgiveness – God’s solution:
One who forgives an affront, fosters friendship; But one who dwells on disputes, alienates a friend. [Proverbs 17:9] God has forgiven our faults. And it is why He can relate to us. The answer to slander and gossip is as simple as that. Sin separates even intimate friends. But love prospers when a fault is forgiven. And how true it is in the intimacy of a marital relationship. A successful marriage, it has been rightly said, involves committed forgiveness. Forgiving a fault when you are the one who has been wronged, in any close relationship or friendship, could be difficult, but can be done in the Holy Spirit’s power. And the importance of it is what Paul points out in saying, that not doing so, will be giving room for the devil’s schemes. [2 Corinthians 2:10] That it is possible, difficult though it may be is what the life of the patriarch Joseph, who named his son, Manasseh, meaning ‘The Lord has made me forget’, teaches you and I. He still remembered, and yet it is not a paradox, for the soothing comfort of God’s word, had removed the power to be hurt by it. He knew that what his brothers had meant for evil, God had turned it all for good, for the saving of many lives. [Genesis 50:20] Even in your life, your unjust suffering, can be used by God, to solidify your relationship with Him, as focusing upon Him, to depend upon His strength, is a conscious decision that you make.
And, Salvation unites, brings together:
While the selfish ambition that was driving you earlier, was as in that separated you from God, restoration happens by salvation, which brings you together and unites you with God, in the relationship that was the original design of God in the creation of man, one that the evil one disfigured and disrupted, but could not do so permanently. For the Savior was born, to save man from the consequences of sin, its power, and its source, the evil one.
Salvation – from separation to union:
Before you were saved, you were in the fallen world, a part of the world system, that is self-centered, and satan dominated, living following the passions of the flesh, by nature being children of wrath, like everyone else. [Ephesians 2:1-3] Sin separates, dominates, and enslaves you. But salvation takes you back to God. Saved by grace, to reign in life: But God who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive, made us alive together with Christ -by grace, you have been saved. [Verse 4] And salvation empowers you to reign in life, by believing in His Name, in the truth, that the dominion of sin and death, that came through one man’s trespass, was undone on the Cross, by One Man Jesus Christ. If because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through the one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life, through the One Man Jesus Christ. [Romans 5:17] It is the glorious truth of His amazing grace, and unending love, that though we were helpless, Christ died for us, that we may reign in life through the One Man Jesus Christ. We thank thee, Father, that nothing can separate us from your love; and may Your love be poured into our hearts, by the Holy Spirit, so that all the schemes of the enemy may be defeated, that we may be fruitful, and satisfied with the goodness of Your salvation, saved by faith, through grace. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
