MANKIND'S GREATEST PROBLEM

Watching the news, reading newspapers, or simply listening to people discuss "the state of the world," one realizes that life on our planet is extremely fragile. We are bombarded with news of wars, atrocities (such as ethnic cleansing), famines, diseases; "acts of nature" (such as weather related disasters and earthquakes); and man-made disasters (such as abortion, lawlessness, and global warming). Is it any wonder that, according to "How to Get Anxiety Medication" by Heather Grenier, approximately forty million Americans, eighteen or older, suffer from an anxiety disorder?

What is worse is that all of those sources of anxiety are like the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to the problems of mankind! Lying "beneath the surface" is a danger which dwarfs all of those stressors combined! Each of us has a "death sentence hanging over our heads." The inevitable is going to happen, and then the "rest of the iceberg" is going to be revealed: we must face God. We will discover that in the eyes of God, man is totally depraved, and he is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; Eph. 2:1-3, 12).

But I have good news! While in this life we cannot escape life's difficulties, there is a way to escape man's greatest threat of the eternal damnation of God's righteous judgment. Not only is there a way, it is the only way (Jn. 14:6). Man must accept the free gift of salvation offered by God Himself. Yes, salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace. It can be received by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Jn. 1:12; 19:30; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet.1:18-19). Man simply needs to trust Him.

When a person accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord, unfortunately, he does not become perfect. Every saved person still possesses two natures. But even so, God has made provision for the victory of man's new nature over his old nature, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:13; 7:1-23; 8:12-13; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10; 1 Pet. 1:14-16; 1 Jn. 3:5-9).

The redeemed man will often fail in his effort to live a righteous life, but God has provided even for that (1 Jn. 1:9)! And the good news doesn't end with our salvation; once we are saved, we are kept by God's power, and we are secure in Christ forever (Jn. 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:5). Born again believers can rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word. However, God clearly forbids our use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).

Praise God, mankind's greatest problem has a solution which is available to any and all who will simply trust Him and His "Solution": Jesus Christ!