Psalm 53:1

Psalm  53:1

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;

there is none who does good.

There is no person in the world who truly believes there is no God - only those who say it. In order to convince themselves of God's nonexistence, fools much preach to themselves because God has permanently branded on every heart His existence. His truth is undeniable in every conscience (Ecc. 3:11). So man suppresses it (Rom. 1:18).

This suppression of truth leads to evil deeds. Man does not want to be judged, so he claims there is no Judge and does the evil his flesh desires. A sinful worldview leads to sinful actions. Ultimately all men are born prone to this. All sin is the denial of God's holiness, justice, mercy, and existence. And all have sinned.

Because man declares a corrupt message to his heart, the heart becomes evil, and deeds follow. The only remedy to this corrupt preaching of lies can be righteous preaching of the truth. And that truth is the Good News.

Psalm 49:7, 15

Psalm 49:7, 15

Truly no man can ransom another, 

or give to God the price of his life...

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will receive me.

Ransom of a life is far too high a cost for the resources of mortal man. An atheist once declared, "No deity will save us; we must save ourselves." Yet if we were forever separated from God's grace, none could ever be saved at all - by a friend or by himself. The cost is too great.

"But God" is the best news in the Bible. In these two words, hope begins. They mean that we are helpless but He is not, that we are sinful but that He did something about it. That man is not sinless as is God is terrible news. But that God is not sinful or helpless as is man is the greatest news ever.

In His mercy, God ransoms us from the power of death; in His grace, He gives us eternal life. WE are not left without a savior; we are given a Redeemer. Having been delivered from the dominion of darkness, we are accepted as children of light. No evils or powers can stand against us because God is for us (Rom. 8:31). We have been ransomed on Earth; we will be received in Heaven.