In the beginning God and Christ made man in Their own image, after Their own likeness. Therefore, man cannot live a truly normal life except in close relation with God and Christ, his Creator. Here is what the Apostle Paul said when he was on Mars Hill in Athens:

“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring’. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:22-31).

As newborn babes in Christ, we have God’s blessings! “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11-l3). Remember what Christ taught Nicodemus in John 3:3, 5: You must be born again – of water and spirit – or - Romans 6:1-12: Baptism is a likeness of Christ’s death so that we rise in the likeness of his Resurrection!

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18: Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1: 17, 18). Therefore man is dependent on God and Christ for all that is needed to make life pleasant, happy and meaningful. Even as man is adapted to this earth, he is also spirit by God and Christ. Man needs Christ because he is separated from God through sin. The universal condemnation is found in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Also Galatians 3:22-27, “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

We read in Isaiah 59:1-3, “The Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear, But your sins have separated between you and your God and your iniquities have hid his face that he will not hear.”

In Isaiah 57:20, 21, the Bible says, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” It is only when a man’s heart is surrendered to the will of God that he can know the peace that passeth understanding.

Truly a man’s need is great when he must go down into death’s dark valley having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). Facing only the prospect of a grave in the dark can give man little, if any, incentive to live a life of usefulness and dignity. Christ has made the most beautiful promise in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.” The serenity of a life hid with Christ in God is something that is denied to every unconverted heart. Only He who calmed the raging waves of the sea can bring peace to a heart that is tossed to and fro on the sea of life.

Man needs Christ because eventually he must return to God. In Ecclesiastes 12:7 we read, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” One of the most solemn statements of the Bible is in Hebrews 9: 27, "And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.” Several great truths are revealed in that inspired statement. Man’s existence in this world is strictly limited. Death is the lot of all. When man sinned in Eden God’s decree was, "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Death does not end man’s existence. He does not go down to the silence of the dreamless dust. He sleeps only to awaken again to appear before his Creator.

We find in 2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad.” Man alone of all of God’s creatures was given sufficient intelligence to be held accountable for his conduct. Our thoughts, our words, and all of our deeds will come before the judgment of almighty God. In Ecclesiastes 12:14, the wise man said, "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil.” God’s inspired revelation offers no hope of mercy and grace to a soul that has squandered his life by living independent of the will of his Creator. Paul says in Galatians 6:7,8, “Be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. He that soweth to the flesh shall reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.” And again in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” But where there has been no repentance for a life wasted in the service of Satan there can be no claim on the mercy and grace of a stern but just God. Only in and through Christ can the future be made bright with the hope of eternal happiness.

In 2 Timothy 1:1, Paul affirms that Christ Jesus is our hope, for He is the way, the truth, and the life and none can come to God except through Him. The time is soon coming when the little candle flame which men call life will flicker and go out in that cold night wind that blows toward the eternal shore. Only when your life is entrusted to Christ can you hope to walk without fear through it to the Judgment Bar of God.