{"id":1054,"date":"2021-01-31T15:54:38","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T21:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=1054"},"modified":"2021-01-31T15:54:38","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T21:54:38","slug":"a-death-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/31\/a-death-sentence\/","title":{"rendered":"A Death Sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cBut without faith it is<\/em> impossible to please him:<\/em> for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that<\/em> he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.<\/strong>\u201d
Hebrews 11:6 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Naaman healed of leprosy is a very familiar event that happened\nin the Old Testament. In Bible times, leprosy was much like a death sentence.\nThere was no known cure. However, have you ever considered a great lesson that\ncan be understood from this event?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read what we know about Naaman. \u201cNow Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man\nwith his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance\nunto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was<\/em> a leper<\/strong>\u201d\n(2 Kings 5:1). Naaman was a great, honorable, and a mighty man in valor that\nGod had used to give victory to Syria.\nBut he was a leper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young servant girl understood what being a leper meant, and\nshe wanted to see him healed. She knew the answer to his problem. There was a\nman of God (from her homeland in Israel)\nnamed Elisha who knew how to recover Naaman of his leprosy. Naaman went to the\ndoor of Elisha with his horses and chariot. \u201cAnd Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan\nseven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean<\/strong>\u201d\n(2 Kings 5:10). Naaman was very angry. He went away saying, \u201cBehold, I thought, He will surely come out\nto me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand\nover the place, and recover the leper<\/strong>\u201d (2 Kings 5:11b). Naaman expected\nElisha to come out of the house and do something to heal him from his leprosy. Instead,\nElisha had required that Naaman needed to do something. He was to obey the word\nof the prophet. Naaman declared there were better rivers in Syria\nthan in Israel.\n\u201cM<\/strong>ay I not wash in them,\nand be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage<\/strong>\u201d (2 Kings 5:12b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naaman had servants that gave him good counsel. They\nsuggested that if Naaman had been asked to do some great thing, wouldn\u2019t he\nhave done it just to be healed from his leprosy? \u201cThen went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according\nto the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh\nof a little child, and he was clean<\/strong>\u201d (2 Kings 5:14). When Naaman\nacted in faith, believing the word of God\u2019s prophet, he was healed. He returned\nto Elisha and said, \u201cBehold, now I\nknow that there is<\/em> no God in all the earth, but in <\/strong>Israel<\/strong>\u201d\n(2 Kings 5:15b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What almost stopped Naaman from obeying the man of God? His\npride. He thought that the man of God must do something (stand, call on the\nname of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place) in order form him\nto be healed. The only thing it took was for Naaman to humble himself, believe\nElisha, and act upon that belief. His leprosy was a physical death sentence.\nHowever, not knowing God was a spiritual death sentence. Because Naaman acted\nin faith, he was cured of both conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many good people today who do many great things,\nbut they have a problem. They are sinners, which is a spiritual death sentence.\n\u201cFor all have sinned, and come\nshort of the glory of God<\/strong>\u201d (Romans 3:23).\nThey are in the same condition as Naaman. They need to know God. \u201cBut without faith it is<\/em> impossible\nto please him:<\/em> for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that<\/em>\nhe is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him<\/strong>\u201d (Hebrews 11:6).\nPeople need someone much like that servant girl to help them understand that\nthere is deliverance available \u2013 if they would only have faith and act upon it.\nWhat is the message we need to get out to good people who have this problem? We\nneed to tell them the only way to God is through Jesus. \u201cJesus saith unto him, I am the way, the\ntruth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me<\/strong>\u201d (John\n14:6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you a good person with a spiritual death sentence? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or were you a sinner that believed, sought diligently and found Jesus? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to be Saved<\/a><\/blockquote>