SIR, WHAT MUST I DO?

1. We are products of choices we make, best illustrated by man’s disobedience in Eden, “Wherefore, as BY ONE MAN SIN ENTERED into the world, and DEATH BY SIN; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” [Romans 5:12] Ever since, every man born into the world through copulation or laboratories carried genes of SIN and DEATH. SIN is the inherent nature of corruption and rebellion, manifest in poverty, sickness, pain, sleepless nights, sorrow, instability, fear, etc., “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but SIN THAT DWELLETH IN ME. … O WRETCHED MAN that I am! WHO SHALL DELIVER ME from the body of this DEATH?” [Romans 7:20-24] SIN, DEATH and sundry bedfellows have no respect for age, riches, fame power, etc., the rich, educated and powerful cry if not more than the weak and uneducated poor. Our common enemy is Satan, the parasite of SIN, sucking joy, peace, rest, love, etc., out of us to work DEATH [Romans 7:13] Consequently, the most important question remain unchanged by time and circumstances, “SIR, WHAT MUST I DO” to be SAVED”, “… SIRS, WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? And they said, BELIEVE on the Lord JESUS CHRIST, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” [Acts 16:30-31]

2. The man who posed the question above was boss of a Roman Prison, a job infamous for cold-hearted cruelty; hard as nail until his pitiless heart was pierced by the finger of God, “And they SPAKE unto him the WORD OF THE LORD, and to all that were in his house. … and was BAPTIZED, he and all his, straightway” [Romans 16:32] Paul and Silas spoke to him of God’s LOVE, the LIES and HATRED perpetrated by SIN; how God revealed Himself in Jesus Christ and his death on the Cross for our SIN, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that HE LOVED US, and sent his SON TO BE THE PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS” [I John 4:10] Nicodemus was a ruler in Israel, learned in religious matters yet unsure “WHAT TO DO”, sought audience with Jesus, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN, he CANNOT SEE the KINGDOM OF GOD” [John 3:3] Two men same question, one an uncouth Jailor the other a learned and religious gentleman; what is the meaning of LIFE and WHAT DO I DO?. The life we received from our parents is subject to DEATH and marred with distress occasioned by SIN [Psalms 90:10] We are all in the same maze and Jesus Christ is the only WAY out, “… For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the GIFT BY GRACE, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many” [Romans 5:15]

3. A rich young man came to Jesus, saying, “… Good Master, WHAT GOOD THING SHALL I do, that I MAY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?” [Matthew 19:16] He had half the answer; he knew the life he had was a LIE and desired something better, ETERNAL LIFE. He wanted it so much until Jesus told him the modalities, “… go and SELL THAT THOU HAST, and GIVE TO THE POOR, and thou shalt have TREASURE IN HEAVEN: and come and FOLLOW ME. But when the young man heard that saying, HE WENT AWAY SORROWFUL: for he had great possessions” [Matthew 19:21-22] It is so easy to miss the point, SELL and GIVE to the POOR, neglecting critical emphasis on FOLLOW ME. ETERNAL LIFE is the brotherhood of men in who God is revealed in fulfilment of His Promise to make man in His own Image and likeness, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BRETHREN” [Romans 8:29] God made the first move, announced Himself in Jesus Christ and full payment was made for our SIN by His death on the Cross. The same template applies to us; give up the life you have now to receive ETERNAL LIFE, “He that LOVETH HIS LIFE shall LOSE IT; and he that HATETH HIS LIFE in this world shall KEEP IT UNTO LIFE ETERNAL” [John 12:25] The phrase “HATETH HIS LIFE” means give up who you are and ever hoped to be to FOLLOW and become who God wants you to be; this was the message to the rich young man and all of us.

4. This world is like a deep valley, there is only one way to get out, “Multitudes, MULTITUDES in the VALLEY OF DECISION: for the DAY OF THE LORD IS NEAR in the valley of decision” [Joel 3:14] The purpose of life is much more than acquisition of wealth, fame or longevity among others, it is getting out “ALIVE”, delivered from JUDGMENT, “And as it is appointed unto men ONCE TO DIE, but after this the JUDGMENT” [Hebrews 9:27] The decision to embrace ETERNAL LIFE is the answer to the meaning of life and the first step is REPENTANCE; admit you are a sinner, confess your sins to Jesus Christ and make a personal decision to forsake SIN. Go further, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and ask Him to reign in you, “That if thou shalt CONFESS with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be SAVED” [Romans 10:9] This is the best decision you will ever take, as you do your eyes shall be illuminated to see beyond what you have and what you lack, to grasp the limitless boundaries of what God has prepared for them that love Him, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” [1 Corinthians 2:9]