We really need to break down the myth that God is inaccessible to people.
God is as close as can be. In our heart, and on our lips, we’re told (Rom 10:8). Can’t be closer.
What separates us from God, then, if it is not physical distance? Well, the simple answer is sin–abandoning God’s will for our lives.
Some critics poo poo the notion of sin, but it is a fact. It exists, and holds us back from a relationship with God.
Gods’ standard is love and we have all fallen short somewhere along the line. Love for God. Love for people. These are the two great love commandments. Unconditional universal love.
We have all failed in this level of love. Most people actually understand this deep down. They know they have missed the mark.
How do we deal with the sin problem, then? We acknowledge it and confess that we are sinners, have fallen short, and are in need of deliverance from sin.
What is deliverance?
Many associate deliverance with being set free from demons, which has an element of truth, but really has to do with the sin nature that separates people from God.
In fact, we are being delivered out of the power of darkness and into the kingdom of light.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13
To be delivered means to be moved from one place to another. Think of the post, sending a letter or parcel. It is being delivered from the sender to the receiver. It moves from A to B.
Although darkness is controlled by anti-christian spiritual forces, demons are not the real issue. Jesus dealt with them on our behalf.
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8
He destroyed their works. We, too, can be taken from their destructive ways. We can be empowered to resist them. We are delivered from the suppression under evil forces to walking in love through faith in God.
Demons exist, and are troublesome an oppressive, but responding to their negative activity around us is the real issue. They provoke people to sin.
Demons vex people emotionally and spiritually. They put temptations to break God’s law of love in front of us.
However, we are responsible for our actions and reactions to any vexation or temptation. It’s just that, before we are saved, we are vulnerable to temptation to sin.
Shaking off temptation
How do we know if it is temptation? We will know in our heart, unless our conscience is so seared that we don’t know right from wrong.
Most people at least have their conscience reasonably intact–knowing right from wrong.
The nature of sin weakens our resolve, however, so we need to deal with this, but we can’t deal with it without God’s intervention, which is where faith comes in.
Faith is the ability to fully and wholeheartedly trust in God by acknowledging, believing and living by His Word and being led by His Spirit.
His salvation is available to us as a first step to liberty by hearing His message of hope, believing it, and receiving Jesus as Lord and Saviour (Eph 2:8).
Salvation comes through our confession of Jesus as the Lord of our life (John 1:12-13).
When we are saved, we are forgiven and made guilt free. This removes the nature of sin from us and builds in us a renewed nature of righteousness (Rom 6:18).
Breaking free
We know that Jesus has made the way clear for us to confess our sin and receive salvation. We also have to confess Jesus as Lord.
There are two confessions here. Confession of our need of deliverance from sin, and confession of our need of a Saviour.
A confession is an admission. It says we need salvation. It speaks of a contrite spirit–the human expression of remorse.
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
Psalm 34:17-18
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
It’s the pride factor inherent in us before we are saved that can interfere with escape from the old sin nature. It has been this nature in us that has made it difficult to resist the temptation to rebel against God’s ways.
We conquer pride through humility. We bow our knee to God’s will by acknowledging our need of deliverance from the power of darkness into the kingdom of light.
It’s not as hard as it seems. It’s a decision we take. It’s an act of our will encouraged by God’s prevailing will to receive us to Himself.
His grace is drawing us to Him. Our faith will magnetise the opportunity, and hope will anchor our soul to His love.
