Back when God created the universe, everything was just the way it was supposed to be. God was pleased with His creation and with the special, crowning aspect of creation - man and woman, who were created in God’s own image. But problems started when the first humans sinned by disobeying God’s command. Ever since, the human race has been subject to the adverse effects of sin - both that first sin and their own sins. The result is that every human being is subject to the consequences of sin - punishment and pollution.
Since God possesses a perfect sense of justice, He must punish sin. To simply overlook sin would go against His perfect nature. So, as the Bible puts it, we are all by nature objects of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:3). Along with this punishment, we are also polluted by sin. Our hearts were created to love certain things that God loves, to hate or be disgusted by certain things that God hates, to mourn and want to change certain things that grieve God, and to live out our lives by acting according to feelings and desires of a proper working heart. But our hearts have been polluted by sin, so that we love some things too much, love other things not enough, and do not care about some things that we should care about. In short, our desires are misdirected and so are our actions, many of which, consequently, break God’s commands (Ephesians 2:1-3). And so the Bible describes us a being dead - both because we are spiritually dead and because we are headed for an eternal death.
Perhaps the most exciting words in the Bible are “But God.” That’s what we read in Ephesians 2:4. We are by nature subject to the punishment and pollution of sin, being dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1). “But God made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4). That is certainly Good News. God has offered us new life, forgiveness of sins, and the ability to overcome the pollution of sin in our lives. This offer may be referred to as “salvation”.
But how do we receive this gift? Do we just try to do better? Do we have to perform a certain number of good acts in order to qualify? The Bible tells us how we can be saved (i.e. experience salvation). “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). How can we receive this salvation? Who are the people who have escaped the punishment and pollution of sin? They are the people who receive this offer “by faith”, by relying on Jesus’ death - He took our punishment by dying on a cross despite His innocence and was then raised from the dead - as the sufficient payment for our sins.
The Bible makes it clear that this salvation comes “by faith,” as “the gift of God” rather than “by works.” If it were by works, then we could boast about what we did to get God to save us. Instead, God gets all the credit, which He deserves. And the person with faith gets to go from being an “object of wrath” to an object of God’s grace, upon whom “in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).
So how about it? Are you still what we all are by nature - an object of God’s wrath? Or have you received the gift of God through faith in Jesus, making you an object of God’s grace? All it takes to receive this gift is faith, which you can express through a simple prayer like this one:
"Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."
If you prayed this or another prayer to receive God’s offer of forgiveness and eternal life, please let us know so we can help you to grow to become all that God intends you to be (working to get rid of the polluting effects of sin). If you have questions about Jesus or anything else, feel free to contact us so that we can help you. We are glad to serve you in anyway we can.