Reflecting on all the Titanic coverage over the last couple of weeks made me think of the hymn, “Love Lifted Me.” The first verse reads, “I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more; but the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I.”
This beautiful hymn expresses man’s need for forgiveness in light of his corrupting sin. The issue of sin began in Genesis 3. Verses 4-5 say, “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.”
The consequences of this sin were mentioned later in the chapter, but an interesting statement is made in v. 15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” In this prophecy, the “seed” refers to Christ, who would take away our sins (John 1:29).
Redemption from sin, from our perspective, takes place through justification by faith in Christ (Romans 5:1). Faith causes us to “obey from the heart that form of doctrine” (Romans 6:17-18), and results in repentance (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 3:19), confession (Matthew 10:32; Acts 8:37), and baptism (John 3:3, 5; Galatians 3:27).
You need to save yourself from sin (Acts 2:40). It is so sad to see people who believe in God and Christ, yet they will not take the next step of commitment and obedience. Their faith is somewhat valuable to them, but they do not capitalize on it. Act on your faith by submitting to Christ. If you would like, please contact us for further study.
Kyle Campbell
