If It's True of the Lesser, It's Certainly True of the Greater

Most sane people believe the following things concerning the governance of society:

1. There should be an authority that governs over people.

2. That authority should be moral, good, just, etc.

3. That authority should create right and just laws for people to live by - laws that, when followed, will help us all live in peace.

4. If any of those right and just laws are broken, the violator needs to be punished.

5. The punishment should fit the crime.

6. The punishment is not an act of evil. It serves to bring justice and it serves to protect the rest of society. Therefore, the punishment is just and right.

7. If there were no law, or, if justice were ignored when a law was broken, chaos would ensue.

8. Sometimes the crime is so extensive that the only proper, just reaction is to banish that person for the remainder of his existence from the rest of society - to protect society AND to maintain justice.

If we believe these things are true in the civil realm, why do so many people assume they are not true for the moral/spiritual realm? In other words, if that is how we expect our earthly authority to act, why do we not expect our divine authority to act in the same way?

The truth is ...

1. There is one, true God who is the authority over all mankind.

2. He is good, moral, just, etc.

3. He has created right and just laws for us to live by - laws that, when followed, will help us all live in peace.

4. If anyone of us violates His law, we need to be punished.

5. The punishment God dispenses will fit the crime.

6. The punishment is not evil. It serves to bring justice and it serves to protect others.

7. If God had not given us a law, chaos would ensue. Everyone would do what is right in his own eyes.

8. To violate God's laws - any of them - is an extremely horrendous act. To dishonor God by breaking the moral and spiritual laws he has instituted is an evil act that deserves the death penalty. We deserve to be banished in an isolated place for the rest of our existence.

But, the truth is ...

God loved his creation so much, that instead of immediately punishing them and giving them the due penalty of their actions, he sent his own Son, Jesus Christ, to receive the punishment we deserve. This is why Jesus died on the cross.

The truth is ...

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24).

Amazing. The only requirement for escaping the judgment we deserve for breaking God's laws is belief. You just have to sincerely believe that Jesus' words are the truth. I pray you believe and receive God's free gift of love, expressed perfectly in Jesus Christ.