Spiritual

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Overview of Exodus

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The Gospel of Jesus Christ

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," (Genesis 1:1 NASB).

This universe of time, space and matter is a created universe.  In contrast to the created universe is God and the universe He "occupies."  The Bible calls that universe "eternity."  It is not ruled by time, space and matter, and thus God Himself is without beginning or end--He simply is.

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth,' (Genesis 1:26-28 NASB).

The Bible teaches us there is one God, but it reveals the one God in three persons.  In the passages cited above we read of God the Father speaking to God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit concerning man's creation.

Man was made in the image of God--that is, man was made with the capacity to rule.  God gave man the ability to reason and to choose to equip him to rule everything else that He made.

"God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day," (Genesis 1:31 NASB).

Everything that God made, including man, was good in the beginning.  Good, or love as the Bible calls it, and only good, is eternal in nature.  There is no eternal evil opposite of God.  Evil came into the universe when man and other created beings (Satan and his demons) misused the powers God gave them to choose to live for selfish ends instead of love.  The Bible calls the choice man made sin, and the Bible tells us that ultimately sin and evil will be conquered and destroyed by God.

Sin was not a surprise to God.  Often people wonder, "if God is all- powerful and all-knowing, didn't He know about the advent of sin and couldn't He have stopped it?"  Yes, God knew before He created the world about the advent of evil, but God created anyway.

While we don't completely understand all of God's reasons for this, the Bible does teach that God wanted man to freely choose to be His children and to love Him.  Therefore, when God foresaw the advent of evil God prepared a plan to redeem man from sin.

That plan involved sending His Son to die on behalf of man to make forgiveness possible for all men who were willing to turn from sin and place their faith in His Son Jesus.

In the Old Testament, we read of 4,000 years of human history during which God worked to prepare the world for His Son's coming.  In the first four books of the New Testament we read about the life, the words, the death, the burial and the resurrection of God's Son, Jesus.  In the rest of the New Testament we read about what happened after Jesus returned to heaven.

In Jesus' death a sacrifice was made so that God could forgive man of sin without approving of, or encouraging further sin.  In Jesus' resurrection we are assured that there is life after death, and life beyond this temporary universe we live in now.

The Bible describes life in the world to come with these words...

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.'" (Revelation 21:1-4 NASB).

The world we live in today is not at all like that world.  We see evil and sin all around us.  We see suffering and pain and crying and death.  The world today teaches us what man is like when he turns his back on God and walks away from love to live a life of selfishness.

Jesus calls us back from sin and urges us to repent--to change our minds about rebelling against God and to choose love as our purpose in living instead of selfishness.  Jesus died to make forgiveness possible for all of us.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love," (1 John 4:7-8 NASB).

Jesus warns us, however, that if we persist in rebellion against God that a day of judgment is coming in which we will be judged for our selfishness and our sins.

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'

"The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'

"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'

"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'

"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life," (Matthew 25:31-46 NASB).

Since God is merciful and is giving us, as it were, a second chance in Jesus, and since evil and sin have obviously hurt instead of advanced man, should we not all turn from sin and turn to God and the mercy He has given us through Jesus Christ?

If you are ready to do that the Bible says that God will welcome you.  It says that God wants you to place your total faith in Jesus.  People who make this choice are called Christians in the Bible.  If you are ready to make this choice the Bible teaches that God wants you to be baptized into Jesus.

The Bible promises that when you place your faith in God He comes to live in your heart and to transform your life through His power and through His word the Bible.  The Christian life is one of growth. You will grow in knowledge, wisdom, faith, hope, and love; but most of all, you will grow closer to God and to God's people and you will become more like His son Jesus.

If you are ready to commit your life to Jesus seek out Christians in your area who trust in God by leaning upon His grace, His providence, and His word.  They will be able to help you learn more about God's will for your life and assist you in being baptized.

If you have made a decision for Christ, then God bless you!  Please Email me and let me know that you became a Christian after reading this and I will send you a free copy of my latest book, "A Walk Through the Bible" to help you get started in your walk as a Christian.  If you would like more information about becoming a Christian, please contact Christians in your area for more Bible study, or Email me with any questions you may have.

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