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For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible. (Leviticus 17:11)

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. (Isaiah 53:4–5)

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

Seems to me there are three crucial questions we must answer. Each has a two-word answer:

QuestionAnswer1. Is there any hope for lost sinners?Yes, Christ.2. Isn’t there any work for sinners to do?No, believe.3. Is there any way for the saved to lose the gift?No, never!

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:23)

God is righteous, perfect, and infinitely holy. That’s His standard. It is sometimes called “glory” in the New Testament. Let me paraphrase Romans 3:23:

For all have sinned [that’s our condition] and fall short of the perfection, holiness, righteousness, and glory [that’s His standard] of God.

From then on, Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)

I ask you, how could a man as godly as David fall as far as he did with Bathsheba? How could he be responsible for murdering a man on the battlefield? How could he live the life of a hypocrite for almost a year? How could David do that? He’s our hero! He’s that faithful shepherd! He’s the giant killer!

To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child. (Proverbs 29:15)

It’s helpful to remember that the deadliest killer of humanity is not heart disease or cancer…it’s depravity. Every one of us has it. Every one of us suffers from the consequences of it. And to make matters even worse, we pass it on to each new generation.

One of the most sweeping, broad-brush statements in all of Scripture on the depravity of humanity is found in Genesis:

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. (Genesis 3:6)

The original story of innocence and beauty becomes a study in selfishness and tragedy beyond the warning. Genesis 3 is familiar to all Bible students—especially as it relates to the temptation in the Garden.

For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. (Psalm 51:5)

Webster says depraved means, “marked by corruption or evil, perverted, crooked.” It’s important that you understand this is an internal disease; you can’t detect it from the outside. Most folks don’t “look” depraved. Most of us do a masterful job of covering up. But never doubt that underneath, deep down inside, there is this disease that eats away at us and pollutes our thoughts and our words (intellect), our relationships (emotions), and our actions (will).

And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. (John 16:8–11)