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Sinner’s Need of Christ
11
It is not possible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the power
of sin. Our hearts are sinful, and we cannot change them. “Nothing
clean can ever come from anything as unclean as human beings.”
Job 14:4
. “People become enemies of God when they are controlled
by their human nature; for they do not obey God’s law, and in fact
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they cannot obey it.”
Romans 8:7
.
Education, good manners, and willpower all have their place in
helping us to do right things. But they cannot change our hearts and
make our lives pure. Only a new life from above, a power working
inside us, can change us from being sinful to being holy. That power
is Christ. His grace alone can give life to our dead souls and draw
us to God and holiness.
The Saviour said, “I am telling you the truth: no one can see the
Kingdom of God without being born again” (
John 3:3
)—unless one
receives a new heart from God, with new wants and aims. Some
believe that they need only to develop the good that is already in
them. But this idea is wrong and will lead to eternal death. “Whoever
does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God’s
Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them, and they seem
to be nonsense, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual
basis.”
1 Corinthians 2:14
. Said Jesus, “Do not be surprised because
I tell you that you must all be born again.”
John 3:7
.
It is written of Christ, “The Word was the source of life, and this
life brought light to people.”
John 1:4
. “In all the world there is no
one else whom God has given who can save us.”
Acts 4:12
.
We see the loving-kindness of God and His fatherly pity. We
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see that His law is wise, fair, and right. It is a law of love. But it is
not enough for us to see and know all this. The apostle Paul knew
this when he said, “I agree that the Law is right.”; “The Law itself is
holy, and the commandment is holy, right, and good.”
Romans 7:16,
12
. But even though Paul knew this, he felt hopeless and bitter, and
he said, “I am a mortal, sold as a slave to sin.” (verse 14).
Paul wanted to be pure and to be right with God. But knowing
he did not have the power to change himself, he cried out, “What
an unhappy man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that
is taking me to death?” (verse 24). This sad cry has gone up from
troubled hearts in all countries and in all times. There is but one