 |
| Picture taken from BBC News website |
More than four hundred people have been offered tests and screening by
the NHS for blood-borne viruses. This is after some 22,000 dental patients have
been recalled, possibly the highest number in NHS history. This story of a
Nottingham dentist demonstrates the truth of the sentence that forms the title
of this blog. What may surprise you is that it is a sentence taken from the Old
Testament section of the Bible, and it was written over 3000 years ago.
The case in Nottingham has raised concerns about the possibility of
cross-contamination at the practice and has highlighted the number of serious
infections that are carried in the blood, as well as what can be learnt about an
individual’s health by a simple sample of blood. For Bible-based Christians
this does not come as a surprise. Indeed, the only surprise is that so many
people have been fooled into thinking that such a complex fluid could have
evolved by chance, even after the millions of years that atheists allege the
world has been around.
Whilst the Bible was not written as a Science textbook, I wonder
whether we appreciate how many scientific facts it contains. One thing that
continues to be ignored by many is the Bible’s statement on humanity – ‘For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’. We have all inherited, passed
on through the blood-line, the problem of sin in our lives.
Any parent will tell you that it is not long before a child expresses
its will – its desire to do what it wants, ignoring the rules and safeguards
that you set for it! This childish rebellion is a feature of what is present,
and what develops in all of us. The Bible speaks of our rebellion against God,
and the rules and safeguards He sets for our lives. This is sin!
As there are consequences that must be faced for every act of
rebellion, whether by a child or an adult, there are consequences related to
our rebellion against God – our sin! The Bible speaks thus: ‘the wages of sin
is death’. This may be physical death – some actions have a risk as serious as
that! However, the Bible is speaking especially of spiritual death – separation
from God in judgement and condemnation. Every sin must be punished!
What about yours? Are you going to bear the punishment for your sin?
The true Christian should be able to speak of a time in their experience when
they realized they were a sinner and when they trusted Jesus Christ as their
Saviour. At that point, their sin was taken away, forgiven, and they were set
free from its guilt and penalty. Has that been your experience?
