by Marsha Jordan
Rhinelander Church of Christ,
Rhinelander, WIAuthor of "Hugs, Hope, and
Peanut Butter"
Web Site:
www.hugsandhope.org/pb.htm
Email:
hugsandhope@gmail.com
Lazarus had been dead and rotting in the grave
for days. His sister told Jesus, "He stinketh." (And
who says there’s no humor in the Bible?) But Jesus
called Lazarus out of the grave.
When He came upon a funeral procession, Jesus
raised that man to life, too. Then there was the
little girl he brought back to life. She had died
only moments before Jesus arrived at her home.
Which of these three people was more dead?
Lazarus had been dead the longest and smelled the
worst, so would you say that he was the "deadest?"
No, there are no degrees. Dead is dead.
It's the same way with sin. A sinner is a sinner,
period. Sinners are law breakers. They’ve broken
God’s laws and their own moral laws. All sinners
look the same to God. Because He’s perfect and just,
God can't have anything to do with sin. Sin
separates us from Him.
Sin is a killer. Whether it’s the sin of murder
or just a little lie, the result is the same. It
kills relationships.
Like death, sin has no degrees. Wrong is wrong
and we've all done wrong. No one is better or worse
than anybody else. We’ve all missed the mark or goal
God had in mind for us. Check out the list in
Galatians 5:19-23. It includes behaviors like
jealousy, outbursts of anger, and envy. Who isn’t
guilty of these? We're all in the same sinking boat,
and we need a lifeline.
According to the Bible, all who sin (or fall
short of what God expects) will earn the wages of
their actions, which is spiritual death (Romans
6:23). That’s eternal separation from God.
Our sins have grieved the One who created and
loved us. They’ve put up a barrier between us. We
are dead to God in the same way that a family may
say of a relative, "He is dead to me."
We are like walking dead people. We "stinketh"
and we need a new life. But there's hope, because
Jesus built a bridge to span the separation between
God and people. He made it possible for us to be
raised (spiritually) and "walk in a new life." This
new life begins when we become Christians. (John 3:3
and 1Peter 1:23) How can we know for sure that we
have been "born again" to this new life? Opinions
vary, but only one opinion matters. That’s God's.
Some folks say, "I’m a good person and I do good
things, so that makes me a Christian." But don’t
many Muslims, Buddhists, and even atheists do good
things? Doing good doesn’t make you a Christian
(Romans 3:20). And the Bible clearly says that
nobody could ever be good enough to work his way to
heaven, anyway. "There is no one righteous, not even
one." (Romans 3:10).
Some believe that because they attend church
every week, they must be Christians. But if I spend
each Sunday in my garage, does that mean I'm a car?
If I take my dog to church every week, does that
make him a Christian? People of many denominations
attend their worship services regularly, but they
are not all Christians; so attending church doesn’t
mean you’re a Christian. In fact, the Bible even
refers to people who worship God in vain. Apparently
attending weekly worship services can actually be a
waste of your time, if your heart isn’t right.
(Matthew 15:9)
Where does that leave us? It takes more than
going through certain motions, knowing certain
religious facts, or attending the correct church to
be in good standing with God and saved from the
consequences of sin. In Matthew 7, Jesus said that
not everyone who calls Him "Lord" will get to
heaven. On judgment day, He will say to many, "Away
from me. I never knew you."
To cross the chasm that separates us from God,
the dividing wall must be removed. Our guilt must be
erased so we'll be seen as righteous in God's sight.
Hebrews 9:14 says, "the blood of Christ cleanses our
consciences" and "without the shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness."
Jesus provided the way to wipe out our guilt and
make us righteous. We can be forgiven and not held
accountable to pay the penalty for our crimes.
When Jesus died, he paid the price that we owed
for our unrighteousness (sin). Jesus is the bridge
spanning the canyon between God and us. Through
Jesus, we may connect again with our creator and be
right with Him once more. Salvation without Jesus is
not possible. (John 14:6)
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AUTHOR BIO:
Marsha Jordan, author, speaker, and creator of
the HUGS and HOPE Foundation, is known for her
ability to blend humor with spiritual insight.
Her writing received honorable mention in The
World’s Funniest Humor Contest and received Parent
to Parent’s 2006 "Best of the Best" award.
This disabled grandma has been a Christian for
nearly 30 years. She was featured on WGN
television,
Wisconsin Public TV, and Billy Graham’s
radio program, "Decision Today," as well as
numerous other radio shows around the country.
Jordan has been published in several magazines
including Heartlight, Obadiah, and
Christian Voices. She's a regular columnist
for My Walk with Jesus and her articles
and stories have appeared in the "Cup of Comfort"
series. Her award winning inspirational book of
humorous essays, "Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter,"
is endorsed by comedic legend Phyllis Diller; and
proceeds from the book's sale benefit critically
ill children.
Jordan is known as the "Peanut Butter Queen"
because she believes hope, joy, and love are
"sticky" like peanut butter – when you spread
them around, you can't help but get some on
yourself. She and her husband share an empty nest
in the northwoods of
Wisconsin.
Visit Jordan's web site to learn more about
her, her book, and her ministry for sick children
(HUGS and HOPE):
www.hugsandhope.org
