For the past month I’ve been purchasing an assortment of Gospel Tracts and one of them that really caught my attention was one entitled, 3 Things God Cannot Do. My first thought when I saw it was, God can do anything. But curiosity got the better of me so I opened it up and began to read. The tract starts off by asking, are there really 3 things that God cannot do? Can’t God do everthing? Let’s take a look at God’s own Word to see what He Himself tells us.
1.God Cannot Lie
As one who follows God, believes in Him and His Word, I’m in
absolute agreement with this statement. Because according to
scripture, Titus 1:2 reads; In the hope of eternal life, which
God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
2.God Cannot Change
This is probably an obvious truth because His Word tells
us in Malachi 3:6, “For I am the Lord, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
From these two characteristics of God it becomes very clear that I’m in total agreement with this gospel tract. Because I know from reading the Bible that God cannot lie and He does not change. In Numbers 23:19 God says; “God is not a man, that He would lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? The word repent means to change your mind. So God is telling us, He does NOT change! But then, I came to the last thing God cannot do and it is;
3.God Cannot Allow Sinners into Heaven
Some may disagree with this one using the argument that God is love and a loving God would not turn anyone away from Heaven. But do you know how we know this is absolutely true? Because God Himself tells us, and God cannot lie and God does not change. So, if God said it, it is true and it’s true for all time. Plus, we know the scripture is reliable because we’re told in Psalms 119:89; Your Word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens. And in 2 Timothy 3:16 we’re told; All scripture is God-breathed and is used for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
Since we now know God cannot allow sinners into heaven, this is bad news for us. Because we’re told, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). While this may be a difficult truth for people to accept about oneself, it does confirm we’re all sinners. In 1 John 1:8 we’re told; If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Knowing we’re sinners and God cannot allow sinners into heaven, what can we do? God provided a way.
Because God loves us so much He made a way where sinners could be cleansed and made righteous and could experience a relationship with Him. It is through His only Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 reads;
For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life.
It is through His Son that we can experience eternal life, it is the only way. Jesus says in John 14:6; I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Yes, Jesus didn’t say there are many ways to God, He says, there is only 1 way to God, through Him.
Why is Jesus the only way?
Because Jesus Himself paid for our sins. He was the sacrificial lamb who paid the penalty of death on the cross for each of us. And since He died for each of us, He alone is the ONLY WAY to God. Again we know this is true because, God cannot lie and He doe not change. Isaiah 53:5,6 reads;
But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was
upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray, each
one has turned to his own way; and the
LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity
of us all.
This means to obtain salvation we must believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and we must also believe on His Name. We’re told in Acts 4:12, Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other Name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
But how is Jesus Christ the Son of God?
We’re told in John 1:1; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. One of the names Jesus was often called was, the Word of God. So from this scripture we understand Jesus pre-existed in Heaven with the Father as the Word of God. Then we’re also told a little further down in John 1:14; And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus pre-existed with the Father in heaven then became flesh, born of a virgin, preached the Good News of the Kingdom, was sacrificed on the cross for our sins, died, then rose on the third day. This is why Jesus is the ONLY WAY to the FATHER!
So how can we obtain eternal life?
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). God made salvation simple. Remember, we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This makes each of us a sinner so how do we obtain salvation?
Believe in Jesus, on His name and in the One who sent Him
Believe He is the Son of God who was sacrificed on the Cross
Repent and confess our sins
Romans 10:9 reads; That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. John 5:24 reads; Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life. And 1 John 1:8,9 tells us; If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If you have repented and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, on His Name, on His crucifixion and His resurrection, and believe in the one who sent Him, then you may know you have eternal life.
Start reading the Bible, pray and ask God to strengthen you. The reason to read the Bible first before joining a Church is to ensure you can distinguish between the false prophets and teachers who twist the scriptures or put into place man made doctrines that do not align with God’s Church. God’s people are called to be in unity with one another, denominations divide them.
You will also need to be baptized, this can be done by a strong follower of Christ or with yourself in your bathtub, but, before attempting it, always pray to God asking what you should do. Because sometimes, Christ will baptize you Himself.