The following message is the most important message you will ever read in your life. Many are offended by this message. If you are satisfied with the immorality that exists in all levels of our present society, from the family house to the schoolhouse to the White House; in your own community; in your own family; and especially in your own life; then you will have no interest whatsoever in this message.

We, in the United States, live in a land where there are more churches than ever before in history and the Bible is the perennial best selling book. Nevertheless, in this land where there are more Bibles than people, with countless churches with their radio and TV ministries; immorality, crime and violence are also at an all-time high. Why? The answer is very simple. SIN. Yes, this one little word, SIN, is glaringly absent in today's vernacular; even in all Christendom. Every social, political and economical problem that exists, not only in the U.S., but in the entire world, can be traced to the one common cause; SIN. All of the world's problems are symptoms of SIN. Any medical doctor will tell you that you can't cure a disease by treating its symptoms. All immorality; murder, adultery, homosexuality, lies, racism, fraud, etc., etc., are symptoms of SIN. All SINS (plural) are symptoms of SIN (singular). What is SIN? Where did it come from? What is its cure?

The answer to these questions is the most vitally important information you will ever receive in your entire life, dear reader, and how few will even care enough to read it. But, for the sake of a few, we will answer these questions from the Word of God, the Holy Bible. What is SIN? SIN is invisible and non-material. Medical science can neither detect, nor cure, SIN. Death and all diseases, are results of SIN. Where did SIN come from? If you will read from the book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Bible, chapters 1-3, you will learn that SIN entered the world through the first man, Adam. The Bible says:

"And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:8 & 9).

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:16-18).

"And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man" (Genesis 2:21 & 22).

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" (Genesis 3:1-6).

WHEN ADAM SINNED, ALL SINNED

Paul, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in his letter to the church at Rome, teaches us that when Adam sinned, all mankind sinned. The Bible says:

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; an so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come" (Romans 5:12-14).

A careful examination of the passage of Scripture above, reveals to us that Adam's original sin, committed in the garden of Eden, was imputed to all mankind even before the Law was given through Moses. From the time of Adam to Moses was about 2,500 years. Although personal sins were not imputed to mankind before the Law, still men were dying during that time. Why? Because Adam's original sin was imputed to all mankind, even to "them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression." No one but Adam ever sinned in the likeness of Adam. Nevertheless, when Adam sinned in the garden, all mankind sinned, as Adam is the head of all mankind.

God created Adam an adult, both spiritually and physically alive, upright, and innocent of any evil, with a free will to choose to obey, or to disobey God. But, when Adam chose to disobey God, he died spiritually that very day. Instead of being upright and innocent, he became fallen, guilty and condemned. Fallen Adam is the head of all mankind, and all mankind, in Adam, is fallen; spiritually dead, separated from God, guilty of Adam's sin and condemned to spend eternity in the lake of fire.

Only Adam was created upright and innocent. Since the fall of Adam, all men are also born with an Adamic sinful nature, which is transmitted by procreation from father to the offspring at the time of conception. David tells us this in the 51st Psalm. The Bible says:

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalms 51:5).

Everyone is brought forth in iniquity. Everyone is a condemned sinner from the time of conception. Since Adam, everyone is born in iniquity as the consequence of Adam's fallen sinful nature, which is passed on by means of procreation. Also, Adam's original sin is imputed by God at the time of conception. Although everyone receives Adam's sinful nature at conception, he has not yet committed any personal sins. Therefore, no one is condemned by his personal sins, but rather, by Adam's imputed sin, and that also at the time of conception. Notice please, the use of the first-person pronouns, 'I' and 'me' in the Scripture above. 'I' was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived 'me.' In other words, David was a person from the time of conception. Yes, dear reader, to abort an unborn baby anytime after conception is murder. David knew the truth about himself, that he was conceived in Adam's sin by imputation and brought forth with Adam's sinful nature by procreation, both from the time of conception. Man does not become a sinner when he commits his first personal sin. But rather, he commits sins because he already has a sinful nature and is condemned by Adam's sin from conception. Now, dear reader, you know the bad news about yourself and about the whole world. Until one understands the bad news about all mankind, including yourself, you will never see your need for the good news. Yes, dear reader, there is good news. However, before we go on to the good news, let us learn just how fallen, fallen man is. A natural man, fallen in Adam, cannot understand spiritual things. No more does natural man have a free will. The Bible says:

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2:14).

Natural, fallen man neither understands spiritual things, nor, left to himself, will he ever seek God. The Bible says:

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God" (Romans 3:10 & 11).

Natural man, in Adam, is not righteous, does not and cannot, understand things of the Spirit of God, nor does he seek for God. Nicodemus was a spiritually dead religious leader of the Jews. Jesus said to him:

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

Unless a natural man, in Adam, is born again of the Spirit of God, he will remain spiritually dead, unable to see and understand things of the Spirit of God. Therefore, being born of the Holy Spirit, precedes all action in man's salvation. Not only is natural man in spiritual darkness, he loves that darkness. The Bible says:

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).

From God's prophet Jeremiah, we learn that natural man, in Adam, has heart trouble. The Bible says:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it" (Jeremiah 17:9)?

Jesus said more about natural man's wicked and deceitful heart:

"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" (Matt. 15:19).

Because sin has such a terrible devastating effect in natural man, is it any wonder that the whole world is in such chaotic upheaval? What is the cure for sin? Is there any hope for fallen, sinful, condemned man? Yes! There is a cure! Yes, there is forgiveness! Yes, there is hope! Salvation from sin and the hope of an eternal sinless place are absolutely assured because of the work of One Sinless Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says:

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (I John 4:14).

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

THE SAVIOR - JESUS CHRIST

Since it was man that sinned, it must be a man to redeem a fallen sinful man. But, it cannot be just any man. A fallen sinful man cannot restore another fallen sinful man back into fellowship with God. It must be a sinless man to redeem a sinful man back to God. How can there be a sinless man born from a fallen son of Adam? God found a way. The Bible says:

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 1:18).

The Lord Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. Because God is the Father of Jesus (not Joseph), Jesus did not have the fallen sinful nature of Adam. He was a perfect man. Therefore, a sinless man who is both God and man was supernaturally brought into being. The Bible says:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And the Word was made 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" (John 1:1, 2 & 14).

The Word was God, the Word was with God in the beginning, and the Word was made flesh.

JESUS WAS GOD IN PERFECT HUMAN FLESH

When God the Son (the Word) became the only begotten (procreated) Son of God in the womb of the virgin Mary, he did not cease to be God. Also, at this point I want to say this; it was Jesus, and only Jesus, who was ever conceived by the Holy Spirit. The virgin Mary was conceived and born with a fallen sinful nature like everyone else. Mary knew full well that Jesus was God in flesh and that He was her Savior. The Bible says:

"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour" (Luke 1:46 & 47).

Luke reveals more to us about Mary in the upper room after the Ascension of the Lord Jesus. The Bible says:

"These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren" (Acts 1:14).

Please notice that they were continually in prayer WITH the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. They were not praying TO Mary, but rather, WITH Mary. Only Jesus was God in flesh. The Bible says:

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23).

The good news is that God the Father, has provided a Savior, who is both God and Sinless Man in one Person:

"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:9).

FAITH AND REPENTANCE

Virtually everyone who goes to any kind of church claims to believe in Jesus. But, is everyone who says he believes in Jesus, truly a Christian? Most will agree that to truly believe in Jesus is more than merely saying, I believe in Jesus." True faith is not obtained by believing. Belief is the exercise of one's pre-existing faith. Faith precedes believing. Therefore, if the faith is not genuine, neither will be the belief. Since genuine faith is not the result of believing, how then does one obtain genuine faith, in order to genuinely believe? True saving faith is a gift of God. The Bible says:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).

True saving faith and repentance are inseparable and both are given by the grace of God. The Bible says:

"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth" (II Timothy 2:25).

It is my heart's desire that perhaps God would grant you, dear reader, repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. The doctrine of repentance, like sin, is almost forgotten in Christendom today. What does this seldom used word "repentance" mean? Repentance means; a reversal of one's decision; or a change of mind. When one is told to repent, he is told to change his mind and reverse his decision about the matter. In this case, we are talking about sin and its symptoms (sins). When one truly changes their mind and reverses their decision about their sin and sins and about the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, their lifestyle will be forever changed. Instead of symptoms of sin, their lifestyle will manifest symptoms of righteousness. The apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, preached repentance. The Bible says:

"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30).

All men, without exception, are commanded by God, to repent. Our apostle, Paul, elsewhere said this:

"And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:20 & 21).

In the Scripture above, repentance and faith are found in the same sentence. As we have stated before, both faith and repentance are God-given, and never is one given without the other. The Bible says:

"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Phil. 1:29).

TRUE FAITH OBEYS GOD

It has been granted by God, both to believe in Christ Jesus and to suffer for His sake. How does one know if he has God-given repentance and faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? One who has been granted repentance and faith by God will always truly believe in Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior. One who truly believes in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will obey the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said:

"Ifcome to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it" any man (Luke 14:26-28)?

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:34-37).

To believe in Jesus Christ as Savior from your sin, is to obey Jesus Christ as your Lord. Are you, dear reader, ready to learn the teaching (doctrine) of Jesus Christ and obey Him at all cost? If not, then you have not been granted repentance and faith to believe. Repentance, faith and salvation are all free gifts of God and cannot be earned by good works, nor by natural faith. Most modern evangelism merely coerces natural man to exercise his natural faith. Natural-faith salvation is bogus. The Bible says:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8 & 9).

Indeed we are saved by God's grace through God-given faith in Christ Jesus apart from our good works. However, the evidence of our faith is good works (obedience). The Bible says:

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).

We, who are saved, are God's workmanship from start to finish. We are created in Christ Jesus for good works. So, the order is thus; God-given repentance and God-given faith in the God-given Savior, Christ Jesus, apart from good works, results in salvation from sin and sins, which always produces good works. Righteous deeds always follow salvation from sin & sins. Good works never produce salvation from sin & sins. The apostle James makes this explicitly clear:

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him" (James 2:14)?

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead" (James 2:17-20)?

"For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (James 2:26).

God-given faith is a faith that saves, and a faith that saves, always produces the good works foreordained by God (Eph. 2:10). The devil and all the demons know and believe that Christ Jesus is both Lord and Savior and they shudder. Why? Because their faith is dead; and we know their faith is dead because their works are evil. The apostle John teaches us that the one who practices sin is of the devil:

"Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth (practices) sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit (practice) sin, for his seed renaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth (practices) not righteousness is not of God; neither he that loveth not his brother" (I John 3:7-10).

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles says the same thing in other words:

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (I Cor. 6:9 & 10).

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have told you in time past, that they which do (continually) such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21).

Know for a certainty, dear reader, that when God regenerates a man's dead spirit, that spirit will never again die. Faith and repentance are the results of the new spiritual birth at regeneration. God-given repentance will never again change in favor of practicing sin, nor will God-given faith ever fail to believe truth. We have already learned that a Christian is God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2:10). Paul also teaches us that God will continue to perfect His good work in us until the Rapture of the Church:

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).

IN CHRIST, OR IN ADAM?

When God saves a soul by means of the finished work of Jesus on the cross, that soul is forever saved from sin. Everyone, without exception, is either in Christ, saved from their sin, or in Adam, condemned in their sin. There are the many in Christ, saved, and there are the many in Adam, condemned. In which group are you, dear reader? The Bible says:

"For if by one man's (Adam's) offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men, unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" "(Romans 5:17-19).

WHERE WILL U-B-N ETERNITY?

When I was a small boy, it was a common thing to see a barn along the highway with its roof painted black with large white letters asking the ultimate question: WHERE WILL U-B-N ETERNITY?