So, what do you think about this one people? In California, the anti-Christ controlled state government wants to pay meth addicts to get clean, undergo drug treatment, and stay clean.[1] In New York City, young criminals, and violent criminals at that, are being paid not to commit crimes. They just have to get a driver's license, pursue a GED, and be on their best behavior, but beyond that, what incentive is there for them to better themselves in character and be a productive contributing member of society? [2]
Personally, I think that if you have to pay someone to avoid one kind of bad behavior, you will have to start paying them to avoid every kind of bad behavior imaginable.
Soon, you will have pay an abusive husband to stop beating his wife, a parent to stop abusing their child, a rapist to not rape women, a pedophile to stop molesting children, terrorists to stop committing acts of terrorism, rioters to stop rioting, would-be assassins from murdering high profile figures of power and influence, and so forth.
But if we lack the means to provide an appealing incentive, then they will just revert back to their old ways because though it be possible that material incentives may give men cause to behave well they will never change the mind, heart, and soul and that is where the change must begin because it is only that inward change that will lead a man to behave the way that he should for the reasons that he should regardless if there be any material incentive but that requires a spiritual change which can only be brought about when a man recognizes that there is a God in Heaven by whose hand all things are created and before whom he will have to stand and give an account for every thought, word, and deed.
The godless anti-Christ party, their allies in the mainstream manure pile, the depraved members of the entertainment industry, the corrupt and dishonest academic institution, and yes, many within our religious institutions, would have you believe that if you throw money at a problem, including bad behavior, that it will go away and granted that while there are desperate people out there who resort to crime in order to survive, people commit evil acts for reasons other than just money. It can be ideologically driven, it can be driven by hate, or they just simply take pleasure in inflicting harm upon their fellowman but if bad behavior is ever to be effectively dealt with, the foundational motivation driving wicked behavior must be addressed before there can ever be a change for the better in that person and that which entices and drives men to wicked behavior is not always the same with each person but different but though we have in us the capacity to do a lot of good, we, in each and everyone of us, also have the capacity to do a tremendous amount of evil due to a corrupt nature, better known as sin, inherent in each and everyone of us (Rom. 5:12) being ever present in all of us influencing not just our outward conduct and behavior but tainting our very thoughts and motives and though it has not robbed us of our capacity to do good it is this corrupted nature within him that our own goodness falls short of that of the Creator (Rom. 3:23) but when man was first created, he was created as a morally perfect being, until sin entered into him by way of disobedience (Gen. 2:16-17, chapter 3) and as a consequence, death came to all of mankind (Rom. 6:23) as well as estrangement from His Maker but sin not only brought death upon mankind and subjected him to a curse, but all of creation suffers because of sin as well (Rom. 8:19-22) which is why it must face eventual punishment.
When we take time to truly examine ourselves and not just our outward performance but our very thoughts and motives as well, it can be the most humbling experience that we can ever have because we then realize just how far short we fall of the moral standard of perfection set before us by the God who made us and is without corruption but not only is it the most humbling experience that we can ever have, but it can also be the most terrifying knowing that all sin and they who die in their sin cannot dwell in the presence of a sinless God or in an undefiled Kingdom but instead must face judgment which ends in the sentence of a punishment far more terrible than we can even fathom and one which never ends. When we all stand before our Maker to give an account for the way we lived our lives, He is not going to compare the goodness of one person to that of another but instead, the goodness of each and every person is going to be compared to His untainted goodness of which we all fall short and granted some of us have fallen further short of the moral standard of perfection than others, but we have all fallen short and the penalty for sin, no matter how seemingly insignificant, or how infrequent, is the same: Eternal separation from our Creator and everlasting torment in the fires of Hell.
But once it is understood why even the best of us cannot enter into the Kingdom of God by our own goodness, we then will understand why it is necessary for redemption to be made on our behalf and that it is by the goodness of God that redemption for is offered and that it required the payment of that demanded penalty for sin on our behalf by a sinless incorruptible
man (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15) for sinful corruptible mankind;
that sinless man being Jesus Christ who came to earth as God made flesh (Jn. 1:14)
that He might offer himself up as that perfect and acceptable sacrifice for our
sins and who then was raised from the dead for our justification in Him. (Rom.
4:25)
It is only in Christ alone that salvation is made possible
(Jn. 14:6) and that this offer of salvation is offered freely to us by grace
(Eph. 2:8-9) because we are loved by our Maker who is not willing that any
should perish but that all would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9)
And it is upon the receiving of this gift of salvation offered to us by the love and grace of God through Christ that we then become a new person in Him, (2 Cor. 5:17) doing that which is good and pleasing in His sight, not to earn our salvation since we have that by faith in Christ alone, but out of gratitude and appreciation for that gift given to us for if we are truly grateful for the forgiveness of sins made on our behalf, then we should have no desire to continue walking in the sin, the wickedness, and lies that condemned us and placed us in danger of a fearful and terrifying judgment in the first place but instead, we should desire to pursue after those things good and pleasing in the sight of our Creator and endeavor to walk in His truth only, relying on the sufficiency of His instruction without adding or detracting therefrom, fearing Him above all else, and seeking His honor and praise above that of this present world which will one day pass away to make way for a new and better world in which there is no sin, death, nor curse, nor any evil thing, or anything that causes the pains, griefs, hardships, and sorrows we presently experience (Rev. 21-22) because all of those things will be done away with.
But
today, when the Gospel of salvation is presented to us, a choice is given to
each and every person who hears it:
Those
choices are all placed before us and are all summed up in whether we choose
Christ or reject Him.
Which will you choose?
End
notes:
Scripture references:
1.
Romans 5:12
2. Romans 3:23
3. Genesis 2:16-17
4. Genesis 3
5. Romans 6:23
6. Romans 8:19-22
7. 2 Corinthians 5:21
8. Hebrews 4:15
9. John 1:14
10. Romans 4:25
11. John 14:6
12. Ephesians 2:8-9
13. 2 Peter 3:9
14. 2 Corinthians 5:17
15. Revelation 21-22
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