CHAPTER III

Original Sin

By this transgression, generally known as original sin, the image of God was utterly defaced in man, and he and his children became by nature hostile to God, slaves to Satan, and servants to sin. And thus everlasting death has had, and shall have, power and dominion over all who have not been, are not, or shall not be reborn from above. This rebirth is wrought by the power of the Holy Ghost creating in the hearts of God’s chosen ones an assured faith in the promise of God revealed to us in his Word; by this faith we grasp Christ Jesus with the graces and blessings promised in him.

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By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are saved.

Saved from what? The destruction we have brought upon ourselves.

Saved for what? For a life lived with God, a life aware of grace and blessings, a life where each step reveals a little more of God's promise. We have been in the grip of a power greater than us, but Christ Jesus has broken the power of the hand that holds us, wrenched each finger from around our necks and invited us in to become a part of something wonderful, something incredible, something more beautiful than we can truly fathom.

We are invited to come and take part in the relationship God is offering, one that we cannot build on our own, but can find only through the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe that we expend so much time and energy trying to find this power on our own, when all that time God is there, with an open hand, calling us to come and claim our place as his beloved children.