The concept of marriage appears to be rapidly falling out of style. In fact, there are some in Western culture who call it an entirely antiquated idea, perhaps claiming that it is far too big and unnecessary a commitment or that they do not need a state-approved piece of paper to “validate” their love.

In relationships and dating, marriage has become only one of many potential outcomes/paths to take as opposed to the end-destination. Culture has vastly underemphasized its beauty and necessity.

We would do well to remember that marriage is not a state-created institution; it was created and blessed by God, and it is a vital part of his plan for the thriving and abundance of not only men and women but society as a whole.

Two key passages will rest at the foundation for our discussion today.

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. ²³ The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” ²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Genesis 2:18, 20-24

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:27-28

In these two passages, we receive the outline of God’s plan for male/female relationships and the building of human society. We should not take this lightly, as he has given us the building blocks for human flourishing. Whether a society follows the biblical model for marriage is one of the greatest indicators of its long-term health. God knows what he’s doing.

It’s Better for Kids

In the first few pages of the Bible, God makes it clear that a marriage is to consist of one man and one woman in a union of love and commitment. This is the model for an intimate relationship, and consequently, it is the model for raising children. As they grow up, a child needs both the steady guidance and protection of their father and the nurturing love and comfort of their mother. This is by design.

Unfortunately, the percentage of children living in single-parent households (and these are overwhelmingly single-mother households in particular) is around twenty-one. The data trends seem to indicate this will only rise, if anything, as premarital sex and abuse appear to be increasing within relationships.

Furthermore, children in single-parent households are much more likely to be impoverished and food-insecure. Boys without a father are much more likely to enter into a life of crime. One could say there is no greater predictor of childhood stability than having a married mother and father who live together. If more and more households are not adhering to this practice, however, and failure to do so often ushers in poverty and dysfunction, then we can expect to see more poverty and dysfunction within larger society, as the financial and emotional stability a married household affords to children may be seen as the antidote to this.

Kids who grow up in two-parent families perform better socially, academically, and vocationally. This puts them at a major advantage when compared to children from unmarried households because social, academic, and career performance are three pivotal factors in living a successful, functional life.

This is sobering news, but it is not surprising. When it comes to the abundance of any given society, God has made it clear the backbone of that is supposed to be married men and women being fruitful and multiplying. When we deviate from this, we can expect any number of disastrous results.

It Helps Ensure Financial Stability

We previously talked about poverty, and this section continues the discussion. The writer of this article is by no means claiming marriage will solve all your money problems, and indeed, money troubles/disagreements are up there at the top of the list of reasons couples get divorced.

However, there is no denying the obvious financial benefit of joining two bank accounts together. Suddenly, the household has two incomes instead of one! The man and wife are both, if the marriage is healthy, working together to make investments for the future of the family, paying debts, and building a life together. This is no small thing, and it can effectively stave off poverty, from a small-scale perspective, in your family, and on a large-scale perspective, within society.

It Allows for Longstanding Love and Loyalty

If there is, as we see in Western culture, a dramatic decrease in marriage relationships, then we have some rather disturbing implications with which we must contend.

Think for a moment on the definition of biblical marriage. Marriage is a covenantal relationship made before God between one man and one woman to cleave together in a lifelong, exclusive relationship of love and loyalty. It is meant to symbolize Christ’s love and devotion to his bride the Church.

If culture is, by and large, steering clear of the institution of marriage, or at least viewing it as a non-necessity, then what it is really doing is rejecting the idea of lifelong commitment, love, and loyalty to one person.

This is reflective in how our culture currently treats the idea of relationships and love. Everything is very casual, not at all how God intended things to be. “Hookup culture” is dominant, with people searching more for a temporary good time than a life partner. Even romantic partners are less and less viewed with the intentions of permanent companionship; people become infatuated with one another, live together for a time, and then separate to find someone else. The idea of traversing the ups and downs of life with one person, supporting and loving them through thick and thin is not as prominent. After all, why stick with one person when there are so many options—so many sexual opportunities?

This diminishes the love and intimacy men and women experience with each other. When people view their relationships as temporary or expendable, then that is simply the natural result. People will have less happy and fulfilling relationships.

Moreover, people are not guaranteed as strong a support system as they grow older and inevitably experience the tragedies that come with life. If there is not one consistent loving partner with you to weather the storms, life becomes significantly more difficult. Does that role have to be filled by a spouse? No, but it is best filled by a spouse—someone who has pledged their fidelity to you and only you, who is closest to you and knows you better than anyone else.

What Now?

1. Appreciate the Marriage Structure

God doesn’t set things up the way he does for arbitrary or nonsensical reasons. He is intentional in his design, and we see this in his design for marriage. He knows the optimal setting in which to raise a child, to experience love, and to grow old with another person.

This is why, as you navigate life through a world whose view of relationships has become so cynical and consumeristic, we need to look past that fog and see the beauty of the biblical marriage structure. Its complimentary nature is a wonderful reflection of the differences between men and women and the ingenuity of our Creator.

Does appreciating the marriage structure mean everyone must get married? Not at all. In fact, God has called some to a life of singleness and celibacy, and that is just as valid a route to take as marriage. For most people, however, it is good to marry.

2. Pursue Biblical Marriage

Hold your horses for a moment. I am not advocating that you rush into the marriage with the first person who goes on three dates with you. That is foolishness. Marriage is a commitment, and it is a serious one.

What I am saying, though, is that if you choose to pursue a romantic relationship with the opposite sex, your end-goal should be marriage. That should be the reason you are searching for a partner. There is no point in dating or courtship if neither person plans to marry. Dating is a fun and joyous time, but it is also a vehicle to something far greater: a lifelong covenant of love with your spouse. If you do not agree with where the vehicle is taking you, then get off at the next stop.

Should you choose to pursue marriage, there is no need to feel embarrassed or strange about it. You are pursuing a good thing. Healthy, committed marriage relationships between men and women are the bedrock of a healthy society. Keep prayerfully searching for who God has in store for you, but never let that distract you from serving your King!

It’s often referred to as one of the most momentous or special times in the life of a believer. Whether it is done in a lake around a small group of friends and family or in a baptismal as the whole Sunday congregation watches on, it is an event followed by many congratulations, cheers, and hugs. Baptism is a central doctrine and practice in every denomination of Christianity. We have probably heard that we are to “repent and be baptized.”

So what’s the big deal? Why is baptism as important as everyone seems to think it is? Today, we are going to unpack all of that.

Why Baptize?

³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:13-17

Right here, we see Jesus, who was and is God in the flesh, choosing to be baptized. Now, this is a theologically rich passage, and its implications are many, so much so that we could right several articles off of it.

However, for the purposes of our topic today, what we need to know is that this passage shows Jesus affirming the practice of baptism. If Christ himself was baptized, that goes a long way in validating its legitimacy, doesn’t it?

If there is any doubt left as to whether this is an important practice, scripture goes on to cast them away.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

What you just read is the Great Commission. These were the final words Jesus Christ gave to his disciples before he returned to the Father. You might call it the command on which the Christian Church was built and the mission statement of the Church today. Let’s break it down.

Jesus said to “make disciples of all nations.” Hopefully, we can all recognize the importance of this. This is, in large part, why God gave us our unique gifting—it was for the saving of souls! The urgency of making disciples is likely engrained in just about any church you visit, with their mission statement being some variation of the Great Commission.

However, there is more. Jesus didn’t end it there. He goes on to say that part of disciplemaking is baptizing the disciples we make “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is part of the Great Commission too. It naturally springs forth from discipleship.

In short, then, we baptize and are baptized because Christ himself affirmed it and commands it of his followers.

That raises a whole new set of questions, though. Why does Christ command us to be baptized? What is the significance of having someone dip us underwater in the name of Christ? Glad you asked.

The Meaning Behind Baptism?

In a nutshell, baptism is an outward sign of an inward change. The act of baptism, which is being submerged under the water and then reemerging from beneath the surface, is a physical representation of this passage from Paul:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 

2 Corinthians 5:17

Baptism symbolizes dying to our old, sinful, dysfunctional nature and emerging as a regenerated believer in Christ. Just as Christ died for us and was resurrected into a new and glorious body three days later, we die to ourselves when we follow him and rise again as a new creation. Baptism is a powerful picture of this—a powerful picture of us identifying with Christ’s sacrifice and consequently being made anew.

Just look at what Paul has to say in another of his epistles!

 In him [Jesus] you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.”

Colossians 2:11-13

Who Should Be Baptized?

This is where things can get controversial. There are some who say only believers who have voluntarily accepted Christ and understand the meaning of doing so should be baptized, and there are some who claim that infants should be baptized soon after birth, as they think baptism is necessary for salvation.

The writer of this article will take the position that only those who have made the volitional, conscious choice to follow Jesus should be baptized, meaning infant baptism is not necessary or even biblical. Do not get it twisted—everyone should be baptized. Jesus commanded it. We should simply wait until the believer understands what they are doing and why they are doing it before baptizing them.

There is scriptural precedent for this.

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Acts 2:41

Here, we see believers called to repentance (i.e. placing their faith in Christ’s sacrifice to cover their sins) and then baptism. You will notice in verse forty-one it says “those who received his word” were the ones who were baptized; these were people who were receptive to Peter’s proclamation of the Gospel.

There is simply nowhere in scripture that prescribes infant baptism, and it would be theologically flawed to conclude it is necessary for salvation, as that would mean the saving grace of Christ would not be enough for salvation.

How Should We Baptize?

The question of how we should physically baptize someone refers to what mode of baptism we should use. The three modes of baptism most commonly used are immersion, pouring, and sprinkling. These are fairly self-explanatory. Immersion involves fully submerging someone underwater, pouring involves (you guessed it!) pouring water over someone, and sprinkling is, well, sprinkling water on someone’s head.

There has long been disagreement over what mode of baptism is the biblical or “correct” mode. I would posit the correct mode of baptism is immersion, and there is plenty of biblical evidence supporting this.

Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized.

John 3:23

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.

Matthew 3:16

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” ³⁸ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

Acts 8:36-38

These excerpts yield a few notable takeaways pointing to baptism via full immersion under the water. In the first passage, John the Baptist is baptizing at Aenon, and the reason he chose that location is the abundance of water there. If baptism were only an act of pouring or sprinkling, such an excess of water would not be necessary.

The second passage describes Christ’s baptism, and the wording tells us he was baptized via immersion, as it says he “went up out of the water.” If this is the way Christ opted to be baptized, then we should pay attention to that.

Finally, the passage from Acts tells of Philip baptizing a new believer, and they go “down into the water.” Again, the wording here appears to indicate immersion baptism.

What Now?

Appreciate Biblical Baptism

We should treat the topic of baptism with the weight and importance it deserves. It isn’t something to be flippant about. It is one of the two ordinances Christ left the Church, with the other being communion.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, and you have yet to be baptized, why wait? Find a way to get baptized by immersion as soon as possible! Publicly proclaim your death to sin and life in Christ. This is not something to put off.

Furthermore, if you are currently discipling anyone who is a new follower of Christ and is yet to be baptized, pray about having a conversation regarding the topic with them. Jesus told us to make disciples—and then he told us to baptize!

Keep Baptism in the Correct Place

We do not want to overemphasize or underemphasize baptism, and it is quite possible to do both. On one hand, if you have a friend or relative in the Lord who dies and you know they were not baptized, it is both unproductive and unnecessary to fear for their salvation. That is inflating baptism’s purpose and importance.

On the other hand, just because baptism is not necessary for salvation does not mean it is not sacred and vital. If you are a believer, you should be baptized. To not do so is to disobey Christ and miss out on an opportunity to honor your savior. Baptism is essential to living a life in complete surrender to Jesus.

If I told you that there is a lot of controversy within the Church surrounding our remembrance of the Lord’s Supper, which on its face is a relatively simple act of eating some bread and drinking some wine or juice, you may not believe me. However, believe it or not, that is reality.

As it turns out, there is by no means one uniform view on the practice of communion. People, wouldn’t you know it, have found many things to disagree about. Today we are going to unpack some of these disagreements and attempt to come to a biblical conclusion on how we ought to practice it, as well as what happens spiritually during communion.

Starting with the Basics

Jesus Christ left the Church with two ordinances to follow.

The remembrance of the Lord’s Supper is one of those ordinances in the Church (sometimes called sacraments), with the other being baptism. This simply means it is one of the sacred rituals/ceremonies Jesus instituted for the Church to do. Some people believe there are more than two, and include the practices of oil-anointment, foot-washing, confirmation, and many others in their list of ordinances. The writer would respectfully disagree; there is nowhere in scripture where Jesus commanded the Church at large to observe these on a regular basis.

To get back on track, though, a typical communion service will consist of the leader or pastor recounting the story of the Last Supper and reminding the Church why they are partaking in this act of remembrance. They will often quote Jesus word-for-word from passages such as Luke 22:19, in which he said “this is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Often accompanied with this retelling of the Last Supper is a visual demonstration—a breaking of bread to represent Christ’s broken body and the pouring of wine or juice to represent his shed blood on the cross; this is the same visual representation Christ gave the disciples two thousand years ago during the Last Supper.

After this, the congregation will be invited to eat and drink the bread and juice/wine, which are referred to as the elements of communion.

Who Should Participate?

Good question.

Some people say anyone who desires to should be able to take communion, regardless of whether they are a believer in Jesus Christ. This would be a minority view, but it does exist.

Others say anyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ can take communion, but the practice is barred from those who do not actively follow him. Many churches would hold to this view, and a large number would take it even a step further and only permit members of their own particular church or denomination to partake. This seemingly strict rule does not necessarily have to come from a place of haughty exclusivity; many churches likely just want to ensure they do not give communion to anyone who is unworthy, and only permitting individuals who have gone through a membership process is a way of ensuring that.

Speaking of the word “unworthy,” that is the central theme of the passage we will be looking at to receive an answer to the question of who should participate.

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  ²⁵ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. ²⁷ Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup

1 Corinthians 11:23-28

Here, Paul is talking to a church whose members by and large were not at all taking communion with reverence. They were taking it sinfully and with selfish hearts. Now, our exact situation is not going to be the same as the Church of Corinth, but we can still extrapolate some principles from the text.

Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is adamant that believers take communion with the right attitude. Not one of dismissal, or self-service, or with sin festering in their heart, but with a willingness to proclaim the sovereign Lord’s death—with the proper respect for what communion means.

It is because of this passage that we can conclude participants in communion should be—first and foremost—individuals who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. If someone is not a member of God’s Kingdom, then there is no justification for them taking communion, as they cannot effectively proclaim Jesus’ sacrifice if they have not even accepted it for themselves…much less can they participate in a worthy manner if they do not have the blood of Jesus covering them!

There is no scriptural basis for participants needing to be a member of a specific denomination or of the church holding the service in order for them to partake. There is simply an absence of supporting passages to argue a convincing case for this. To summarize, then, anyone who is a member of God’s Kingdom, saved by the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, may participate in communion so long as they do not do so in an unworthy manner.

Who Should Lead?

The Bible does not explicitly say what type of person should or should not lead a remembrance of the Lord’s Supper, aside from the implicit and obvious requirement that they need to be a believer. There is nowhere, for instance, stating that to lead a communion service, you absolutely must be the pastor or elder of a church.

Since the Bible does not provide a clear answer, it seems best to reach our conclusions with prayer and discernment. With that said, I would suggest that the leader of a communion service should be a loving servant of God and others. They should be someone who is not needlessly divisive within the Church, continually living in unrepentant sin and modeling a bad example to the rest of the Body of Christ. Basically, there character should be such that it would not be a distracting issue as communion takes place, taking the focus away from Christ’s sacrifice.

Differing Views on Communion

Now things get really fun. There is one more major area of contention in the conversation surrounding the Lord’s Supper, and that is the degree to which Christ is present when we take communion.

The following summary of the different viewpoints is in no way comprehensive, and I recommend Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrine if you wish to study them more in-depth.

Transubstantiation

This view, taking literally Jesus’ statement that the bread and wine are his body and blood, believes that the elements physically become Jesus’ flesh and blood. It would maintain that when we take communion, we are literally eating Jesus’ body.

Furthermore, proponents of this view believe as soon as the bread is elevated by the leader of service and broken, grace is instilled within everyone in the vicinity, but it is given in proportion to their own spiritual receptivity. They also believe that in every instance communion is held, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ happens over again, which is the source of the grace everyone receives during the service.

Consubstantiation

This belief maintains that, while the elements do not literally become Jesus’ flesh and blood, Christ is instead present “in, with, and under” them. It could be said this is a slightly more reserved version of transubstantiation, still desiring to take Jesus literally in his “this is my body” statement without making the claim that we are consuming the Christ. Many advocates would say he is present in the elements the same way water is in a dishcloth; it is in the cloth, but it is still distinct from the cloth itself.  

It is also worth noting that this view does not believe Jesus’ sacrifice is repeated with each communion service, nor does it believe grace flows from the breaking of the bread into everyone who is present.

Symbolic View

The third and final belief regarding communion is that it is largely or perhaps even purely a symbolic act. Holders of this view do not believe Christ is literally present in the elements or even present “in, with, and under.”

The bread and wine/juice are instead representative of his flesh and blood respectively. Is this to say they believe Christ is in no way present during a communion service? Not at all, as they would believe Christ is omnipresent, and he is especially with us as two or more gather in his name. They believe Jesus blesses and spiritually nourishes us during communion—he simply is not a part of the elements in any manner other than a symbolic one.

Which View Is Right?

That’s ultimately on you to decide for yourself, but I would like to firmly make the case for the symbolic view. To me, it is by far the most reasonable.

Firstly, transubstantiation’s conviction that the elements literally become Jesus’ flesh and blood would seem to negate the symbolic manner in which Jesus often spoke. Christ did not always speak literally. He often spoke in parables. He used metaphor (i.e. “I am the true vine” and “I am the door”). It seems far more likely he was doing the same thing at the Last Supper when he lifted the bread and said “this is my body” as opposed to telling us a piece of bread and a drink of wine are his actual flesh and blood. Moreover, the transubstantiation belief that Christ’s sacrifice is repeated as a continual source of grace is, in my mind, borderline blasphemous. Christ’s sacrifice is final. We no longer have need for a sacrifice. He said as much in John 19:30 when he clearly stated “it is finished.” Also, there is simply nowhere in scripture to support communion as a continual sacrifice of Christ.

Consubstantiation, while much less objectionable than its cousin, still makes the error of taking Christ too literally. I like the way theological scholar Wayne Grudem puts it:

“In response to the [Consubstantiation] view, it can be said that it too fails to realize that Jesus is speaking of a spiritual reality but using physical objects to teach us when he says ‘this is my body.’”

Wayne Grudem

The symbolic view, in a nutshell, takes into account Jesus’ tendency to use metaphor or symbolism to convey spiritual truth while still maintaining the sacred and wonderful nature of the Lord’s Supper.

Application

Practice Biblical Communion

This one is pretty straightforward. Listen to what scripture says and ensure you and your church are in no way making a mockery out of remembering the Lord’s Supper or otherwise approaching communion in an unworthy way.

Thoroughly examine yourself before taking part. Are you doing this joyfully and respectfully, or thoughtlessly and selfishly? Remember the words of Paul. This is how we honor our glorious God. Take it seriously.

Enjoy Spiritual Nourishment

There is a profound and powerful spiritual nourishment that comes from participating in communion. In so doing, we enjoy and glorify God by proclaiming the perfect love of our savior and fill our spirit with unique renewal and sustenance.

I have talked at length at how we are to respectfully and reverentially partake in communion, but we are to do it joyfully as well! It is an honor and a privilege to exalt Christ in this way, and it illustrates how we, as the body of Christ, all take part in the benefits of his holy sacrifice.

Take It in a Worthy Manner

In his epistle to the Corinthians, Paul gives them a pretty important warning.

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 11:27

The Corinthians had turned communion into more of a mindless, indulgent social gathering in which those who were able ate far too much and those who were less fortunate had little to nothing. They were not taking communion with sober reflection on their sin and what Christ did for them.

We would do well to follow the principle of this text: do not take communion in an unworthy manner.

When you participate in communion, do not do so thoughtlessly, or with a sinful, ungrateful heart. Do so with joy, gladness, and worship as you exalt Christ!

We have all done it countless times. Often at the end of the worship service, maybe once a month, or every other week, or perhaps every week, your church probably partakes in communion, also known as the Lord’s Supper.

Perhaps you know the basics surrounding the story of why we do the Lord’s Supper, or perhaps you do not and have been wondering why your church keeps having that weird snack during service. Either way, this article is for you! Today, we are going to explore the rich and meaningful history behind communion, its implications, and what that means for us as Christians today. It is one of the sacred and God-glorifying duties of the believer to practice communion.

Jesus Tells People to Eat Him?

Picture this. You are one of Jesus’ twelve original disciples. You have just crossed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee with him, and he takes you to a hilly area, where a great crowd of people follows you because they know of Jesus’ miraculous deeds.

The crowd gets hungry. You start to wonder how on earth you are going to feed five thousand men, plus women and children. Jesus has you take some little boy’s lunch of bread and fish, and all of a sudden you’re serving this vast multitude of people a satisfying meal with food to spare afterward. The crowd is amazed. Jesus is glorious. It’s a good day. You go to bed in awe of what you just experienced.

The next day, a crowd of people come to Jesus, and you begin to wonder what wondrous sign he is going to perform today. You are lost in your daydreaming when all of a sudden, you hear Jesus telling the crowd that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood.

That would be quite a rollercoaster of events, wouldn’t it? Well, as you may well know, I am not making that story up.

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

John 6:44-51

We will pause right here. At face value, what Jesus just said is…well, it’s pretty weird. You don’t get to tell someone to eat your flesh without things getting kind of awkward. That sounds like something out of a cannibalistic horror movie.

However, Jesus is not one to say gross, nonsensical things. There is a higher meaning behind what he is saying. And believe it or not, as grotesque as it sounds, it is a wonderful meaning. The Jews listening to him, however, did not pick up on this.

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 

John 6:52-59

Maybe what he’s saying is starting to make a bit more sense to you. If not, I’ll explain. Without Christ, we are spiritually dead, left under God’s wrath and enslaved to our sinful nature. Furthermore, we are on the fast track to eternal separation from God.

It is only through the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who bore the sins of mankind on the cross, that we can be reconciled to a holy God and enjoy life-sustaining, intimate relationship with him and the Father.

This is why Christ says “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” He is saying that unless we accept the gift of salvation, made possible by the piercing of his flesh, the spilling of his blood, and the brokenness of his body, we will not have abundant life in the here and now. Moreover, we will suffer eternal death in the next life. Nobody who does not place their faith in the sacrifice of Christ’s broken body can truly live.

In this sense, he is like the ultimate manna from heaven. Christ was sent from heaven as manna was to the Israelites in the wilderness, and eating his flesh provides everlasting life: “Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

The Last Supper

This theme of Jesus’ flesh and blood being our saving grace continues later on in the Gospels. Fast-forward to the Passover night Jesus was betrayed. How precious these final moments with his followers must have been, made even more so by what he said.

  ⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Luke 22:14-20

This passage, which has not failed to bring tears to my eyes as I read it, is Jesus’ loving commission to begin the sacred practice of the Lord’s Supper, which is a remembrance of his atoning sacrifice.

Communion is a powerful picture of what Jesus did for us. When we eat the bread and drink the wine/juice, we are doing so in remembrance of him—in remembrance of the perfect love he had for us. In remembrance of the unfathomable suffering he went through…for us. In remembrance of the fact that it is only through the broken flesh and the spilled blood of Jesus that we may be saved.

To participate in the Lord’s Supper is to honor and glorify Christ for the miracle of his mercy. It is not some boring ceremony to do out of habit or another hum-drum church event. It is one of the ways we glorify and enjoy Jesus.

With this in mind, there are some practical ways we can apply this in our personal and communal worship of Christ.

Application

Participate Joyfully

As previously mentioned, the Lord’s Supper isn’t another box to check off your spiritual to-do list. It is a commemoration of Jesus’ unparalleled servanthood. That’s not something to do mindlessly.

How precious it is to that Jesus died for us! And how precious it is to be able to honor him together in this way. We owe it to our glorious God to approach communion in the right spirit—in worship and awe and gladness. As his servants who live to honor him, that is truly the least we can do.

So next time you partake in communion, treasure the story of the Lord’s Supper in your heart. Do it in remembrance of him instead of absent mindedly eating a cracker or going through your mental list of everything that you have to do when you get home. This is a great way to grow more intimate with God.

Participate with Reverence

There is, or at least there should be, a certain weight attached to communion. I am not referring to a weight of sadness or despair. Rather, there is a sort of spiritual weight—a sort of reverence—that we should be taking with us as we remember his body, broken for us, and his blood, which was poured out for all mankind.

The imagery associated with communion, eating Christ’s flesh and drinking his blood, is intense. That is putting it mildly. But it is also powerfully beautiful, a reminder of what the almighty God of the universe did for us, and what he let us do to him so that we might live.

Communion is a reminder of God’s unparalleled, indescribable love, and we should approach it with every bit of worship and reverence it deserves.

You’ve probably heard it said multiple times that sin has broken down this world to a twisted form of the perfection in which God originally created it. At first, the world was a paradise, free from evil, dysfunction, and every manner of suffering. Then, sin entered the equation, and the rest, as they say, is history.

However, there are almost certainly aspects of this earth that you enjoy—that you find beautiful or worthwhile or enjoyable. Maybe you love taking early morning walks and savoring the crisp, fresh air. Maybe sitting out at a quiet dock and fishing is more your speed. Maybe you dearly treasure your relationships with friends and family.

Even as I write this, I think about the simple pleasure of running my hands through my dog’s fur as she barks at me to play fetch. The point is, there are many things about this earth that are still inherently good and lovely, despite it being warped by the curse of sin. God has richly blessed us with fulfilling, enjoyable lives.

Because of this, many of us are skeptical of the idea of a new heaven and new earth, which scripture tells us we will live in when God comes to dwell with his children forever. We might find ourselves thinking “hey, I know this world has some problems, but do we really have to get rid of it completely? I kind of like it here.”

It’s a compelling question: what can we expect from the new heaven and new earth? Will it do away with everything we loved about our lives here in place of an eternity spent sitting on a cloud, strumming a harp? The answer is a resounding no.

What Will It Be Like?

Renewed World

The setting in which it takes place…that will be something special. The new heaven and new earth will be everything we loved about our life here, but better. Like an earth 2.0! The pleasures and joys of your life here on earth won’t simply dissipate into nothing. I quoted Anthony in my prior article, and I will do it again here: “[In the new heaven and new earth] creation’s beauties will be heightened, its pleasures strengthened, our limitations lifted.”

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

Revelation 21:1-2

Consider its very name—new heaven and new earth. You will notice it is not called the different heaven and the different earth. John explicitly describes a new heaven and earth. There are two words for “new” in Greek. Neos means “brand new” and kainos means “remade.” Kainos is the word John used in this instance.

Think of it this way. Let’s say a mechanic told you he picked up an old Corvette from a junkyard and remade it. When he shows off his handiwork, you are not expecting to see a completely different object. Instead, you expect to see a new, souped-up version of the Corvette. That’s a similar situation to what happens with this earth and the new earth.

It will not be this floating, misty, colorless, ethereal realm. It will come down to earth where we are as a complete renovation of the current order. We will tend abundant gardens without overgrowths of thorns. We will hike through lush, sprawling forests without encountering dead wildlife. We will ascend mountains without worry of falling to our death.

Renewed Bodies

Also of note are the vessels in which we experience all of this, namely our new and glorious bodies. These may sound familiar to you, as we have talked about them at length numerous times on this blog.

Study this passage from Paul and see how Jesus’ resurrected body is a harbinger of the joy that is to come for us.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:20

What does it mean that Christ is the “firstfruit?” Consider this! He was the first of the resurrection harvest, the first in a long line of believers who would be resurrected into a heavenly body. When he rose from the dead into a new and glorious form, that was a glimpse into our future and the world’s future.

He still had a physical body, people could recognize his features, and he was able to eat food. However, his body was also renewed. It was the same…but better. It transcended death. He was able to walk through walls. At one point, he even teleported into a room. This is a sampling of the renewed body we will one day enjoy in the new heaven and new earth.

Reunion

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

Revelation 21:3

Heaven’s greatest joy is reunion. We will be reunited with all our loved ones who died in Christ. One of God’s purposes in salvation was to create an eternal family united by a love that never fades, and we will one day see this come to fruition.

The greatest reunion, though, is with God himself. We will enjoy his loving and powerful companionship for all eternity, and our hearts will be filled with so much delight and love for him that we will not know how to contain it. It will be our honor to enjoy and glorify him forever.

Release

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

This is a huge thing separating the new heaven and earth from the here and now. There will be no more pain, suffering, death, decay, and dysfunction. “No pain” means no more chronic illness. No more aching joints. No more emergency rooms, or children’s hospitals, or cancer centers, or pharmacies. All of that will have passed away with the rest of the horrors from this world.

“No tears” means no more depression. No more fear, misunderstanding, grief counselors, therapy appointments, psychological torture and existential dread. Can you even imagine a world without all of this? Probably not. It will be indescribably good. Better than we could ever dream of or hope for.

This suffering-free world is made possible through the cross of Christ, which saved us from the penalty of sin—the suffocating hold sin had on our lives and the eternity of anguish it was ultimately leading us to.

Reassignment

Think we’re just going to be sitting around on a comfy bed all day in heaven? Think again.

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

Revelation 22:3

Who do you think those “servants” will be? If you guessed “us,” then you are right. And what do servants do? They serve! They aren’t bored; they are busy. Work was part of God’s original creation. It was not added because of the curse that came with Original Sin. We worked while in paradise. This means, when God restores the earth, work will be part of the new creation, too.

With that said, it will not be how it is here, filled with anxiety and struggle and miserable toil. God knows how he created you—how he uniquely wired you, so he knows what you love to do. We don’t know what we will be doing for certain, but we do know it will be fulfilling.

The only jobs we know won’t be there are doctors (because no one is sick) and preachers/evangelists (because everyone is saved already).

Reign

There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 22:5

There have been some questions over what exactly we will be reigning over. Some thinks this means we will reign with God over the angels. Some say it will be over all of creation. Others, such as C.S. Lewis, have proposed we will reign over other planets and galaxies.

I do not claim to know precisely what this passage is talking about, but I do know it means we will be reigning with God for eternity, so we can be rest assured it will be wonderful beyond belief.

You see, Revelation does not end with an ending. It ends with a beginning. The new heaven and new earth is a fresh and never-ending adventure. Even after the first, say, one million years, you will never get to the point of saying “gee, I’m bored.” Instead, you will be saying “this is amazing, what’s next?”

What Now?

Look to What Is Better

No matter what manner of evil, suffering, and contempt this life throws at us, we can always take joy in our knowledge of what is to come. Let this sustain you in times of hardship. Things might be bad right now, but they are going to get better. Immeasurably better.

Furthermore, whenever you find yourself feeling empty and purposeless, just cling to what scripture says. There is a reason you have that gaping desire for purpose. We do not have a need unless there is something to fill that need. If we feel hungry, we know there is food to satisfy us. If we have sexual desire, we know sex can satisfy us. If we desire for something larger than us, something more than this life has to offer, we know that one day this need will be met in the new heaven and new earth.

Look to Build a Bridge

Thoroughly consider this question: what is something good we can do here that we will not be able to do in the next life? The answer is we can only make disciples of Jesus Christ while we are here.

Instead of following a bucket list of fifty crazy things you want to do before you die and dedicating your life towards crossing them off, why don’t you cross out everything on that list and replace them with “winning hearts for Jesus” written in big, bold letters? This is our mission here on earth. If we feel empty and purposelessness right now, it is likely because we are not utilizing the unique gifting with which God has equipped us to win hearts for the Kingdom.

So consider what it is you are skilled at. How can you use those talents to serve God and make disciples? Ponder over the relationships God has placed in your life. Which of them have spiritual potential? Be in prayer over what you can do to live for God, and watch your life become transformed as God transforms others through you.

Do not despair. One day you will stand in the presence of God, free from the burden of death and disease with an eternity of memories to make with Jesus and other believers. That will be reality one day.

In the meantime, do not keep from praying and working for the saving of souls.

Something I frequently say is that this life is simply a temporary stop on the bus ride to eternity. Nobody on this earth gets out of here alive. If you are reading this, you have a one hundred percent chance of dying someday.

Now, I know the above statement is not what most would consider pleasant. That’s not a saying you would put on a coffee mug or a motto you would repeat when in need of inspiration. It is, however, the truth. Ignoring it will do no better at preventing it than ignoring April 15 will at keeping you from paying your taxes. One way or another, the government is getting its money, and one way or another, everyone will die.

Furthermore, after death, everyone will move on to their eternal judgement, whether it is good or bad. We have all heard the term “judgement day” before, so much so that perhaps it can feel like a myth or start to lose its meaning. With that said, eternal judgement is very real. Some of the book of Revelation’s final chapters explain in-depth what will happen on this day of eternal judgement. Let’s learn more about it.  

Great White Throne Judgement

Revelation is a book written by John the Apostle, in which God shares with him various details about what will happen in the end-times. It culminates in John learning what will happen to both those who are and are not in Christ.

The people whose names are not written in the Book of Life must stand before the great white throne to be judged.

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

Revelation 20:11-12

There is a key detail here that is important to point out before continuing. It is right there in the second half of verse eleven. Read it over again.

The earth and the heavens try to flee from God’s presence…but there is no place to go. No place to hide. There is no escaping the judgement to come. The guilty, all throughout biblical history, have attempted to flee from God. Adam hid behind a bush. Jonah stowed away on a boat. Well, this time there will be no hiding. Everything will be brought to light. Every deed of the unbeliever will be weighed against God’s perfect law, and the blood of Jesus will not be there to cover them—they rejected it.

The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 

Revelation 20:13

This passage grows more sobering the more we read. You may find yourself wondering what “death and hades” are. It is the place those who are not in Christ go to after they die in order to await final judgement. It is not hell, although there do appear some similarities (you may remember the story of the rich man in Luke 16:14-31 who goes there and desperately yearns for a single drop of water on his tongue).

As for the sea that gave up its dead, this could refer to those who rebelled against Christ during his thousand-year-reign. At any rate, we see here everyone who rejected Christ’s free gift of salvation, whether alive or dead, here to receive eternal judgement for their sins.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:14-15

The entirety of those who rebelled, after they stand before the great white throne to be judged, is now thrown into the lake of fire, where they will remain for eternity. The lake of fire, or the second death, is what we call “hell.” It is the place of eternal separation from God, the fitting punishment for sinning against our holy and just Creator.

This is just one of two possible eternal destinies. We will now explore the other one.

Judgement Seat of Christ

In these passages, the apostle Paul is telling the Church about the experience of the believer on the day of judgement, which differs wildly from that of the unbeliever.

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 

2 Corinthians 5:9-10

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” ¹² So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Romans 14:10-12

When believers stand before the judgement seat of Christ, they are not judged for every individual sin they committed, and the wrath of God will not be upon them. This is solely due to the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who took the punishment we deserved and reconciled us to God.

Rather, believers will be judged on how well they lived their life in service to Christ and expanding the Kingdom of God. Did we make the most of our discipling opportunities? Did we model Christ effectively to those around us? Did we support others in the body of Christ? Did we utilize our gifting the way God commanded us to?

After appearing before the judgement seat of Christ, it will be time to enjoy our glorious inheritance. Just read!

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:1-4

There are no words that can describe the joy of the believer’s eternal destiny accurately. The new heaven and new earth are the inheritance of every follower of Christ, and they are eternal community with God.

Have you ever worried if it’s going to be boring in heaven? Perhaps you picture sitting on a cloud all day singing boring hymns for billions upon billions of years, with everything you loved about your old life gone? Worry no longer! The new heaven and the new earth are not like that. They are everything you loved about the old heaven and earth but better! They offer renewal, not an unrecognizable change.

Heaven won’t be this misty, ethereal realm. It will come down to earth. It will be all that we held dear minus the curse of sin. As Pastor Anthony says: “creation’s beauties will be heightened, its pleasures strengthened, and our limitations lifted.”

We will walk in our new and glorious bodies, free from sorrow and disease and sin, and we will serve!

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

Revelation 22:1-3

His “servants will serve him.” That’s us. Work was part of God’s original creation. Adam and Eve worked in the garden even before the Original Sin. It will be part of the new creation, too. We don’t know exactly what it will be, but we can be assured it will be work each individual can thrive in and find fulfilling—tailored to our unique gifting and abilities.

In short, we will spend eternity abundantly serving, glorifying, and enjoying God in the beautiful new heaven and new earth, free from death and sin forever.

⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Revelation 21:7-8

What Now?

Choose and Teach Life

A famous and powerful passage from Deuteronomy 30:15-20 is brought to mind. In this book, God has reminded the Israelites of all he has commanded them and retold them the story of how he delivered them from captivity. After this, almost as if to summarize everything he has talked about, he tells them that he has set before them blessing and curse…life and death. Therefore, they should choose life! Our situation is much the same today. Upon reading the whole Bible and ending with Revelation, we can come to the conclusion that God has set before us life and death, blessing and curse. Which are we going to choose? Furthermore, which pathway are we going to lead others down? We know what happens to those who reject Christ. There is not utility in telling somebody their shoes look nice while they are on their way to walking off a cliff.

We have been given a sphere of influence—people we may invest in and disciple. Pray about these people and pray for opportunities to develop a spiritual relationship with them.

Look to What Is Better

In the midst of life’s pain and dysfunction, and in the midst of our struggle with sin, we can sometimes forget what it is we are working for. It is interesting how quick we are to forget our purpose and the glorious inheritance that awaits us as believers. As you walk through your darkest valleys, never forget the eternity of joy and fulfillment at the other end of the tunnel. We have a hope that never dies from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who saw fit to die for us that we might have life with Him forever. There is no greater joy than this.

Israel.

At first glance, this small, seemingly innocuous county may not look like much to talk about. Its population totals in at about 9.2 million. When it comes to size, it is about two hundred square miles smaller than the state of New Jersey, clocking in at 8550. Externally, there is nothing grandiose or awe-inspiring about it.

And yet…this small country is not only one of the most prosperous nations in the world, one of the most technologically advanced civilizations on planet earth, and the subject of much international conversation/conflict—it is also a powerful example of God’s loving faithfulness and his determination to carry his plans for the New Heaven and New Earth out completely.

Israel’s Roots

To understand where God is taking Israel in the future, however, we must first understand what has happened in the past.

Israel got its start much earlier than many people might realize. You can trace its beginnings back as early as Genesis 12—only 12 chapters into the Bible’s first book!

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ² “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Genesis 12:1-3

To clarify what’s happening here, this takes place long before God establishes Israel as a nation. It is a conversation between the man who will one day be called Abraham and his Creator. This man doesn’t have establishing the nation of God’s chosen people on his mind. What he wants is a son. Someone to carry on his name.

That’s where God steps in, though, and boy does he give Abram more than he bargained for. God doesn’t just inform him that he will indeed have offspring (that would have been miraculous enough already). He tells him that he will be the father of a great nation—one through which all the nations of the world will be blessed. And indeed, all nations have been blessed through Israel. That is where our Messiah Jesus Christ came from!

Abram probably didn’t know it, but this covenant, known as the Abrahamic Covenant, was God’s promise to restore the brokenness of the world through his chosen nation Israel (thus explaining why Israel will be a “blessing” to all nations). Before Israel even really existed, God had a plan for it. He had his hand over it.

Israel’s Growing Pains

The more you read the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Old Testament), the more it becomes clear that when God makes a covenant, he will be faithful in keeping it. Always. Indeed, if it were not for God’s fiercely devoted faithfulness to Israel in the past, it would not be here in the now, and it certainly would not be a major player in biblical end-times prophecy.

God was faithful to provide for and ultimately rescue the Israelites when they found themselves under Egyptian rule. Fast-forwarding a little bit, even though there was much rebellion, grumbling, and sin on the part of the Israelites, God was faithful in delivering them to their new homeland (Joshua 3). Israel is then established as a light to the rest of the world, and other countries take notice of its great and powerful God of love.

When Israel insulted him by asking for a human king, he saved them from the dysfunctional rule of King Saul with King David (2 Samuel 5:1-4). This is just the beginning of God’s loving faithfulness towards Israel.

During the timeframe of the books First and Second Kings and Chronicles, Israel enters into a pattern of repetitive sin—it continually seeks after pagan gods, repents for a little while, and then goes back to the detestable practices of false idols. It breaks its end of the covenant repeatedly. After this cycle plays out for many years, God finally determines that a major course correction is required. Instead of wiping Israel off the face of the earth and choosing another nation in his plan to save the world, God gives it over to its sin. He allows foreign nations to carry the Israelites off into captivity, and they are exiled from their homeland for many years (2 Kings 17:18-20).

But God is faithful even then, and he later delivers them back to their homeland, setting the stage for Christ’s birth. Never does God forget his covenant with Abraham.

Israel in the End Times

After Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection, God still is not done with his chosen people. They still have his hand of protection and a glorious, glorious inheritance. Jesus promised to return to earth one day, and he will reign out of Israel for a thousand years, as well as later establish a New Heaven and a New Earth, of which the New Jerusalem will be the crown jewel.

Satan, as you might imagine, is not happy about this. He has tried to destroy Israel for thousands of years, and in the future, this will not change.

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ² She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. ³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. ⁴ Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.

Revelation 12:1-4a

Let’s pause here. The identity of the pregnant woman in question is none other than the nation of Israel, as evidenced by the twelve stars in her crown, which contains one star for each of Israel’s tribe. The baby she is about to give birth to represents Jesus, as Israel is the nation in which he was born.

As for the identity of the dragon, it is Satan. Not only is he referred to as such later on in the passage, there is also the detail of his tail sweeping a third of the stars from the heavens and sending them cascading to earth, just as Satan brought a third of the angels down with him in his rebellion.

The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.

Revelation 12:4b-5

In this passage, we see Satan attempt to destroy Jesus so his mission to save mankind and rule from Jerusalem as our King cannot be completed. If this sounds familiar, it should be—we read about this in the Gospels!

When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 

Revelation 12:13-14

This passage details events that will happen near the end of days. A vengeful, spiteful Satan, knowing that Jesus is now out of his reach, will pursue Israel with all his might in hopes of utterly destroying it. He wants God’s chosen people gone.

God does not let that happen, though. His hand of protection is over the Israelites, and he is with  them as they escape (possibly via aircraft, as the woman’s wings would seem to suggest) to the place he prepared for them in the wilderness for the last 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation. All those years in the future, he is still going to see them through. Israel is the nation from which Jesus will rule in the New Heaven and New Earth—they aren’t going anywhere.

The Here and Now

As we wait for Jesus to come back, Israel’s very existence in the present-day is a source for much hope. It is an example of God’s faithfulness, serving as a reminder that he will never abandon or forsake us. Why? Because by all rights, Israel should not be here.

In 70 AD, the Roman empire completely conquered Israel, laying waste to Jerusalem and destroying the temple. The Israelites were scattered across the globe, forced to live among other cultures for over a thousand years.

Historically, when a society’s country is conquered and it is forced to disperse across the world, the society dies. The culture fades away. The people naturally assimilate to the practices and beliefs of their new homelands.

However, in a sociological miracle, the Jewish people kept their identity, and that is part of why they were able to join together and reestablish themselves as a nation in 1948. Israel just won’t go away, no matter the odds, no matter the time period, no matter the enemy (and there have been many enemies).

Speaking of enemies, Israel’s reestablishment is also miraculous because of the surrounding situation in which they returned. The surrounding Arab states were not willing to recognize Israeli independence. Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, and others swiftly set out to invade and destroy them. The Israelites were massively outnumbered and surrounded at all sides of their border.

And yet, despite these odds, Israel miraculously (and I mean miraculously) thwarted every single attempt to take them down. This is a miracle on par with Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt or the Israelites claiming the Promised Land from pagan influence in Joshua.

Furthermore, today Israel is thriving! It has a robust economy, booming agriculture, and a technological industry to rival that of Silicon Valley! Talk about God’s provision! Clearly, he has a plan for them that will outlast the end of the world.

Now What?

1. Take Heart in God’s Faithfulness

One thing that will stand out to you if you read about Israel for any length of time is how many times God stuck with them when it would have been far easier to dump them. It is quite a marvel how many times Israel was willing to stray away from the God who had been so good to them, and even more so a marvel that God was never willing to abandon them to destruction.

This principle applies in our lives, too. We mess up a lot. Often times, we don’t feel good enough. We feel weak. We feel too wicked for God to use. But guess what? God is faithful and just even when you are not. God loves you even when you are at your lowest, most sinful point. God is there with you even in the midst of your greatest struggle.

2. Take Heart in Your Inheritance

Throughout history, no nation has suffered as Israel has. No people has suffered quite like the Israelites. It is likely, amidst their constant attacks, punishments, and roadblocks, they wondered if they truly were God’s chosen people. He said he had a plan for them, but there were plenty of times where that was probably pretty hard to believe.

Nevertheless, God delivered them through each of their hardships. They remain his people, and he still has big plans for Israel.

This is encouraging for us too, even if we are Gentiles. Because of this, we can know life’s storms cannot rob us of the joy that is to come. Whatever you are dealing with right now, whether it be a difficult-to-overcome sin, a family conflict, a roadblock in your ministry, a sick loved one, or anything else…never forget the joy that is to come in the New Heaven and the New Earth. God has an awesome plan for you, greater than you could ever imagine or hope.

Today’s article will be continuing our two-part Gospel series that began last week. To read the previous installment on this topic, click here.

Upon understanding the definition of the Gospel and its centrality to our faith, a new doorway of questions is opened up to us, namely these: what is the human response to the Gospel and what are its effects on our lives? After all, if it is such a pivotal part of what we believe (and indeed, it is the foundation of everything we believe), then should it not do great things in our day-to-day lives as believers striving to honor God? Yes, it should, and yes, it absolutely does.

Let’s investigate.

Human Response to the Gospel

An individual, upon receiving the Gospel message, may respond to it either positively or negatively. This means they may either receive it with open arms and joy for the wonderful gift they are about to receive, or they may harden their hearts and choose to reject it. The following paragraphs highlight these responses.

Rejection

God does not instill the Gospel with an irresistible power that overrides the free will of the individual and leaves them with no choice but to accept it. He is, of course, at work in their life behind the scenes, preparing them with the option to respond to the Gospel positively, but ultimately they must choose whether they accept or reject it by their volition.

There is no one reason a person might reject the Gospel, but every reason stems from the hard-hearted idea that they are self-sufficient on their own, in no need of forgiveness or a relationship with God. One person might reject it because they find the story too far-fetched. Another might reject it because it threatens their current lifestyle, and that makes them incredibly uncomfortable. Others might because they choose not to care, content to keep their life where it is without adding in something as life-changing and groundbreaking as Jesus Christ.

The point to remember here is that our response to the Gospel is our choice. In the end, believing it or rejecting it is up to us. God has given us free will. We can choose relationship and abundance with Him—or we can choose a life (and eternity) without him.

Acceptance

While accepting or rejecting the Gospel message is our choice, it is impossible to accept it without the prevenient grace of the Holy Spirit, which, as stated in Anthony’s article on the topic, “is a grace that prepares the soul to effectively hear the Gospel by lessening their spiritual blindness and strengthening their will to knowingly accept or reject revealed truth.”

“No one can come to me [Jesus] unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 6:44

In other words, it is God who makes us aware of our sin, our need for a savior, and the redemption we may find in Jesus Christ. Without him, we would all die a slow, agonizing spiritual death here on earth and then suffer an eternal one in the next life.

Should a person, through the miracle of prevenient grace, accept the Gospel, then there are a few things that would go on before and during their initial response.

Read the words of Christ:

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Mark 7:20-23

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.

John 8:34

The first part of this individual’s response would likely be one of conviction. They would begin to understand just how far down the black depths of their sin go. They would realize they have fallen utterly short of a holy and just God; because of their wickedness, they have disobeyed them, and in so doing they have separated themselves from him. The Gospel would convict them by bringing them to knowledge of their fallen state apart from Jesus.

The second part of their response takes form in a desire for the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the subsequent relationship with God that opens up to them. They see their life now, and as they read about the life of Christ and the purpose/meaning he offers, they see what their life could be. And they want it. This desire culminates in them placing their faith in Christ and beginning a life of following Jesus—something that is entirely their choice, but impossible to do without the work of the Holy Spirit.

Effects of the Gospel

The Gospel message is the lifeblood of our faith. It completely and miraculously transforms the life of the believer in many wonderful and tangible ways. We will start with the most obvious, but nonetheless pivotally important, of these.

Salvation

After hearing the Gospel message and accepting the gift Jesus Christ gave us on the cross, we receive the indescribably and monumentally joy-filling gift of salvation. We are saved from our sins—saved from an eternity separated from God. We are provided with the peace that passes understanding as Jesus lifts the burden of our sin-stained life from our shoulders.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16

This newfound peace and joy changes the way we perceive the world, causing us to cast off our old senses of hopelessness and despair in exchange for life-sustaining purpose and hope.

It Shifts our Morality

Along with the Gospel’s life-sustaining purpose and hope comes a lifelong shift in our conduct and our thoughts. You may have heard of the regeneration and sanctification of the Holy Spirit before. Regeneration happens the instant the believer accepts the Gospel message and places their faith in Christ; in that moment, they become a new creation of God. Sanctification is then  the gradual process in which their behavior becomes more and more aligned with the will of God.

We would also do well not to forget the part the Gospel plays in shaping the believer’s shift to a more God-honoring set of values and behaviors, for within the pages of the four Gospels are God’s instructions on how to live rightly.

It is from the Gospel we learn that we must always, without exception, put God first and honor him with every action we do—every thought on which we dwell…every breath we take.

And he [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.“

Matthew 22:37-38

It is the Gospel encouraging us to treat our neighbors with the love of Christ:

‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Mark 12:31

It instructs us not to lust after worldly treasures:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

It tells us to lower ourselves to servant status so that God’s Kingdom may be spread:

And he [Jesus] sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Mark 9:35

It commands us to leave the judgement of others to God, for we are fallen, sinful creatures unworthy of judging without hypocrisy:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Matthew 7:1-2

These are just a handful of many, many life instructions found in the Gospel. The most amazing part is: the believer, as they progress in their faith, desires more and more to act the way Jesus instructs them to. More and more as God’s love fills them and they continue to follow Christ, they desire to model Jesus—to be as much like him as a human being can be.

Why is this? It’s because the Gospel has yet another powerful effect in the life of the believer.

Joy and Meaning from Mission

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not something we passively receive. It is something we actively live out every day as the Church. At the end of Matthew, Jesus gives us all an important mission.

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20

What you have just read is the life-goal of every Christian, new or old. We must go out and make disciples, growing the Kingdom of God so that as many may enter into eternal community with him as possible.

This great commission gives new purpose and meaning in the life of the believer. It is the lens through which they see the world, so much so that it affects something as mundane as their vocational life. In the past, they may have worked as a carpenter, but now they work as a carpenter for the glory of God! Others, upon seeing their diligent and cheerful work, will perhaps be drawn to them, opening up avenues for discipling relationships. In this same way, a Christ-following college English major may study to the glory of God, showing others there is something different about them and entering into potential discipling relationships as a result. The Gospel, when applied correctly, positively changes every aspect of our life so that it is oriented towards honoring the Lord with all our hearts.

Winding Down…

If you are to take anything away from this two-week study of the Gospel, I hope it is this: the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of everything we do as Christians. We receive from it the hope of salvation, instructions on how to live, and our purpose here on this earth.

There is a reason it has transformed countless lives throughout thousands of years. There is a reason it skyrocketed the Church across the globe two thousand years ago. The Gospel has power. And significance. And hope beyond measure.

Let it transform your life.

Imagine you are going out to lunch with someone God is calling you to disciple or a friend who knows you follow Jesus.

For the first half-hour, things are going great. Your chemistry is more than adequate. Productive conversation is flowing. Your food is even a step above the quality you would expect from a typical diner. Then, out of nowhere, your lunch partner asks you a question.

“So what’s the deal on this whole Gospel thing? Why is it so important?”

Your fork, hallway up its ascent to your mouth, freezes in place. You instantly recognize this as one of those “important questions” to which you absolutely must have a comprehensive, satisfying answer.

Your mind races a bit as you stiffen up, and you begin to stutter out some form of a response. This, you think, is exactly what Peter was talking about when he instructed us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

So far, you are failing in that endeavor. You know deep down why the Gospel is significant, but the task of putting the why into words is proving to be a challenge.  

We have likely all experienced a time where we were tasked with explaining a pivotal concept or doctrine in our faith, only to find it had become such a familiar, second-nature part of our lives that we had a hard time explaining why we believe what we believe.

When it comes to the Gospel and its importance to our faith, this simply cannot happen.

With that said, the purpose of this article is to hone in on a concrete definition of the Gospel as well as explore why it is central to everything we believe and do as Christians.

First Things First

We will not get far in our understanding of the Gospel or our ability to articulate its purpose-giving brilliance to others if we do not know exactly what it is at its core. An algebra teacher cannot teach a mathematical expression he does not understand. A sociologist cannot lecture on a societal ill with which he is unfamiliar. The same principle applies to teaching the Gospel. We must know its definition. Some of you may find this woefully basic, but it is important to grasp walking before one learns to run.

We will start with the literal translation of the word “gospel,” which comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “god-spell,” which means “good story.” That word in turn derives from a Latin word meaning something akin to the phrase “good news.” One verb form of the Latin word even means “to bring or usher in good tidings.”

This makes sense. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, at its core, is the good news of God’s unconditional and grace-instilled love for humanity: it details the story of God sending his fully divine and fully human son Jesus Christ to earth to be the perfect sacrifice for humanity’s sin, taking on God’s wrath in our place and then beating death three days later by rising again and offering all who place their faith in him eternal life.  Just about every Christian of every denomination and every biblical scholar of every background will agree to this. That, however, by no means suggests there is universal agreement on the precise definition of the Gospel.

As it goes with most theological topics, researching “what is the Gospel?” into your Google search bar or even asking biblical scholars and seminary professors will not return to you a unified answer. Now, it is likely none of the answers would contain radically different “good news” stories, but their presentation of the same “good news” story may vary.

The Gospel Coalition, which is a great resource for those researching biblical topics, presents three different viewpoints on the definition of the Gospel, with the major change between them being a difference in emphasis. Some of them emphasize certain elements more than others. Let’s explore this.

One viewpoint, which is tailored to the person receiving the story, focuses on what it means for the individual: we have all sinned against a perfect and altogether just God, and we deserve due punishment for our wickedness—but God so loved us that he sent his son Jesus to die for our transgressions and reconcile humanity with God. Three days later, he rose again, conquering death and offering eternal life to all who follow him.

The next shift in emphasis laser-focuses on Jesus’ story. It details Christ’s mission, his love for humanity, his sacrifice, and his resurrection to paint a vivid picture of who Jesus is and what it means that he would do something of this magnitude for us.

The third notable variance in defining the Gospel focuses on what it means for all of creation. It starts from the fall of humanity in the garden of Eden, which brought forth sin/decay into the world and subsequently launched creation’s descent into brokenness. It climaxes with Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection, which offers humanity salvation and promises eternal life in the New Heaven and New Earth, where creation is made new and freed from the brokenness of sin.

None of these are bad definitions of the Gospel. Their shifts in emphasis can even be practical and useful, depending on the personality of the person you are presenting the Gospel to (as well as the setting you are presenting in).

However, I think there is a way to take the content of each point of view and condense it into a singular, more complete, all-purpose definition and presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We may take the strong call for personal response and conviction of the first, the revelation of Jesus’ Christ perfect love and character in the second, and the effects of the Christ Redemption on a cosmic/eternal scale found in the third viewpoint to compile the following statement:

The Gospel is the story of God’s mission to restore the brokenness of creation, which was brought on by the sin of humanity, through sending his son Jesus Christ to earth as a fully human, fully divine person. This Jesus lived the perfect life no human ever could and then died as the ultimate sacrifice for the wickedness of mankind, taking the fullness of God’s wrath upon him so that whoever places their faith in him does not have to, instead receiving eternal life with God because their sin is no longer held against them. He conquered death three days after by rising again and later returned to the Father. He will one day return to judge evil once and for all, as well as enjoy eternal community with God’s children in a wholly restored and revitalized creation free from sin and death: the New Heaven and the New Earth.

Why Is the Gospel Central to our Faith?

Now we know exactly what is meant by the term “Gospel.” This allows us to have a coherent discussion on why it is central to what we believe and what we do as Christians. In other words, we can now explore why it is the foundation of our faith and, as a result, our lives.

It is the Culmination of God’s Plan to Redeem Us

The events that unfolded in the Gospel were the most important in human history. They are the centerpiece of the entire Bible. They are the culmination of God’s plan to restore the brokenness of creation.

None of this is hyperbole. Starting from the first sin in the Garden of Eden and the chaos that followed shortly thereafter, God put into motion a beautiful plan to bring us back to him through Jesus Christ. We recognize it as the defining moment of the Bible because every major biblical event preceding it is building up to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We see this when God slays an animal to clothe the naked shame of Adam and Eve, pointing to how the slaying of Jesus would cover our shame thousands of years later (Genesis 3:21).

We see this when God makes a covenant with Abraham that he will father a great nation, which will later turn out to be the nation of Israel: God’s chosen people who will be set apart from the rest of civilization by reflecting his love and glory to the rest of the world—the chosen people from whom the Messiah will be born (Genesis 15).

We see this when the book of Leviticus shows the sacrifices and ceremonial laws the Israelites had to undergo in order to address their sin against a holy and just God, demonstrating humanity’s fallen nature and our desperate need for a lasting atonement with our creator.

We see this in the books of first and second Kings and Chronicles, in which Israel demonstrates its need for a divine, perfect Christ-King because its sinful human kings bring them toward dysfunction and death. As these generations of rulers pass by, we see the lineage of David continue to grow, eventually leading to the birth of Christ.

We see this in the books leading to as well as during the Babylonian Exile, where prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Daniel tell of a coming savior who will right all wrongs in the world and atone for the world’s sin.

We even see the centrality of the Gospel after Jesus’ death and resurrection take place. The rest of the Bible is dedicated to the response his atoning sacrifice creates: we see his disciples follow the great commission to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We see the Church of Jesus Christ grow in the book of Acts, and we see Paul and other apostles spread the Gospel across the entire world.

Those are just brief snapshots of the centrality of the Gospel. There are many more. It is intricately woven throughout the biblical story.

The Gospel Leads Us to Salvation

It is because of Jesus’ atoning work in the Gospel that we can have salvation. That is the only way we may be reconciled to God and enjoy a relationship of love and abundance with him. It is because of the Gospel message that we realize we have fallen short of God’s glory, recognize our need for forgiveness, and discover the path to eternal life. Without it, we would still be enemies of God, lost in our wickedness and fleshly desires.

Read what Paul has to say concerning the Gospel and salvation.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…

1 Corinthians 15:4

Without the blood of Jesus as detailed in the Gospel, we would all be lost, with no access to relationship with God and no joyful future to which we could look forward.

The Gospel Drives Us Onward

It doesn’t stop at just hearing the Gospel. It’s not a one-time deal in which you place your faith in what Jesus did and then never stop to think about it again.

It is quite the opposite, actually. The events in the Gospel define the life and actions of the Christ-follower. Upon hearing the indescribably, unfathomably good news of salvation and accepting Christ’s free gift, you are not to just sit back and keep that to yourself. Why would you? An unconditionally loving God has just given you eternal life and a purposeful existence!

The primary goal of the Jesus-follower, then, is to tell others the good news of the Gospel and make disciples. We are to use the unique gifting with which God has lovingly designed us and share with others the same message that changed our own life.

This is not optional, either. It is a command. Look no further than the Gospel itself. I mentioned the Great Commission earlier. Let’s read it in its entirety now.

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20

The Gospel is not just the source of salvation for the Christian; it is the source of mission as well. It is the reason for everything we do as Christians.

A Closing Reflection on God’s Redemptive Love

Yes, the Gospel is what brings us infinite joy. Yes, the Gospel calls us to mission. Those are concepts worth talking about, and furthermore, they are worth cherishing.

But I want to close today by proposing this: the Gospel is the most vivid and powerful glimpse at the glorious love of God we have, and that is as equally important an aspect in its centrality to our faith as all the other reasons are. I suppose nobody, regardless of their theological insight or the depth of their faith, can fully comprehend what it is that has actually occurred in the Gospel story.

I do not mean that we cannot understand what Christ did and how we are to respond to it. That much is clear. I mean I do not think the finite human mind can grasp the boundless act of love that has taken place in the life of Christ.

God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, who exists shrouded in glory outside of time—God, who is beautiful in every way imaginable and unimaginable, capable of holding the whole of the expanding universe in his hands as all its brightly lit galaxies stretch forever onward—is mindful of his lowly, rebellious creation. I am not the first person to wonder at this; even now a famous Psalm of David might come to your mind.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, ⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Psalm 8:3-4

We see this profound observation demonstrated most powerfully in the Gospel. God was not just mindful of us. He wasn’t just aware that we were alive. He, an infinitely glorious and majestic being, came down to us as Jesus Christ in all the confinements of mortality and finitude. He lowered himself to servant status so that he might save the very people who met him with scorn, hate, and derision.

This act of selfless love came to its apex in the crucifixion, where Jesus died to eternally save those who spat upon him. Those who beat him. Those who tortured him relentlessly with smiles on their faces.

I do not know that we even have a category of love to place this in. Likely not, as we (or I, at the very least) do not have the mental faculty to fully process this.

It is just another marvelous mystery about the life-sustaining, purpose-giving God we serve. He is all that is worth living for and fully deserving of our awe. That is yet another lesson the Gospel teaches us.

Princess Diana of Wales has been an inspirational icon to many, both in her life and after her tragic death. She has many heartwarming quotes attributed to her—quotes such as “anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can,” or perhaps “hugs can do a great amount of good—especially for children.”

However, the quote I think of when she is mentioned is her life advice regarding the heart:

“Only do what your heart tells you.“

Princess Diana

Princess Diana is not alone in making this assertion. You have likely heard the advice to “just follow your heart” quite often. It is a well-saturated idea in our culture. Following your heart is a pursuit you are to prize above all else.

Well, biblically speaking…it’s bad advice (with all due respect to the Princess). Scripture tells us our hearts are desperately wicked. Self-serving. Thoroughly instilled with sin.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9

This is bleak news, and it is a drastically different view of humanity than the one the world espouses, but it is the truth. The reason for our depravity is the sin nature that every single human being has, which all stems from original sin.

What Is Original Sin?

Original sin is the idea that all of humanity is born with a proclivity to rebel against the perfect order of God and disobey his commandments because Adam, the first man, brought sin into the world through his own disobedience. This event is known as the Fall.

I like the way GotQuestions, an excellent resource for Christians researching theology, puts it:

[Original sin is] the moral corruption we possess as a consequence of Adam’s sin, resulting in a sinful disposition manifesting itself in habitually sinful behavior.

GotQuestions

Take a look at the origins of original sin in scripture:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” ⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. ⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Genesis 3:1-8

This is an account of the first sin. The fall of man. There is a lot of information and implications about original sin to unpack from what we just read, so let’s dive in! This passage sheds light on original sin because:

It Demonstrates What It Is to Sin

The original sin is a perfect, simple-to-understand picture of what it is to sin: it is to disobey. It is God telling us not to do x or telling us to do y, only for us to do x and not do y. It is spurning a holy, just, and loving God, directly going against his instructions in the same way a teenager goes against his parents’ instructions when he stays out past his curfew or goes to a party to which he was not supposed to go.

Original Sin Brought Death, Decay, and Pain

Before the original sin, there was no death. There was no pain or suffering. Thorns and thistles didn’t even spring from the ground to terrorize rose-garden enthusiasts!

When God initially created the world, it was flawless…and then man sinned. Zoom down to Genesis 3:16-19 and see what happens when God confronts Adam and Eve over their rebellion.

To the woman he [God] said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” ¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. ¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Genesis 3:16-19

As you can see, sin introduced us to dysfunction, suffering, and misery, followed by death. Man could no longer live forever.

Upon reading the previous passage, though, you may wonder how it wasn’t God’s fault all these horrible things entered creation. After all, he does seem to be the one making them happen, doesn’t he? To understand why they are not his fault is to understand why they had to be there.

When people think of God, they often think of only one part of his nature: his love and mercy. Maybe his compassion that led him to send his Son to suffer and die for us. These are wonderful attributes of God’s character, and they are worthy of meditation. However, we also must understand that God is a God of justice, righteousness, and holiness. These are part of the essence of who he is, just like love (in fact, they magnify his love, as you will see later on in this article).

Think about it: why did Jesus have to die for us? The answer is sobering. Sin necessitates death. Romans 6:23 directly informs us that “the wages of sin is death.”

As the righteous and just judge and creator of the universe, God cannot allow sin to go unpunished—that would make him unjust. Furthermore, nothing tainted by wickedness can enjoy relationship with him or rest in his presence because he is utterly, unfathomably, no-words-to-describe-it holy. And good. And full of unmarred beauty.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!

Psalm 96:9

There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

1 Samuel 2:2

It is in his perfectly just nature to punish sin. This is why he gave Eve pain in childbirth. This is why he allowed the ground to be cursed with thorns and thistles. This is why he told Adam and Eve they will one day return to the dust.

Sin necessitates death.

Original Sin Separated Man from God

²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:23-24

It is no inconsequential detail that Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden after the original sin. Their departure from paradise demonstrates how sin separates us from God. Eden was the place in which they physically dwelled with God. We know this from way back in verse eight when God walks through the garden in the cool of the day.

In forcing them to leave, God shows us the relational wedge sin places between him and mankind. This is why we are in need of reconciliation with him in the form of a savior. This is why we feel so far from God when we disobey him. Just as you hurt the bond between yourself and a friend when you wrong them, we hurt the bond between ourselves and God when we wrong him. And all sin is a wrong against him.

Original Sin Unleashed Evil into Humanity

The original sin was much more than just an isolated event. It was a cataclysmic tragedy that set off a domino-effect of human wickedness. When Adam and Eve sinned, humanity became infected with a sin nature. Read what Paul has to say about the sinful nature every human has inherited from Adam.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.

Romans 5:12

Here, we clearly see Paul telling us the origin point of our sinful nature. When Adam, the representative of humanity, sinned against God, he passed on that same rebellious and God-defying inclination to his descendants. Now we are all born into sin, in dire need of a savior so we may have reconciliation with God.

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Psalm 51:5

The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.

Ecclesiastes 9:3

There is a lot more to this idea of inherited sin nature, and we will discuss it more in next week’s article on the transference of original sin.

Original Sin Showed God’s Love

Remember when I said God’s justice and righteousness magnify his love? Here is why.

Reading about the consequences of original sin may leave you feeling down. This is understandable, as it is a lot of bad news. With that said, it isn’t all bad. The original sin, and God’s judgement towards the sin that followed, powerfully demonstrate his loving mercy.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God could have washed his hands clean of them. He could have disowned them and never given them a second thought. He could have annihilated them off the face of the earth and started humanity over again.

Fortunately, he did not do that. He still loved them. He still stuck with them and their equally sinful descendants. As humanity continued to sin, God continued to love us unconditionally. This love culminated in him leaving unspeakable glory to come down to us in the flesh. He made himself the servant of the very people who should be serving him, only to receive contempt and derision in return. Then, he suffered and died for us, acting as the spotless sacrifice for mankind’s sin so we could be made flawless in God’s eyes.

The almighty judge brought our evil to justice through the death of his son. He didn’t want to destroy us. That is indescribable, glorious love.

What Now?

Take sin seriously like God does. Not just some sin, either—take all of it seriously. It is not a small matter. God is a God of love, but he is a God of justice as well, and he absolutely detests evil.

We cannot let sin have even the smallest foothold in our life. As it turns out, the smallest foothold can abominably morph into the largest, most impenetrable stronghold. We need to constantly take stock of our decisions and our lifestyle to ensure that we are living in a way that honors him and follows his commands. Are we watching something that we wouldn’t have been watching when we were first saved? Are we getting lax with our language? Is it on our heart to perform acts of service and work in the harvest field, but we keep ignoring the call?

Maybe you are doing what I like to call sin-settling, which is a middle ground between eradicating a sin from your life and keeping it in. Perhaps now that you’re only looking at inappropriate imagery on your computer once a week, you feel content with where you are. Perhaps you’re only blowing up in anger at your family members a few times a month, now, so you feel that you are all set.

Don’t get me wrong, any progress you make in beating a habitual sin is cause for celebration, but that does not mean the fight is over simply because it now occurs less than it used to.

To take sin seriously, just like every other aspect of your spiritual life, you will need to humbly submit to God in prayer and rely on the Holy Spirit to be successful. Know that your struggle with sin is not unique to you. This is a battle mankind has fought since the original sin. Take heart and keep fighting.