Look Out for the Bad Guys!

The other day one of our little boys came into my office and announced that he was going to the bank. They often play make believe, but I realized that we do not live that far from the bank, and they might actually decide to walk over there some day. We then had a long talk about the danger of getting run over by cars if you go near the street. - Because we live in a sin cursed world, we also had to have another discussion. I warned them about “bad guys.” No doubt, it is a blessing to live in a small town like Bancroft, but from time to time we hear news stories about children being abducted and abused and sometimes it happens in a small town area. I wish it was not necessary to warn my little boys, but because of sin it is. Thus a few days later when we walked up town, the two older boys were very careful to hold on to their little brothers hand so a bad guy did not get him. - I do not want my boys to live in constant fear, but I do want them to understand the reality of evil. Though I want them to be aware of the special dangers posed by a “bad guy,” I also want them to understand when they have done something bad. I want them to understand that they should always tell the truth and that lying is bad. I want them to know that they should not steal anything that belongs to someone else. - I do not just want to adjust their behavior though. As they grow older, I want them to understand who God is and His role in their lives and even in their sin problem. I do not expect them to understand all about Christ’s payment for sin when they are toddlers, but as they get older I want them to grasp sin’s reality not just in the life of the “bad guy,” but in all our lives. - Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 5:12 says, “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:” - Some people think that hell is just for those who have done something really bad, but the truth is, all of us have sinned, and even if you do not think your sin was all that bad, Romans 6:23 tells us the wages of sin is death. As we consider the condemnation for our sin, listen to what God‘s word tells us about not believing in Jesus Christ: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) - Jesus is telling us that if you do not believe on Him, you do not have to do something really bad to be condemned- you are condemned already. The reason we are already condemned is because all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God and sin has passed onto all of us from the time that the first man Adam sinned. You see hell isn’t just for kidnappers and guys like Hitler, it is for all people who have not had their sin paid for. - That reality brings us to Christ. He is the only one who can pay for our sins. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)