HOPE FOR SINNERS
LIBERTY AND LOVE #38
We all want to know the desires of God. What does God want from our lives? How may we please our creator? That is the most important consideration in the world. The Bible is a book that encourages sinners. We do not say that it encourages sin, for the whole problem that the Bible was written to deal with is the problem of sin. Nor do we mean that the Bible encourages sinners to keep sinning. Sin alienated us from God. Sin destroys the souls of men and women. Sin cost the Savior his life. But if we do not read the Bible and see that God loves sinners, that God accepts sinners, and that sinners are the only people there are for him to love and accept, we miss one of the main points of the Bible: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23). The only hope and encouragement that we—sinners—have is in the gospel message of salvation through Christ.
“God proves His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8). The love of God was shown “while we were yet sinners.” This forever proves that God’s love is not determined by our performance, for we have failed in every way at one time or another. God’s love is determined by who he is. God “justifies the ungodly” (Rom. 4:5) and that is all you have to be to qualify to come to Jesus.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible story is one of failure on the part of humanity, even the servants of God. Abraham failed, Moses failed, David failed, Peter failed, Paul failed, and on and on we could go. But the God who called them and redeemed them is the focus of the story, the God who is a friend to sinners who will come to him for forgiveness. Jesus Christ is the only perfect man to ever live upon the earth, and the only one who never failed is the only hope for the rest of us who have. To the lost of the world the message of salvation is repent, believe in Jesus, and be baptized in his name. By accepting Christ in this way, you have the promise that all of your sins are gone. To the saved who get entangled in sin, the message is, “No matter how bad it is, no matter how far you have wandered, if you stop and come back to me, I will forgive you.”
Our God is a God of love and salvation. He is the reason that any of us have hope. He comes to us as we are, miserable and wretched, accepts us in His Son Jesus, and helps us turn our lives around. He is the God who hates sin, but he is the God who loves and redeems sinners.
