HOW DID THE WORLD BEGIN?
Do you ever ask yourself, “Where did the world come from? Did it just happen? Or did a great mind plan it and a great power make it?”
When you see a bicycle, a car, or an airplane, you know that it couldn’t have just happened. Someone planned it and made it so that it would operate according to fixed rules.
The world and everything in it functions according to fixed patterns that we call the laws of nature. The more science discovers about these laws, the more sure we are that Someone planned every detail of the universe, made it, and keeps it functioning according to His plan. That Someone is God, the all-powerful and all-wise Creator. He is the Lord, or Ruler, of the Universe.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:3 All things were made by him.
God created the sun, moon, stars, and earth. He fixed their orbits so they would not crash into one another. He ordered the exact distance of the earth from the sun—not too close, or everything would burn up; not too far away, or we would freeze.
Ocean and land were in perfect proportions, and the atmosphere was just right. Then God made the living things. Last of all He created man and put him in a beautiful, wonderful world.
Genesis 1:31 And God saw everything that He had made, and . . . it was very good.
Why Did God Make the World?
God made the world for His own enjoyment. He created the human family to be His children that He would love and enjoy. He made the earth for their home. God would enjoy the beauty and the orderliness of His universe, but most of all He would take pleasure in the love of His children.
Revelation 4:11 You have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created.
Psalm 149:4 The Lord takes pleasure in his people.
God wanted His children to be like Himself and to share in His work. So He gave Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, a nature like His own in many ways. God would teach them. With His help, mankind would rule over the earth.
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image . . . and let them have dominion . . . over all the earth.
What Went Wrong with the World?
Look around and you will see suffering, sorrow, quarrels, violence, war, hunger, and death. The world is not perfect now. What went wrong? This once-perfect world has been spoiled by an enemy of God and by man himself.
God has an enemy called Satan, or the devil. He was made by God, but he became proud and rebellious. Now Satan is against everything that God is for . . . God is good; Satan fights good with evil. God wants to help us; Satan tries to destroy us. God wants to enjoy man’s love and fellowship, but the devil tries to separate us from God. Satan tries to make us follow him instead of God.
Satan told Adam and Eve lies about God. He persuaded them to sin; that is, to disobey God. God had warned Adam that sin would bring death, because sin separates a person from God. Life comes from God, so separation from Him ends in death. Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan instead of God. They broke God’s rules and went their own way with tragic results for the world.
Sin brought disease and death into the world.
Romans 5:12 Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death spread to the whole human race, because all men sinned.
Sin has broken the fellowship between God and man. As long as man is rebellious, disobedient, and sinful, he cannot have fellowship with God. Instead of being a servant of God, he is a servant of sin.
Romans 6:16 When you surrender yourselves as slaves to obey someone, you are in fact the slaves of the master you obey—either of sin, which results in death, or of obedience, which results in being put right with God.
By choosing to disobey God, we join Satan’s rebellion and accept his rule. The earth has become a battlefield between God and Satan. You must choose on which side to be.
Joshua 24:15 Decide today whom you will serve, . . . As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord.
SATAN OFFERS US
In Nature
A Corrupt Nature
Disorder and Chaos
Hunger and Poverty
GOD OFFERS US
In Nature
A Perfect Creation
Abundant Provision
Balance Order
In Our Body
Disease and Death
Vices and Lust
In our Body
Life and Health
Wholesome Appetites
In Our Thinking, Feeling, and Acting
Enslavement to Sin
Separation from God
Rebelliousness
Selfishness and Crime
Aimlessness and Wars
Bad Thoughts and Hatred
Destruction
Sadness
Unbelief and Pride
Suspicion and Error
Injustice and Fears
Fighting and Folly
In Our Thinking, Feeling, and Acting
Wholesome and Love
Good Thoughts
Freedom of Choice
Fellowship with God
Obedience
Helpfulness
Happiness and Justice
Confidence and Peace
Humility and Trust
Purpose and Wisdom
Truth and Creativity
Faith and Joy
IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR THE WORLD?
God Still Cares for the World
God still loves us in spite of our sin. He has made a way to save us from sin, Satan, and eternal death. God still rules the universe and will one day bring the earth back into obedience again.
The Son of God Took Our Punishment
Every person on earth has sinned and has been sentenced to die. We had no way to save ourselves. God loved us so much that He sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to take our punishment.
Nearly 2,000 years ago Jesus came to earth and was supernaturally born of a virgin in the land of Palestine. He taught men the truth about God and His love. He did nothing wrong in life. He treated everyone with respect and kindness. Yet he was treated as a criminal, nailed to a cross, and put to death. He died for our sins.
God showed the world that Jesus was His Son by bringing Him back to life after three days. Forty days later Jesus went back to heaven. Friends of Jesus who saw Him after His resurrection and watched Him go up to heaven have told us about it in the Gospels.
Since Jesus has taken our punishment, those who accept Him as their Saviour are freed from the power of Satan. When we turn away from our sins, God makes us His children and gives us His life.
God urges us to believe in His Son and be saved from sin, but He will not force us to do it.
Romans 5.17 Through the sin of one man death began to rule . . . But how much greater is the result of what was done by the one man, Jesus Christ! All who receive God’s abundant grace and the free gift of His righteousness will rule in life through Christ.
John 3:16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.
Romans 6:23 For sin pays its wage—death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
You Can Live in a Perfect World
One day Jesus is coming back to the world to free it from sin and make everything new. If you accept Him as your Saviour now, you will live with Him in complete happiness then. Even now, your life will be better because Jesus will come to live in you so you can do what pleases God. You can begin to enjoy today the blessings that belong to the children of God.
If you want to accept Jesus as your Saviour now, pray this prayer.
Prayer
Thank You, God, for loving me and sending Your Son to die for my sins. I accept Jesus now as my Saviour. All the rest of my life, I want to be on your side and not on Satan’s. Please make me the kind of person that You want me to be.