Have you ever felt completely, totally helpless? You wanted to do something — anything! — if only it could change things. Maybe it’s the big problems of the world that weigh you down. Worldwide sicknesses, unstable political situations, or increasing violence and division can make your head ache and your heart hurt. And it’s easy to feel helpless. Or maybe you don’t have time to worry about those things, because you’ve got so much going on in your own life. You, or someone close to you, are dealing with things that are completely out of your control. And it leaves you feeling helpless. But is there hope that we can find and hold onto?
The Bible teaches us that we have a very real spiritual need. And also from the Bible, we learn that all of us are helpless without God. The Bible says that we are “lost” (Matthew 18:11), and that we “have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). It even says that we are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Lost, wandering, and dead, we are the definition of helpless! We have sinned against a holy God, and our sins “have separated you from your God” (Isaiah 59:2). God is just, and must punish sin. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t do anything to save ourselves. Our best efforts just aren’t enough to give us eternal life. We can’t earn, buy, or win forgiveness for our sins, or peace with God.
When we couldn’t save ourselves, God sent His Son to be our Saviour
But this is the amazing thing about the good news that we call the gospel. Spiritually, we are completely helpless. But when we couldn’t save ourselves, God sent His Son to be our Saviour. Yes, even when we were completely against God and His word, He still loved us. This is how the Bible describes it: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We were helpless and lost in our sins, but God gave us the only One who could truly help us. His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, died in our place, for our sins.
And God has promised that everyone who turns away from their sins and trusts in Him will be saved (see Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9). My friend, without God, we are completely helpless. We can’t save ourselves. But the Lord Jesus has already died in our place. And every sinner who trusts in Him has a promise from God that they will not “perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Have you turned to Him for salvation?
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