Want to know God?

Morningview Baptist Church, Montgomery

God wants to ruin your life. I know it’s an unusual message but it’s true. And here’s the kicker: The reason He wants to ruin your life is … love.

Isaiah was a prophet who actually got to go to God’s throne room. When he got there, he didn’t start asking all the questions he had saved up or looking up dead relatives. When Isaiah saw God, he cried out in despair, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!” That’s what coming face to face with a holy God does to you — it ruins you.

What does it mean to say God is “holy”? It means that He is perfectly good, true and just. On top of that, He is the creator and ruler of all things, including you and I. He made us for His glory, creating us in His image as an act of divine love. And He gave us His law to reveal His righteousness and define for us the boundaries of what is good.

But unlike God, you and I are not holy. In fact, we have offended His infinite holiness. Rather than respecting His law and loving Him, we have broken His law and lived selfishly. Consider the Ten Commandments — we have put other things before Him, which is idolatry; we have lied, coveted, stolen, lusted and murdered people in our hearts by being angry. We have sinned innumerable times. We all stand guilty and His judgment is that we be “ruined” forever in a literal place of torment called hell.

There is, however, a way to be forgiven and reconciled to Him. As the ultimate act of love, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to do what we could not. He perfectly obeyed God’s law, the law we all broke. Then He died on the cross as our substitute, bearing the punishment we deserved. Then He rose from the grave, conquering death, which is the penalty of sin.

By God’s grace, all of Christ’s work can be counted as yours, but you must first be “ruined” in another way. Agree with God that you are a sinner who deserves His wrath and then forsake the ruin of your old life. Turn completely from your old life of sin, and believe in Christ alone to be forgiven of your sin and receive new life in Him. God’s love requires your ruin. Repent, believe and live.