Sugar Isn't Good

Sugar Isn’t Good

I know, I love sugar too, but this isn’t commercial for a new weight loss drug. Today, I am not concerned with how many cookies you eat (or like some, how much ice cream). What I am thinking about today is the Gospel. For 2000 years people have preached the gospel. So many people hear it and are saved. You are a sinner. You cannot go to heaven as a sinner. You cannot save yourself. So, you need a savior. Seems simple so far. God sent His ONLY son to earth to be born like a man, live as a man, and eventually die for our sins. God, who is perfect, cannot look upon sin directly. So, for years before Jesus, men had to offer sacrifices to God, but that was often difficult. Especially if you didn’t have money to buy a “perfect sacrifice”. A spotless lamb. But God sent Jesus. He was born a baby like we all were, but He was God. He could have come to earth a full grown man, but it would have been harder for us to identify with Him. As it is, Jesus went through everything that we do, with the exception of dealing with problems we create in our own lives by our sin. We have all done it. A person, for instance that cheats on their spouse may have to live with the consequences of that action because the trust is gone. Jesus never had to worry about those things since He never sinned. For the rest of us, we need that savior. The problem today is that somewhere along the way, churches quit preaching about sin. Instead, they have big banners over their front doors that say things like “We love you just the way you are”. “Everyone is welcome”. And those things should be true, a church isn’t a court to be judged, but a hospital for those of us who are still sinners needing a dr. A cure for a “sickness”. But inside those churches they preach that everything you do is “ok”. So you have sex outside of marriage with anyone at all, it’s fine. So you kill your unborn baby, it’s fine. But that’s not what God says. Many of the people listening will say, “I am a good person, I don’t need God. I haven’t killed anyone. I haven’t raped anyone. Taking items from work isn’t stealing because they have plenty and they don’t pay me well enough anyway”. 

The problem here is that if you do not see your sin, you won’t think that you need a savior. In Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,      We know that we are all sinners, but not if they are sugar coating all of the gospel. Which means, many people will go to hell because no one told them the truth. Society is rolling downhill at the speed of a boulder down a mountain. People are angry, self righteous, entitled, greedy, and some are just plain evil. Often it is hard for those of us who love the Lord to understand why. I think it is easy to see that these people do not have a savior to lean on. Someone who promises to take us to heaven, and someone who promises to take care of us before we go to heaven. WE can rest easy knowing that God is in control, but if you don’t have that, you would be anxious, stressed and freaked out over the future. That describes many people we pass on the street every day.

Lord, in these last days, we pray that churches will preach your word. That people will hear of your love and give their lives to you. We pray that those who sugar coat the gospel will come to saving grace themselves and be convicted to preach your word so that heaven will be full. In Christ’s name, AMEN

Shirlene Peterson