One of the greatest threats facing us today is the emergence of stubborn ‘superbugs’ that are proving increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Indiscriminate over-prescription of antibiotics has caused some of these bacteria to mutate so that previously prescribed remedies are no longer effective. Hygiene regimes need to be more stringent if this serious problem is to be addressed adequately and alternatives to antibiotics are being researched. C-Difficile and MRSA are commonly known, quite widespread and feared to the extent that many dread a prolonged stay in hospital.
How they remind us of the even more lethal virus of sin with its universal impact on the souls and lives of humanity. It has targeted and touched every person without exception; there is no one anywhere who has not been affected and infected by its toxic power. To say that it is life-threatening is a huge understatement as it has not merely temporal consequences but also eternal results. It affects our present circumstances and impacts on our eternal well-being. Its effects are seen on every hand, in every strata of society, in all lands, among all peoples. Every part of creation has been affected and the evidence is overwhelming. Hospitals, asylums, cemeteries; the need for doctors, nurses, surgeons and therapists of all kinds, all attest to the disastrous consequences of the problem of sin which simply cannot be ignored. Sin has blighted lives, blackened characters, broken hearts and barred sinners from heaven. John Newton, who knew much of sin’s power and thraldom prior to his conversion, wrote so convincingly:
The worst of all diseases is light compared to sin,
On every part it seizes, but rages most within;
‘Tis palsy, dropsy, fever and madness all combined,
And none but a believer the least relief can find.
The Scriptures are unequivocal on this issue as it is too serious for mere speculation and philosophical debate. "… for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3.22,23. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" Romans 5.12.
Is there a cure; is there hope? Thank God, the Bible presents to us a wholly effective remedy that is tried and trusted and has brought blessed relief to many millions who have known the transforming power and blessing of salvation. There is only one remedy but it is so potent that it works on every occasion and has never been known to fail. The apostle John describes it in these lovely words, "… and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" 1John 1.7. God’s only Son came to earth to deal with the chronic problem of sin and at Calvary, He bore its fearful penalty and by His death has secured deliverance from sin’s consequences for all who will trust Him and depend alone upon the value and virtue of His sin-atoning sacrifice.
Like all remedies, its success depends upon you taking it; hearing about it, knowing about it is not enough; you must take it and so you must trust Christ to experience the blessings and benefits of salvation now, and be in heaven forever. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved …" Acts 16.31.
An Assembly Testimony Article. Reproduced by kind permission.
For more information visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk
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