By Rick Liggin
When you look around the world, you can see that there are a lot of really wicked people out there. People who show no desire for God. People, who instead of seeking God, have turned their backs on Him, sometimes denying His very existence. And in an effort to replace God, they have turned their attention to serving other “gods” and every sort of carnal, immoral and selfish pursuit. Of course, this should not surprise us. People like this have been around for ages, and will no doubt be around many years into the future.
The apostle Paul wrote about people such as this: “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and serve the creature rather than the Creator…And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful…” (Romans 1:21-25, 28-31).
Sound like anyone that you have encountered in this life? If you have been out much, then probably. The saddest part about all of this—this sinful rebellious behavior—is that those who practice these things are excluded from the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). The people who live this way, need more than anything else, the salvation that can only be found by coming to Christ and submitting to Him as Lord.
But not all people in the world are this way. It is not all doom and gloom. There are indeed many good people out there. People who believe in God. People who have morals. People who care for and serve others. People who contribute to their society and are positive influences in their communities. People who want to do what’s right, and want to help others do what is right. But for all there goodness, they are, unfortunately, still in the same boat as those who are openly resisting God and pursuing the agenda of the devil. They are lost in sin and in desperate need of salvation!
Salvation is not something that we can earn through good behavior. The reality is that no matter how good we may be we are all still sinners (Romans 3:23). And as a result stand accountable before God. If God were not a God of mercy, we would all receive a punishment in keeping with our sins. But thanks be to God that He is indeed merciful and have extended His grace that we might be saved from our sins (Ephesians 2:1-9). Salvation is indeed a gift from God. And a gift that every man, both the good and the wicked, needed in order to be in a real relationship with God!
One would be hard pressed to find a better person than Cornelius, the Roman centurion of Caesarea Philippi. He was “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually” (Acts 10:2). Here was a man who, not only revered God himself, but had somehow instilled in his family this same respect and honor for God. He used his resourced to help those who were less fortunate and freely gave to those in need. He was a man devoted to regular and sincere prayer. God heard his prayers and answered him in a rather miraculous way! One evening Cornelius “clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, ‘Cornelius!’ And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.’” (Acts 10:3-6). To this, rather simple, command of the Lord, Cornelius responded with immediate obedience. He sent for Peter and anxiously awaited his arrival (Acts 10:7-8). At this point Cornelius has no idea what it is that Peter is going to do or say when he arrives. All he knows is that God instructed him to send for this man, and so whatever his purpose in God’s plan for Cornelius, it must be important. And so he send for Peter.
These actions of this good man clearly demonstrate that he had real faith in God. It was not just an intellectual exercise for Cornelius. He really believed God and obeyed what He instructed him to do. He is indeed a good man: he fears God; has faith in God; prays to God; serves God by serving others. And yet as the rest of the account unfolds, we realize that there was one thing that this good man still lacked. There was something that he needed: Salvation! It was not until after Peter had proclaimed to this good man the message of the gospel, revealing the redeeming work and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that he and his entire household were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 10:34-48). It was at that point that their sins were washed away and they were saved; that they came into a relationship with God.
The account the conversion of Cornelius and his household illustrate many wonderful points, but the one that I would for us to take note of at this time is: Even good men require salvation!
This bulletin is being published for the purpose of encouraging a further study of the Word of God. Editor – Josh Liggin
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