What’s wrong with the world? 

 

It’s no secret that we live in an imperfect and broken world. Every day people’s lives are lost to accidents, terminal illness, and other diseases. We see children go hungry and countries wage war and destruction. Brothers turn against one another; children are parentless and hungry. It seems the destruction of society, racism, hatred, and poverty is everywhere we look. 

 

So what do all these things have in common?

 

You may have heard of a term called sin or original sin. A sin is an immoral act against the divine law of God. (God gave his law in the form of the 10 commandments in Exodus 20 but there are other laws in the bible)  Sin is often referred to as evil. It is not hard to see that there is sin and evil in the world. As Christians we believe that God created the world, (Gen 1) he created all things including man. Adam the first man and his wife Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2-3) because of this sin against God they introduced sin into the world (original sin) and were separated from God. 

 

Because of the original sin, sin and evil are now in the world (referred to as “the fall”) and in every living thing, and in every human. As Christians, we believe every man has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) Evil is the absence of all things good. 

 

We see and recognize the evil in the world and the evil in ourselves but what happens when we try to fix it? Sometimes we can, there are non-profit organizations, self-help programs, and medicine, these things sometimes work...for a time. But the problem is all these things are temporary. We stop one war and another begins, we extend a person’s life through medicine but they are still in pain. We try our hardest to be kind, good, and happy but for some reason, nothing is fulfilling, nothing permanently makes you happy, nothing satisfies. This is where the permanent solution, the ultimate happiness, and the eternal satisfaction comes in. 

 

Is there hope? 

 

There is good news. The good news of the Gospel. The Gospel is God’s promise and fulfillment of forgiveness and the ultimate removal of the sin of mankind. God sent his son Jesus Christ to live the perfect sinless life we can not live. Paying our debts and covering our sins in the eyes of God with his shed blood. By dying on the cross and rising from the dead three days later Jesus paid the price for the sins of the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ( John 3:16) Jesus gave us perfect righteousness and he covers all our sins. As Christians, we believe Jesus will return. (Often referred to as the Second Coming ) We will be resurrected and given new bodies, the earth will be made new and there will be no more sin, evil, or darkness. We will live eternally in heaven on a new earth with Christ in perfect happiness. (Revelation 1:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, John 14:3, Titus 1:2, Revelation 21:4-6) 

 

But how do we receive salvation or eternal life? 

 

Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, to cover you and make you blameless in the eyes of God you only have to believe in his perfect righteousness and an act of atonement of the cross for you proclaiming Jesus is Lord. When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior you receive the new life Christ offers you. As evangelical Christians, we believe there is nothing you do to “earn” your salvation. (Ephesians 1:3-6) In fact, all your “good works” are seen as dirty rags in the eyes of God (Isaiah 64:6). 

 

 

If you are interested in hearing more about the Gospel or learning what it means to become a Christain we encourage you to attend our church service on Sunday at the River Woods Outreach Church in DRW or contact our head pastor Doug Raley. 

 

 

 

Videos that might be helpful

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Other Common Questions about Christianity 

 

Did God create evil?

 

No. God did not create evil. We believe evil is the lack or absence of good. Everything apart from God and his perfect righteousness is evil. God hates sin Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 6:16-19, 1 John 4-8) To read more visit here

 

Where do good works belong if not to earn us favor with God? 

 

Good works are prepared for us beforehand for us to walk in them. ( Ephesians 2:10)  Until Jesus returns we still sin in our earthy body (often referred to as the “flesh”) and our good works look like dirty rags to him. Isaiah 64:6 God uses us to do good works through us for others. So our good works are NOT the cause of salvation instead they are the result of it. When you accept Jesus as your Lord and savior he gives you the desire to honor and please him. He also gives you the ability to do so, as Christians we still sin and need Jesus every day. Good works are not done to earn glory with God but for others our “neighbor” as a result of salvation, from a desire placed in our heart by Christ, which ultimately will glorify God, but not because of something we did. 

 

Why do bad things happen to good people? 

 

It’s a hard concept to grasp as there is so much pain and suffering in the world but like we touched on before because there is sin and evil in the world people are going to have pain and suffering. But as Christians we don’t believe anyone is good (except for Jesus)  we don’t “deserve” anything we are not entitled to anything good in fact because of our sin we deserve damnation but because of Christ, we are saved. Being a Christian doesn’t prevent this either. Being a Christian doesn’t mean that God will give wealth, health, and prosperity. In fact, in many cases, it’s the opposite. God says because we are Christians we will suffer for our beliefs and faith. (2 Timothy 3:12) Christain doesn’t view death for other Christians as a bad thing. We look forward to eternal life with Jesus in heaven where he will take away all pain and suffering and the trials we endure on this earth are temporary on the timeline of eternity with Christ. 

 

What is the trinity?

 

The trinity is the understanding that God the Father Jesus the Son and The Holy Ghost are three separate entities and all one at the same time.