Right from the start, I want to make it
clear that there is no such thing as an atheist. I shall explain this in the following
pages. A man may claim that he is atheist, but in reality he is a man in
rebellion against God. He refuses to come to God on God’s terms.
In order to give his rebellion
respectability among his peers, a man attaches a fictitious title of ‘atheist’,
claiming that he believes there is no God, knowing most people will believe
him.
The Bible is absolutely clear on this
subject. I shall continue.
The Bible tells us that all are sinners. “…
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, “ . (Romans 3:23)* Everyone sins. All men on earth
are sinners. Everyone. Scripture says, “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God” (Romans 3:23). And, the Bible
tells us that the wages of sin is death.
“For the wages of sin is death …” (Romans
6:23)
God is a Holy God. We are by nature sinners. The definition of sin is to ‘miss the mark’.
That means missing God’s standard, contained in His law, the Ten Commandments,
if you will. The Commandments were given
to man, not so he would obey, but to show that he can’t obey. No man can follow them perfectly. Most people
reject this truth. They call what is
really their sin as faults, failures, mistakes, etc. But, the Bible calls it sin. And it is our sin that separates us from God.
When I was a child, I would run out into the
street, unaware of the danger I imposed on myself. However, I was free to do so because I was
never told otherwise. One day, my Mom
told me, “Do not run out into the street!” At that point, my mother’s command
(her law) was in effect. From that time
on, if I ran out into the street, I was breaking her law, and because of that,
punishment was going to follow. I was not longer innocent. However, as severe as the punishment might
have been, I found myself wanting to run out into the street when she was not
looking. That is what we do with
God. By nature, although we know His
commandments, we want to do things our way anyhow.
The Bible tells us, “For whoever
shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10) That is, if someone where able
to live what one would consider a perfect life, from cradle to grave, but in
that time tell only one lie, have one impure thought, cheat only one time,
etc., then they are guilty of violating all of God’s laws. In God’s eyes, they
are as the most vile person. That pretty much includes
us all.
Regardless how men present
themselves before other men, all are sinners needing salvation. Buddha was a sinner, Mohammed was a sinner,
Joseph Smith was a sinner, Charles Russell, founder of
the Jehovah’s Witnesses was a sinner in need of salvation. The Pope of the Roman Catholic religion is a
sinner needing salvation. All men,
regardless of their position in life, are sinners needing salvation. And, their good works will not do.
Our sin separates us from God.
Scripture says, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look
on wickedness …” (Habakkuk 1:13) God is holy, we are sinful, and there lies a
large gulf, a huge separation, which can never be bridged by our good works.
Because of sin, man by
nature runs from God. In the story of Adam and Eve
in the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve tried to hid from
God after they sinned. And, man has been
doing so ever since. Man does so because he is in rebellion against God. He
does not draw himself to God, but runs from Him.
A man’s rebellion isn’t quite so
obvious. It’s subtle, but there just the same. “Why do the wicked renounce
God? He has said in his heart, ‘You will not require an account.’ " (Psalms 10:13)
They often will become very religious,
involving themselves in a religion that is nothing more than a cult. They may become involved in an organization
of some kind, hiding from the fact that they are in a spirit of rebellion.
The
fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does
good. The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They
have all turned aside, They have together become
corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. (Psalms 14:1-3)
In this passage, God says that a
man who calls himself an atheist is a fool.
Then, He says they have all turned aside, that is, they have turned from
Him.
The Bible tells us that God places in the
heart of every man a knowledge of His presence, and
displays himself everywhere.
God’s internal revelation - The
Bible tells us, “... what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God
has shown it to them. “ (Romans 1:19) God has placed an awareness of Himself
in the heart of every person. That is,
He has revealed himself to them.
God’s external revelation - We are
told, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal
power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:20) God has
revealed Himself in His creative order.
Those that refuse to see Him are without excuse.
A man who
fails to recognize God, has become a fool. “although
they knew God, they did not glorify Him
as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their
foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, “
(Romans 1:21-22) It says here that such men become futile in their thoughts,
their foolish hearts become darkened, and although they come across to
themselves and others as wise, they are in reality fools.
A man’s pride and love for himself will
keep him from acknowledging God. Pride is what caused Adam and Eve to fall in
the beginning, and keeps men from coming to God today. Let’s see what the Bible says.
“The fear of the LORD is to hate
evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the
perverse mouth I hate.” (Proverbs
8:13)
“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
A proud and haughty
man--"Scoffer" is his name; He acts with arrogant pride. (Proverbs 21:24)
“ A
man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain
honor.” (Proverbs
29:23)
“When God lists six things that He hates,
He lists pride first. “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are
an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed
innocent blood,” (Proverbs 6:16-17) God hates a proud look.
Pride is the primary sin that keeps
a man from coming to God. The hardest
three words for a man to say is, “I have sinned”. He will go to church, practice a religion, formulate theology, whatever, to keep from humbling himself
with those words.
Man must humble himself and come to God
on His terms. Through His Son, He
provided a way that one can be saved.
Jesus shed his blood on the cross in payment for our sins. He died in our place.
A simple question was asked in the
Bible by a jailer who wanted to be saved.
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved ....” (Acts 16:31)
In regard to sin, it says, “If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) That is, when one comes confessing his sin,
and puts his faith in Jesus’ death on the cross as payment for their sins, he
will be saved.
The reader of this booklet may be a
self-proclaimed ‘atheist’, but in reality may have come to the conclusion that
you are in rebellion against God, pure and simple. If that is the case, it is this author’s hope
that you will humble yourself and in humility, come to Christ.
Some truths first:
Everyone sins- for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)
The consequence of our sin is
death - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23)
Jesus Christ died on the cross
for our sins - … Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures
… (1 Corinthians 15:3)
The Lord wants us to repent of
our sins and turn to Him - The Lord is … not willing that
any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
Those who put their faith in
Jesus Christ will gain eternal life - For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
Get alone with God and in
prayer:
·
Confess that you are a sinner and that you repent of your sins.
·
By faith, receive Jesus Christ’s death on the cross as payment
for your sins.
·
Invite Jesus Christ into your heart and receive Him as your
personal Lord and Savior.
·
Thank Him for saving you and for giving you eternal life.
If
you prayed with a sincere heart conviction, you have been saved, based on God’s
unchangeable promise. He has recreated you in Christ Jesus, all things have
become new.
Follow-up:
Find a local Bible believing church to attend if possible.
If you have access to one, begin reading the Bible,
starting in the New Testament.
E-mail us (director@orrministries.com) and let us know of your
decision, and how we can help you.
God bless you in your life’s journey with Him!
*
All Bible references are from the New King James Version (NKJV) unless
otherwise noted.