Monday, January 2, 2012

Thoughts from The Plight of Man and the Power of God

Pages 113-114

Why is it that man, faced with good and evil, right and wrong, and knowing the consequences, the painful consequences, that follow wrongdoing, nevertheless chooses the wrong? And not merely ordinary or ignorant men, but all men, those who are most intellectual and cultured, those who spend their lives in considering these problems. Why is it? What explains it? Only one answer is satisfactory: that which is supplied by the gospel of Christ. Man's very nature is fallen.

Man is wrong at the centre of his being, and therefore everything is wrong. He cannot be improved, for, finally, nothing will suffice but a radical change, a new nature. Man loves the darkness and hates the light. What can be done for him? Can he change himself? Can he renew his nature? 'Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?' Can man change the whole bias of his life?

Give him new clothing, provide him with a new house in new surroundings, entertain him with all that is best and most elevating, educate him and train his mind, enrich his soul with frequent doses of the finest culture ever known, do all this and more, but still he will remain the same essential man, and his desires and innermost life will be unchanged. Were that not true, the world and individual man would long since have reached perfection.

Think of all the work of the philosophers and thinkers. Consider especially the titanic changes and social enactments of the past hundred years, with all the efforts at solving the problems of mankind. All these things are good and right in their way within their circumscribed limits. But the great problem is still left. Man needs a new nature. Whence can he obtain it? Again, there is but one answer, in Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

2 comments:

Angie Hite said...

Thank you!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

First of all, thank you.
Thank you for investing in youth through youth-ministers, by blogging about your experiences on Up To Date w/ H2O.

Please know how incredible this is. And be encouraged to keep going.

I hope and pray that even more youth-pastors will be inspired, find solutions to their struggles, will be encouraged not to stop serving, and be inspired to grow their gifts.

We recognize that these are incredible times to live in, where technology allows youth-pastors around the world to encourage each other. As for ourselves, we use technology to reach out to youth globally as well.

For the past five years, we’ve been developing the world’s first videogame that takes kids through the Bible from beginning to end. Our hope is to increase the love for God’s Word amongst kids.

We dream to see kids go through the Bible together, having fun as they become part of David’s army, spend time in the fish as Jonah, and play level after level, leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection.

In order to steward this immense project well, we’re building relationships with youths pastors like you. We like to ask your input by allowing you to look behind the scenes, have your kids/families play demo game levels before they go public, etc. You may also recommend a few people you think would be of interest.

Additionally, we can provide you with plenty of interesting “blog-food” (concept art, images, etc) if you feel that this could benefit your subscribers.

If you’d like more information, shoot me a quick reply to the email address below.

Ruben
Reply to: connect (at) tornadotwins (dot) com