Spreading the Gospel is the Cure for Society's Ills

As I look at our nation, at society in general, I can't help but feel a bit cynical. I see mankind sliding into a tailspin, the foundations of our great society crumbling at the very lowest levels, and working its way to the top.

God created us, each and every one. He created the plants, the trees, the rivers, lakes, streams, animals, mountains, rocks, all of this beautiful planet. In turn, we as a race of living, breathing individuals have destroyed the very things God entrusted to our stewardship.

Everywhere you look, more and more murders, rapes, child abuses, and other heinous crimes are occurring daily, with more brutality and rapidity. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the debauchery that is taking place in every sector of our society, at every financial level and at every social rung on the proverbial ladder.

The Bible warns us of these times, when men will be turned away from Christ, with itching ears, to false teachers who do nothing more than separate us from our Lord with false doctrine. Their teachings, when taken into belief, are the stairway to hell. Traveling this path leads to eternal damnation, because we are being pulled away from God, our creator, our Lord, our Master.

Ultimately, when you look at how little God expects of us, versus how much he selflessly gives us, we should be ashamed of how we have treated this planet, each other, and God himself.

We kill in his name, we shun his word and teachings, we pillage the home of our neighbor to satisfy our own lusts. As a society, we truly are slipping into the abyss, away from the love and compassion that is embodied in Christ.

Mankind seems to have forgotten that over 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ was offered as a sacrifice, on a wooden cross standing at Golgotha, for our sins. Two millennia after his death, his blood still flows freely down through the years, washing over all who will step under its fountain and simply ask to be a part of God's family, who simply ask that he forgive the sins he or she has committed. How simple! So many people think salvation is the equivalent of a 12-step program, requiring hours and hours of work. In actuality, all it takes is sincerity, honesty and trust.

Salvation means being sincere when you ask God to come into your life and into your heart. Saying the words isn't enough. You must mean the words you are saying.

Honesty means admitting not only to yourself, but to God, who already knows the truth, that you are a sinner, and that you truly want to repent and turn from that sinful way of life.

Trust is believing that God lives, that Christ truly died and rose again, and believing that God will welcome you with open arms when you stand before him in the day of judgment. This is also known as faith.

I hear so many people these days say that God doesn't exist, that Christ is a fable. This pricks my heart, because I cannot fathom such a belief or concept. Even before I was saved, I still knew that God existed, and that Christ died on the cross. I just didn't realize how deep his love and truth really runs.

Sadly, there are some people who will never come to know Christ. Not everyone will inherit the wonders of Heaven. There are some who will fall into hell, with much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The only way that society can reverse this devastating, tragic downward spiral is for a return to the Gospel. More and more churches must reach out, telling their fellow man about the love of Christ.

We must not only engage in foreign mission trips, but we must also tell the man or woman in the office cubicle next to ours about Christ. We must tell the teller at the bank, the baker, the policeman, everyone. Just because we live in a free country with the ability to worship as we please, doesn't mean everyone here is a Christian, or even knows who Christ is.

That is where we come in, as Christians and children of God: we have the cure for society's ills. Will we keep the cure to ourselves, or will we share it with our fellow man? That decision is one that will have deep, far reaching aftershocks, regardless of what that decision is.