Freedom to Choose
by Bob George
In 1923 a very important meeting was held in the Edgewater Hotel in Chicago. Attending this meeting were nine of the world’s most successful men; at least, they were men who had found the secret of “making money”.
Let’s see what happened to these men 25 years later. The president of the largest independent steel company, Charles Schwab, died in bankruptcy and lived on borrowed money for five years before his death. The president of the greatest utility company, Samuel Insull, died a fugitive from justice and penniless in a foreign land. The president of the largest gas company, Howard Hopson, lost his sanity. The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cotton, died abroad insolvent. The president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was released from Sing Sing Penitentiary. The member of the President’s cabinet, Albert Fall, was pardoned so he could die at home. The greatest “bear” on Wall Street, Jesse Livermore, died, a suicide. The head of the greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger, died, a suicide. The president of the Bank of International Settlements, Leon Frazier, died, a suicide. All these men chose to learn the art of making a living, but none of them chose HOW TO LIVE!
Man is continually seeking a life of freedom and happiness through various means. Trying to find meaning and purpose for their lives, many people turn to financial success, friends, social status, marriage and children, education, approval of others, sexual encounters, occupation, and profession. However, many people have had all these things and still have not found fulfillment in their lives.
Could it be that man has been looking in all the wrong places?
Man’s #1 Problem: Man is spiritually dead and in need of life.
God created Adam and said to him, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” God gave Adam the choice to either remain dependent on Him for life, or to become independent from Him which is spiritual death. Wanting to become like God, Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and that day he died spiritually. Each of us are born into this world in the likeness of Adam. Sin and death has been passed on to every human being.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men because all sinned… (Romans 5:12)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins… (Ephesians 2:11)
Our spiritual death (separation from God) is why we ask the questions, “Who am I? Why am I here?, Where am I going?”
Pascal said: “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man that cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”
St. Augustine said: “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”
From God’s vantage point, the problem of man is not just that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness; his greater problem is that he is dead and in need of life.
God’s Solution: God has provided life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
For God so loved the world, (__insert your name__), that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)
I Am the Resurrection and the life! He who believes in Me, though he were dead, will live; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25 KJV)
Therefore. . .
Salvation is being saved from the wages of sin (death) by the gift of God (life).
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in our transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4,5)
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His name. (John 20:31)
However. . .
Before Life Could be Given, Sins Had to be Forgiven (Taken Away).
- Only God can forgive sins.
Who can forgive sins but God alone? (Mark 2:7)
- God became a man.
…Christ Jesus, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing… And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8)
- He died in our place.
But God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
He is the sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)
- He is the final sacrifice for our sins.
…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22)
Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. (Hebrews 10:17,18)
- He took away our sins.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the One who would turn aside His wrath, taking away our sins. (1 John 4:10)
The Good News of the Gospel – “It is Finished!”
Be reconciled to God.
God’s part: All this is from God, who… was reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting men’s sins against them. (2 Corinthians 5:18,19)
Man’s part: We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20,21)
Because we were saved by His life, the cross was not an end in itself, but a means of accomplishing the end – that of restoring life that had been lost through sin.
Once you were alienated from God and enemies in your mind because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free of accusation… (Colossians 1:21,22)
For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life. (Romans 5:10)
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. (Hebrews 9:28)
In Him You Are a New Creation.
Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
In Him you are complete.
For in Christ all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete.. (Colossians 2:9,10)
In Him there is now no condemnation.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1,2)
In Him we have forgiveness.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of His grace. (Ephesians 1:7)
*In Christ you don’t get forgiven, you are forgiven.*
Our Decision: To turn from our unbelief and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our life.
For me to live is Christ… (Philippians 1:21)
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Salvation is by faith.
For by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Salvation is crossing over from death to life.
To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. (John 3:36)
I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24)
Question: Is there any reason why you would not be willing to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?
Receiving Christ involves man repenting of his sins and of unbelief and turning to God and His provision in the person of Jesus Christ. It is trusting Christ for His forgiveness at the cross, and His promise of new life to all who believe.
The Following is a Suggested Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. Thank you for offering me Your life. I now ask You to come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take control of my life and make me the new creation You want me to be. I thank You for coming into my heart and giving me eternal life.
*If you prayed this prayer, the Living Christ has come to dwell within you forever, and you have become that which you were created to be — in Him, a child of God.
…God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Approved – D
abbygirl
Article URL : https://bobgeorge.net/books-by-bob-george/born-free/