Our Spiritual Needs

We were not born in sin, but men of accountable age do sin. We do not inherit our sins as we do the color of our hair. Yet, being sinners, our greatest need is salvation. Since we cannot save ourselves, we must have a Savior. God in His infinite love and grace has provided our salvation through Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Why did God send Jesus to die on the cross? Because He was not willing that we should perish, but instead, have eternal life. At great expense God fulfilled His promise to send Christ into the world as our Savior. Over 2,000 years ago, Christ died on the cross for our sins. We thank God for His love and mercy!

God makes two dispositions of sin: 1) If not forgiven, sin brings forth death to the sinner. This is justice. "The soul that sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20) and "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). 2) God can and does forgive sins. We cannot live above sin, and we cannot save ourselves, so we are entirely at the mercy of God for forgiveness. Christ died on the cross for our sins, and had He not done this, we would all be doomed to death, for no other person could have died for our sins. However, God has not provided salvation for any of us unconditionally. Salvation is conditional. Jesus said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). Why is it important that we are baptized into Christ? "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3-4).

We should be so very thankful to our heavenly Father that He sent His only Son to die for us so that we can be saved. God did His part, we must do our part.