Turning away from listening to the TRUTH…

 

This passage of Scripture describes the great majority of today’s so-called “Christianity” in that our “Christian” bookstore shelves are packed full of “do it yourself” books on being a better person, having your “best life now”, pulling  yourself up by your own bootstraps to the “abundant life” that Jesus promised in John 10:10.  All of this is complete non-sense, a total misuse of Scripture and is leading millions down the broad way toward destruction!  Complete neglect of the preaching of the law, the preaching of sin, our transgressions and crimes against a holy God Who’s standard is absolute perfection in thought, word and deed!  A God Who must, and will, punish sin where ever it is found!!!  God has commanded all men everywhere to repent… why?  Because he has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness!

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."  (Mark 1:15)

 

Soli deo Gloria

Testimony

I grew up in a Baptist church and at the age of 7, after answering "yes" to a series of questions that I didn't understand, the Pastor "pope-ishly" declared me "saved" and shortly thereafter was baptized. In my late 20's I would be baptized again under very similar circumstances. It was an emotionally charged service, I went forward, repeated a prayer and asked Jesus to "come into my heart". One week later I was baptized... again. I thought I was doing everything right, but looking back, there was no evidence of God's changing presence in my life. None. Despite my "profession of faith" I continued to live in rebellion toward God, but believing (in my deceived mind) that I was going to heaven when I died. Throughout the years of drunkeness and riotous living, it was only the grace of God that kept me alive. Had I died, my soul would have been cast into hell for all of eternity. I would have received exactly what I deserved.

What happens when we die? Contrary to the teaching of Roman Catholicism, purgatory does not exist. The bible teaches there's a heaven and there's a hell. We all like to talk about heaven and think of its glorious splendor, but what about hell? Christ preached far more about hell than He did about heaven and there's not a person in this world who hasn't heard of it. Christ Himself warned us about it, He warned us!

In Matthew 13 Christ described hell as a fiery furnace.

Matt 13:41-42 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

In Matthew 18 hell is described by Christ as a place of fire. A place where there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth!

Matt 18:7-9 "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! (8) And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. (9) And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Even still, you're no different than I was! Regardless all of the people God has placed in your path who have told you about sin, who have shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with you... although you know what the Bible says about it, you remain unmoved, unchanged and unclean before a holy God.

Just like I had, you have bought into the false gospel of TOTAL love and TOTAL grace, completely lacking repentance and total submission to Christ. If you think you are good enough to be accepted by a God so holy sinful men die in His very presence, you are deceived... just like I was.

When God reached down and saved me, He opened my eyes to the sin in my life and I began to hate the very sin I used to love. A great many of you today cling closely to your sin. Christ warned us in Luke 13:3 that unless we repent, turn from our sin and turn to Him, that we will perish; YET you cannot bear the thought turning from the sin in your life and are therefore relying on your own self-righteousness to enter heaven. If that describes you, you must know there is no forgiveness of sins for you. Why? Because according to Romans 5:6, God only justifies the ungoldly. Until you see your need to repent and be forgiven by God, you will NEVER cry out to Him for mercy and forgiveness, never.

I would like to help you see that need.

The bible defines sin for us in 1 John 3:4 as "transgression of the law". Sin is breaking God's law, the 10 Commandments. Have YOU broken them? God's standard is absolute perfection in thought, word and deed. The Bible teaches that breaking just one of God's laws is enough to condemn a person to hell for eternity.

Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them."

You have broken God's law if you have ever lied, stolen, used God's name in vain, desired something that didn't belong to you, or disobeyed your parents... just to name a few. If you've done any of these things even once in your entire life, the Bible says in Galatians 3:10 you are "cursed"! You've missed your chance at perfection and there are no second changes because there is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. On Judgment Day you will stand guilty of crimes against Almighty God and be found as an "unclean thing" (Isa 64:6) and cast into the lake of fire.

Isa 64:6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

But, you say that impossible, no one can live up to that standard! You're wrong, one man did.

The Gospel

2000 years ago, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was born of a virgin, unstained by sin, lived the perfect life that YOU can't. He fulfilled the law that YOU continue to break and though He was hated by men, He laid down His life for His people.

Joh 10:18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.

He was nailed to a tree, sacrificed to pay YOUR sin debt, God's wrath that kindled against YOU was poured out on HIM. He died on that cross, was buried and rose again 3 days later defeating death.

Listen closely. Today the message is "come to me". Christ says in Mat 11:28, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". One day the message will be "depart from me, I never knew you". Christ says in Mat 7:22 that many will say to Him on that day, LORD, LORD... have we not done many good works in Your name... and He will say to them, "depart from me, you worker of lawlessness, I never knew you". Then from that great white throne the last words they will hear are these, "bind him and foot and cast him into outer darkeness! In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Mat 22:13)

If today you have seen your need for God's forgiveness like never before, I plead with you to cry out to Him for mercy. Today is the day of salvation. There is forgiveness of sins, but that forgiveness is found only in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone.

John 3:16 says, 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.

Repent of your sins and beg Him for forgiveness. The Bible says that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but wants all men everywhere to repent for He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. I plead with you today, repent, turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ. Put your trust in Him alone with your eternity. Get a Bible if you don't have one, read it daily, and obey it.

God is Love

God is love! This attribute of God is probably preached more today than any other. When you ask someone if their pastor preaches on the wrath of God or the holiness of God, their response may be "no, it's too offensive" or "yeah, but he doesn't harp on it". In other words, he may mention it once every couple of years. A friend of mine, Josh, was witnessing to a couple in the park one day and found out they were Christians, so they started talking about their church and one of their church's ministries they were getting ready to help with. This was an "automotive" type ministry where they serviced cars for single mothers, low income families needing a hand, and so on. The ministry is operated right there in their own church parking lot! Great ministry right? Not if the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not preached.

Acts 6:2 - And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

Apparently the church's pastor would not allow anyone to share the Gospel because he didn't want to "run anyone off". The Gospel is offensive to wicked, God-hating men and women, but we must not be ashamed! We must preach the Truth because the Gospel is "the power of God for salvation"!

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

See also - Luke 9:26; 2 Timothy 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:10-12; 2 Timothy 2:15

From amongst all of the preaching about God's love arises the inevitable questions that we've all heard time and time again.

• How could a God of love let bad things happen?
• How could a God of love let a cataclysmic event, like 911, happen?
• How could a God of love allow babies to be born with deformities?
• How could a God of love allow children to starve to death in Ethiopia?

The list of these types of questions could go on and on. The reason any of this happens is because of sin. The God of the Bible proclaimed the death sentence on mankind because of the sin of one man, Adam. This is what is referred to as "original sin". Because of original sin, we are born sinners, enemies of God, children of wrath. This doesn't mean we're paying for Adam's sin, but it does mean we are living under the repercussions or the effects of Adam's sin.

What is lacking in a staggering number of pulpits today is the recognition of other attributes of God. Attributes such as His holiness, wrath, justice, grace, mercy and so on. The darkened mind of fallen man lacks the ability to see God's holiness, His goodness and therefore does not understand His hatred and wrath toward sin. To believe solely in a god of love who would never punish sin, is to violate the 2nd of the Ten Commandments and create an idol; a god in your mind who does not exist. The truth is, the God of the Bible is holy and righteous and He hates sin. If He didn't hate He couldn't love for love could not exist without hate. If you love children then you hate child abuse and the greater your love for children, the greater your hatred and outrage toward child abuse.

God is love, therefore He is also wrath, holiness and righteousness. He is a God who hates sin so much He kills because of it. In the Old Testament, Genesis 38, God killed a man because the man was wicked in His sight and then killed his brother because He didn't like what he did sexually. In the New Testament book of Acts, He killed a man and his wife for lying. Wrath is a holy, white-hot hatred of evil, of sin, of all that is unholy... it's God's violent passion for justice and by His very nature must punish sin where ever it's found.

So, having a clearer understanding of the nature of God revealed to us in Scripture, the question, "How could a God of love let bad things happen?" becomes the wrong question to ask. The question you should be asking is, "How can a perfectly just, holy and righteous God, a God who is omnipresent, omniscient, one who commands utter perfection in thought, word and deed. How could a God like that know the words that came out of my mouth, the thoughts that raced across my mind and the things that I did yesterday... and not kill me in my sleep last night?"

In comes another gracious attribute of God, His patience. God is long suffering and does not will for anyone to perish, but commands all men everywhere to repent, for He has appointed a day in which He'll judge the world in righteousness!

Acts 17:30-31 - The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

Hebrews 9:27 - And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment

The greatest display of love in all of time and eternity was the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the justification of the elect of God. God sent His Son to suffer and die so that those who hated Him and rebelled against Him, could be reconciled to Himself and be set free from the wages of sin; the eternal wrath of God in the lake of fire.

God truly is Love... and to Him alone be the Glory.


Soli Deo Gloria

My Times are in Thy Hand

Sovereign Ruler of the skies,
Ever gracious, ever wise,
All my times are in thy hand,
All of events at thy command.

His decree who formed the earth
Fixed my first and second birth;
Parents, native place, and time
All appointed were by him.

He that formed me in the womb,
He shall guide me to the tomb;
All my times shall ever be
Ordered by his wise decree.

Times of sickness, times of health,
Times of penury and wealth;
Times of trial and times of grief,
Times of triumph and relief;

Times the tempter's power to prove,
Times to test the Saviour's love;
All must come, and last, and end
As shall please my heavenly friend.

Plagues and death around me fly;
Till he bids, I cannot die.
Nor a single shaft can hit,
Till the love of God sees fit.

~John Ryland, 1777

The Absence of Sin in the Life of a True Christian

Have you ever met a "professing" Christian who maintains the position they no longer sin? That since their conversion, they have not transgressed God's perfect law, that they have been absolutely perfect in thought, word and deed? Well, as foolish as it may sound, there are those who maintain this view point. Let's take a look at one of the passages of Scripture that has been twisted to support this false teaching.

1 John 3:9 says, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."

If you "transliterate" the "translation", you basically get the idea that once you become a Christian you will no longer sin. Not only will you not sin, but you can't sin. If that were true, then not only would the Apostle Paul be a false convert (1 Timothy 1:15), but so would every other professing Christian who had ever walked the face of this earth. The Bible is very clear in Romans 3:10-11 that no one is without sin, not even one; that no one seeks after God.

So, to say that a Christian cannot sin is an incorrect interpretation of the text. As Christ said, "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Although we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), having been reborn spiritually (John 3:3), having received from God, by His sovereign decree, His Spirit (Ezekiel 36:27). Although a true Christian has a redeeemed Spirit, that Spirit is still housed in a body of unredeemed flesh. It is only through that rotten, stinking flesh that sin can manifest itself in the life of the Believer.

Those who do maintain they have not sinned since becoming a "Christian" are deceived and guilty of the sin of pride. Scripture says, "Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished." (Proverbs 16:5) All Christians go through a process of being "cleansed from all their filthiness and all their idols". (Ezekiel 36:25) This is sanctification. This is the "process" through which the Holy Spirit begins to separate the Child of God from the sin in their life and drawing them closer to Himself. The Holy Spirit will bring about convictions that may have never been there in the past and intensifying convictions that may have been present in the past, but were ignored. The joy and pleasure that used to be found in the of sin in your life has been stripped from you. Those same deeds will bring about great discomfort, restlessness, grief and sorrow. As you think about your past, your gross indulgence in sin, binging on the lusts of the flesh, you are sickened by your blatant rebellion toward God, your utter disregard for Him, your hatred toward Him revealed in your thought life and all throughout your entire lifestyle.

Philippians 1:5-6 is describing this work of sanctification and the confidence we have that His work will continue until the LORD Jesus Christ returns!

Philippians 1:5-6 - "5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;"

Now, let's take a look at the proper interpretation of 1 John 3:9.

If we look at the grammatical construction of the text used in the Greek New Testament, we will find that the word "sin" (and he cannot sin, because he is born of God) is a present tense infinitive verb, which refers to continuous or repeated action. Therefore, to properly interpret this verse is to say that "a true Christian cannot maintain a continuous pattern of sin in their life because the Holy Spirit dwells within them".

So, can a true Christian sin?
Most certainly.

Can a true Christian maintain a lifestyle of sin?
Absolutely not.

I fear for anyone who professes to be a child of God, yet maintains a lifestyle of sin. A lifestyle that is contrary to that which God has revealed to us in Scripture. One that contradicts God's nature and His will. Examples would be those with a foul mouth, drunks, homosexuals, members of cults (idol worshipers), use of porn in any capacity, drug abusers, liars, thieves, and on and on. Those who profess to be Christians, yet live daily with any of those attributes, with a clear conscience, are being deceived. (Romans 1:21-25)

When a Christian sins, they stumble into it, they don't make provision for it, they don't make plans to sin. Furthermore, when they do stumble they're broken over it by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. They repent and ask forgiveness from God because they realize their sin is vertical (not horizontal) in that they've sinned against a holy God, not man, that they have offended the God of Heaven and Earth and have grieved the Holy Spirit who dwells within them.

To have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and yet sin repeatedly with utter disregard of God's law and the sacrifice of His Son, is to trample the blood of Christ underfoot. It's to say, "hey, thanks for taking my punishment for me... thanks for being beaten and humiliated in my place.... thanks for having Your flesh pulled apart as You were scourged for me, thanks for giving up Your life and dying a horrific death for me, but you won't mind if I went ahead and <insert your own sin here> again, would You?" Blatant disregard for the price that was paid for the forgiveness of sin.

2 Peter 2:20 - 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

Hebrews 10:28-30 - 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,"says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people."

The Bottom Line
If there is any doubt whatsoever as to your eternal salvation, if you are not 100% sure that if you died today you would go to heaven, or if your assurance is coming from anywhere other than the Holy Spirit (no pastor, friend, or relative can assure you of your salvation) then you need to cry out for God to save you! Cry out for God to draw you, to reveal Himself to you. Ask Him to show you your need for His forgiveness, to change your heart, open your eyes so that you see Christ in all His glory, flee the wrath of God and fly to Christ! The Bible says to repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ, trust Him alone with your eternity, the Bible says to repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that we are saved by repentance toward God and faith in our LORD Jesus Christ! There is nothing in and of ourselves that we can do, for salvation is of the LORD! (Jonah 2:9, Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3, John 3:16, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:21, 2 Thess 1:7-9)


Therefore, repent and believe the Gospel!

Do you consider yourself to be a good person?

Almost everyone thinks they are a good person (Proverbs 20:6)... but the question you should be asking is...

"Am I good enough to go to Heaven?"

How would you know?


You can know by taking a quick test. Just open the book to begin!

Infinite Punishment in Hell: A WAKE UP Call to those in Rebellion Toward God

I want to warn everyone reading this that is not a follower of Jesus Christ, that there is a JUST and HOLY God who's wrath abides upon you. You anger God with your sin, He is angry with you everyday (Psalm 7:11).

"The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God."

You must be warned that if you die in your sins, never having came to that place of repentance (turning from your sins) and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you will face God on Judgment Day and have to bear the penalty for those sins. That penalty is eternity in the lake of fire... HELL!

You may think I'm trying to scare you... I say to you, YOU BETTER BELIEVE I'M TRYING TO SCARE YOU!!! Hell is a REAL place! Jesus Christ spoke much more of the horrors of Hell in the Bible than He did of the joys of Heaven... and without Jesus Christ, you are destined for Hell! Jesus Christ paid our sins FOR us so we wouldn't have too... it was the ultimate gift, the ultimate sacrifice and all we have to do to step up and receive that gift! You do that by confessing your sins in prayer to Jesus Christ, not a priest, or a statue... to Jesus Christ Himself! The Bible says in Acts 4:12 - "There is none other name, under Heaven, given among men, whereby you must be saved!" Confess your sins. If you're not sure what sin actually is, the Bible says, "Sin is transgression of the law". Just look at God's Law... if you've broken even one of the 10 Commandments, then the pushment is eternity in the lake of fire. If you've ever lied, stolen, looked with lust... any of these, ever in your life, then God's wrath abides upon you. Now that you have a better picture of how exceedingly sinful we are as human beings, you should confess your sins through prayer to Jesus Christ, confess your need for a Savior, repent of our sins (turn from them) and put your trust in Jesus! Once you do that you will be born again! That means you will be given a new nature, with new desires because the Holy Spirit will dwell within you! If this seems foolish to you, here's what the Bible says about it in 1 Corinthians 1:18 - "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness!" If this does seem foolish, then you need to pray that God will soften and open your heart, because no one can come to Christ unless the Father first draws him! (John 6:44)

People... regardless how good of a person you think you are, how religous you think you are, how generous you think you are.... without the righteousness of Christ, you'll perish on the Day of Wrath.


God's Wrath
It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For "who knows the power of God's anger?"


Italics are from Jonathan Edwards' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. LISTEN | READ