What’s Wrong with the World?

What’s Wrong with the World?

Good Morning Friends,

Ok the title is a bit negative and shows forth a little frustration of having tried to solve it on our own. But the reality is that we are so weak and rebellious to know what to do. We are pathetic! We are all sinners and yet thankfully God puts His love out there for us as an offering.  We are of no use whatever to Him, and yet He acts as if we are good and noble…. worthy as a friend is worthy… worthy to join Him in this inspired and selfless sacrifice that makes things right. He puts us on the same team. He changes the course of all of history as it related to death so that we will receive life. He gives us the opportunity to die to sin and be resurrected in Jesus. And if we learn to endure the suffering of this journey, He promises us hope, the hope of a new world of light and life. Indeed, our sin miserable life was nailed on a cross so that we also can be included in the resurrection. But you have heard all that and still sin. Yes Christ conquered death, sin does not have a chance in competing with the aggressive forgiveness of grace. And yet we still sin. Even with this abundance of grace available to us, all too many reject it. So we have to ask, What’s Wrong with the World?

Scripture: 5Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we^* have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access^* to this grace in which we stand; and we^* boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we^* also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. ⁹Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.^*
10For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. ¹¹But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— ¹³sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. ¹⁴Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. ¹⁶And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. ¹⁷If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5: 1-17 (NRSV) 

Message: So after we figure out the answer to today’s question it begs we ask a second question. And that is, what is the value of salvation? And the answer to that is that it is the only and best solution to our biggest problems….the answer to the problem presented in the first question. Friends, what is wrong with the world is what was lost by Adam. Thankfully it is found in Christ. And it is the unmerited favor of God, his love in the form of grace that saves us. And Christ makes things happen at just the right time. He does not wait for us though He does want us to ask Him for help. Taking advantage of it is the challenge, for what is wrong with the world is that we are still hell bent on sinning. Friends, you and I are what are wrong with the world. The first and foremost problem in the world is within us. The basic message in the story of Adam and Eve is that God alone knows what is good for humanity and God alone knows what is not good for us. The problem with the world is that sin makes us feel worthless and defeated. The problem is that sin gives us a burden of guilt. The problem is that sin cause fear, grief and hopelessness. The problem is that sin causes a barrier between loved ones and leads to punishment. But the salvation offered by Christ is a forgiveness that restores our sense of worth. This same forgiveness restores our experience of innocence. This same forgiveness gives us peace, joy and hope. This same forgiveness reunites loved ones and leads to eternal life if we but repent and ask for it. Friends, God cares about us so much that He sent His own Son to earth to seek and save the and lost by dying in our place. That gave us all a chance. Friends, Jesus reconciles us and justifies us and the result of that is that we get to boast in our salvation. Yes there is something wrong with the world but, but there is a solution we have been offered to make it better.

Pray from the bottom of our hearts we ask Jesus to forgive us. Pray we thank God for taking our sins to the cross. Pray we embrace a new life in Jesus. Pray we ask God to make us into the person He intended us to be from the beginning. Pray we choose rescue over ruin. Pray we believe that we can repent of our sins and be forgiven by Christ. Pray we are absolutely thrilled and delighted and even boisterous when God restores the joy of our salvation.

Blessings,

John Lawson