WWW?
by David Luke, Pastor, 15 Oct 2006
The letters www. must be one of the most familiar abbreviations in society today as the world wide web links our planet together. The abbreviation www? is much less familiar but it confronts us with a question that often troubles us—what went wrong? For despite all the progress associated with technological developments like the world wide web we sense that there is something fundamentally wrong in the world. When a member of our family is diagnosed with cancer, or a friend dies or our parents get divorced or our children make a mess of their lives we sense that this is not the way things are meant to be. When we see the Middle East torn apart by war, or terrorists prepared to commit barbaric acts, or politicians lie, or governments turn a blind eye to injustice, we sense this is not the way things are meant to be. And it occurs to us to ask, what went wrong? Why is life the way it is with all its pain? Why is the world the way it is with all its misery?
If you have that sense that things in life or in the world are not the way that they are meant to be. Or if you ever ask the question what went wrong. Then, whether you realise it or not, you find yourself in agreement with the Bible’s view of the world. That the world has gone wrong. That this is not the world as it was meant to be.
God’s Good World
In the book of Genesis we read that when God had made the world he ‘saw all that he had made and it was very good.’ (Genesis 1:31) There was a time when the world was good when it was not the way it is now. We read in the early chapters of the book of Genesis how when the world was created there was harmony between God and man, harmony between the people in the world and harmony between mankind and nature. But all of that was shattered when mankind sinned against God. That is they disobeyed God, rebelled against him and sought to run their own lives.
We then see that sin entered the world and affected every part of creation. We read how the entrance of sin into the world affected people, affected their relationship with God, affected the nature of life on this planet and brought death into the world. (You can read about all of this in Genesis 3). Romans 1:28-31 describes how sin affects our world and the people in it.
So if you sense that something is not right in the world. If you sense that things are not the way they are supposed to be you are right. And the reason things are not the way they are supposed to be is because of people. People in rebellion against God. People who are seeking to run their own lives and their own world. And we witness all around us the effects of that.
Does that mean me?
Whenever we look around the world and see the mess that it is in we are apt to blame other people. Or when we look at the problems that we have to deal with personally we may tend to feel that we are victims in this cruel world. Certainly we all tend to think of ourselves as fairly good people. But might it not be the case that we are part of the problem? That certainly is how the Bible sees it. We read in the Bible, ‘There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one.’ (Romans 3:10-12) It is an all-inclusive condemnation of us all. If we are honest we don’t even live consistently with our own standards let alone God’s.
The result is that far from the world’s problems being due to someone else, far from us being merely victims, we are all rebels in God’s sight and will one day face his just judgement and his eternal condemnation. We read in the Bible, ‘Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement.’ (Hebrews 9:27) and whatever we think of ourselves we will find that it is God’s judgement that matters. We will in fact find that we have nothing to say in God’s presence. Instead we will find ourselves in agreement with his verdict. (Romans 3:19)
When we ask what went wrong we in fact find that the answer is ‘I did.’
Is there hope in this world gone wrong?
There is hope for us and for our world. It is the hope that God himself gives to the world. God, because of great love for the people that he had created, even though they had rebelled against his loving rule, sent his son Jesus into the world. Jesus, unlike anyone else who has ever lived, lived a life of perfect obedience to God’s will. That life of perfect obedience took him to his death on the cross. There on that cross, in accordance with God’s will, wicked men put him to death, so that by his death he might suffer condemnation for our sins. The Bible tells us, ‘For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God.’ (1 Peter 3:18) But God raised Jesus from the dead. In doing so he declared that his sacrifice for sin was fully acceptable to him (all possible condemnation against us has been removed, Romans 8:1) and through the gift of the Holy Spirit God made him the author of eternal life. (Acts 2:31-33)
As such through Jesus sins are forgiven (Acts 10:43), death is conquered (Hebrews 2:14,15) and we receive the gift of eternal life (1 John 5:11).
A new world coming
Jesus was raised from the dead as the author of life and the Bible’s message is that he will return to this world. (Matthew 16:27) As he does so this universe as we know it will be destroyed and a new universe will come into being (2 Peter 3:13). This new world will not be like the world as we know it with all its hardship and pain. It will literally be heaven on earth. It will be a world without sorrow, death, crying, mourning or pain. (Revelation 21:4) For it will be a world where sin and all its effects are banished forever. (Revelation 21:27) That also means that sinful people will be banished forever. That is those who have not sought to be reconciled to God now through his Son.
The choice we all face
If we would be part of this new world then we must stop our rebellion against God, confess our sin, turn away from that sin and trust in Jesus to obtain our forgiveness because of His death and resurrection. If we do that God will forgive our sin and receive us into the new world that is coming.
However should we reject God’s offer of salvation through his Son then we will receive God’s just condemnation. (Revelation 20:11-15) We will be separated from him forever in that realm that the Bible calls hell. A realm where there is only never ending sorrow and torment. A realm besides which the troubles of this life pale into insignificance.
WWYD?
What will you do? Will you accept the forgiveness that God now offers through his Son? Or will you accept the consequences of your own sin for ever more?
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David Luke, “What Went Wrong?”, 15 Oct 2006, Gilnahirk Baptist Church Web site. http://www.gilnahirkbaptist.org.uk/resources/christianity/www.php (accessed 31 Jul 2010).
