CANCER or CHRIST or BOTH (you don’t want the former without the latter)

I wrote a letter to someone whom I've known for over 35 years who has dealt with many hardships in her life but seems to always overcome them.  Now CANCER presents itself, trumps, and compounds the former.

Some might ponder that there must be something better beyond this earth, in light of all the sickness and hardships we deal with daily and in this case the "C" word—CANCER, which leads oftentimes to the dreaded "D" word—DEATH.

Cancer is horrible.  Cancer devastates.  Cancer destroys.  Cancer kills.  Cancer killed my mom recently.

Do you know what is worse than CANCER?  SIN!  And where SIN will take you!  Cancer is a result of a sin-cursed world.

Trusting in Christ beats CANCER every time!  

Cancer only kills you once if you're in Christ because you are on to a better place thereafter (Philippians 1:21).

However, if you are still in the first man Adam, CANCER will be the first death.  But the second death, which cancer can't even hold a candle to, is the Lake of Fire, for the unbelieving of this world (Revelation 20:15).

So, I wrote this letter in hopes of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with her as a shining light in this world full of darkness.  Because it sounds like, in her voice, there’s a longing for a hope of something better beyond death.  And Christ is always the answer!

I hope you find this a blessing, and may it speak to you.  Or maybe you’d share it will someone who may need to hear these words.

It begins like this…

For sure, we live in a fallen world full of murder, human trafficking, wars, poverty, corruption, child abuse on every level, and so on.  This is not the way the world was supposed to be.  When man disobeyed God, in turn trusting Satan’s lies in the garden (Genesis 3:1-6; John 10:10), creation fell and sin overtook and entered the world, and as a result, we have what we have today.  It will only get worse before it gets better.  This was and still is no surprise to God—He knew ahead of time sin’s progression and outcome.  The sin of disobedience severed man’s fellowship with God.  Therefore, God had a plan in place BEFORE the world began to redeem fallen man (Revelation 13:8; Titus 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:9).

This plan was to provide a Savior!  God Himself, creator of the universe, sinless, Holy, and Righteous; not bound by time or space; came to this earth in the person of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, by the Holy Spirit of God, to provide the perfect blood atonement of salvation for you and for me.

The Bible tells us there is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22).

Christ’s death through His blood is the propitiation for ALL sins; past, present, and future, the Bible tells us in Romans 3:25.

Propitiation simply means that His blood was the perfect satisfying means of appeasing God’s wrath.  God’s justice is satisfied!

You might ask, God did that for me?  For you?  I wasn’t even born yet—He didn’t know me.

God knew you before you were born (Jeremiah 1:5).  He knows your thoughts, what you will do tomorrow, and if you will change your mind.  Although He could, He’s not controlling you—you have free will to do as you wish.  In fact, that’s why the world is the way it is—free will influenced by the Satanic policy of evil. 

Again, God is not bound by time, and He knows you intimately—more than anyone else does—he knows the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30).  He knew the precise moment and circumstance of the day you were born and the precise second of the final day that you will breathe your very last breath.

In Romans 5:8, and I paraphrase: God proved or demonstrated His love (not our kind of love) to YOU in that, while you were yet a sinner—while you were going to sin before you ever did—He sent His Son to the cross to die for YOU!  And His Son did it willingly and faithfully because His will is to please the Father and they both love you (Ephesians 2:4; 1 John 4:10; Galatians 1:4).

What does that mean?

It means that you and I when we were born, we were already destined for hell (1 Corinthians 15:22).  This is no joke and not a game.  This is eternal separation from God and loved ones in complete agony—worse than you can ever imagine.  And you will be completely consciously aware in death, with feeling and memory—100% (Luke 16:19-24).

Then at the great White Throne of Judgement, God will judge EVERY man (and woman and accountable child) according to their “works”.  They will be judged according to what they had done in their flesh—in their human bodies—during their time on earth.  This judgment is only for the UNSAVED.

Then the unsaved will be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever (2 Thessalonians 1:8; Revelation 20).  This is not what you want.  Some say this is a scare tactic.  But conversely, I’ve heard it also stated, “I’d rather be Hell scared than Hell scorched!”  And this I agree with.

Everlasting Fire is eternal punishment.  This is because God—the Righteous and Holy God—He hates sin and demands justice for it.  Therefore, this place was created for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

But human sinners will go there too who do not trust Christ’s love by trusting in His ever-satisfying payment for their sins.  Not trusting Him, in a sense, is ultimately saying, “I’d rather pay for my own sins, myself.”

But the Bible also says that it is God’s WILL that ALL MEN be SAVED and come to the knowledge of the TRUTH (1 Timothy 2:4)!  He doesn’t want you to perish.  He loves you!

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18 & 21, and I paraphrase: that it PLEASED God by the FOOLISHNESS of PREACHING to SAVE them THAT BELIEVE.  This "world" of unsaved people who will perish, thinks the preaching of the cross is ridiculous, weak, a crutch, and foolish.

God has done everything within His power to save you, but the rest is up to you, and it has to do with your faith—your decision.  What and who will you trust?

Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “For by GRACE are ye SAVED through FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT OF GOD:  NOT OF WORKS (you can’t work for it), lest any man should boast.”

GRACE!  This is God’s undeserved, unmerited favor on you!  There was or is nothing you could do to earn or gain it.  It was simply due to His love for you.  He just asks: do you believe what I (God) have done for you through My Son?

That said, I hope YOU, my friend, ask these questions:

How can I be SAVED?  How do I gain Heaven when I die?

I’m glad you asked!

Here are the steps to avoid Hell, be with saved loved ones, and the Lord Jesus Christ after your final breath.  The joy will be unimaginable!

1)    Understand what I’ve told you already.  What do you mean, you ask?  Understand and believe YOU ARE SINNER.  A sin is simply anything that offends God and goes against His Word, Will, or Law.  A sin is simply NOT BELIEVING God.  I’m sure you can determine whether you are a sinner or not, if you’re being truthful (Romans 3:23).

2)    Believe that God meant what He said.  He came to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ and was born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18 & 23).  He walked in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3).

3)    Knowing the above, place your faith in and trust that God's sinless Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Christ means Messiah), went to the cross ON YOUR BEHALF, paying for YOUR SINS; He who knew no sin shed His blood, dying in your stead, satisfying the requirement of God's justice, was buried and rose again the 3^rd day according to what the Holy Scriptures prophesied (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).  This was His plan!

4)    If you believe and place your trust in this, you are SAVED from Hell, the Lake of Fire, and the judgment of God for your sins.  Christ paid your penalty.  You NOW at this very moment are guaranteed Heaven as a present possession when you die.  The Bible says you are SEALED with the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 1:13).

If you are SAVED, you WILL NOT lose your salvation.  When you SIN (because you will, in thought, deed—willful or by accident), you WILL NOT lose your salvation.  Some say this is a free ticket to sin.  NO, it is not.  The Bible says, shall we sin that grace may abound (Romans 6:1)? Absolutely not! (I paraphrase).  We are dead to sin.  You now have the choice not to sin.  You are not bound by sin.  You are freed from it (Romans 6:7; 6:18).

Since you are now saved, you are to walk according to His Word (Colossians 1:10).  You are to renew your mind and study His Word (Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 2:15).  It’s important to live your days on this earth while being an ambassador for Christ, sharing His precious gift of eternal life through His Son with others (Romans 6:23)! 

But you still have free will.  If you choose not to do these things, but still trust in the gospel presented, then you simply will not grow in truth and faith as a believer (Romans 10:17).  You are still saved—Christ will not deny you—you are sealed.  However, your life in Christ will be dull, stunted, and not flourishing with the blessings of His Word He has provided for you in the 66 books laid out in the King James Bible for the English-speaking people.

If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.

I hope anyone who reads this will be blessed and forward it to anyone who needs to hear the Gospel of Salvation.

If you have given your life to Christ, please let me know in private.  Not for me to glory in, but to encourage you and share in your blessing.

Thank you and be blessed!

Brother Michael