Repentance and the True Gospel

                I believe sufficient proof has been given that we all are sinners. Every one of us has sinned and God’s justice demands that sin be dealt with. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death;” The death being spoken of here is not simply a physical death. What Paul is referring to here is an eternal death which lies in a separation of the soul and body from God under His divine wrath in hell for all eternity.  

               

               That is the path we all are on unless something happens. What must happen? According to the Scriptures we must repent and believe the gospel to be saved from His fierce wrath. That is what Jesus Christ preached.

Mark 1:14-15

14  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15   And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the gospel.

                Repent and believe the gospel. What does “repent” mean? The English word “repent” in this passage is translated from the Greek word “metanoeō”  (pronounced:  me-tä-no-e'-ō) which means to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins.
               

                To be saved from the wrath of God for your sins, you must first repent. Let me ask you…after reading the previous post on the truth about sin and having a little better understanding of what it is,  has God so worked in your life that you now hate the sin you once loved? All those sinful things you used to revel in doing…how do you feel about them now?  Your boasting over sin, has it turned to shame? Are their seeds of a divine attitude, of hating sin as God hates it. Is God doing something?

                How do you now feel about God? Do you find that you no longer want to run from Him, rather you are wanting to run to Him? Is there any treasuring of Christ? Are you ashamed of the way that throughout the history of your life you have ignored Him, hated Him, been apathetic toward Him? Is there a new desire to follow Him, seek Him, know Him, delight in Him?

               
                If you still love your sin and don’t want to stop doing it…if you hate God then you do not have the seeds of repentance. If you loathe the sin you once practiced regularly and find yourself desiring to be with God and love Him, then you have the God-given seeds of repentance. Search your heart…is it still a heart of stone, hard and cold toward the things of God, or is it a heart of flesh, warm and beating in hatred for your sin and in love with God? What are your deepest desires?

                Many believe that repentance means you changing your ways…not so.  Remember, you can only do what is in your nature. You cannot change your nature, therefore you cannot change your ways and everything you do no matter how “good” it may look is sin in the eyes of God. Repentance is a change of mind. Has your mind changed toward your sin now that you know the truth about it and God’s hatred for it?

                Not only are you to repent, but you are also to believe the gospel. What is the gospel?  I’m glad you asked! The word “gospel” is translated from the Greek word “euaggelion” (pronounced: yü-än-ge'-lē-on) which means “good tidings” or “good news.”  What is the good news? The good news is this…

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” ~Paul the Apostle  (1 Timothy 1:15)

                Who is this Jesus Christ? Well allow me to introduce Him to you. To do so I have to take you back to before the world was ever created for it is there where He is. Before one thing was ever created the Triune God was there.

1  John 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

                Can I explain what all that verse entails? No, but I believe it. Before creation God existed. He had no beginning, neither does He have an end. He is eternal. In the verse we just read notice that God the Son is referred to as “the Word.” That is translated from the Greek word “Logos” which means the living, spoken word. Jesus Christ is the living , spoken word of God.

John 1:1-3
1   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2   The same was in the beginning with God.
3   All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

Colossians 1:16-17 (…Speaking of the Son of God)
16   For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, wheter they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him;
17   And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 

                Jesus Christ, the Son of God, created all things. Prior to creating all things, it was purposed by God that Jesus Christ would give His life for the sins of His people.  Revelation 13:8 tells us that He is the “Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.”  We also see this truth in the following Scriptures.

1 Peter 1:18-20
18   Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19   But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20   Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

                Before Christ created anything, it was determined that at the appointed time, He would give Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of His people…those, according to Ephesians 1:4, who were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, both Jew and Gentile.
           
Hebrews 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared for me;

                When God’s timing was fulfilled, He gave Jesus a body. He became a man like we are.  You can read of this in Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 2. His name was to be called Jesus which means “Jehovah is salvation.”

Matthew 1:21-23

21   And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22   Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the LORD by the prophet, saying,

23   Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

                Four hundred years before Christ came to this earth as a baby, Isaiah the prophet, under the direction of God, prophesied of His coming and He perfectly fulfilled that prophesy as well as all other prophecies concerning the Messiah.

                He grew up from birth, through youth and into adulthood without ever committing sin. He was the sinless, perfect Lamb of God. He was God in the flesh and could not sin.

Hebrews 4:15  (Speaking in reference to Jesus Christ) “…but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

1 Peter 2:22 (Speaking in reference to Jesus Christ) “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth;” 

                He lived 30 years before He began His earthly ministry preaching the gospel or the good news. Jesus Christ came to this earth to do the will of God the Father which was to save sinners.  How did He secure the salvation for sinners?

Romans 5:6-8

6   For when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7   For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8   But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  

                In Isaiah 50:7 we have another prophecy of Jesus Christ. It tells us that He set His face like a flint. In other words, knowing that soon He was about to have the sins of His people imputed to Himself and suffer the full wrath of God for those sins, He was determined or resolved to go the the Cross of Calvary and secure the salvation of His people and prove once and for all that God is just.

Luke 9:51  And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.

John 12:23-33  

23   And Jesus answered then, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

24   Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

25   He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

26   If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, ther shall also my servant be; if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.

27   Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

28   Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

29   The people therefore, that stood by, and heart it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake unto him.

30   Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

31   Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

32   And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me.

33   This he said, signifying what death he should die.

                On the tenth day of the month Nisan on the Jewish calendar, Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem fulfilling yet another prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9.  For the next four days, Christ stood in the Temple teaching and preaching and being examined and questioned by all who would. He was found to be the Lamb of God without spot and without blemish.  On the fourteenth of Nisan, after having observed the Passover, Christ took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane.

                It was here that Christ, being in agony, prayed alone to God the Father. In Luke 23:39-44 and in Matthew 26:36-46, Christ knew He was about to suffer the full, fierce, wrath of God for the sins of His people which He did not commit. He was in agony because, being God, only He could know the measure of the wrath of God for sin.

                He stated it thusly… “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”  Matthew 26:39

                The question has been raised, what was in the cup?  Was it the physical beating he was about to take? Was it the crown of thorns or the nails or the spear?  I do not believe He was sorrowful because of the physical torture He was about to endure. I believe He was exceedingly sorrowful because He knew He was about to be crushed by the full force of the wrath of Almighty God for the sins of His people and He knew He would, for the first time in all eternity, be separated from God the Father. He also knew it had to be in order for His people to be saved.

                The Lord Jesus Christ was taken captive by the religious Jews of the day. He was lied about, hit, spit on, tried and found guilty of blasphemy. He was turned over to the Romans who whipped him and beat him and at 9am on the 14^th of Nisan, He was crucified…nailed to a cross…set forth as it says in Romans 3:25. Christ was lifted up on the cross so that all men could see.

                His blood was shed…poured out for the remissions of the sins of His people. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:22 that “without shedding of blood is no remission.” The Bible tells us in Luke 23:44 that from 12:00pm (the 6^th hour) until 3:00pm (the ninth hour) there was a darkness over all the earth. It was during this time that God the Father forsook His only begotten Son, the Passover Lamb of God.

Matthew 27:46   And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?

                It was during this time that Jesus Christ the sinless, perfect, Son of God drank the cup of the wrath of God. All the fury and fierce wrath of  Holy God was poured out upon Christ and He was crushed for the sins of His people. When he drank every last drop in the cup he said…

John 19:30   …It is finished: and he bowed his head…

Luke 23:46  …Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

                At 3pm on the 14^th of Nisan, the very time the Passover lamb was to be slain, Jesus Christ died to atone for the sins of His people. In His death, He fulfilled the Passover…He was our Passover Lamb. He was the propitiation spoken of in Romans 3:25. He put an end to… He extinguished the wrath of God incurred as a result of our sin.

Isaiah 53:11  He shall see the travail of his soul, and be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

                The wrath and justice of God for the sins of His people were satisfied! Before sundown, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ was buried in the tomb of a rich man fulfilling yet another prophecy found in Isaiah 53:9.In His burial, He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for He was and is that sinless bread of heaven.

                What did Christ accomplish on Calvary? First, by fulfilling every prophecy of the Messiah, He proved without a doubt that He was and is the Son of God, the second person of the Godhead Trinity. Second, He redeemed His people with His own blood. Third, He vindicated God the Father, proving Him to be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus…according to Romans 3:26.

                Three days later, on the Feast of First Fruits, after fulfilling the sign of Jonah, the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the grave as seen in John 20, Luke 24, Mark 16, and Matthew 28. He was the First Fruit of the resurrection.  In His resurrection, He fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits and God the Father vindicated Christ’s sacrifice proving once and for all that Christ’s atoning death was sufficient to satisfy the wrath of God for sin. When Christ rose from the grave, He sealed the salvation of His people…all those who repent and believe the gospel. His righteousness has been imputed unto all those who repent and believe in Christ.

                That, my friend, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is good news. It’s the best news you will ever hear! Again I have to ask… after reading the previous post on the truth about sin and having a little better understanding of what it is,  and after reading about the gospel of Jesus Christ, has God so worked in you r life that you now hate the sin you once loved? All those sinful things you used to revel in doing…how do you feel about them now?  Your boasting over sin, has it turned to shame? Are their seeds of a divine attitude, of hating sin as God hates it. Is God doing something?

                How do you now feel about God? Do you find that you no longer want to run from Him, rather you are wanting to run to Him? Is there any rejoicing because of Christ? Are you ashamed of the way that throughout the history of your life you have ignored Him, hated Him, been apathetic toward Him? Is there a new desire to follow Him, seek Him, know Him, delight in Him?

                How can a person be saved? There was an event that took place in the days of Moses that may help you understand what I’ve been writing about.

Numbers 21:4-9

And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it on a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

                When those people who had been bitten by the snakes realized what a desperate, fatal condition was flowing through their blood, Moses told them to look…look at the serpent. There is some unique, mysterious way that when looking into the understanding of an uplifted Jesus Christ, God opens the eyes of the lost and they see themselves as they really are before a Holy God. Has God opened your eyes to see your sinful condition?  What can the lost person do?  Look unto Jesus Christ and live.

John 3:14-15

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

                As Moses lifted the serpent up on a pole in the wilderness, so was Jesus Christ lifted up on a cross. Whosoever believes in Him and what He accomplished at Calvary, will not perish, but have eternal life.  When you realize your sin has affected every part of you and you have a fatal condition flowing through your entire being, do as the publican did. He recognized his condition before a Holy God. He confessed that he was a sinner and he cried out to God to have mercy on him. He didn’t try to do anything. He realized there was nothing he could do but to rely on God for his salvation.

Luke 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

                Justification (being in right standing with God) was not found in something the publican could do, but rather in something that someone else had done…and that someone was the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15, This is a faithful saying and worthy to be accepted by all, that Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners of whom I am chief. If God can save the worst sinner, then He can save you too. Nothing is too hard for Him.

Isaiah 55:6-7

6   Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

7   Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let

him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for

he will abundantly pardon.

                Jesus welcomes such as the publican in Luke 18:9-14. He doesn’t say, “stay back and try to do better,” or “when you get your life straightened up, then you can go to church and start pleasing God.”  No!  Justification is not found in trying to get everything right so God will accept you. It is found in God bringing you to the place where you cannot be accepted in and of yourself, but only through the finished work of Jesus Christ who came to save sinners.

                Confess, which means to agree with God that you are a sinner. Repent...a change of mind toward sin.  Ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins, and forsake or turn from your sinful ways.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Philippian jailer asked…

Acts 16:30-31

…Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…

                The publican believed God’s assessment of his true condition. He was sorrowful over his sinful condition. The sin he once loved, he now hated. The God he once hated, he now loved. He trusted in God for his salvation and went down to his house justified or in right standing with God. Only then was he able to obey God and please Him in his actions. The same is true for you…only when you see your sinfulness and need of a savior, turn from your wicked ways, cry out for mercy, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, will you be able to obey God and please Him.

“…and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” ~ Jesus Christ (John 6:37)

The Truth About Sin

                Before we can preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people, we must first address the condition of their soul apart from the grace of God.  In their natural condition men are radically and totally depraved. This must be addressed or men will not see their need of Christ. In most tracts used to witness Romans 3:23 is used to show men they are sinners.

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

                Another verse that verse that is used is this…

Ecclesiastes 7:20  For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

                What does that mean?  Ask any man if he knows he is a sinner and he will tell you, "Sure I am, we are all sinners."  Most men, lost and saved alike, do not have an understanding of sin and they don’t understand sin because they don’t know about the holiness of God. That is why we spent several weeks studying the attributes of God, especially the holiness of God.  A man must see sin from God’s point of view before he will see its heinous nature.

                We live in a culture that, as Job 15:16 puts it, “drinketh iniquity like water.”  We see sin on every hand and in every corner. Everywhere we look we see sin.  We live in a world that not only commits sin, but also takes pleasure in others when they sin. We are men of unclean lips and dwell among a people of unclean lips. We have no idea of what sin is.  If men have no concept of what sin is in the eyes of a Holy God, then they have no need of a Savior.  We must show men the vileness and exceeding sinfulness of sin.

                We were all born dead in trespasses and sins…born with a vile and wicked heart and by nature every one of us was born evil. Even Christ called us evil in Matthew 7. He mentioned how though we will give our sons bread when they ask for some instead of giving them a stone or if they ask for fish we will give them fish and not a snake…we are still evil.

Matthew 7:11  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children…

                Notice who he is speaking to… Matthew 5:1 says He saw multitudes of people and He went up into a mountain…away from them and His disciples came to Christ and He taught them (His disciples) saying… This is the sermon on the mount and it covers chapters 5, 6, and 7. He is calling His own disciples evil... that is in their flesh they are evil.

                The Bible tells us in Romans 7:18 that in this flesh dwelleth no good thing! An unregenerate soul, a "stony heart" as Ezekiel 36 puts it, is evil.

Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

                Because the heart is wicked, the affections of the heart are wicked…the desires of the heart are wicked. Because the desires of the heart are wicked, the will is wicked. That is why the natural man has no “free will” to choose Christ. His will is a slave to his wicked heart.

Titus 1:15  Unto the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

                For those of you who do not believe in Christ, nothing is pure. Even your motives are defiled. That is why even if you do what would appear to be a good deed it is vile and wicked because your motive for doing it is evil. In your natural state you do not do one thing for the glory of God. Even the religious things you do are filthy and vile in the sight of a Holy, Holy, Holy God.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away

                The natural man is not going to church and giving his tithes for the glory of God. He doesn’t do one act for the glory of God. Even a good act of obedience is a sinful act in the sight of God, because he is not doing it for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

                Do you understand? Even good actions are ruined because they are not done for the right reason. If the motive is good, the action becomes good. But if the motive is bad, the action is bad. Since the stony, unregenerate heart (the natural man) never does a single thing for God’s glory, then every single act the unsaved person does is sinful.

Colossians 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

                The sinner in his unregenerate state does nothing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is at enmity with God. He is at war with God. He hates God in the core of his being.

  

Romans 8:7-8

7    Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8   So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

                The sinner, or the natural man, is under the wrath of a Holy God who looks upon him with scorn at everything he attempts to do. Everything he does is polluted and cannot be accepted in God’s sight. That is the reason he cannot be justified in the sight of God because of his “good” works.

               Pleasing God is impossible as long as a person is in an unregenerate, lost condition. Every act he attempts to do is sinful in the sight of God. If the lost person doesn’t pray, he is sinning. But if he does pray, he is sinning.

               

                I know what you are thinking… “You are going too far!” Please consider the following verse and look at the principle.

Proverbs 15:8  The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

                In the Old Testament, those of Israel were commanded to bring their sacrifices to the temple. If a person had an unregenerate heart, his sacrifice was an abomination to the Lord. Now you can turn that statement around the other way and have the same truth as established by scripture. The sacrifice of the upright is his delight, but the prayer of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. It’s the same principle. If the wicked man doesn’t bring his sacrifice to the temple it is sin. If he brings his sacrifice to the temple it is sin. He is in trouble!

                Those who believe doing religious things will save them are in trouble. If they go to the church, they are sinning. If they don't go to church, they are sinning. What are they to do?  Go or stay?  Boys, girls, teenagers, adults if you are reading this and you are in a lost condition you are in desperate trouble. If you don’t obey God, you are sinning. If you try to obey God you are sinning. You may think to yourself, “What in the world are you trying to do to me?”  I am trying to stop your mouth so you become guilty before a Holy God and see that all of your doing is cursed by God...that’s what I am trying to do.

Romans 3:19-20

19   Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

20   Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall not flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

                What a terrible, terrible condition to be in as a lost person. You need something before you start doing all those things and you need to see that you are responsible to do them. However, you cannot do them in a way that is pleasing to God. This is known as the doctrine or teaching of the total depravity of man. It is found throughout the Scriptures. The lost person can do nothing but sin and yet he is fully responsible for his sinning. Every day a lost person lives, he is just treasuring up more of God’s wrath upon himself. Everything he is trying to do is not helping.  

Romans 2:5-6

5   But after thy hardness and impenitent  heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

6   Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

                God is real. God is holy and because of His holiness, He cannot tolerate any sin. Without a basic understanding of the holiness of God, you cannot understand your sin. Man can no more understand he is a sinner than a fish can understand he is wet. As I mentioned earlier, we live in a culture much like that spoken of in Job…

Job 15:15-16
15  Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
16  How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

                God is set apart from all His creation. He transcends high above everything he created in every way possible. He is pure in His holiness…so pure that heaven is not clean in his sight. And we are abominable and filthy men and drink down iniquity like we drink down water.

               Not only does God hate sin, but we must of necessity go even further. We live in a time and culture when men are preaching that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. Not so! To be honest with men's souls, we must preach and teach all of God's word. Yes God is love, but always remember, His love is a Holy Love. He loves that which is pure and hates that which is evil. Read Proverbs 6:16-19. Think about it...if you love children, then you must hate abortion. Is God less than we are? Absolutely not! Is the sinner seperate from his sin? No!

             God hates the sinner just as much as He hates sin. How can I say that? I can say that because that is what God says in His Holy word which is magnified above His Holy Name.

Proverbs 3:32   For the froward is abomination to the LORD:

             The word "froward" means habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition. That is exactly what the sinner is, and the sinner is abomination to the LORD. The word "abomination" is the strongest word possible to attempt to describe the extreme disgust or hatred which God holds for the sinner. It really can't even be described.

Proverbs 15:26  The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD:

             Every single thought a sinner has is an abomination to the LORD.  The sinner is defiled in all his ways. Every thought, every action taken by the sinner is defiled, polluted, contaminated with sin. Every fiber of his being is totally morally depraved and wicked, vile and loathsome to a Holy God.

          God says that the froward person who habitually disobeys Him and is habitually in opposition to Him is an abomination.

Psalm 5:4-6
4   For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
5   The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6   Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

         God hates all those who do sin and of a necessity must destroy them. He must punish sin. The existence of sin demands His punishment as much as it requires His hatred.

Nahum 1:2  ...the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

        God hates sin so much that it was because of only one sin our first parents (Adam and Eve) were banished from the Garden. For one sin, Ham and all his descendants fell under a curse which remains over them to this very day (Genesis 9:21). For one sin, Moses was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land. For one sin Elisha's servant was smitten with leprosy. For one sin Ananias and Sapphira lost their lives.

Psalm 7:11  ...God is angry with the wicked every day.

      An angry God does not sound at all like the God of modern day preaching, but this is the God of the Bible! His holiness demands hatred for sin. The problem is men today do not really believe in the Holiness of God. Their concept of God is one sided because for the last 50 years the only thing that has been preached in American churches is “God is love.” Many today believe God will never send a man to hell because God is love.

                God tells those who think this way…

Psalm 50:21-22
21  These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
22  Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

               

                …He says, you thought I was like yourself. The god that is worshipped in our country on Sunday mornings in many churches is a figment of the imaginations of the members and not the Holy God of the Bible. I know that sounds hard, but it is true.

                The God of the Bible hates sin and those who do works of iniquity. Nothing will reveal the total depravity of man, his exceeding sinfulness, his vileness, his wickedness like showing him the One true Holy God of the Bible.

                The “god” which the vast majority of professing Christians “love” is thought of as being like Santa Claus…sure he knows when you’ve been naughty or nice, but he will bring you gifts anyway. They think “god” does not like sin, yet he is lenient and winks at the “indiscretions” of youth.

                The word of God tells us (Psalm 5:5) that He hates all workers of iniquity and (Psalm 7:11) He is angry with the wicked every day. Even though clearly seen in the Bible, men refuse to believe in the true Holy God. They gnash their teeth in anger as His hatred for their sin is faithfully brought to their attention…because the “god” of their imagination is contrary to the Holy God of the Bible.

               

                God is not only holy, but He is also just, He must deal with sin. Sin cannot be winked at or let pass by without righteous punishment. The Holy Scriptures clearly state, in no uncertain terms, that God is just. He does right every time. 

                As we meditate on the truth that God is just, we are soon faced with the greatest problem man has.

Exodus 23:7   Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

Proverbs 17:15  He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.

                The question was raised by a Christian philosopher named Anselm, the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, who lived from 1033A.D. to 1109A.D.  His question was this… “How can God be just and forgive the wicked?”  God, by His very nature is just and being so, He cannot forgive the wicked.  The justice that flows from God demands that sin be dealt with. Sin cannot be overlooked. It cannot be pardoned. It must be dealt with. That is the nature of justice. Holy justice must be satisfied!

                The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that the “wages of sin is death.”  What Paul means by “death” is the eternal wrath of Holy, Almighty God being poured out on you in hell. His wrath is forever. He is an infinite God and because your sin is against Him and Him alone, then you must suffer His wrath and hatred for sin for an eternity.

                The wrath of God is His eternal hatred of all that is unrighteous. A.W. Pink, in his book, The Attributes of God, says God’s wrath is, “the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin.”  God is angry with sin because it is rebellion against His Sovereignty.

                We see in the word of God that His wrath is one of His attributes. Consider Romans 1:18.

Romans 1:18   For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

                How did our Holy, Holy, Holy God deal with sin when it was found in His most beautiful of all creation, Lucifer the cherib? He cast him out of heaven and will eventually cast him into the lake of fire.  How did God deal with man when he rebelled against God in the garden? The earth was cursed, man’s soul died and they were cast out of Eden.  What about Genesis 6? Verse 5 tells us…

Genesis 6:5  And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:7   …I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth;

                Go on to read the rest of Genesis 6 and you will see that God destroyed the earth and every sinful man, woman and child except for Noah and his family who found grace in His sight.   

                How did God deal with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? He destroyed them for their wickedness as seen in Genesis 19.

                Our holy and just God hates sin and has as a result, His wrath has been stirred to satisfy His justice. The Bible tells us that we all are sinners…born dead in sins (Ephesians 2:1). As a result of being born a sinner, we all have turned to doing our own thing.

Isaiah 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;

                The problem is as we have seen, doing our own thing is sin and results in the just and holy wrath of God being poured out on us.

Proverbs 14:12  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

                For the one who is reading this who is lost, outside of Christ, unregenerate, you are in a most desperate situation. God is going to judge you for your sin and the end will be eternity in Hell. Is there any hope for you? YES! Your only hope is found in the person of Jesus Christ.

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” ~Paul the Apostle  (1 Timothy 1:15)

                That is the Gospel or the good news. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. If He can save the chief of sinners, He can surely save you!  God is a holy God. He is a God of justice and wrath, but He is also a God rich in mercy.  If you have read this post and understand what has been said. If you believe what has been written, then cry out to God for mercy.  The Bible says that whoever comes to Christ will not be cast out. As you have seen, salvation cannot be based on anything you have done because everything you have done is sin. Salvation can only be based upon what Jesus Christ accomplished when He became the sins of His people on the cross of Calvary. He became my sin and on Calvary suffered the wrath of God that I deserved. He drew me to Himself and I cried out for mercy and I repented of my sins and believed on Him. He alone saved me.

               We have spoke in detail of sin. In my next post I intend to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the one who is reading this who has been saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, as I have been, you have great cause for rejoicing. We can love Him much because we have been forgiven much.

What next?

                We completed our study of a few of the attributes of God which I believe were most essential to understand the salvation of men. We first looked at the holiness of God, followed by the justice of God, the wrath of God, the mercy of God, and the love of God.  I realize that my study was in no way exhaustive. It is absolutely impossible for us to even come close to plumbing the depths of the attributes of God.

                I would now like to begin a study on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Why do we need to know the Gospel?  For the lost, Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation…the only way to be reconciled to a Holy God. For those of us who are saved…why do we need to know the Gospel?

                First, we will never love the LORD our God as we should until we better understand the Gospel…even then we will never love Him as He should be loved by us. The more we grasp the Gospel, the more we will love our LORD.

                Why do we not love the Lord more?  Because we have no idea what we have been forgiven of. We know very little of our sin. Consider the difference between the two individuals found in Luke 7:36-50.  One invited Christ into his house, yet his life was not changed. The other’s life was changed and she loved Christ much because she was forgiven much…to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

Luke 7:36-50

36   And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.

37   And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment.

38   And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39   Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

40  And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

41   There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

42   And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both, Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

43   Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44   And he turned to the woman, and said to Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45   Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46   My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47   Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

48   And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

49   And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

50   And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

                Why should a Christian study the Gospel and know it…I mean in the depths of your core existence know it. Because by knowing the Gospel you will see how much you have been forgiven and believe me it is much. This will cause you to love Christ more than you ever imagined possible.

Second, we have been given a commission…the Great Commission to go and preach the Gospel to every creature.

Mark 16:15   And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

                It has pleased the LORD to use the preaching of the Gospel as the means to show men and women, boys and girls their exceedingly sinful condition and their need of Christ. He is the only way of salvation.

  

Romans 10:13-15

13   For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14   How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

15  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

                Without the preaching of the Gospel, how will the lost sheep…those who were given to Christ by the Father before the foundation of the world hear?

1 Corinthians 1:18-23

18   For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.

19   For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

20  Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

21   For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

22   For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

23   But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

24   But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

                Without hearing the Gospel, we would have not been brought to Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. We need to know the Gospel so we can accurately tell it to others.

Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

                To the non-elect, the preaching of the Gospel is foolishness. However, to the elect it is the power of God, the means by which they are brought to salvation through Jesus Christ.

                The reason we need to know the Gospel is because Jesus Christ, Himself, commissioned His believers to go and preach the Gospel to every creature. How can we serve our Lord in obedience if we don’t know the Gospel? How can we preach if we don’t know the true Gospel? Most professing Christians will tell you they know the Gospel, but do they know the true Gospel or do they know the watered down, easy believe-ism that is being preached today in many churches? Where in scripture is the sinner told to say a little prayer and invite Jesus into his or her heart? I have not found it.

                Sinners are commanded to repent and believe the Gospel.

Mark 1:14-15

14   Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15   And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

                In the posts to follow I will look at the exceeding sinfulness and vileness of sin. Before one can see their need of a savior they have to be shown the wretchedness of sin. It will not be a pleasurable experience, but necessary nonetheless. After that, we will look at the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.