What’s Wrong? (Daily Encouragement Series)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. – 1 Peter 2:24
I often hear people say “what is wrong with the world” when they are frustrated by something they see, something that happens to them, a person, the news etc. Last night in our Alpha group, we watched a teaching that not only explains what is wrong with the world (and us), but also the solution for it.
The Problem – All people are made in the image of God and have extraordinary dignity, value and worth and all are capable of producing unbelievable beauty. At the same time, all also are capable and producing unimaginable brokenness and hurt. We have sayings like “nobody’s perfect” or “we all make mistakes” – which is absolutely true. The Bible calls this sin and the problem is that it creates brokenness in the world that we all experience (what is wrong with the world). The teaching helpfully showed the impact of sin:
Pollution – sin pollutes our lives and our hearts. It “darkens” so we don’t rightly see, feel or experience life as we ought.
Poison – sin spoils our relationships with others and God. Like fruit spoiling, our relationships disintegrate over time
Powerful – sin is addictive and everyone who sins is enslaved to it.
Partition – sin creates a barrier and separation between us and others as well as God.
The Solution – the good news of the Gospel is that God did not leave us in our sin. He loves us and came to earth in the form of his Son to die for our sin and grant forgiveness. 1 Peter 2:24 says “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” The solution to our sin is God taking them on himself and bringing new life because he loves us – God loves us and gave himself for us (Ephesians 2:4-5).
The pollution of sin has been removed – “the blood of Jesus…purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7)
The poison has been healed – “by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14)
The power of sin has been broken – “if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:36)
The partition of sin has been removed – “all this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).
The gospel reveals that while we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, God’s love for us compelled him to take the penalty of our sin upon himself and bring us new life. We receive forgiveness that frees us from guilt and shame. God’s love compels us to love, forgive and live in freedom. That’s good news.