A Shame Unto A Man

"A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart"  (Prov. 21:2, NIV).
"... The LORD does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7, NIV).

Paul seemed dogmatic that it is a shame for a man to have "long hair," (this begs the question as to why it's a shame for a woman not to have hair as a covering), but what does that mean to us in our enlightened age? Note that it's not a condemnation or sin!  Are ponytails evil per se because someone deems them to be long hair?  Does the converse hold true, that it's an honor to have short or no hair?  Hair should not be the issue! But still being bald for a man is also a shame or embarrassment, but it's not sinning.  Note that what's long hair is relative and subjective too!

Actually, standards of right and wrong don't evolve with time (but styles and conventions do!), but we must understand that what was wrong then is still wrong, and God never sanctions the right to do what is wrong--neither in our eyes nor the eyes of others, but awareness of right an wrong in society's standards and norms do change with the times as to what is accepted as "normal".  When I was young The Beatles transformed the image of where hairlines were appropriate, it was now okay to have hair over the ears, and bangs were "in."  This was considered to be "long hair" by some and the phrase and song went, "Long-haired, freaky people need not apply!'  Who claims the divine right to judge the actual length at which hair is too long for a believer?  And it should not be an issue at all for the infidel!  Actually, there was a time when having hair over your ears was too long for some critics.  They told The Beatles to get haircuts, and they said, they had just got one!

What we have is a difference of opinion and a disputable matter, and Christians are not to quarrel over questionable matters, per Romans 14:1, but leave room for a person's own conscience, to decide for himself what his convictions are, as his faith is between him and God--knowing he will be judged by God (this applies to areas where the Bible is silent and gray areas).  (Note that the Bible also says women should cover their heads in worship services, and no one enforces that convention today.)  So much of our dress code is according to custom and style of the age, which does change. It used to be shocking to see a woman in a pantsuit or wear jeans!  We have no right to look down on a brother who has what we consider to be long hair,  for he is God's servant and is accountable to Him, not us.  The Bible nowhere condemns boys or children from having long hair, and also bear in mind that men of the Nazarite vow never had a razor touch their head (e.g., Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist).

When we judge a man by appearance we are being like men who look on the outward appearance and not the heart--what really matters is where his heart is, not his looks.  Unbelievers who have long hair need Christ, not a haircut!  God doesn't hold their hair against them, but that they need to repent of sin (singular or in general), not sins (a certain one in particular) and receive Christ as Lord and Savior.  Legalists see sins, not sin.  Men are in a state of rebellion against God and long hair is only a symptom of their alienation.  Remember, we are not in Moses' seat and able to judge a man by his outward dress or looks, but leave room for God's justice.

If the Word is faithfully taught, the person in question will someday see the light and his eyes will be opened, and he will not dress or wear his hair to please the girls or the culture, but God.  In other words, the cure or panacea is to preach the Word and let it do its transforming work in all of us as works-in-progress.  As an application, whenever men act or appear effeminate in anything they are an abomination unto God and as men grow in the Lord they do become more manly and conformed to the image of Christ.  We need not get caught up in machismo or thinking that Christianity is all about how much a man we are, a true man is a gentleman for number one, and all men are manly in some way or manifestation--we have no right to compare ourselves in this manner and should be the man or woman God made us be.  The heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart!  What the Bible does adumbrate is that when we lose our godliness, we also lose our manliness, and a true man is a gentleman, not a strongman or bully.

In the final analysis, if a brother's only apparent or visible flaw lies in his hairline, I wouldn't press him on it, but give him the benefit of the doubt.  All in all, hair is not the measure of a man, though it's given as glory to a woman.  Caveat:  We have no business looking down on our brother; it's wrong to label our brethren, such as referring to one as being the long-haired one or in need of spiritual guidance by virtue of the fact.  In sum, let's not be like a Supreme Court jurist of Christianity over our brethren and merely utter superficially, when we get our eyes off Jesus:  "I may not be able to define long hair, but I sure know it when I see it!"     Soli Deo Gloria!

Are We Too Bad For Salvation?

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9, NIV).
"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away" (Isa. 64:6, NIV).
"'Come now, let us settle the matter,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool'" (Isaiah 1:18, NIV).
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV).
"I see better things and I approve them but I follow the worst."--Ovid

We are prone to play the "let's compare" (cf. 2 Cor. 10:12) game and suit ourselves by looking down on our fellow man as our inferior who doesn't measure up. As long as we can find someone worse than us we feel secure in our "holiness" or inherent goodness. After all, many of us believe God grades on a curve! Compared to the likes of Adolf Hitler, the paradigm of evil incarnate, we appear to be saints and godly enough to feel smug and self-satisfied in our goodness. But our goodness is from God and not our gift to Him, but His gift to us. Our goodness doesn't benefit God, but we are mere vessels being used for His greater good and glory, whether of honor or dishonor, we are manipulated and used by God's providence. This is a never-ending comparison and relativity since there's always someone we can thumb our nose at, no matter how wicked we are--even in the prisons there are self-righteous bullies who think they are the moral center of the place. We are all in jail, in a sense, but do not realize our depravity and need of a way out and salvation through a Savior. We cannot set ourselves free, and we weren't born free, but in bondage and slavery and can only be unbound by the power of the cross. "... Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Rom. 5:21, NKJV). John Bunyan wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners to expound on this motif.

How bad are we? Metaphorically, we are as far from God as a blind person comprehending the beauty of nature and hearing a symphony, if one is deaf. God is in another dimension and we are God-conscious and feel a tug to know He's there by instinct. No one has an excuse not to believe in Him and God's knowledge is plain to all. We must realize how bad we are to be good, according to C. S. Lewis, and we don't realize how bad we are till aim to be good. It's like thinking you can quit tobacco anytime, but when you try to quit you can't because it's got more power over you than you realized. We don't have the freedom of will to cease sin on our own, but are slaves to our sin nature and need to be set free by the Son (cf. John 8:36).

According to the doctrine of total depravity, we are as bad off as we can possibly be: every part of our nature is corrupt and affected adversely by evil and sin, including our emotions, mind, will, and body--all that we are. As far as our will goes, we are stubborn and hard as a stone, and God must turn our hearts into ones of flesh (cf. Ezek. 36:26). We don't think clearly because of sin and are blinded by Satan to the truth of the gospel. Our emotions are attuned to the lower nature and have lost their purity. Our bodies are dying and do not bring glory to God either apart from grace, no matter how well we treat them. In sum, we are bad, according to D. L. Moody, but not too bad to be saved! We all have feet of clay; we all are a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde--we all have a dark side no one sees.

The qualification for receiving eternal life is to realize you can't qualify! "Therefore I abhor myself And repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6, NKJV). We can't earn our salvation, we cannot pay it back, and we don't deserve it either. We cannot rationalize our way back to God by philosophizing or thinking; we cannot moralize our way back by good deeds, and cannot emotionalize our way back by our feelings. We must be sincere, but sincerity is not the whole equation, we must be willing to do God's will and repent of our sin, renouncing and denouncing it, in order to follow Christ in obedience and trust. God has reckoned all to be dead in sin so that He can have mercy by grace on us all. We don't get saved because of our intelligence, morality, emotions, wisdom, or even philosophy--or any accompanying affiliation or party membership. We must not deify a person, group, or even party, for this is idolatry.

We must echo the wise words of William Jay of Bath, who said that he is a great sinner, but he has a great Savior. It is only in realizing that we are sinners and are spiritually bankrupt before God that we can value Jesus as our Savior. The closer we get to God, the more we become aware of our shortcomings and sins. Samuel Rutherford said to pray for a lively sense of sin because, the more sense of sin the less sin. Remember the words of George Whitefield: "There but for the grace of God, go I"; which he uttered upon seeing a man going to the gallows. Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:10 likewise: "I am what I am by the grace of God."

This is the point, just because someone seems like a worse sinner than you are, doesn't necessitate him being further from finding God; sometimes the prostitutes and tax collectors are closer to God than the Pharisees of the world. Just because your sins may be more civilized, polite, concealed, or refined doesn't make them less serious: better off the ignorant cannibal in the South Seas than the informed bully on Wall Street! The Greek admonition to know thyself goes hand in hand with knowing God. Why do you think the Law was given? To convince you that you cannot keep it and need a Savior! The Bible tells it like it is; how we are and how God is and how to restore the relationship. Once you've seen your nature for what it is, you'll realize it's not a pretty picture. The closer we get to the Spirit's illumination, the clearer becomes our blemishes.

Note that depravity is not what the world espouses: Secular Humanism postulates the inherent goodness of man and that he can be good without God! All goodness comes from the Source of all Goodness, God, and the definition of evil and temptation of Eve is how to be good without God in the equation, noting that evil is a parasite on good and distorts or perverts it; to find our own values, virtues, wisdom, and enjoyment without God in the picture. Humanism originates from the Greek philosopher Protagoras who said that "man is the measure of all things" ("Homo mensura"); thus exalting and deifying man, and dethroning God as irrelevant and even nonexistent--up with man; down with God, the credo. Their aim is to make a name for themselves and live for this world and life only, thus taking away the motive for reconciling with God. Their conclusion is that no deity will save them and so they must save themselves (cf. Humanist Manifesto II, 1973). Thus, the issue is whether one chooses to believe in himself, or in God for salvation.

Psychiatrists are starting to refer to "sin" again, according to Karl Menninger, MD (who penned Whatever Became of Sin?), and this means he knows right and wrong and is culpable unto Judgment Day. It only takes one sin to make a man a sinner, as violating one part of the Law is an infringement on the whole of it. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners (as theologians say). Martin Luther said that man doesn't see his sin, and it's our job to inform him. When Paul said that "all have sinned," he was putting us all in the same boat, with no grading on the curve--we all have been put under the scrutiny of God and found wanting. Caveat: "... Your sins have been your downfall" (Hosea 14:1, NIV); "...[S]in lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it" (Gen. 4:7, NKJV).

The worst sinners are those who are confident in their personal righteousness and see no sin; the self-righteous, goody-two-shoes sinners of the world. It is vital to realize our sinfulness because it implies our responsibility and helplessness before God and smashes our sense of self-righteousness and shows our rebellion. Many must first realize they're lost and need salvation as a requisite for getting saved from sin. Trusting in your own intrinsic goodness leads to death, for God is the moral center of the universe and the final Judge will meet one-on-one with everyone to give an account of themselves. In sum, let me emphasize that it's not that we are good enough to get saved, but bad enough to need salvation. There's hope for everyone. DON'T WRITE ANYONE OFF AS TOO FAR GONE! Soli Deo Gloria!

Forbidden Fruit

"But sin took advantage of this law and aroused all kinds of forbidden desires within me!  If there were no law, sin would not have that power"  (Rom. 8:8, NLT).

God had warned Adam of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, as being off-limits, and not to partake of its fruit--i.e., the so-called forbidden fruit.  The very fact of it's being forbidden lured Adam all the more and made it even more desirable to Eve, who was deceived by Satan's deception and lie in the perfect environment of the Garden of Eden. Don't you also wonder why he never ate of the Tree of Life?   Augustine, in his Confessions, tells of eating forbidden (i.e., a stolen pear) fruit as a child and how it became all the more desirable because of that--the Law is likewise something that foments what it forbids.

We are all equally to blame for Adam's sin and cannot pin it on him alone--we would've done the same thing if we had been in his shoes. Adam's sin represented all sin and showed utter contempt for God's wisdom, sovereignty, grace, law, and justice, while Adam sought his own wisdom, goodness, and delight, he spurned God's best for getting his own way.  You cannot say that Adam knew what good and evil were, but they were completely innocent and were not choosing evil, but self over God.  That's the essence of sin--putting yourself in God's place and declaring your independence from Him.

Sin is now a virus that affects us all and is our legacy from Adam, as we are all born with solidarity with Adam, whether we want it or not.  We do have a choice to become free in Christ as we acknowledge the truth and lose sin's grip on our lives.  Sin doesn't demonstrate our freedom but shows our slavery.  And that's what sin is: it both alienates and estranges us from God, offends Him, and enslaves us.  We are not born free, but in bondage to sin, and must be set free by the Son (cf. John 8:36). Eve sought the here and now and to doubt God's Word ("Has God indeed said?" cf. Gen. 3:1), and then she doubted disbelieved it; then Satan told a lie and she believed him!  Finally, in an act of her willpower, she disobeyed God's Word and became a sinner--note that doubt is not sin per se, and may only be an element of faith, for no one's faith is perfect or it wouldn't be faith, but knowledge.

Adam got no second chance and dragged all mankind with him down the never-ending spiral of sin and rebellion.  For sin is ultimately a rebellion against God and His Word.  The biggest temptation Eve faced was that she wanted to be "as God."  She wanted to be a god, so to speak, and not godly--a sin that even Christians are guilty of to this day.  The theological axiom of Mormonism is that we can become gods, and this heresy traces itself to the garden and the original sin of Adam and Eve.

Adam's sin had to be atoned for in a multifaceted way:  He had to be redeemed from the slave market of sin with the penalty paid by the blood of Christ; the wrath of God had to be averted in God's temple by the propitiation of Christ on the cross; the righteousness of Christ had to be exchanged in God's court of justice and justice or giving sin its due had to be rendered; the relationship and fellowship with God had to be restored in Christ's act of reconciliation with His family.  Salvation can be seen as the sum total of all these events taking place in God's throne room and Jesus being the Savior of mankind securing the Father's plan and purpose and being applied by the Holy Spirit on our behalf.

As a consequence of Adam's sin, we are all born in a state of sin and inherit Adam's guilt and have lost all inclination to good, though we remain human with the ability to make choices; however, we make the wrong choices!   Our freedom is a curse since we choose evil and God must work grace in our hearts to bring us to repentance and faith (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25; Acts 18:27).  We don't need free will to be saved, but wills made free!  Adam had the ability not to sin and chose sin.  As humans before salvation, we have the inability not to sin, or all we can do is sin!

Upon salvation, we are being saved from the power of sin and have the ability not to sin and the ability to sin by our own choices.  Salvation is threefold:  we are saved from the penalty of sin by the crucified Christ; from the power of sin by the living Christ; and the presence of sin by the coming Christ.  Our salvation is past, present, and pending!  We are saved, being saved, and to be saved!   Our past is forgiven, our present given meaning and our future secured by salvation began in eternity past, completed in time, and looking forward to eternity.

Some think it's unfair to be charged with Adam's sin (by the disobedience of one person but we are in Adam who gets a bad rap).  We would've done the very same thing if we'd been in the Garden of Eden too! The point of all this is that "we are not ignorant of his [Satan's] devices"(2 Cor. 2:11) and know his trickery and schemes:  mind games; lies; deception; propaganda; sensual pleasure; lust or inordinate desire for anything, including power, riches, or fame; psychological warfare--indeed the devil fights dirty and will resort to any means to get our attention away from God, God's work, and Word, and unto ourselves, and he knows our weaknesses!  His tactics are not original, but he's basically an imitator and can only distort and debase the truth, and mask a little truth with a lot of error--for no heresy or false religion is completely void of truth; they all have an element of truth and just enough to inoculate you to the truth.

Adam turned his back on God's light and sought his own, we second that motion as we seek our own way and refuse to see the light. Erich Fromm, the famed psychologist, wrote a book, You Shall Be As Gods," in which he denied the existence of evil (and that sin is all in your head) and that you can make yourself out to be your own god; however, we either trust in God, or we make ourselves gods--it's that plain.

Adam was tricked into thinking he'd become free by his independent act of defiance, but he became a slave without any control over sin--he lost all inclination towards good and God.  He didn't break God's law, but God's law broke him!  He didn't become more human, but less of a man, for when we lose godliness, we lose true manhood too. The measure of a man is in fulfilling his relationship with God, not in human standards and opinions.  We must be what we are meant to be and not "quarrel with [our] Maker" (cf. Isaiah 45:9).

A lot of people assume that Adam chose to do evil, but he was innocent, not cognizant of evil and his eyes were only opened after his sin when he became self-conscious.  The epitome of sin is selfishness, or putting yourself first and becoming self-centered, believing that it's all about you.  They really made the choice between self and God, and in the process loss consciousness of God and became self-conscious in return and aware of their own shame and guilt.  Guilt is cognizance of wrongdoing and is the sign that we know we've done something evil or sinful.  Only in Christ can we become free from guilt by the atoning work of Christ on the cross, shedding His blood on our behalf. Just like Eve bought into Satan's rationalization, people today buy into today's secular worldview because of their ignorance of the Bible, as Eve doubted and didn't know the Word of God.

As we are born, we are sinners by birth, by nature, and by choice--we confirm ourselves in sin and the theologians say we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners (it's our very nature!).  We duplicate Adam's sin and verify that we would've done the same thing, having been there ourselves--we would've joined hands with Eve in rebellion too.

Adam was given just one simple rule to obey; and if he had been given no rules, it would not be possible to know if he was obedient to God willingly--he would be but a pawn of God.  Given the gift of choice, there had to be a test of his will to see where his loyalties would be.  Adam failed the test and we would've too, even in a perfect environment of the Garden of Eden.  Israel was given the Decalogue and promised to obey it, yet they fell short; however, the Law was not given to obey but to convict and show that they fall short of God's ideal and must be saved by grace, not obedience to the Law.  The Law was merely given to show we can't keep it and need to plead for mercy, not attempt obedience in the efforts of the flesh.

Adam committed every sin in the book by partaking of the proverbial apple in what is known as "Edengate," and it was the prototype sin extraordinaire:  "he rejected God authority; he doubted God's goodness; he disputed God's wisdom; he repudiated God's justice; he contradicted God's trustworthiness; he spurned God's grace" [source unknown, but well-known]. Adam's cover-up was also what we do when we run away from God and can't admit our sin and call a spade a spade in confession.  Our guilt can only be expiated by God's grace and sacrifice on our behalf as God clothed Adam and Eve to cover their shame.

A word to the wise is sufficient:  Eve didn't sin by doubting God's Word, nor by believing Satan, but only in disobeying God--doubt is only an element of faith, and God doesn't expect perfect faith without any doubt whatsoever, but sincere, unfeigned faith--for it isn't the amount of faith that saves or keeps, it's the object of it that saves and keeps! 

In sum, we can rejoice that we are not "under the Law, but under grace [cf. Rom. 6:14]," and that nowhere in the New Testament are believers told to obey the Law--we are under a higher law, the law of love, and we serve out of gratitude, not an obligation, as a "therefore," not an "in order to," that is we want to, we don't have to anymore!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Being Soft On Sin

"I have kept myself from my sin"  (cf. Psalm 18:23). [Note "my sin" not "sin," since perfectionism is not possible this side of glory.]
"Who can say, 'I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free form sin?"  (Prov. 20:9, NLT).  
[Note that repentance is progressive and we are never too good to repent of some sin since there is no perfectionism state in the believer.]
"I have seen the consummation of all perfection..."  (Psalm 119:96, NKJV). 
 "... There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent" (Luke 24:47, NLT). 
"... [T]hat they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance"  (Acts 26:20, HCSB).  [The whole point is a changed and transformed new life in Christ.]

Repentance is a mandate and God demands that "everyone" repent (cf. Acts 17:30); it's a clear mandate, not fire insurance.  And no one can say he is good to go apart from obeying this recurring motif of Scripture.  God grants repentance as a gift of grace and a privilege (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18) and is good to us and patient in order to lead us toward it (cf. Rom. 2:4).  Some mistakenly believe that repentance is merely changing your opinions about sin: au contraire, it's a change of heart, mind, and will--and a change of behavior is the proof (cf. Acts. 26:20).  

Yes, repentance is a prerequisite, but it is the imperative and result of God's special grace in the heart (grace doesn't just facilitate it, but is necessary and sufficient)--so that we change from the inside out.  We must all come clean and own up to our sin or wrongdoing and make our U-turn or about-face from sin toward Christ.

In short, we must repudiate sin, and renounce it to show our change of heart. The true sacrifices of God are a contrite heart and David illustrated this with his penitential Psalm 51 and in verse 17 (NKJV) he says, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise."

Prophets of old had the thankless job of preaching repentance (actually they called them to turn from their wicked ways and return to the Lord), and they did it as part of their job description to bring about true revival, which only results from total repentance, no matter the source (inspired preaching or prophetic utterance).  The mere mention of the word sin is taboo to some preachers because it's such a "killjoy" word!  God levels the playing ground and calls everyone a sinner, and it makes no difference to what degree, we all fall short, since it's not okay to fudge a little, one cannot say his sins aren't very serious, for example saying, "I only pilfered a few bucks from petty cash."  This is theft, period, no exceptions.

Prophets have a way of making you feel uncomfortable and ill at ease in your sin.  Sermons are meant to meet people where they are, and the good preacher knows his flock and is able to do this.  People get the message that sin repels God's nature like matter and antimatter cannot coexist.  Why doesn't God do something about all the sin and evil in the world?  He has, He made you!  Prophets also make the comfortable and complacent feel uncomfortable and convicted, while the troubled conscience is given hope.

The same message has dual effects, subject to the condition of the soul.  John the Baptist began his ministry with this prerequisite:  "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!"  Jesus, likewise, began:  "Repent and believe the gospel!"   Repentance is not some additional work we must accomplish to make ourselves qualified to believe or be saved, but a work of grace in our hearts, bringing us to a knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 2:25).  You cannot have true repentance without the accompanying saving or genuine and sincere faith--they go hand in hand and cannot be separated, but only distinguished--like two flip sides of a coin.  True repentance bears fruit to show its reality according to Acts 26:20 (quoted above), and if there's no change in one's life, his repentance is suspect.  Works are no substitute for repentance or faith, but only it's proof and evidence.

Calvin Coolidge, a church-going president, came home from church service and his wife asked him what the sermon was about:  "He preached on sin!"  What did he say about it, his wife inquired:  "He was against it!"  This is the gist of the gospel, God will not countenance sin, and we must not only measure the strength and sincerity of our faith but the thoroughness and completeness of our repentance. The fault of churches today is that they make and allow sinners to feel comfortable in their sin, with no urgent call to change their ways.  The church shouldn't be a place where sinners feel comfortable but become convicted of their sin, otherwise, they will get false assurance, not based on the truth of the gospel message.  They are welcome as seekers, but must realize that God is not soft of sin, but is holy--and without holiness, no one will see the Lord. (Cf. Heb. 12:14).

Now, all believers are still sinners in a technical sense (cf. Gal. 2:17), but believers are called saints and brethren and are justified sinners, members of God's family in Scripture, not sinners.   Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, and in reality, one never ceases to repent (it's not just a one-time event, but a progressive one with daily renewal), just like he never ceases to believe or grow in his faith, but believers are never to become callous or indifferent to sin and sinners but to have their conscience kept sensitive, not immune and insensitive to its presence and voice.  It's not always how big your faith is, but how complete your repentance--they go hand in hand!

What is appalling in some Christian churches or circles is that they pick on certain sins that offend them in particular; namely, homosexuality, divorce, alcoholism, drug abuse, etc.  Even ex-cons are treated with contempt of unwelcome arms as if they aren't as holy as the others (beware of a holier-than-thou attitude per Isa. 65:5).  The worst of sins is the one of pride in the heart (cf. Prov. 6:17), and this is only visible to God because He looks on the heart of man, his motives and spirit, not the outward appearance (1 Sam. 16:7; Prov. 16:2; 21:2). "The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart"  (Prov. 20:27, NKJV).  

Churches tend to be legalistic in the appraisal of man and only see "sins," and not "sin."  We need forgiveness from what we've done and deliverance from who we are.  It is true that we need to be saved from what we are (sin), as well as what we have done (sins), by justification and sanctification respectively, but then we are not to pick on certain pet sins that offend us, but to mention that the whole problem of man cannot be solved apart from the conviction of sin, accomplished only by the Holy Spirit (John 16:8), and man must repent of his inner rebellion against God manifested in manifold "sins."

When we focus on merely one sin, let's say smoking is one, all we do is produce reformed sinners and not born-again ones.  Just because some alcoholic has been dry or clean and sober, doesn't mean he's saved.  This problem is compounded by many alcoholics who go to AA meetings and take their pledge and substitute this for the benefits of the local church.  They reduce Christianity to an AA pledge or the buddy system, and just because this keeps them sober, they think they are walking with the Lord or living a victorious Christian life--they must have higher goals than just sobriety.

In the story of the so-called sinful woman who anointed Jesus' feet, the Pharisees were offended by her "sin" because they felt self-righteous.  We are all sinners saved by grace in Christ and God doesn't see our sin anymore, but only the imputed righteousness of Christ on our behalf.  And Jesus didn't see it this way, but that she only loved Him (love is the fulfillment of the law, cf. Gal. 5:14; Romans 13:8, 10) and all the more, because she had been forgiven more:  the point is that all of us have been forgiven "more," but we just don't realize it.  William Jay of Bath said that he is a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior!  Only when we realize the seriousness, reality, and severity of our sin, do we acknowledge that we have a real, serious, complete Savior who can give us victory over sin.  Yes, Paul said that we are more than conquerors in Christ (cf. Rom. 8:37).

When we get saved we are set from the power of sin and are no longer under its dominion, and this means all sin, including our pet ones or the ones that easily beset us (cf. Heb. 12:1).  Romans 6:18 (NLT) says, Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living."  Verse 14 says, "Sin is no longer your master...."  We are to let no sin have dominion over us  (cf. Psalm 119:133).  Even David prayed not to let any sin have power over him, as he says in Psalm 19:13 (NLT):  "... don't let them control me...."  David is speaking of presumptuous or great sin and we are to pray for victory as a matter of course.

Church is not a place for people to feel that their sins are overlooked or countenanced.  It's true that you can come to Christ as you are, but you cannot stay that way!   But they should become convicted and find solace only in repentance and the power of the gospel message to change them from the inside out.  We aren't looking for reform or conformity, but the transformation that only God can accomplish.  What He's done for others, He can do for anyone!   We welcome sinners but not with the approval of sin!  Just like they say that we love the sinner but reject the sin.  

Just like it says in Jude 22-23 (NLT):  And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.  Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment.  Show mercy to others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives."  We need to stop confirming sinners in their sin by accepting or overlooking sin.  The ideal place for bringing conviction is from the pulpit and the message is to be dependent upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 16:8);  it's not our job to convict of sin, but only God can do this.

A concrete example of a church being soft on sin is when they go out of their way not to condemn homosexuality, though we are not homophobic either, we are not to give the impression that it's not a sin!  Leviticus 18:22 clearly condemns this sin, but we are not to go on a witch hunt against this particular offense either, as being known as an anti-gay church; but churches are to be "anti-sin."  It's just as bad to boast that your church has no homosexuals attending.  Those churches that make it a mission to aim their guns at any particular sin, overlook sin in general, and that all sin offends God--why is, for instance, that you don't hear any anti-gluttony sermons?  It's probably because too many churchgoers are guilty of it!  When God demands repentance, it's of all our sins, not just the ones that offend others, ourselves, or the church!  It's no wonder we all tend to justify our personal sins and condemn those in others!  As it is written in Psalm 36:2 (NKJV):  "For he flatters himself in his own eyes, When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates [to hate his own sin]."

We shouldn't need to doubt the gravity of sin (there's really no such thing as a small sin), for Israel was given a graphic reminder of their iniquities every Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and do we need to see the Via Dolorosa of Christ and His passion, from the flogging to the mockery, to the crucifixion, whereby He suffered on our behalf without complaint, completely voluntary for the joy that was set before Him?  If sin weren't such serious business, God would've found another way to solve the sin question apart from Christ's death on a cross. Isaiah realized that sin cannot survive in God's presence because of He is thrice holy and said, "Woe is me, I am undone" (cf. Isa. 6:5).  Job likewise repented in "dust and ashes" upon seeing the LORD (cf. Job 42:6).   At a certain point of time the day of grace is over, and God appraises man with a plumb line of scrutiny, and he is found wanting:  He proclaims,  "... I will no longer ignore all their sins"  (Amos 7:8, NLT).  In Gen. 6:3 God says, "... 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever....'" Thank God we have a Savior:  "... [And] you are to name him Jesus, for he shall will his people from their sins"  (Matt. 1:21, NLT).

The conclusion of the matter is that it is no wonder that the closer you grow towards God and see His face in Christ, the more aware of your own sins you become and how repugnant they seem to you?  Familiarity normally breeds contempt, but not so with Christ, the apostles grew more aware of their own personal failures and shortcomings, and Peter himself declared bluntly:  "Depart from me O Lord, for I am a sinner!" (Cf. Luke 5:8).  While Christ alone could declare to the skeptics, "Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin?..." (John 8:46, NLT).

Note that one must realize he is lost before being found, since the locus of the problem is our old sin nature, and one must become convicted of sin, before being set free of it in Christ:

"O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it for Your name's sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You"  (Jeremiah 14:7, NKJV).   

"... For you have stumbled because of your iniquity [sin has been your downfall!]"  (Hosea 14:1, NKJV).   

"For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation.  There's no regret for that kind of sorrow.  But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death"  (2 Cor. 7:10, NLT).   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Sin Is "In"

"In Adams fall, we sinned all"  (The New England Primer).   
"God be merciful to me, the sinner"  (cf. Luke 18:13, NASB). 
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief"  (1 Tim. 1:15, NKJ). 
"... 'For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance'"  (Matt. 9:13, NKJV, cf. Luke 5:32).  


We must present the bad news of sin before the good news of Christ!  In other words:  Get them lost first!  The people are enslaved to sin and must be set free, self-help is no help, they need supernatural intervention by God's Spirit on their hearts.  It is sad that people think sin demonstrates their freedom, it only proves and shows their slavery.  We are all in the same boat, lost in sin just like one drowns in 700 feet of water as well as seven feet.  It is not the evangelist's job to convict of sin--that's the prerogative of the Holy Spirit!  Jesus came to save us from our sins (cf. Matt. 1:21) and was not aloof from sinners but reached out to them, getting down and dirty with common men.  

Sin is the way to go if you want popularity or to be cool; being holy is being square, uncool, or naive.  You have to be savoir-faire and know your way around the block, wise to the ways of the world, known as being streetwise or familiar with the game called life.  People nowadays believe that moral principles have evolved and adultery is no longer wrong, but anything goes if you can make up half-baked excuses for it or self-justification or rationalization.  Psychology won't even admit to the existence of sin.  Why?   Because Albert Camus said it best: "The absurd is sin without God!"  Dr. Karl Menninger, America's Freud and a Christian psychologist and psychiatrist, wrote a book entitled Whatever Became of Sin?

Psychology tends to see sin as mere deviance from the so-called norm (which is arbitrary, not absolute).  It seems like sin is creeping back into our vocabulary as we search for the answer:  we have found all the questions, according to G. K. Chesterton, now is the time to find the answers!  I believe we cannot solve our personal problems, and sin is the culprit, but we can manage them and get them under control--there's no such thing as sinless perfection in this life, because all Christians are merely works-in-progress, at varying stages of maturity and development.

Sin is sometimes called by pretty names to make it more palatable:  mistakes, poor judgment, weakness, bad habit, or even falling short of our own standards, not to mention God's, whose standard is the ultimate measure and judgment of sin.  We tend to glamorize sin and are becoming immune to its effect and influence, or even shock value as we see murder, rape, theft, etc., on TV and don't blink an eye because we are used to it and it doesn't offend us anymore--it seems okay to observe sin, but not do it?  The problem we have today in reclassifying sin and in not calling a spade a spade, as it were, is that we get enticed and drawn in unknowingly and become insensitive or immune to its influence.  If you were to take your bottle of rat poison and label it as candy in your cabinet, don't be surprised if your kids eat it--by changing labels and not coming to grips with what it is, we make it all the more dangerous!

Sin is our birthright and no one is immune from it--it's universal and no one can escape its clutches or power except by the grace of God in salvation.  The unbeliever has no power over his sin nature and can only sin, while the Christian has the ability to refrain from sin, as he has the ability to still sin at will.  We have become inoculated from sin, so we are unaware of its full impact.  Sin can be defined as our Declaration of Independence from God and a virus that affects everyone, for the Bible states:  "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"  (cf. Romans 3:23).  The first step to solving a problem with sin is admitting you have one, and the problem with sinners is that they don't see or admit their own personal sin--they justify themselves, which is the normal reaction.

We all have fallen short of God's ideal standard set by Christ in living the perfect life of obedience--the word, hamartia in Koine, or common Greek, means to "miss the mark" and is a marksman's word.  We aren't expected to be as "glorious" as God, for even Adam wasn't, but we miss the standard of the Law of Moses, which sets the precedents for all good and moral behavior and ethics for us to live by.  Sin is indeed a disease and we are all affected, no one is immune: we all have shortcomings, even by our own standards, and no one even lives up to his own expectations.

The command by God is to repent and turn from our wicked ways and follow on to know the Lord; we must renounce and denounce our sin and confess it, or say the same thing about it as God does, not some lame excuse for what we do in self-justification, which is our tendency. Sin has been our downfall:  "... For you have stumbled because of your iniquity"  (Hosea 14:1, NKJV).   We all can admit that there are things we "ought to have done," or have done something that wasn't God's will. 

Remember the words of God to Cain in Gen. 4:7:  "Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it."  Sin is self-destructive and may be seen as a virus that has affected all mankind.  The point in seeing ourselves as sinners is to awaken us to the fact that we cannot save ourselves, we cannot keep God's Law, and we are powerless over it; this ought to make us see our need for salvation, not make us just resolve to do better or take a self-improvement course, as it were, lifting ourselves up by our own bootstraps engaging in a mere do-it-yourself proposition of good works or deeds.

Repentance is more than turning over a new leaf, reforming ourselves, making a resolution, or vowing to do better next time, but a change of heart, mind, and will from the inside out, that results in a change of behavior to prove its reality--that it's not bogus.  The purpose of God laying down the Law was not to show us a way of salvation, but to show us how bad we are and we are bad enough to need salvation; we should be suing God for mercy, not trying to save ourselves by good behavior, morality, ethics, philosophy, religious ritual, or good works or deeds--the essence of religion (works-based, not faith-based).  Pray for a lively sense of sin, says Samuel Rutherford, because the more we get it, the less we sin--gross sinners aren't aware of the degree of their depravity, while saints have a fine-tuned and sensitive conscience, that notices minutiae of sin.

Man is not basically good nor inherently good, but lost this at the Fall of Adam, and is basically and intrinsically evil through and through--if sin or evil would be yellow, we'd be all yellow--and it is affecting his entire being, which needs salvation--mind, heart, and will.  Note that even the will is stubborn and recalcitrant and needs salvaging by God and God must melt the heart and make one willing to believe by His wooing and drawing of the Holy Spirit.   We all "enjoy" our solidarity with Adam--yes, sin is fun and games for a limited time, then new sins must be found; Hebrews 11:25 says that there is pleasure in it for a season.  Theologians have analyzed man's nature and found him wanting:  He is not a sinner because he sins; rather, he sins because he's a sinner--we all born sinners and cannot escape our birthright; i.e., we sin and err from the womb (cf. Psalm 58:3).  Sin made its entree in Adam's fall and we confirm that sin by repeating it ourselves, showing we are no better.

Psychologists tend to blame society and the environment or even one's parents for our sins, but this is a cop-out, and escaping our duty and responsibility.  The first sin was committed in a perfect environment!  We all know better and don't need a lecture to tell us we are sinners:  Ovid said, "I see the better things and approve them, but I follow the worst."  It has been said, though, that we are great sinners, but Christ is a great Savior.  When we see ourselves as real sinners and unworthy in God's sight, we realize Christ is a real Savior.

We all have feet of clay and no can really clean up his act; we don't do any pre-salvation work (however, the work of God is to believe in Christ and this is all God's doing!) and we don't prepare ourselves for salvation, but come as we are in faith for our "healing" to be made whole, and God will do the transforming of our person to be made new in Christ's image. However, this is the catch-22 according to C. S. Lewis:  We must see how bad we are to be good, and we don't know how bad we are till we have tried to be good!  It's like finding out how addicted to cigarettes you are only after trying to quit, and realizing for the first time that you are not in control of your cravings.

No one fools God, for He sees through the veneer and all of us are in the same boat of being called sinners--He has leveled the playing field and demands repentance from all ("... but now God commands men everywhere to repent," according to Acts 17:30, NKJV).  Christians are justified, but still, sinners (cf. Gal. 2:17).   In the last analysis, sin is not just a shortcoming or weakness, but a sign of evil and a direct consequence of Adam's sin, as we have inherited this tendency to sin and cannot escape our birthright, except by the grace of God, who doesn't just whitewash us, but transforms us---a miracle in itself from the inside out.   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Age Of Innocence

 "Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there, to them I will give it, and they shall possess it"  (Deut. 1:39, NKJV).  
 "For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good..." (Isaiah 7:16, NKJV). 
"... 'Yes. Have you never read 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?'...." (Matt. 21:16, NKJV).

John Locke, father of modern empiricism, said that children are born tabula rasa, or with a blank heart or slate, that is impressionable and innocent!--thus all knowledge is learned by experience and we don't inherit any.   The Bible clearly says that we are conceived in sin and that we err from birth, telling lies (Psalm 58:3, NKJV, says, "The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies").  This native tendency is called original sin and is the effect of Adam's sin.  We aren't sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners, theologians say.  We sin, precisely because it's our very nature and we act according to our God-given nature.  God chose our nature, whether sanguine, choleric, melancholy, impetuous, or happy-go-lucky!

We are not born free, but in bondage to sin, and must be set free (As John 8:36, NKJV, says, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed").   We don't need free wills, but wills made free.  The will is depraved to and is not in a state of neutrality able to weigh the pros and cons of following Christ--we need to be wooed into the kingdom (cf. John 6:44, 65) and convicted of our sin and brought to faith by regeneration (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13, which implies that regeneration precedes faith!).

Our nature is determined by God, just like a dove's nature is to eat seed and a vulture to eat carrion, we act according to the nature God gave us, and we are true to nature and to the character that God didn't even ask us our permission before giving it to us.  What if you had been born in India, do you think you'd be a Baptist?  What if you had been born in abject poverty in the Horn of Africa, what would've been your chances of surviving, or what if you had been born in a Muslim nation and had virtually no freedom or opportunity to be anything except Muslim?

God recognizes that children don't know good and evil, though they are still sinners.  Jonah was told that there were 120,000 in Nineveh that didn't know their right hand from their left!  After the spies had come back from Canaan, Joshua was told that the nation would suffer for forty years in the wilderness due to cowardice and a whole generation would be punished--except those who were "innocent" as Deut. 1:39 says.  Basically, God had mercy on all those under twenty years old, even though Jews consider the right of passage into adulthood at about 13 for boys and 12 for girls.

Some teach that God sends children to hell if they're not baptized, but there is no place in hell for children.  Isaiah 7:16 says that there is a time when children don't know to choose the good and reject the evil before adulthood, and God has mercy on them accordingly.   Jesus, Himself, said that the kingdom of God belongs to the children of the world, and we are to receive them, even someone who accepts them in His name accepts Him.  Woe to those who cause a child to stumble in the faith, because their angels constantly behold the face of the Father in heaven.

We have a lot to learn from children, who have not reached the age of accountability yet, because Jesus said that God has ordained praise from their lips (as Matt. 21:16, says, "... 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?"),  and we can see the love of God in their hearts  (cf. Psalm 8:2).  Saint Augustine said that it was the voice of a child saying, "Take and read, take and read," that was his spiritual wake-up call and motivated him to repent of his lascivious and debauched lifestyle.

Yes, God does speak through children and they can utter wise statements that are timely.  Yes, forbid them not, as Mark 10:14 says to suffer them not, for such is the kingdom of God.   Soli Deo Gloria!     

The Lowest Bidder

If you've ever heard of public auctions, you very well know that the item goes to the highest bidder, even if they cannot afford it, they made the mistake of outbidding and must live with their decision and choice of what he bought and the consequences.  Salvation is the reverse:  Salvation doesn't go to the highest bidder, though, if you will, because you couldn't possibly bid high enough to pay your ransom price--Christ alone paid the price we couldn't afford or handle, as we were in the red and hopelessly in debt with a debt, we couldn't possibly pay--in effect we were bankrupt! 

But Christ volunteered to pay our debt of sin and didn't have to do it, or it wouldn't be mercy, but justice!  God owes no one salvation, and it is not a payoff for having faith as "good work."  Nothing we did qualified us for salvation--we can not prepare ourselves for it in a "pre-salvation work", nor meet God's standards.  Unless we realize our condemnation, we're not ready for grace.

What is meant by the lowest bidder, who will get saved?  First of all, our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God, and our righteousness is as filthy rags per Isaiah 64:6.  If you will recall the sinner's prayer in Luke 18:13, where the publican prays for God to be merciful to him, a sinner.  Actually, he meant "the sinner," because he loathed his sin and didn't try to justify himself or compare himself to anyone else and think he was better than them.

Unlike the Pharisee who thanks God he is not a woman, Gentile, nor slave, and that God should give him kudos for all his self-righteousness, such as fasting twice a week, and giving of a tithe of everything he owned, while neglecting (cf. Mat. 23:23) the heavier duties of the law:  justice, mercy, and faithfulness--which are the virtues of the redeemed and putting the essence of the law of Moses into action.  All that really matters, according to Paul in Gal. 5:6 is faith being worked out in love.  Why?  Love is the fulfillment of the law!  Did the Pharisee have this attribute?

The lowest bidder seeks no lame excuse for his sin, but comes clean with God and renounces his pet sin as well as his private ones.  We must all disown our old way of life and seek a new life in Christ.  Whenever we justify ourselves and compare ourselves we are not wise (cf. 2 Cor. 10:12).  Now maybe you recall Jesus saying the prostitutes were closer to the kingdom of God than the Pharisees; they knew how empty their lives were with no meaning or purpose, and the possibility of a new life sounded appealing to them and especially being forgiven and set free (recall the woman caught in adultery!).  

In speaking of low bids, we must realize our slavery to sin ("a man is a slave to whatever overcomes him," says Rom. 6:16).  "Some people are enslaved to whatever defeats them," (cf. 2 Pet 2:19).  It's a lot like quitting smoking: you don't know your addiction till you try to stop!  Sin is like that:  you don't know how bad you are till you tried to be good, and you can't be good till you realize how bad you are!  This is like a catch-22.  In the end, what we do in essence is to throw ourselves into God's hands and sue Him for mercy in the heavenly courts.


The lowest bidder is like Paul thinking of himself as the "chief of sinners," and also of John Bunyan, who wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.  This is because the closer we are to God and His kingdom, the more clearly we sense and see our own personal sin, and don't look at the other guy or accuse him. We must acknowledge that only God is good and that we are depraved through and through and can do nothing to please God of ourselves: John 15:5, ESV, says,  "... [F]or apart from Me you can do nothing."   Paul says in 1 Cor. 4:7 that we are the product of grace all the way:  "What do you have that you didn't receive?"  It is the goody-goodies that are more distant from the kingdom of God, being do-gooders and having self-righteousness that is an abomination to God.

We come to God as we are, but we don't stay that way--we are changed from the inside out by a work of grace to change our hearts (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17).   If we think we came to Christ of our own power, we probably left Him that way too!   God must woo us and enable us to come to Him (cf. John 6:44, 65).  God can take any heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh according to Ezek. 36:26.  No one is too far from salvation to be saved and faith is something anyone can have as a gift--it's the only way to be saved by grace and not by merit.  For we don't deserve it, cannot repay it, and did not earn it, to begin with--it's all grace from start to finish so that God alone gets the glory (in Latin, Soli Deo Gloria!).

We are bad sinners, but not too bad to be saved, in other words--God's grace can reach anyone!    We are all in the same boat, drowning sinners in the sea of evil, and God rescues us by grace, and we owe it all to Him.    Recall the pertinent praise song:  "All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife..." In conclusion, what does it take to be saved?  The qualification for salvation is to realize you aren't qualified!   We have nothing to offer God for salvation, but He wants us despite ourselves.  He seeks those who are lost and not righteous (cf. Luke 19:10; Matt. 9:13).

All in all, we must acknowledge our feet of clay and uselessness before God's plenipotence or omnipotence, and Jesus sees through our veneer (we are not basically good, but inherently evil); our radical corruption permeates to the core and we have no island of righteousness to please God (indeed, we are as bad off as we can be, though, because of His restraint, not as bad as we can be!).  Man does have a high opinion of himself, but God's estimation of man is total depravity through and through.   Soli Deo Gloria!

That I Might Not Sin Against God

  "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance..." (Luke 3:8, ESV).  "... [T]hat they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance"  (Acts 26:20, ESV).
"Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God"  (Heb. 6:1, ESV).
"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death"  (2 Cor. 7:10, ESV).

The psalmist prayed that he might not sin against God, and that's why he hid God's Word in his heart (cf. Psalm 119:11).  All sin is ultimately against God--even sins against our neighbor are also against Him--because they offend His righteousness and holy standards.  Samuel writes:  "If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" (1 Sam. 2:25, NASB).  Job also wondered who could intercede for him and be a "Daysman betwixt" (cf. Job 9:33) him and God to lay hands on them both.

We can sin against our brother by offending him:  "And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ"  (1 Cor. 8:12, NASB).  David prayed in Psalm 51:4 that he had sinned against God alone!  Sometimes it seems like our sins are private matters and there are no injured parties or victims, but Moses prays:  "You have placed our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence"  (Psalm 90:8, NASB).  God knows all about us, and the good thing is that He did before we were saved and is surprised by none of our sins, but forgave them all upon salvation--past, present, and future; therefore, God's forgiveness is much like an Etch A Sketch that you can erase any trace of what's on the board forever!

The only way we could be infinitely forgiven (no matter what we do) is to have an infinite atonement from an infinitely holy God, who intercedes on our behalf.  That's why David prays for God to be gracious "according to [His] lovingkindness (Psalm 51:1, NASB).  God is able to "blot out" our sin much like a computer deleting memory banks never to be retrieved again.  God literally throws our sins behind His back (cf. Isa. 43:25), and into the bottom of the sea (cf. Mic. 7:19)--He also wipes them out "for His own sake"  (cf. Isaiah 44:22).

God is just and holy and therefore must deal with sin, but He is also full of compassion and can be both just and the Justifier.  David prays:  "Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities" (Psa. 51:8, NASB).  This is doubtless because David felt shame when he was told he was "the man," and remorse for what he had done. He also had faith that God was big enough to forgive him and to bury his sins, not to be remembered again--this is not just forgiveness, but freedom from guilt.

True repentance always brings with it conviction and remorse: a desire to make restitution and things right with God.  Grace is not cheap; we are expected to not only change our opinions about our sins, but our behavior.  True repentance is a requisite for salvation, though it doesn't stop there; we are to be penitent all our lives.  What it entails is a complete change of heart, mind, and will, and a turnaround or change from the inside out, not just turning over a new leaf, making a New Year's resolution, or making an AA pledge.  Repentance, like faith, is the gift of God and it is granted (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:24).

We must "come clean" or own up to our sins and have the faith to let God change us into new persons:  "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come"  (2 Cor. 5:17, NASB). However, we are works in progress and God never gives up on us (Phil. 1:6 says, "...he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion...").  What the Christian life is, is a new life in Christ which began by putting Him in charge!  If there's no fruit, there's no repentance; there must be evidence of a change of a resultant change of behavior. 

Jesus said to Peter at the Last Supper in the Upper Room that if He couldn't wash us, we could have no part of Him.  When we get convicted we must confess them and then we will be washed from iniquity and cleansed from our sin (cf. Psa. 51:2).  The way to walk in the Spirit involves constant confession (the closer you get to God, the more sensitive and aware you become of sin and falling short of His holy standard).  The first of the 95 Theses of Martin Luther was that repentance was not a one-time event but a progressive element of our walk:  When we confess our sins according to 1 John 1:9, "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  

This means that God wipes the slate clean of sins we are unaware of too.  As we grow we realize what real sinners we are and what a real Savior Christ is--it seems like each time we are restored to fellowship by forgiveness we feel all the more grateful and aware of His grace. He who is forgiven much loves much.  Christ doesn't forgive us by quantity, but quality, it's the thoroughness of it that matters, and when we confess our sins we are only regaining fellowship, not salvation.

What repentance is not:  Attrition is not repentance but the only fear-motivated change of mind.  Repentance requires a full change of heart, not just your opinions of sin.  It's not just making an apology to God for your sin or saying you're sorry, either.  Judas was very sorry but didn't repent, because his sorrow wasn't matched with faith that God could and would forgive him.  It does not regret that we got caught in a sin, like a kid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar--sorry about the consequences, not the sin.  Some people think that repentance is just fear of punishment or of hell, and look upon it as fire insurance.  True repentance involves a radical change of heart (that includes your emotions, mind, and will).  We must follow through with our determination to turn our backs on sin and hate sin just like God does.

What does authentic, genuine repentance look like?  First of all, there's no genuine repentance without saving faith and vice versa. We are to offer no lame excuses for our sin or even to rationalize why we do it--there's no excuse!   Repentance is a recurring motif in the NT with roughly 70 references.  It is the mandate that both John the Baptist and Christ opened their ministries with: "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!"  There are many ways to look at it:  The about-face; the U-turn; the turnaround; the 180-degree turn.  

We must renounce our known sins or repudiate any sin that we feel convicted of (not just having a vague sense of guilt, but the Holy Spirit performing an open-and-shut case to convict us), and come clean and honest with God--no playing games, especially the blame game!  Note that we can simply feel sorry about something we did just like Judas did, and not have genuine repentance (this is attrition as opposed to contrition).  We must own up to our wrongdoing and call a spade a spade.  Sometimes there is a sin we love and we have a tendency to not repent of that one that easily besets us (cf. Heb. 12:1).

It is key to understand that repentance and faith go hand in hand and are complementary:  "testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ"  (Acts 20:21, ESV).  Repentance is turning from sin and faith is turning to God!  This is called believing repentance or penitent faith; that's what pleases God.  David prayed:  "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and broken and contrite heart--these O God, You will not despise"  (Psalm 51:17, NASB, italics mine).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Our Birthright

"Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it.." (cf. Gen. 4:7). 
"... Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it"  (Gen. 4:7, ESV).

Ever since Adam, we have inherited the old man himself, known as the old sin nature.  It is a virus, and if it were yellow, we'd be all yellow!  Someone said that sin is man's declaration of independence from God; true, we try to be good without God in the picture and in our belief system.  When we fail to account for God in our reckoning we become corrupt and there is no limit to how corrupt; for "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" says Jeremiah 17:9.  It doesn't matter how bad we are but how bad off we are since all have sinned and it doesn't matter whether you drowned in six feet or six hundred feet of water, you're dead in sin!  God simply doesn't grade on a curve, though we may seem like saints compared to the likes of Saddam Hussein or Adolf Hitler.  A scientist extraordinaire, Albert Einstein, who instigated the Manhattan Project, said that it is "easier to denature plutonium than the evil nature of man!"

It is said that nature forms us, sin deforms us, schools inform us, prisons reform us, but only Christ can transform us--that's the wonder of the gospel message, in changing lives.  We all share solidarity in Adam and must be set free from the power of sin by the cross of Christ.  In salvation we are free from the power of sin by the living Christ, the penalty of sin by the crucified Christ, and the presence of sin by the coming Christ, it is said.  We get a new birthright in Christ as members of the family of God in salvation.  We are not as bad as we possibly can be or utterly depraved as unbelievers, but as bad off or totally depraved, meaning every part of our nature--our will, intellect, and emotions or heart--are affected by this sin virus.  We have no power over sin, except through the Holy Spirit.

What is sin? When we fail to do what is required and leave God's will undone, and do what is forbidden!  When we miss achieving the standards of God's law and fall short we sin--sin is universal--as they say, "Nobody's perfect!" or "To err is human!"   Sin is defined as a want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God.  It is further added that it is any thought, word, action, deed, or omission contrary to God's nature and incompatible with it.

Sin is lawlessness, it's faithlessness, it's trespassing, and we must call a spade a spade;  if we call it by any other name we make it more dangerous, such as labeling poison as "Essence of Peppermint!"  Paul lumps all men to together in that they are all in the same boat, as it were, and have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God (cf. Rom. 3:23).  It is because of sin that we deserve to die and the death principle is already a work in us.

It is important to understand that we are still sinners as believers per Gal. 2:17 and we are not basically good, but we are evil in our natures through and through with no vestige of good remaining from the fall.  It is assumed people are inherently good, but we are all flawed and have feet of clay.  There is no sliding scale and we are all in the same boat of condemnation, in that we are at the mercy of God and there is no hope but by His grace.  It is important to note that sin is only possible if there is a God because it is defined in terms of God:  as Albert Camus said, "The absurd is sin without God."

It is ironic that the more lively sensed of sin, the less sin, and the closer you approach God, the more aware of it you become!   C. S. Lewis observed:  You must see how bad you are to be good, and you don't know how bad you are till you've tried to be good!  It's like quitting cigs, you don't know how addicted you are till you try to quit!  The evil of sin is that it enslaves and estranges for a double whammy!  In conclusion, we must realize that we are not sinners because we sin; no we sin because we are sinners [it's our inherent nature to sin], as theologians like to say.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Bearing Burdens

Sometimes the burden gets too heavy to sustain and we must unload, as it were, or vent.  We all need someone to share our problems with because we cannot go through the maze of life alone.  We need to be part of a body or church family, and not be rogue believers or Lone Ranger Christians.  There are no lone wolves out there!  The body is meant to share burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ as they take requests in common to the Lord in prayer, both corporate and private.  No one can go it alone, no matter how strong your faith, you will find yourself going off course and in your own way ("All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way").  We receive comfort so that we can share it with others, and we go through adversity to be able to counsel others and guide them on the good and noble path of righteousness, like 2 Cor. 1:20 says--then we can say, "Been there, done that!"

Now we bear each other's burdens per Galatians 6:2, but each must carry his own load--we don't become freeloaders or moochers on others, refusing to work out of laziness!  God allows you to experience hardship so that you can comfort others and you will grow to become Christlike.  It's meant to be a team effort to strengthen the body because you never know who will be able to relate the most to any given burden.  In conclusion, let me stress that prayer support is vital and a loving way to bear a burden and to carry it to the throne room of the Father.  Intercession is our priestly duty and calling!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Throw In The Towel

"Therefore repent and turn back, that your sins may be wiped out so that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord"  (Acts 3:19, HCSB).

Some people need to have a mental collapse like King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel who became like a beast eating grass before he repented and came to his right mind after acknowledging God's sovereignty.  Sometimes we do need to come to an end of ourselves and be humbled by God before we are willing to eat our humble pie.  But repentance is more than being sorry, it is settling the score and making amends or wrongs right.  "Godly sorrow leads to repentance without regret," according to 2 Cor. 7:1.  Repentance is merely doing a 180 or an about-face.  Some see it as a U-turn.  Repentance involves turning from sin toward God, and it must be validated by fruit.  Acts 26:20 says to bring forth fruit worthy of repentance.

Salvation itself is seen as repentance or faith, depending on the angle you see.  Actually, it is through penitent faith or believing repentance.  They go hand in hand and are complementary; you can distinguish but not separate them.  We all must come clean in God's eyes and not try to justify ourselves or hide our sins.  We call a spade a spade and that means confessing them as God calls the shots.  In the process, we own up to our wrongdoing and throw ourselves on the mercy of God as a prerequisite to salvation.

 In the Old Testament, the world was often substituted with the word "return."  Job repented upon seeing God in Job 42:6, saying:  "I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes."  True repentance only comes from genuine saving faith, and genuine faith comes only with true repentance.  True repentance is a change from the inside out and is a radicalized shift of heart, mind, and will modification.

Repentance is a mandate or imperative and God commands all men everywhere to repent (cf. Acts 17:30) as a progressive or ongoing activity, as well as a one-time turning from sin to Christ.  We must renounce or repudiate sin in our lives and decide to follow Jesus and commit our lives to Him.  We cannot do it halfway but must be sincere in faith.  We don't just change our opinions, but the entire direction of our life.   Repentance is not "fire insurance" or a ticket out of hell, but complimentary to saving, genuine faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.  When we prove it by our subsequent deeds we are finally good to go!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Throwing Down The Gauntlet On Homophobia

 "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, ... not to eat with such a person [shun]"  (1 Cor. 5:11, NKJV). 
"For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside?  Do you not judge those who are inside?  But those who are outside God judges.  Therefore 'put away from yourselves the evil person'" (1 Cor. 5:12-13, NKJV).  
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived.  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites ... And such were some of you.  But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God"  (1 Cor. 6:9,11, NKJV). 
 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation:  old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new"  (2 Cor. 5:17, NKJV).  
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10, NKV).

Leviticus 18:22 makes it clear that homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord ("detestable" in the NIV).  This sin is not listed in Proverbs 6:16-17 as one of the seven sins that God hates and are detestable to Him, though. " ...[Men] who have sex with men" ... "will not inherit the kingdom of God" period, according to Paul in 1 Cor. 6:9-11 (NIV).  Note:  the ESV (emphasis added) says, "those who practice homosexuality... shall not inherit the kingdom of God."  This means it cannot be their way of life or lifestyle, just like a kleptomaniac may steal on occasion, and confess it, but he isn't practicing it; likewise, the way John says in 1 John that the believer doesn't "practice sin."  Lapses are possible, and even relapses, but victory is ultimate and they will be justified, sanctified, and washed. We must acknowledge sin as a sickness that infects the soul as a virus and can be cured.  No one has the right to do what comes natural--we're all sick in sin and sinners by nature, by birth, and by choice.  "We are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners," as it's been said by theologians!

My point of view is that homosexuality is not a genetic trait passed down by DNA (we are not pawns of our genes), but a character trait acquired by choice and indulgence--the nature you nourish tend to flourish--they must be put under control and not exercised at will.  God did make us the way we are, but we are still responsible for our flaws and cannot blame God or cast any slurs on His creatures, which He made us in the mage of God to have a relationship with Him--we don't have a license to sin. God's intention in the garden was Adam and Eve, and not two men or two women, but they were each others' perfect partner and the union was meant for procreation and fulfillment in each other.

When you indulge a sin, its grip becomes greater and you become enslaved to it.  The psalmist prayed, "Let no sin have dominion over me" in Psalm 119:133, (italics added) ESV, "Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me."  David prays, "Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!..."  (Psalm 19:13, ESV, italics added).  We must bear in mind that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, but also that there is no condemnation for those who in Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9; Rom. 8:1).

Due to Adam's fall, we inherited an old sin nature, but we are no longer under its dominion in Christ--we are set free from the power of sin as redeemed believers.  Everyone's sin nature inclines them differently and he must not let it get the best of him.  "For sin shall have no dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace"  (cf. Romans 6:14).  This implies we are accountable and cannot blame God.

If you look at the nature of sin, you will get the drift of Scripture:  Going contrary to God's design; He designed marriage as the only outlet for sex, and only between one man and one woman to become "one flesh" until death.  God is a God of design and the argument from design is one of the proofs of God, to not see that it is unnatural for a homosexual union is to go against nature as Paul states in Romans 1.  Biblical sexuality is only to be celebrated in the holy reins of matrimony.  God hates and condemns all perversion and no pervert will enter the kingdom of heaven.

But there is a difference between a desire and following through.  One may be inclined in an unnatural way and keep himself under control and not sin; he may say that he was born that way and that justifies his sin, but the heterosexual single person who lives in lust is in the same dilemma and must refrain likewise. The Bible recognizes no natural state of man to be perverted, but sin is a choice and we are responsible for our character. The gospel is for all, though, and Christ is the Healer who can bring anyone into the confines of normalcy. Just like there are reformed drunks and thieves, there are reformed gays. We should, therefore, not be homophobes, but welcome them and realize they can be saved just as well as the drunkard, the thief, the fornicator, or even the murderer!  There will be plenty of reformed criminals in heaven.  "But such were some of you.." (cf. 1 Cor. 6:11).

The homosexual is admonished to restrain from the practice of all sins, and this is just the one that easily besets him. God doesn't want any sin to overcome us or be domineering.  The church has no right to exclude a class of people or to discriminate, but to present the gospel and see its amazing power to change lives (whether all at once or over time).

We must address the problem of our society recognizing gay marriage and thinking this is a "right." The Supreme Court has sanctioned it, but it is not a God-given right to be perverted and God doesn't recognize such marriages, but they are living in adultery and sin and will be judged.  Rights are conferred from God, not the State, which only recognizes God-given rights.  They cannot say that they are wired differently because the Bible's list of sin gives no one an excuse.  The State has overstepped its bounds by legitimizing and normalizing gay marriage and society at large will be judged.  God is the ultimate law of the land, not the Constitution! Our leaders have God to answer to; The point is that being legal doesn't always mean being moral.

We outlaw child molestation, bestiality, and, until recently, sodomy was even outlawed; why do we seem to think that moral standards change with the times?   Everyone has a sexual appetite and he is expected to celebrate it within the bounds of legal marriage. Homosexuality is not an alternate lifestyle according to the Bible but is condemned and the truth of the matter is that we shouldn't hide from this fact--we need to call a spade a spade and not gloss over sins by calling them by another name that is less offensive.  We all have the sex drive, and are expected to master it as God said to Cain  (cf. Gen. 4:7):  "Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it."

Scripture nowhere warrants a civil right to live any way that seems natural but commands righteous and holy living.  The whole purpose of government is to restrain evil and sin and to maintain civil order and upright institutions which are the foundations of society.  As Psalm 11:3 (NIV) says, "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"  Finally, as Martin Luther said (paraphrased), we cannot control what enters our mind, but we decide what to dwell on and let our imagination get carried away with or fixated on.  Therefore, people who feel so inclined are no different than Christians who are battling other sins and need to overcome them!

The conclusion of the matter is stated in Numbers 32:23 (ESV) as follows:  "... [A]nd be sure your sin will find you out." Sin can be understood as anything not according to God's plan or will.   Caveat:  we reap what we sow (cf. Gal. 6:7) and if we sow the flesh, it will destroy us.  Therefore, Gal. 5:16 (ESV) expresses it:  "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."   Soli Deo Gloria!

Repentance And Confession

"Therefore, repent and turn from all your sins, that you may be forgiven and times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Acts 3:19

When we get saved, it's by penitent faith, or believing repentance, because they go hand in hand as the Bible says, "Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate" in Mark 10:9. ("[Testifying] both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," says Acts 20:21).  The first of the Ninety-five Theses that Martin Luther made was that our penitence is a continual thing and renewed, an ongoing resolution it's not just a one-time event.  It is a mockery of repentance to confess without turning from the sin and not being sorry enough to quit.  As Job said, "... I will wait till my renewal comes" (cf. Job 14:14).  Indeed, even Job did find repentance: "[Therefore] I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes"  (Job 42:6, ESV).

Some believers are concerned that they confess the same sins over and over (this is called the "sin which easily besets [or ensnares] you" per Heb. 12:1).  "... And let no iniquity have dominion over me"  (Ps. 119:133, NKJV).  David says, "Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me...."  What do they want?  New sins?  God is able to make grace abound toward us and give us the victory over sin because we are no longer "under the law" and "sin shall have no dominion over you" per Romans 6:14.

When we become believers we do not have permission to live in the flesh or become Antinomians living as our flesh desires, but we have the power to live in the Spirit.  As David says in Psalm 18:23 that he has "kept [himself] from [his] sin." We cannot achieve sinless perfection but we can overcome our easily besetting sin and not let it hinder our walk.  "Who can say, 'I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin [sinful nature]?'"(Cf. Prov. 20:9).   Note that the psalmist said in Psalm 119:96 that he had seen the "limit of all perfection."

We have to be on the alert, because "sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it [it's crouching at the door!]"  (cf. Gen. 4:7).  Hosea says that sin has been Israel's downfall (cf. Hos. 14:1).  Repentance was demanded of the woman caught in adultery:  "Go and sin no more!"[i.e., live in sin] (Cf. John 8:10ff).  Salvation is more than mere forgiveness at the point of salvation--it covers all sin, past, present, and future, but is not an easy believism or cheap grace that grants forgiveness without repentance.

We must confess and admit our faults and sins to God, calling a spade a spade, naming sin as God does and  calling it out, making no excuses, nor trying to justify ourselves.  "No one who abides in him keeps on sinning..." (1 John 3:6, ESV).   If we go on in our sin we will be disciplined or chastised of the Lord and we can be sure "our sin will find us out" per Numbers 32:23. Jeremiah writes:  "Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins?"  (Lam. 3:39, NKJV).   

Remember, to feel remorse or regret is only half the formula; we must have faith and accept God's forgiveness, not living in guilt. It must be matched with faith.   Peter was forgiven, Judas wasn't because Peter had penitent faith/believing repentance and Judas just felt sorry for what he'd done or had remorse but lacked faith, his missing ingredient.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Evil's Facade

"... [Y]ou hate all evildoers"  (Psalm 5:5, ESV).  "... I will fear no evil..." (Psa. 23:4, ESV).
"The fear of the LORD is the hatred of evil..." (Proverbs 8:13, ESV).
"What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil..." (Isaiah 5:20, ESV).
"Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good"  (Romans 12:21, ESV).
"Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight"  (Psalm 51:4, NLT).  "Will those who do evil never learn?" (Psalm 14:4, NLT).
"There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing evil..." (Rom. 2:9, NLT).
"... 'All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil'"  (2 Tim. 2:19, NLT).
"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually"  (Gen. 6:5, ESV). (According to St. Augustine:  Man has the inability not to sin or non posse non peccare in Latin.)

Man is not basically good, but inherently evil to his core and is radically corrupt through and through and must be redeemed by God to be able to do anything good; in his fallen state, he cannot do anything but sin and evil.  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"   (Jer. 17:9, ESV).  Isaiah 1 says:  We are to cease to do evil, and learn to do good! ("Depart from evil, and do good..." (Psa. 37:27, ESV).

Evil doesn't advertise or promote itself by that moniker but tries to convince one of its good intentions to bring about the greater good as the end result.  If something is not done God's way, it's the devil's way.  God is able to work with evil and tolerates its existence because He can turn it into good (like curses into blessings), and there is a lot more evil to work with!  What evil is, is not what people would suppose:  It's goodness without God in the picture or the equation (like humanism that deifies man and makes him the measure of all things, the starting point of the equation, and dethrones God as dead and no longer relevant.  God turns evil into good:  "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good"  (cf. Gen. 50:20).  There is no yin/yang or an equal balance of good and evil; however, Satan masquerades as an angel of light (cf. 2 Cor. 11:4).

We must become familiar with our common foe, or we will become like him, a do-gooder, who is trying to save humanity his way.  There is only one person who is good, God.  We do not have the power to harness the power of evil for good, like in Star Wars where they use the powers of the dark side.  Christ annihilated evil and defeated it in toto at the cross and we are only here to proclaim His victory and to claim His authority.  There is no such thing as pure evil, for evil, depends on good for its very existence; it's the privation of good; the deviation from good; the negation of goodness; and the perversion of goodness.

Satan was once good with no evil, but then pride was found in his heart and he fell and was booted out of heaven and his place of authority.  Satan is not coequal with God, such as a yin/yang type working arrangement, but only a servant of God who must obey.  There is now a cosmic battle or angelic conflict going on between Satan and his minions, and Christ, the church, and the elect angels on the other side.

We all have eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in a sense, and are not innocent in God's eyes and are responsible for the light we have to be faithful and fruitful.  It is good to be innocent of evil as much as possible and to be wise to what is good.  Don't practice the occult nor magic arts and don't experiment with evil in any way, shape, or form.

It all started when Satan challenged authority and asked Eve, "Hath God said..?"  By her own volition Eve took of the forbidden fruit and the result of the so-called proverbial apple saga still goes on as it epitomized all sin in that one act of obedience--they only had one rule to obey and couldn't do it!

Today's youth are concerned more about what works than what's true, and they believe the test of an idea is not its truth value, but its results.  The sorry result is that something can work and not be true or good, e.g., Yoga, or TM.  These are not forbidden activities in Scripture, but nevertheless evil in that they circumvent the goodness and wisdom of God.  Christianity is not true because it works, it works because it's true!   Youth are concerned if something works for them and is practical or pragmatic, while God demands obedience and loyal faithfulness not to experiment with other religions or philosophies.

For example, to the innocent bystander or outside observer Yoga may seem innocent enough, but Yoga is a Hindu art that means union with God, and you learn to get in touch with one of their gods.  People are lured and enticed into Eastern philosophy and religion, by such innocent-like practices that have mass appeal to man as being "good."

Heed the following caveats of 1 Thess. 5:22 (ESV), Job 28:28 (ESV), 1 Pet. 3:12 (HCSB); and Rom. 12:9 (ESV) respectively:  "Abstain from every form of evil";  "...'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding'";  "... BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL"; "... Abhor what is evil; hold fast what is good."  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Grip Of Sin

Before salvation we are subject to a sin nature that we have no power to defeat; in fact, all we can do is sin and we are unable not to sin. Roman poet Ovid said, "I know the good and approve it, but I follow the worst."  Paul summed up the plight of man in Romans 7:24 (ESV) as:  "Wretched man that I am.  Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil" (Jeremiah 13:23, ESV).  "All our righteousness is as filthy rags"  (cf. Isaiah 64:6) and counts as nothing compared to the purity of God's standards, which are manifest in Christ's person.

All we need to know of righteousness is exemplified and personified in Him, the exact replica and image of God (cf. Col. 1:15). Our good works, done in the flesh, count for nothing at Judgment Day and are praiseworthy by our fellow man, who gives us his kudos and; however, they count for nothing in God's eyes, namely because they were done with the wrong motives and God takes this into consideration (cf. Proverbs 21:2)--most men do good deeds simply for the applause and acceptance of man and to ingratiate himself in God's eyes; however, there is nothing we can do to gain God's favor or to "brownnose" God.

We are all in the same boat and lumped together (cf. Rom. 3:23), regardless of our own assessment or appraisal, or of what others think considering their evaluation and estimation of our worthiness. What is esteemed in men's eyes is despised in God's eyes; for man admires high self-esteem and self-respect, not God-esteem and God-respect, and even individualism and independence--"lift yourself up by your own bootstraps," which is a do-it-yourself proposition common to all religion, on good works to gain the approbation of God. We couldn't be worse off in God's estimation of man--note that our total depravity of heart, will, and mind is God's estimation of man, not man's estimation of man. The grip of our sin nature or depravity must be solved threefold:  its ignorance by virtue of Christ the Prophet, its guilt by virtue of Christ the Priest, and its dominion by virtue of Christ the King.

God is not against good works per se, for they benefit us and we all owe a lot to so-called good men who have contributed to our well-being, but they are not good enough to gain entree into God's heaven or for salvation itself.  But God is indeed against good deeds done in the power of the flesh, by man's own effort and strength, as opposed to those done in the power of the Spirit, of which are worthy of reward at the bema (Greek for judgment seat) or tribunal of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10; Romans 14:10-12).  Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing..." (cf. John 15:5).  God must give us the power (cf. Phil. 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ...") to do works in His name (cf. Isaiah 26:12 says:  "...[You] have done for us all our works"--only that which is done by the power of the Spirit and in His name is worthy of reward, and this goes for believers as well, as 1 Cor. 3:15 indicates that some of their works are only "wood, hay, and stubble" and will burn up in the fire of judgment and the believer will suffer loss of reward, though he is saved as if by fire.

Cain was warned by God in Genesis 4:7 that sin "crouches at the door" and waits to destroy him and we must all realize this:  We are still subject to our sin nature as believers and must constantly renew ourselves in the filling of the Spirit--it's not a one-time event, but a continuing experience of  being filled [cf. Eph. 5:18].  Even Christians can and do backslide, but God can heal them of this tendency, inclination, and weakness--He will heal the backslider (Hosea 14:4 says, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely"). "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh"  (Gal. 5:16, ESV).   Hosea says that "sin has been your downfall."  Yes, we still have sin in us as believers and this is the old man or old sin nature, the result of Adam's sin which we inherit as original sin.

We are no longer inclined to do good but must walk in the Spirit to overcome the evil one.   Many Christians do live defeated lives and have never learned to walk with the Lord in fellowship, even as Enoch and Noah did.  We must all realize our area of weakness--the sin which so easily besets us, according to Hebrews 12:1--and admit our shortcomings and failures to God--to come clean in repentance.  We have no one to blame but ourselves, for we are our own worst enemy and shouldn't be blaming the devil-like they say, "The devil made me do it!"  We have no one to blame but ourselves for our failures, because God is on our side and, as believers, we have power over sin and to overcome the sin nature.

Unfortunately, some believers are recurrent backsliders and God says to them:  "... Your sins have been your downfall!"  (Cf. Hos. 14:1, NIV).  We are not punished for our sins, nor for our parents' sins--we are punished by our sins, and God doesn't deliver us from their natural consequences because we still sow what we reap and take responsibility for our own behavior--just because a thief is forgiven, doesn't mean God is going to keep him from jail time.

The only way to be set free is to know Christ:  "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed!"  (Cf. John 8:36).  Unbelievers have no power over sin and act according to their nature, though everyone isn't equally as bad, they are all as equally bad off--we cannot save ourselves nor do any pre-salvation work!  We are all totally depraved in all of our being and nature, though we are not utterly depraved or as bad as we can be.  It has been said by theologians that we are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners!

Man is only acting naturally when he sins just like Satan is acting according to his nature when he lies, for he is a liar and the father of liars, and there is no truth in him.  The sequence of salvation is that at conversion we are set free from the penalty of sin, in time from the power of sin, and in eternity from the presence of sin.  In other words, we have been saved from sin, we are being saved from sin, and we will be saved from sin (our position, condition, and expectation).

The whole point of the Christian life is a changed life or a conversion experience--although some regard this as an acceptable way to have a nervous or mental breakdown now, it is an experience to be reckoned with and that is as dramatic as a cowboy changing hitching posts because of his change of attitude and no longer visits the brothel or saloon, and instead attends chapel.  We learn to hate sin as God hates it and to love righteousness as God does, and as we get to know God and love God, we want to be like Him.  We are all works in progress, but there is a dramatic change that occurs as a testimony of the conversion experience.

Therefore,we must learn to be patient with other believers because God isn't finished with them yet!  God is working on us like a silversmith purifies his silver:  When he sees himself he is done!  God wants to see Himself in us and won't stop working on us till He does: "Christ in you, the hope of glory"  (cf. Col. 1:27).  God is like a sculptor who makes a figurine out of a slab of marble and does it by taking away everything that doesn't resemble the figurine. Some people are just more challenging and have a further way to go, by virtue of less virtue or faith, but God is determined to make all of us in Christ's image.

Man is no free spirit (however, he's a free moral agent) that can do as he wills and come to God in his own power and free will, God must woo him and draw him to the cross and do a work of regeneration in his heart of repentance and faith--no one would come to Christ of their own power; it is totally of grace and Soli Deo Gloria, or to God alone be the glory.  It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Christ alone, with the Scripture as the authority alone, and God alone getting the glory.  It is summed up in the monergistic (not cooperative) and not a synergistic (co-operative) phrase of Jonah:  "Salvation is of the Lord."  It is not a cooperative venture, whereby we get a little of the credit, but God works it in us and sovereignly saves us totally by grace and not merit of any kind. There are only three possibilities:  Of man alone; of God and man; or of God alone.

The first is religion, the second is legalism, and the third alone is total grace.  As Paul says in Romans 5:21 that "grace reigns through righteousness."  God's grace is irresistible and efficacious or does what He intends--make believers out of us and change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh (cf. Ezek. 36:26). God's grace always works the desired result (cf Romans 5:21), unlike man's work, and is never in vain--you can resist the Holy Spirit and harden your heart, but not God's gracious work in your heart, no more than you can resist the woman of your dreams.

It is an ill-conceived to think we are "born free" and have "spiritual" free will--we must be set free! We aren't saved by an act of the will:  "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy" (Romans 9:16, ESV).  "[F]or it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure"  (Phil. 2:13, ESV).  We don't need free wills to be saved, but wills made free (even our wills our stubborn, rebellious, and depraved and incapable of pleasing God without God quickening of faith in them--we were dead in trespasses and sins (cf. Eph. 2:1) and God made us alive, and a dead person can do nothing to please God!

We had no inclination to come to Christ and no desire for Him until God worked this grace in us and granted us the privilege of coming to Christ: "No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him," and "No man can come to me unless it has been granted of the Father" (cf. John 6:44).  These are hard sayings and many believers stumble over them and cannot accept that God is ultimately in charge of our destiny--they like to think they are in control of things; however, God is sovereign over all and what kind of God would He be if He weren't?  Note Romans 9:19 (ESV) that says, "... 'Why does he still find fault?  For who can resist his will?'" "Christ is the Captain of our soul and the Master of our fate."

Man's so-called free will doesn't limit God's sovereignty, and God is the one who made the final choice as to whom He would save--called His elect in Scripture.  It is an important point of doctrine that Romans 8:30 (ESV), which says :  "[A]nd those whom he predestined he also called...," militates against the prescient view that God elects us because we believe, but God elects us unto faith, I repeat, not because of our faith! He can make a believer out of anyone if it's His will (Tyre and Sidon would've repented had they seen Christ's miracles!).  But people are still responsible for rejecting God and are personally accountable at Judgment Day because God didn't impel nor compel them to reject Him--they rejected whatever light they had.

We all have feet of clay or weaknesses not readily apparent and we cannot be good until we realize how bad we are or how bad off we are, and we will never realize this unless we attempt to be good and find out the power sin has over us as a master.  We never ceased to be human who can make choices, but we ceased to be good with any inclination toward God--no inherent goodness (we are not basically good!).  In Reformed theology, man, left to himself, will not choose God, and we didn't choose Him, He chose us (cf. John 15:16).  As Blaise Pascal said:  "I would not have searched for Thee if Thou hadst not found me."

We can be glad though: God doesn't grade on a curve and we all fall short of His holiness, and He sees through the veneer to our solidarity in Adam.  It's not that we are good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation!   Of course, if the run-of-the-mill sinner compares himself to Adolf Hitler, he would think himself a saint, but the standard we are held to is Christ, and He doesn't grade on a curve! Indeed, we must recognize that we are bad, but not too bad to be saved!  Caveat: Freedom in Christ is not permission to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit!   And remember we have nothing to boast:  "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? ..." (1 Cor. 4:7, NIV).  Soli Deo Gloria!