31052 Sin That Has Destroyed Humanity

If you have read the article, “God and You“, you may be wondering why there are death, evil, destruction, and poverty in the world if God is good and His creation perfect.

Despite His holiness, goodness, and love, we, the human race, distrust God and have chosen our own way rather than God’s way. We have turned our backs on God and broken off our relationships with Him. The point is made crystal clear in the story of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament.

Adam and Eve were created in a perfect place. They received everything overabundantly. They were in charge of the perfect world. “Then the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.’” (Genesis 2:16–17). Instead of trusting God, they took the fruit and ate it.

We may cry out to God in times of need and distress, but for the most part, we go about our life without any regard for Him. When we see evil in the world or experience hardship in our life, we often blame God even though we have had nothing to do with Him.

We are afraid of submitting to our Creator who created us in His own image. We would rather fashion a god in our own image.

We don’t want God to reign over us. We want God to serve us and make us happy. We really want a powerful servant rather than the Almighty Ruler.

Our human nature that disregards God for who He is and rejects Him as our Lord and King is what the Bible calls sin. As a result, the human fellowship with God is severed and broken. The creature has turned its back on the Creator. Children have disrespected their Father. Subjects have committed treason against their King. We have made God our enemy. We are separated from God who is life, light, and love.

The result is all around us: death, darkness, discord, desolation, and destruction. We are fundamentally broken and unhealthy, no longer whole and complete.

Penalty of Sin

Because He is our Creator, God alone has the authority to reign over us and to direct us.

Because God is righteous and just, there is also a penalty for sin—a penalty for our rebellion against His Authority.

“For when you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 1:17).

“The penalty of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

When our souls, the immaterial part of us, are separated from our bodies, our physical bodies die. Similarly, our spirits are separated from God and are dead in sin.

So, we are dead spiritually, and physical death rules our world.

In this world of sinful humanity, death is inevitable. In fact, it is a “natural” part of our life. Death ends it all.

The Bible also teaches us that there will be a judgment of all humanity one day. As the 20-century British scholar, C.S. Lewis put it, “there are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’”

Those who choose self-will over God’s will shall be eternally separated from Him. This is the ultimate death. The Bible calls it the second death. Those who choose to submit to His will shall spend eternity in His presence. This is eternal life—that we know God and are in fellowship with Him as we are originally created to be.

God’s Solution to Sin

If God is good, we cannot blame Him for the evil we do in our world.

Even if we acknowledge God and His authority over us, that does not excuse us from the “crime” of rebellion we have already committed. The admission of guilt does not mean pardon for the crime.

As the Creator, Ruler (King), and Father, God alone has the authority to decide what to do with us for our sins. He has given us the Good News.

48005.1 I Have Not Invited Jesus into My Life

You disagree. You have never invited Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior.

If you would like to submit yourself under the rule and authority of Jesus as your Lord and to believe in Him that He alone is your Savior from all of your sins, we encourage you to make that decision now.

God already knows your heart, but it is good to voice your decision and express your commitment to Jesus. You can say to Him something like this:

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for all my sins—past, present, and future. Thank you for giving me eternal life, which you made possible by your death and resurrection. I receive you as my Savior by faith, and desire you to be Lord of my life.”

But remember, it’s not the words you say but the attitude of your heart that is important.

I am not ready

You acknowledge that Jesus is the only way back to God. You also believe that Jesus died for your sins and that you can experience God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus.

But you feel you are not ready to turn your life over to Jesus.

If so, we encourage you to find out why you feel you are not ready. What is holding you back from trusting Jesus with your life?

Remember, God is love. God is absolutely good. He is life and also light. Those who are in fellowship with God have everything!

Jesus wants to be your Lord and desires you to be in fellowship (relationship of love and trust) with God because He loves you.

Learn more about God’s unconditional love for you to “Accept God’s Love.”

48005.2 I Am Not Sure about Inviting Jesus into My Life

I am not ready

You acknowledge that Jesus is the only way back to God. You also believe that Jesus died for your sins and that you can experience God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus.

But you feel you are not ready to turn your life over to Jesus.

If so, we encourage you to find out why you feel you are not ready. What is holding you back from trusting Jesus with your life?

Remember, God is love. God is absolutely good. He is life and also light. Those who are in fellowship with God have everything!

Jesus wants to be your Lord and desires you to be in fellowship (relationship of love and trust) with God because He loves you.

Learn more about God’s unconditional love for you to “Accept God’s Love.”

I think I’m a Christian

Perhaps, you grew up in a Christian home or a church community and always thought you are a Christian because of the people around you.

True Christians are dwelt by the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is in them (John 17:22–23).

From this truth that Jesus is in believers, we use the expression, “inviting Jesus into our life as Lord and Savior”, to mean the beginning of new life in Christ.

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them. (Ephesians 2:8–10)

Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

You become Christian by the grace of God through faith in Him, confessing that Jesus is Lord, and believing in Him as your Savior.

This act of believing and confessing together is repentance—turning away from your self-directed life to God’s way of life under His rule and authority.

If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you belong to Him. He is in you.

For you, the best place to continue your spiritual journey is The Adventure of Living with Jesus. This study will help you understand better your relationship with Jesus. If you faithfully practice what you learn in this study, you will begin to live an abundant life Jesus promised.

48006.1 I Am Not Filled with the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the most important Person in our Christian life.

The Holy Spirit has been sent to every Christian. True Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who guides them into all truth.

Even Jesus who was fully God (100% divine) lived as fully man (100% human) and was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1). Jesus performed all the miracles not as God but as a human being filled with the Holy Spirit.

This is why He said: “I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

As Jesus returned to the Father, the Holy Spirit came to be with His people (believers in Jesus) forever.

It is through the Holy Spirit in us that God performs His miraculous deeds that are even greater than what Jesus did. In fact, it is impossible for Christians to live the abundant life Jesus promised apart from the Holy Spirit.

Many Christians try to live a new life in Christ in their own strength and are frustrated by their powerless lives. To live a Christian life in our own strength and effort is the work of the flesh. Jesus says: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63). Christians can live a life worthy of God’s calling only by the Holy Spirit.

Be Filled with the Spirit

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is God’s command. He likens it to being drunk with wine. Just as alcohol can influence and control you when you are drunk, you are rather to be guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not automatic but a decision of faith Christians must make moment by moment.

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit as a way of life, you will naturally bear the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—because you abide in Christ. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. We who remain in Jesus—and Jesus in us—bear much fruit, because apart from Him we can accomplish nothing (John 14:5).

Learn “How to Be Filled with the Spirit” and practice the fullness of the Spirit in your daily life.

48007.1 Why God Wants You to Grow

If you are a Christian, you have, no doubt, been repeatedly encouraged to grow in your faith and relationship with God. But have you ever considered why Christian growth is so important?

It is emphasized as if it were an “end” — the ultimate goal for a believer. But growth is really a means to an end.

For example, consider physical, mental, and emotional development. When children don’t develop normally, they are unable to experience many of life’s opportunities. Their potential is diminished because of their physical, mental, or emotional limitations. And they may not even realize what they are missing!

The same is true with regard to spiritual development. God has created every person to experience an intimate relationship with Him and to fulfill His eternal purposes. And yet underdevelopment will keep us from this full experience. There are things only spiritually mature believers in Christ can experience.

God desires your growth so that you can realize all that God has for you and fulfill His eternal purposes. Your Christian growth honors and glorifies Him. That is why you want to grow in Christ.

Purposeful Living

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

Just think, the Ruler of the Universe created you for a specific purpose!

He designed you with specific abilities. He placed you in a particular family and environment. All so He can accomplish what He has planned for you.

The King of the Universe has a plan for your life — a plan resulting in eternal significance — a plan that will bring Him great glory. But it requires your spiritual development.

With the fullness of the Holy Spirit, you can have a glorious destiny. But it involves growth.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19, NIV)

Ask God to open your eyes to the realities of what He has planned for you. As you gain increasing glimpses of your new potential as a new creation in Christ, you will become more willing to let go of those things that prevent you from experiencing the abundance He has available for you.

God has a wonderful plan for your life. Will you pursue Him and His purposes?

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” (Ephesians 4:17, NIV)

It’s Your Future!

Are you willing to embrace the future God has designed for you? If so, commit yourself to a lifestyle of discipleship and keep in step with the Holy Spirit for Christian growth.

Here is the starting point of your journey with the JO App. Select the title below to start!

48008.1 Why It Is Important to Help Others Grow Spiritually

God wants you to grow so that you can realize the full potential of your new life in Christ and fulfill God’s purposes for your life.

One aspect of your relationship with God is to help others grow spiritually. God wants you to be His junior partner in helping others realize their full potential as new creations in Christ and fulfill His purposes for their life!

In fact, others will be helping you grow in your relationship with God as well.

God directs us to encourage, instruct, and spur one another toward spiritual maturity. The New Testament is full of “one another” commandments.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (Colossians 3:16)

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Encourage, Instruct, and Spur One Another

The Church does not thrive on a few spiritual superstars. The Scriptural passages above call everyone into the foundational work of building each other up. It is not solely the church leaders’ work to help Christians grow spiritually. In the Church, everyone encourages, teaches, and motivates one another, and should do so with the warmth and equality of teammates. No one in a congregation is more important than another, but everyone shares the important responsibility of encouraging.

It is important to help others grow spiritually because Christian discipleship requires teamwork among Christians with the Holy Spirit as the Master Teacher.

As the Holy Spirit impresses upon you the importance of helping others grow, we encourage you to become actively involved in a local fellowship of believers and to obey the “one another” commandments of the Lord.

Select the title below to start your discipleship journey.

48009.1 Why We Introduce Others to Jesus

You have the amazing privilege and responsibility of telling others about who Jesus is and what He has done for all of us!

What is the most important thing that has ever happened to you? If you are a Christian, it was when you decided to receive Christ into your life as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life!

Your sins are forgiven. You are born again as a new creation. God is now your heavenly Father. Jesus is the Lord of your life. The Holy Spirit empowers you to live fully an abundant new life Jesus promised. Your life has a direction. You are here for God’s purposes.

This is good news to share with others!

In Acts 1:8 Jesus said: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (NLT). These verses are for all believers!

A witness is someone who tells what he or she has personally experienced. To be a witness of Jesus is to tell others about your own experience of who Jesus is and what He has done for you.

You are a unique person with a sphere of influence no one else has. As you ask the Holy Spirit to direct you, you will find opportunities to witness everywhere!

Peter wrote these words in the New Testament: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV).

People are searching for answers to their problems in life. Whenever they tell you about their problems, they are looking for solutions. We have found the answer in Jesus Christ!

Jesus sent out His disciples with the message of the Gospel, saying “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give” (Mark 10:7-8).

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2)

God is sending us to go into His harvest field. We don’t have to wait for people to come to us.

When you are led by the Holy Spirit, you can expect to share with the right persons and see His power work in their lives.

The great evangelist Bill Bright once said: “Successful witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.”

You needed Jesus. So do your friends and loved ones. The world needs Jesus.

Continue your spiritual journey by selecting the title below.

48010.1 Why Making Disciples

Disciples are students who closely follow and learn from their master to become like him.

Every Christian is a disciple of Jesus. We devotedly love and closely follow Jesus our Lord and Savior, learning from our Master to become more like Him (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2).

Jesus’ final words to his followers were: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

We make disciples because God commands us to do so.

Making disciples involves helping others on their spiritual journey. It begins with those who don’t know Jesus and His love for them. So, loving them well and sharing your faith is an integral part of disciple-making. The process continues when they become Christian. Helping them grow in their relationships with God is also an important aspect of disciple-making.

By making disciples, we are helping others become who they are designed to be and fulfill God’s unique purposes for their life.

God’s Call to Good Works

Ephesians 2:10 states: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” These good works flow out of his love poured out into us. Jesus-followers scattered across the globe (the Church) are meant to embody the love for God and love for others not only individually but also as a community. In fact, to do good works means to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-40; John 13:34-35).

Before we can do these good works, we first have to embrace that the Church is God’s handiwork. It’s His. He made it. It is good. It was made for a purpose. The corruption of sin can certainly distort or even obscure how the Church reflects who God is, but even the worst soiling of sin can itself become an opportunity for the transforming power of the Gospel to shine forth. We the Church are God’s handiwork and we’re created to do good works!

We as the Church do the good work of loving God when we worship Him, obey Him, depend on Him, and testify to His greatness through our collective words and actions. Something amazing happens when the Church is united in love for God. As is explained in Ephesians, “And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). We become a place where we and others can experience God’s presence!

From Generation to Generation

Two thousand years ago, Jesus rose from the dead, conquering sin and death. There was forgiveness, healing, and restoration. There was new life and new creation in Christ. God’s grace and truth turned the world upside down.

This good news fully revived and overflowed from those who first heard it. So much so, that disciples who had been paralyzed with grief and crumbled expectations suddenly didn’t care if the political powers that be killed them! They were preaching in the streets, healing the sick, selling their possessions, and giving away money—advancing this good news simply mattered more than anything else in life (Acts 2) because the risen Lord was with them through the Holy Spirit. The scared-then-unreasonably-bold followers of Jesus together—as a group—answered God’s call to love God and love their neighbors as themselves.

Because of their good works, the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread throughout the world over the years. Today, if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, that is because believers who came before you were faithfully obedient to their call to good works (of loving God and loving others).

When you make disciples, you are continuing the work the Lord Jesus began with His twelve disciples and making it possible for the next generation to experience the amazing love of God and peace and freedom in Christ.

The next phase of your spiritual journey begins by asking the Lord to lead you to a few individuals whom you can disciple. Then lead them through “The Adventure of Living with Jesus” study.

This foundational study will help lay a solid foundation for their relationships with Jesus.

Contact Us

We can also help you! Our JO App ministry team is available to train and coach you as you disciple others. Contact us via the “Community” message system in this app. You can access “Community” from the main menu.

31053 The Good News

For four hundred years, the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt.

Can you remember your family history over four hundred years?

Their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents—as long as they could remember, they were slaves. The people of Israel knew no other life than the life of slavery.

But the truth is that they were God’s chosen people. At first, they came to Egypt as honored guests. They were a family of Joseph who had become the second most powerful man in the Egyptian Empire.

The history of the people of Israel tells us the story of humanity, our story.

We don’t remember our true heritage and true identity as members of the family that was designed to live in the two realms and manage this world with God. We don’t remember the glory of the original creation because it was so long ago. Humanity has been slaves to sin and death for most of its recorded history.

The consequences of our sins are all around us. We suffer and cry out for help and temporary relief in life.

At the root of all of our problems in life is our sin, that is, our rebellious nature against God. For our crime against the Supreme Authority, we have been sentenced to death—permanent separation from God.

God Answers Our Cries

Just as God heard the cries of the people of Israel under bondage in Egypt, God hears our cries under the bondage of sin and death.

His answer is…Jesus.

Just as God through Moses led the people of Israel out from Egypt to the Promised Land, Jesus leads us from slavery under sin to freedom in life.

God does not require us to become good enough. It is impossible.

God asks us to trust Him and His solution, Jesus Christ.

Instead of trying to figure out yourself, to work your way out from under the power of sin and death, God wants you to turn your life completely over to Him. He wants you to trust Jesus as your Lord (King and Master) and believe in Him to be the Savior of your life from sin and death.

It’s like the people of Israel trusting Moses and following him into the wilderness under his leadership. God wants you to trust Jesus as the leader of your life and bring yourself fully under His rule and authority.

Through this act of faith, God will consider you righteous (right with God), forgiving all of your sins. Not only that but because of the resurrection of Jesus, you will also be spiritually born again to a new life in Christ!

God’s solution to our sinful nature is death through Christ and rebirth through Christ. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you are no longer your old self. You are a new creation in Christ. You are not a better version of your old self. You are recreated as new!

The most notable difference is that the Holy Spirit dwells in you when you trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. In the deepest part of you, you are united with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit now can guide and empower you to live the abundant life Jesus promises.

2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 2:5 even though we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved! — 2:6 and he raised us up together with him and seated us together with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 2:7 to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 2:8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 2:9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast. 2:10 For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)

This is good news!