There are likely many people who have heard the phrase “the missing link.” Often it applies to evolutionary theory, particularly in the evolutionists’ search for an intermediate species bridging humans and apes, since they believe we are descended from those animals. Having been a Christian for almost half of my life and thus having embraced creationism, when I hear about the missing link now, I think of a piece of sausage missing from my breakfast plate! Seriously, though, there is something missing in natural man, something we all need in order to have eternal life. The real missing link is a relationship with God, brought about by salvation through Jesus Christ alone.
We know—or we should know—what happened in the Garden of Eden, when Eve and then Adam fell by transgression, committing the sin of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had forbidden them to eat from it, Satan in the guise of a serpent tricked Eve into eating it, and Adam, instead of putting a stop to all this, went right along with it, and the rest of it is, as they say, history—bloody, violent, perverse, corrupt history. The whole human race came under the curse of sin, but God, in His great love for people, has always worked to bridge the gap between Himself and His fallen creation. We cannot come to God except on His terms, for He is holy. We have no holiness, no righteousness of our own, to bring to Him:
Isaiah 64:6: But we are like an uncleanthing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Romans 3:9-10: What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;…”
NOTE: Here, “Greeks” is synonymous with Gentiles, that is, all non-Jews. Therefore you can see that the whole human race is under sin.
Having established the sinfulness of mankind, the next verse in Romans 3 might have people scratching their heads:
Romans 3:11: “…there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God…”
There is none who seeks after God…Really? What might puzzle many at this point is that there might be as many as 4000 or more religions in the world today. With all these belief systems, how can the Bible say that there is none who seeks after God? There would not be this many religions if people were not seeking—or so it would seem. Since the Bible is true and therefore none are seeking after God, then what is the explanation for all this religious activity and searching? The answer is that people are always seeking either something or someone higher than themselves, or something that brings purpose and fulfillment to their lives, or both.
Man, left to his own devices, is inherently religious in spite of the fact that our spirit is dead in trespasses and sins. We all have a God-given capacity to conceive of the supernatural, although some become atheists or agnostics along the way. Along with this conceptual ability comes the desire to fill that which is missing in us: A relationship with God. Many try to find a supreme being, or supreme beings, through the pursuit of religion of one sort or another. However, without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, lost man will never find the one true God. All that the lost have in their unguided pursuits are empty promises, meaningless fulfillments, and after this life, eternal damnation. In His graciousness, God Himself initiates the process of reaching out to the lost:
John 6:37, 44: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” … “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
And what of the nonreligious, you may ask? That which takes the place of God in our lives is idolatry. For the religious this is the worship of false gods and goddesses instead of worshipping the one true God. For the nonreligious it could be many other things—work, sex, alcohol, drugs, gambling, recreation, hobbies, social status, money, power, spouse and/or family, and so on. Believe it or not, even the lack of religion qualifies as an idol. It stands in the place of God, does it not? The most unassuming and unambitious among us are idolaters, too, for their daily routine is their god. Are you one of those who thinks your good works can earn favor with God? Then you are your own god. It is said that a man who represents himself in court has a fool for an attorney. How much more so is one who will appear before the Almighty Judge, advocating for oneself?
God reaches out to people every moment of every day. He does it via His Holy Spirit, that the lost might trust in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son and be saved. Many of you who are reading this blog are no doubt Christians and thus already know this—perhaps. In these end times, when the faith is getting progressively progessivized and watered down, a number of people who identify themselves as Christians are both doubting the total truthfulness of the Bible and the fact that there is only one way to salvation. Such self-delusion is a fool’s hope. This wrong counsel further condemns and hardens the hearts of the lost just as surely as the purveyors of sinful activities do, and makes misguided Christians guilty of misleading the lost into thinking that the road to salvation is broad:
Jeremiah 23:14: “Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
NOTE: For those who teach falsely, do not think you are exempt just because you are not a prophet from Jerusalem!
Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Acts 4:12: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is not other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
For those of you who are reading this blog and are lost, perhaps you are one of those who have been searching for something you felt like you’ve been missing your whole life. There is this void in your being which nothing else fills, providing at best only temporary satisfaction. It could be a counterfeit religion, be it Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Christian Science, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Satanism, Wicca, Voodoo, Native American religions, Santeria, astrology, or any of a number of other belief systems. It could be pleasure, work, money, your spouse, or whatever else as discussed earlier.
God fitted each and everyone of us for being in a relationship with Him. He provided Jesus Christ as the way to be cleansed of your sins and to have His righteousness credited to you. God would much rather show mercy on someone than condemn that person to hell (Ezekiel 33:11; Psalm 85:10; James 2:13; 2 Peter 3:9). If you are sensing that you need salvation and that Jesus is the only way, that is the Holy Spirit dealing with you. In that case, either click on the link to “How to be Saved” at the end of this blog, click the Contact tab on this website and fill out the form there, or both. Do not delay. Tomorrow is not promised to us (James 4:13-14). The Lord is willing and ready to adopt you into His family.
For those of you who are misguided Christians: Get this straight—Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and the Bible is totally true and trustworthy! Do you think He sent His only begotten Son to suffer, bleed, and die for us for nothing? Do you think God would have sent Jesus here at all if there had been some other way than the shedding of blood for salvation? Forget anything that contradicts the clear teachings of the Bible. Also take to heart these stern warnings and repent:
Galatians 1:8-9: But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
Revelation 22:18-19: For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The real missing link in the lives of unregenerate people everywhere is a relationship with the true and living God, made possible by trusting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The instant you are saved, God’s Holy Spirit comes to live in you, marking you as His own, guiding, and strengthening you (Ephesians 1:13-14; John 14:16-18, 23, 26, 15:26-27). Be empty no longer. Get saved today! No matter what happens afterwards, getting saved—being born again—is one decision you will never, ever regret.
