Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer about the world and the many religions and this sense of being nullified or belonging to no one has been heard, and I want to answer you with the hope that is found only in Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches that the central sin the Holy Spirit convicts the world of is not believing in Jesus. Jesus Himself said He did not come to condemn the world but to save it, and the one who believes in Him is not condemned. That is how great the love of God is, that He gave His only Son to die on the cross bearing the sins of the world.
There is a real enemy behind the confusion of this world. Scripture calls Satan the prince of this world, and when God first gave dominion to mankind, that dominion was lost. But on the cross that prince was judged and defeated. Christ won the victory there, and that victory can become yours. Through Jesus you do not have to remain under the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil. You can have complete victory in Him.
At the same time, God has not yet taken His people out of the world. Jesus prayed that His followers would be kept from evil and set apart from the world through the truth, for the Word of God is truth. We are in the world but we are not of the world, just as He is not of the world. He leaves us here for a purpose, to be His light and to bear witness of Him so that others might believe that the Father sent the Son. He wants to be glorified in our lives, whether by life or by death, and to make us an expression of Himself as we are conformed to the image of Christ.
The wisdom of this world cannot lead anyone to God. The world by its wisdom did not know Him. God has made the wisdom of the wise to come to nothing, and the way of salvation seems foolish to the world, yet to us it is the power of God. Before the world was even created God ordained the plan of redemption, that Christ would be crucified for our sins. Every other religion in the world is in essence finite man trying to reach up to God, but Christianity is the infinite God reaching down to finite man. The difference is not just pointing to a better path, but God imparting power through the indwelling of Jesus Christ and giving us His righteousness through faith, not through our own works of the law.
Without Christ the Bible describes our condition as without hope and without God in the world. That is a tragic place to live, feeling as you described, as if you are annulled or belonging to no one. But now in Christ Jesus those who were once far off have been brought near by His blood. You are not meant to remain without belonging. God calls those who are sanctified in Christ to be set apart as holy vessels for His use, called to be saints and brought into fellowship with His Son. Your life can be hidden with Christ in God, crucified with Him to the old life and risen with Him to seek the things that are above. Scripture says to not love the world nor the things in the world, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, for they are passing away, but to set your affection on Christ.
So I pray for you that God would reveal His love manifested at the cross, that you would turn from unbelief to faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, that you would experience His victory over the enemy, and that you would be set apart by His truth. May you know that you are not without belonging, but that through the blood of Jesus you can be brought into the family of God, given hope, and made a witness of His grace to a world that desperately needs to hear of Him. May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you as you find your life hidden in Him.
The Bible teaches that the central sin the Holy Spirit convicts the world of is not believing in Jesus. Jesus Himself said He did not come to condemn the world but to save it, and the one who believes in Him is not condemned. That is how great the love of God is, that He gave His only Son to die on the cross bearing the sins of the world.
There is a real enemy behind the confusion of this world. Scripture calls Satan the prince of this world, and when God first gave dominion to mankind, that dominion was lost. But on the cross that prince was judged and defeated. Christ won the victory there, and that victory can become yours. Through Jesus you do not have to remain under the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil. You can have complete victory in Him.
At the same time, God has not yet taken His people out of the world. Jesus prayed that His followers would be kept from evil and set apart from the world through the truth, for the Word of God is truth. We are in the world but we are not of the world, just as He is not of the world. He leaves us here for a purpose, to be His light and to bear witness of Him so that others might believe that the Father sent the Son. He wants to be glorified in our lives, whether by life or by death, and to make us an expression of Himself as we are conformed to the image of Christ.
The wisdom of this world cannot lead anyone to God. The world by its wisdom did not know Him. God has made the wisdom of the wise to come to nothing, and the way of salvation seems foolish to the world, yet to us it is the power of God. Before the world was even created God ordained the plan of redemption, that Christ would be crucified for our sins. Every other religion in the world is in essence finite man trying to reach up to God, but Christianity is the infinite God reaching down to finite man. The difference is not just pointing to a better path, but God imparting power through the indwelling of Jesus Christ and giving us His righteousness through faith, not through our own works of the law.
Without Christ the Bible describes our condition as without hope and without God in the world. That is a tragic place to live, feeling as you described, as if you are annulled or belonging to no one. But now in Christ Jesus those who were once far off have been brought near by His blood. You are not meant to remain without belonging. God calls those who are sanctified in Christ to be set apart as holy vessels for His use, called to be saints and brought into fellowship with His Son. Your life can be hidden with Christ in God, crucified with Him to the old life and risen with Him to seek the things that are above. Scripture says to not love the world nor the things in the world, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, for they are passing away, but to set your affection on Christ.
So I pray for you that God would reveal His love manifested at the cross, that you would turn from unbelief to faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, that you would experience His victory over the enemy, and that you would be set apart by His truth. May you know that you are not without belonging, but that through the blood of Jesus you can be brought into the family of God, given hope, and made a witness of His grace to a world that desperately needs to hear of Him. May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you as you find your life hidden in Him.
