The Sinner’s need of Christ
“When Jesus speaks of the new heart, He means the mind, the life, the whole being, to have a change of heart is to withdraw the affections from the world, and fasten them upon Christ. To have a new heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, and new motives. What is the sign of a new heart? A changed life, there is a daily, hourly dying to selfishness and pride.” MYP 72. Isaiah 1:5, 6 “Why should ye be stricken any more, ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”
“Pride, ambition, deceit, hatred, selfishness, must be cleansed from the heart. With many these evil traits are partially subdued, but not thoroughly uprooted from the heart. Under favourable circumstances they spring up anew and ripen into rebellion against God. Here lies a terrible danger. To spare any sin is to Christ a foe that only awaits an unguarded moment to cause our ruin.” 5T 175.
Man’s Helpless Condition
“Man was originally endowed with noble powers and a well-balanced mind. He was perfect in his being, and in harmony with God. His thoughts were pure, his aims holy. But through disobedience his powers were perverted, and selfishness took the place of love. His nature became so weakened through transgression that it was impossible for him in his own strength, to resist the power of evil. He was made captive by Satan, and would have remained so forever had not God specially interposed.” SC 17:1
“Such is still the condition of the unrenewed heart. It is not in harmony with God, and finds no joy in communion with Him. The sinner could not be happy in God?s presence; he would shrink from the companionship of holy beings? Heaven would be to him a place of torture; he would long to be hidden from Him who is its light, and the center of its joy. It is no arbitrary decree on the part of God that excludes the wicked from heaven. They are shut out by their own unfitness for its companionship. The glory of God would be to them a consuming fire. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them.” SC 17:2
“But in vain are men’s dreams of progress, in vain all efforts for the uplifting of humanity, if they neglect the one Source of hope and help for the fallen race. “Every good gift and every perfect gift? (James 1:17) is from God. There is no true excellence of character apart from Him. And the only way to God is Christ. He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6? SC 21:1.
“Thus was made known to Jacob that which met the need and longing of his soul–a Saviour. With joy and gratitude he saw revealed a way by which he, a sinner, could be restored to communion with God. The mystic ladder of his dream represented Jesus, the only medium of communication between God and man.” SC 19:2.
“Oh, let us contemplate the amazing sacrifice that has been made for us! Let us try to appreciate the labour and energy that Heaven is expending to reclaim the lost, and bring them back to the Father?s house.” SC 21:3.
“Shall we not regard the mercy of God? What more could He do? Let us place ourselves in right relation to Him who has loved us with amazing love. Let us avail ourselves of the means provided for us that we may be transformed into His likeness and be restored to fellowship with the ministering angels, to harmony and communion with the Father and the Son.” SC 22:1.
Leprosy and Sin
“Of all diseases known in the East the leprosy was most dreaded.” DA 262:1
The sinner is like someone with leprosy, with an incurable and contagious character, unless he finds pardon from the Saviour Jesus Christ; who came and redeemed us from the curse of sin and made provision for our salvation. We need Jesus in our life, Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Job 14:4 says, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one;” so a sinner cannot make himself whole, without Jesus we are like dry bones.
“The work of Christ in cleansing the leper from his terrible disease is an illustration of His work in cleansing the soul from sin. The man who came to Jesus was “full of leprosy.” Its deadly poison permeated his whole body. The disciples sought to prevent their Master from touching him; for he who touched a leper became himself unclean. But in laying His hand upon the leper, Jesus received no defilement. His touch imparted life-giving power. The leprosy was cleansed. Thus it is with the leprosy of sin,–deep-rooted deadly, and impossible to be cleansed by human power? But Jesus, coming to dwell in humanity, receives no pollution. His presence has healing virtue for the sinner? It is His will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life. Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.?” DA 266
“Thou Canst Make Me Clean”
“Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” Jesus replied, “I will; be thou made clean,” and laid His hand upon him.” DA 263. We long for the purity, the righteousness, to which in himself he was powerless to attain. “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Romans 7:24 To all, there is but one answer, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. “To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest.” DA 528
In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, undenied. “He that hath the Son hath life.” 1 John 5:12. Let us acknowledge our sins and seek for Christ. “And the same power that gave life to the body had renewed the heart. He who at the creation “spake, and it was,” who “commanded, and it stood fast,” (Ps. 33:9) had spoken life to soul dead in trespasses and sins. The healing of the body was an evidence of the power that had renewed the heart.” DA 269-270
May the Lord open our eyes and our minds to enable us to feel our guilt and turn to the Lord for eternal salvation.
AMEN.
Anthony Cedric Adjei, Ghana
E-mail [email protected]