Less than ten days later, Dr. Li contracted the virus while treating another patient. By January 10, 2020, he began experiencing the virus’ symptoms. Two days later, he was hospitalized. On February 7, he died.


Meanwhile, the virus began to spread. On January 13, a case was reported in Thailand. On January 20, it showed up in South Korea. On January 21, it was discovered in the United States. By March 11, the World Health Organization officially declared it a pandemic. Now, the virus has infected every continent on the globe, except Antarctica.


God loves you.

Even though mankind, from the beginning, has rejected and disobeyed God, He wants a relationship with you and me. In fact, the most well-known verse in the Bible tells us of God’s love: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God made a way for us to know Him, and He doesn’t leave us guessing at how we can—He tells us in the Bible. In 1 John 5:13, He says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life…”

So, if God loves us and wants us to have eternal life, why is there still this virus of death?

The answer is simple:

Everyone is a sinner.

The Bible tells us that it is sin that keeps us from God. Sin is anything we do, say, or think that is contrary to God’s laws and commandments.

As we saw in Romans 5:12, since Adam and Eve, the first man and woman on earth, a sin nature has been present in all people. No one had to teach us how to sin; sinning comes naturally to us.

So sin separates us from God. It makes an impossible chasm between us.
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Sin has a price that must be paid.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…” The “wage” or payment for our sin is spiritual death—eternal separation from God in Hell.


Our own works and religion are not enough.

Some people believe they can pay the price for sin by doing good works or being involved in religion. This may seem logical, but it’s not what the Bible says. In fact, the Bible specifically tells us that we can’t earn our way to Heaven through good works.

We have seen reports in the news of people from Iran and India who have devised their own “medical” drinks to prevent or overcome COVID-19. Instead of providing a cure, however, those who took them became more ill, and some died.


Similarly, we cannot provide our own cure for sin. Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” So, although it is good to be kind to your neighbor and do good works, these things cannot cure us from the curse of sin. Also, our sin has a penalty.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…” The “wage” or payment for our sin is spiritual death—eternal separation from God in Hell..


Jesus Christ died to pay for your sin.


Even as a virus patient will only receive treatment if they acknowledge their condition, so we must acknowledge our need for Christ.

I recently read an article about a woman who lived to the age of 102, but had experienced what came to be known as the Spanish Influenza in 1918 at the age of 3. What saved her life—and undoubtedly the lives of others—was the white scarf tied to the family’s outside doorknob, alerting others that there was a quarantined patient inside.

IMAGE Elinor Elisberg, left, sits with her father and her sister in 1918.

Will you turn to Christ alone?


Although Jesus already paid for our sin and offers us the gift of forgiveness and eternal life in Heaven, we must choose to receive His gift. We must stop trusting ourselves, our works, and our religions, and turn our full trust to Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of our sin. Health viruses will come and go, but in Christ, you can have forgiveness and a home in Heaven that can never be taken away.

Romans 10:13 says we simply call out to Him to save us from the penalty of our sin: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

That is a promise directly from God that if you will pray to Him, confess that you are a sinner, ask Him to forgive your sins, and turn to Him alone to be your Saviour; He promises to save you…to provide a cure for sin. You can make that decision today by praying from your heart, something like this

Dear Lord, I know that I am separated from You because of sin. I confess that in my sin I cannot save myself. Right now, I turn to you alone to be my Savior. I ask you to save me from the penalty of my sin, and I trust you to provide eternal life to me. Amen.

You'll never regret that decision!

If you have just trusted Christ as your Savior, please let us know. We would like to help you learn more about your new relationship with Him.
If you have questions about this gift of eternal life, I would love to hear from you.

office@cornerstonebc.ca
ph. (905) 847.3530