“Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” – John 8:21-24
Every person born into the world is a sinner. It is part of our nature, and has been ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. We do not start out good and turn bad. We do not begin in innocence and perfection and only later get off track. David wrote, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). That inherent sin nature means not only that we need a Saviour, but that we cannot save ourselves. All of our efforts fall far short of the perfection that God demands. The only hope that we have is to believe in Jesus.
When Jesus said, “Ye shall die in your sins,” He was talking to the most devoted and religiously observant people in Israel. He was not speaking to people that everyone identified as sinners. He was speaking to those who were confident that their own righteousness and good works secured their standing with God. Yet they were wrong, and Jesus pointed it out. Nothing they were doing and nothing they were avoiding could save them. Only through faith in Him could they be approved by God. Nothing has changed. That is still true today. Only if we put our trust in Him alone can we be saved. Nothing we can do earns us standing with God. We must believe in Jesus alone for salvation. (Daily in the Word)
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
