This post is intended for the person who is struggling with an aspect of life on their own, apart from a relationship with God, and his Son, Jesus.
Sin and Its Impact on Our Life
The reason there is death, emotional pain, addiction, chronic emotional eating, despair, sickness, violence, bullying, suffering, mental illness, eating disorders, mass shootings, relationship conflicts, loss of hope, suicide, shame, chronic guilt and all sorts of personal and physical disorders is because of sin.
Sin is a disease of the heart that we are all affected by. “For all have sinned and come short of God’s glory” (Rom. 3:23). The first humans, Adam and Eve, rebelled in the garden of Eden. God gave them instructions not to eat from a certain tree, but the devil temped them by what he said, and they did what he suggested they do. They disobeyed God and ate from that tree. (Gen. 3) Since that time, this tendency to sin, and all the evils associated with sin, has been passed down to all humans, including you. “Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death has spread to all men, because all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12).
It is sin that has infected the world, and the souls of all the people of the world, that has caused all the troubles of the world and all the troubles that you and I are challenged with. Try as we might on our own, we will never be totally free of sin and its adverse impact on our lives. The Bible tells us that our sin separates us from our Creator, God. You see, God is holy, and He cannot be connected to people who are sinners unless they confess their sins, repent and turn to the Savior. And we will remain permanently separated from God … unless we embrace his remedy for sin.
Death is the impact of sin. “For the wages of sin is death …” (Rom. 6:23a). “But each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). We all will die physically one day. These bodies of ours will waste aware. Along the way, we will encounter sickness and possibly disease. Another type of death is spiritual death. This spiritual separation from God will go on forever unless we accept God’s prescription.
God’s Prescription for Sin and Spiritual Death
God asked his one and only Son, Jesus, to die for the sins of every human being, including your sins. God so loves you and the people of the world that He asked his Son to pay the highest price for your sins. He shed his blood on a cross, as a payment for our sins. He died because he loves you. He died so that you would not have to be eternally separated from him… so that you will not spend eternity in hell. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
When we acknowledge this and accept Jesus as our Savior from our sins, the Bible makes it clear that we become forgiven and that our relationship with God is restored. We will not be eternally separated from Him but will live in heaven for eternity when we die physically.
After we receive Jesus by faith into our hearts, his Spirit enters us and lives within us. His Spirit changes us, deep in our souls and in our minds. As you learn to live in a relationship with Jesus and grow in your faith by reading the Bible and going to a Bible-teaching church, his Spirit will change you, from the inside out. The Holy Spirit will enable you to contend with the pressures and stressors of life. He will give you the power to break the ways that you’ve tried to cope with life on your own. He will give you inner strength, peace and hope.
This is the gospel of Jesus Christ found in God’s instruction manual for living, the Holy Bible.
If your heart is burning as you read what I’ve written, and you are not living in a relationship with Jesus, then the Spirit of God is trying to get your attention. He is wooing you; He is tugging at your heart so that you’ll accept what I have written as truth, reach out to Jesus and ask Him to come into your heart. If this is you, I encourage you to follow the link below to the steps to find peace with God.
I’ve been inspired to write this blog post by the life of Billy Graham and by the live media coverage of his recent death and of his life over the last several days. Graham’s life was one motivated by his desire and commitment to tell others about the message of how much God loves them… and about God’s solution to the problem of sin.
I’ve tried to succinctly share my appreciation of the gospel through a ‘faith and health connection’ lens. I’ve written about this more in depth on other pages of my ministry website related to faith and health. Below I’ll list links to other material that may be helpful for you to better appreciate what I’ve briefly written about here.
I believe that life is lived most abundantly when we are in a meaningful relationship with our Creator, God, through his Son Jesus Christ and empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit. Read about this in the context of faith and health—beliefs and basis of this ministry.
If you’d like to have personal discussion with me about what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus, please contact me through the website. Or you can read about this on the website: Steps to Peace With God. {eoa}
Dale Fletcher, executive director of Faith and Health Connection Ministry, is a speaker and wellness coach who lives in Fort Mill, South Carolina. He conducts workshops and retreats on the link between the Christian faith and health. Connect with Dale at faithandhealthconnection.org and on Facebook.
This article originally appeared at faithandhealthconnection.org.
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