Once again, during my encounter with a friend I found out how empty religion can terribly cause harm rather than do good to a person. I remember the Apostle Paul sighing when he wrote Romans 10:1-2 saying, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.”
I was sharing God’s invitation to save sinners through the sacrificial death of His Son as the only rescue plan how to escape from hell because we all have sinned (Romans 3:23), but instead of trusting fully in Christ’s work on the cross as full payment for our sins, my friend would insist believing on religion and man’s work to gain enough merit for salvation. People admit they are sinners yet they chose to depend on their good works to be saved. The Apostle Paul is truly right when he wrote in 2Corinthians 4:4 that Satan blinds people so that they can’t see the glorious light of the Good News that the Son of God Jesus came to save sinners (1Timothy 1:15) not the righteous. According to Romans 3:10 in God’s sight there’s no one righteous not even one. Yes, people are blinded and are greatly insulting God by defying the sufficiency of Jesus’ death on the cross, the ultimate sacrifice, so that He can bring us back to the Father. 1Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” So that by realizing the high cost of our salvation it will compel us to love God in return and start doing good with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwelt in us since the time we believed and accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior (Ephesians 1:13-14).
Because some people choose to stay blind and refuse to give value to the redemptive work of the Son of God on the cross, we are deemed to be more intentional, more patient and more loving in bringing God’s invitation to those whom God has brought into our fold starting from our own Jerusalem.
Romans, 1:14-16, "I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the Gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."