What is the Gospel? Part 5: What are we saved from?

Colossians 1:13-14

Looking at Romans from 1:18-3:23 we see that salvation is from the wrath of God (cf. Isaiah 53:10-12 / Galatians 3:13 / 1 Peter 2:24). Jesus Christ is the answer to sin, and His death appeases the wrath of God. Many other things presented as “gospel” do not require God to become incarnate, live a sinless life, die on a cross and rise again. Is it necessary for Christ to have been crucified? That is one good criterion for understanding if a message is about the true gospel. Some add Christ into the mix but their messages are just like they would be without Him, motivational talks, moral exhortations, feel good seminars. If you took out the biblical references or even added them it wouldn’t make any difference to the content of the teaching.

What kind of savior do we really need? The bible defines that need. We are saved from God by God. The Law had to be fulfilled by humanity. Only God could save us; only a human being should save us. God can’t die, so the Son of God entered into humanity so that He could die and pay for our sins. Until that broken Law was fulfilled by humanity we were still dead in our sins. We needed a new federal head, a second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45 / Romans 5:12-19). To redeem a people He had to be fully God, so as to give the atonement an infinite value, and He had to be fully man to perfectly satisfy the requirements of God’s Law, thus becoming an acceptable substitute for sinners (1 Timothy 2:5 – the man Christ Jesus) . It is not how many bad things you have done, not how many sins you have committed, but actually how bad sin itself really is. God’s glory was demonstrated at the cross by showing that God’s Law really did require a penalty for transgressions against it (Romans 3:25-26).

The missing ingredient in many gospels or gospel presentations is the fact that we are bound by sin, dead in sin, and slaves to sin. Salvation is from sin and to the Savior. The great problem of humanity is sin, not a lack of knowledge, not a lack of power, but a lack of purity. No amount of power and no amount of knowledge can erase that. Only the blood of Christ can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus can make me whole again. The only way we can have peace with God is if our sins are forgiven, and in Christ they are (Romans 5:1).

Some use the world’s methods of marketing to “sell” the gospel, being more concerned with numbers than with presenting the true gospel. Some water it down so there is no call for repentance from sin. This may produce large numbers of “converts,” but very few genuine believers. The message isn’t healing, helping needs or even simply that Jesus is the Messiah; it is the cross and the resurrection. We do not change it, modify it, grow it, shrink it or do anything to make it better. Our task is simply to take it the way it has been given to us and to believe in its power to affect lives. The fact that so many try to make the gospel into something else shows the nature of it as a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 1:18-24, 2 Corinthians 2:14-16).

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

What is the Gospel? Part 4: What is justification?

Luke 18:9-14

It is being declared righteous before God based on the merits of Christ. Often overlooked is the fact that when the Pharisee prayed he was thanking God. He was not saying how great he was by himself. He knew he was not able to do good works on his own, but felt that this infused righteousness he worked with justified him. God does indeed develop righteousness in everyone to whom He imputes righteousness, but we never achieve perfection in this life (Philippians 3:4-19). Works are the fruit, not the root of justification (Ephesians 2:10). This is the great danger, the teaching that the imparted righteousness whereby we can indeed do good works is the grounds of our justification, instead of the imputed righteousness of Christ to our account.

For some to justify means to make righteous rather than to declare righteous (cf. our sermon A Nail Pierces the Darkness). The Roman Catholic Church talks of grace and being saved by the merits of Christ alone. However, they teach that we receive the grace of God, and the merits of Christ, and are made righteous based on our participating in the sacraments of the church. Yet the Bible is clear that the gospel which saves the soul (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) does not include sacraments such as water baptism (1 Corinthians 1:17).

Also the Roman Catholic version of Communion (Eucharist) is turned into a righteous act on the part of the participant in which they maintain or continue their saving relationship with God. They believe that the real physical presence of Jesus is in the bread and wine and that it is the continuing sacrifice of Christ over and over to assist the participant in the continued removal of personal sin. The Bible is clear that this cannot be the case (Hebrews 9:24-28). The Bible clearly teaches that we receive the grace of God by faith alone, and not faith in any work, including a sacrament (John 5:24 / Romans 3:20-24 / Galatians 2:16 / Ephesians 2:8-9).

The difference is the difference between a saving faith that relies on an external atonement for sin and a misplaced faith that relies in an internal abatement of sin. We should be thankful that we have been given a measure of freedom from the power of sin in this life, but we must be careful to never equate this with our righteous standing before God.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

What is the Gospel? Part 3: Why do both Jesus’ Life and Death matter?

Matthew 3:13-15

In order for sinful human beings to have eternal life, the guilt and penalty of sin must be removed. Jesus does this not only by dying the death we justly deserve but by living the life we should have lived. If Jesus simply needed to impute the righteousness of God from His essence, there would have been no need for him to live for 33 years. However, in order to become a perfect high priest and lamb without blemish, Jesus not only had to die for us but He had to live for us. It is clear that the Scriptures speak of God’s people not only being justified by His death (Romans 3:25, 4:25, 5:9) but also as being saved by His life or obedience (Romans 5:10, 19). On the cross, God treated Jesus as if He lived your life so He could treat you as if you lived His life. That’s the Gospel.

Hebrews 4:14-15, 5:7-10 – this does not mean that Jesus was merely sinless in His essence as the second Person in the Trinity, but that He overcame temptations as a man. He revered and obeyed God. It says He was made perfect. Now if only His essence were needed for our righteousness there would be no need for Jesus to be made perfect since He already was. What this is speaking of is the same thing Jesus meant when speaking to John the Baptist. He was made perfect as a man (fulfilling all righteousness) so that He could become the source of salvation. Jesus was not lacking in any godly quality, but in the full experience of having lived a perfect human life. Jesus obeyed the Father in everything without sin (John 8:29). The lifelong perfect obedience of Jesus (Hebrews 5:8, 7:26-28) provides the basis for eternal salvation (Hebrews 2:10-18, 10:14).

Matthew 5:17 – Jesus did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it. Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves (Romans 3:20). Romans 8:3-4 – the problem is not with the Law, but that it was weakened by the flesh and therefore could not do what it intended (i.e. do this and live, Deuteronomy 8:1, etc.). Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin but without that weakness so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be met (fulfilled) in us.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

In the Game (Radio / Podcast)

...I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you…
(Romans 1:8 – ESV)

I have a word for men in the ministry right now. You know we should be grateful that people volunteer to do anything at our churches at all. The Bible talks about fruit bearing in terms of 30, 60, and 100 fold. Not everyone is going to be as fruitful as everyone or anyone else, and not all harvests happen at the same time. The biggest trees often take the longest time to grow. Be glad they are doing anything at all, at least they are in the game, not that it is recreational, but that they are on the right playing field, on the right team, on the winning side. They may not be the star player, but they are cheering and playing for the right ones.

Be glad, preacher, for every opportunity that you get. We should be abundantly grateful that as ministers we get to be paid to study the Bible, we are allowed to spend the extra time others don’t have in order to mine the depths of God’s Word. Yes every believer needs to read the Word, pray, etc., but not everybody is going to be moving forward as fast as you, they don’t have the time to put in the time, and you are supposed to be moving ahead. That is what leadership is all about. You give them motivation to keep on using their time as wisely as they can, not try and get them to work 80 hours a week. How about you taking up a shovel for 40 hours and then studying for 40 more?

We are not called to wear them out but to lift them up, and for some people all the commitment they can afford right now is just to make it to church. Yes they should want to do more, but being a good steward is about doing the most with your time, not sacrificing sleep and your marriage and your relationship with your kids so that you can be there at every event and so forth. Just be sure that you give them what they need from you, help them learn about what is and what isn’t a good use of their time, show them the beauty of Christ, and show them what serving God is like. Then they will figure out for themselves how they can make opportunities to serve without having to use more time.

When you are living it, even if they aren’t seeing it, they will learn what it means to treasure Christ above all else, and then they will become as fruitful as God intends them to be. It is up to you, preacher man, to equip them and cover them in the spiritual war, and to steer them onto the right playing field. It is your job to go full tilt, full time. They may not play all four quarters at full tilt intensity, but at least they are in the game.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

For His Name (Radio / Podcast)

…to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name…
(Romans 1:5 – ESV)

It is all about Jesus – anything that has as its focus something other than the person of Jesus Christ, His atoning work, and our becoming like Him is not from God. No matter how right it may seem, and how much it sounds like the real thing or how much it talks of Jesus, if the primary focus is something else, it is a distraction, which leads to diversion, and ultimately to deception. No work you do for God that comes from your own power will survive the judgment seat of Christ and anything good but not for Him is of no eternal worth either.

This includes partnering with non-Christians of other faiths for “the common good”. The common purpose may seem right, however, it is not done for the name of Christ but for the good of men. It is certainly right and good to help hurting people, of course, but there are limits. The church is not to be a “partner” with government and business to help eradicate society’s ills; that is the old social gospel of the early twentieth century. When an effort places the gospel as being secondary in importance to other needs, even if they are real and epidemic it is wrong. The most important thing is a person’s soul, and to set the gospel aside in order to work with non-believers is to deny Christ. A watered down gospel is no gospel at all. We may work with them for noble purposes, yes, but if it means that we have to silence our voice about the gospel then no, no matter how pressing the need.

The true gospel offends people. It reminds us that we are fallen creatures in bondage to sin and on our way to hell apart from God and His offer of salvation in Christ. It reminds us not to expect popularity in the world when we are true to His Word. Instead we are called to follow His narrow, difficult road, no matter what the cost.

Look at what Jesus said in John 15:18-21 – If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

In contrast to this, deeds done in the name of humanity will win the world's approval. So will a gospel cleansed of offensive truth, and focused on man's worth rather than God's righteousness.

The gospel cannot be partnered with the world – 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (NKJV) – For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. You are an offensive smell to either God or the world; you cannot be a pleasing aroma to both. For His name, choose the sweet odor of death to self and life to God.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

No Pets Allowed (Radio / Podcast)

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
(Romans 16:17 – ESV)

Part of having a statement of faith and also going through a membership interview is to identify potential problems in theology and practice among people who might otherwise seem solid. Yes, everyone has issues that they need straightening out, but there are areas in which we could not allow fellowship inside the local body and participation in Communion and/or leadership activity if someone holds to different ideas than we do among the primary doctrines.

That is obvious, but it also filters down into areas where the potential might not seem so immediate, but would nevertheless be every bit as problematic over time. There could be issues in the areas of practical living that would come out during this process, such as living arrangements with a partner one isn’t married to, horoscopes and occult practices, racism, homosexual lifestyles, alcohol and drug use, and so on.

Some of these things wouldn’t limit fellowship, but they would be potential problem areas that would be better off if known and dealt with as appropriate from the start. These things might not surface until after several months in a local body, but could be catastrophic in their effect if left unchecked and only discovered as they start to destroy.

A prime example of this would be doctrines, books, ideas and practices we might label as “pets”; these would be things that the unsuspecting church might not be aware of that the candidate might try and propagate among the congregation. This type of activity is something which the leadership would not want to be happening.

Examples might be Sabbath Keeping and other Jewish observance as a somehow “superior” form of spirituality, heath and wealth and other false gospels, an insistence that the KJV is the only correct translation of the Bible, and the use and promotion of certain books and teachers as good sources of spiritual material which the church would not ascribe to and believe to be bad news.

Perhaps the most important example would be taking in persons who left their last church with an offense and want to air their dirty laundry out in a new setting. As a subset of that group, some just cannot fit in anywhere and jump from church to church because they do not want to be dealt with biblically.

It is a reflection of the biblical record and instruction and has been our experience over time that some people will try and enter a fellowship, having been involved with previous church bodies who would not let them exercise their brand of spirituality, and they are simply trying to find a local church body who will let them do things their own (unbiblical, anti-biblical or sub-biblical) way. To this we say no way, because it inevitably starts spreading, let alone the fact that it is wrong in the first place.

Some people come into a local church only looking to show off and defend their “pet” idea or practice, while others are simply hiding their lives, and still others may not even realize that they have unbiblical notions about everyday life that might be easily addressed during an interview or pastoral visit.

There is significant room for theological and practical disagreement among members of a local body, but the idea is that these things are not items and ideas that would necessarily wreak havoc, confusion, and dissension among the members, and bring disgrace to the name of God and pervert the gospel, whereas certain other things would, which is why the need to find these things out as much as possible beforehand. It makes for a more unified local body and leads to a happier and healthier congregation and for the individuals, including those who might be excluded by such a process.

If these persons are willing to repent, in other words change their lifestyle or agree that this or that idea is unbiblical or that this or that practice is not welcomed in our assembly and that they will disavow themselves of it, and not try and promote it, then they may come in. We can certainly tolerate differing views on eschatology, for example, but we cannot allow new people to come in and disrupt the flow of our fellowship with what we view are bad theology and practice.

What we are in effect saying is that while we welcome differing viewpoints, we must all agree that certain things cannot be countenanced, and that we will try and ascertain these potential problems before they might be allowed to be planted, for the good of the local body and the candidates as individuals. In any event they aren’t allowed to bring in their “pets”.

To give a specific example of how this might look, let us consider homosexual orientation and related issues. This clearly shows the importance of a formal process for church membership.

Whereas some things may not surface immediately, such as gossip or jealousy issues, this matter is integral to the person’s identity, it usually is known, and how it is dealt with upfront is important. Even if it is someone who isn’t a practicing homosexual, but they equate same sex relations and civil rights issues regarding race, we have a major problem.

Whereas race can be identified as a category of people, “gay” is more correctly identified as a type of behavior. Those engaging in such acts might be classified as to a category type, but nevertheless homosexual activity is not the same thing as race. We must never discriminate according to race; we must always be discerning about homosexuality. The Bible is quite clear on the issue.

In anticipating a possible counter-argument, we would say that a person who had an unbiblical divorce, but who would agree that they were wrong, and that the failure of the previous marriage was sin and they repent of that failure, that sin has been recognized and membership would not be denied. They would be appropriately disciplined if events such as those in the past arose again.

If a homosexual is confronted about their sin, and if they deny that it is sin, and they feel that they need no repentance for their actions, that is a different matter.

Conversely, if the homosexual repents of their sinful lifestyle and agrees to abstain then there is nothing to stop membership and full fellowship. At the very least there has to be an admission that the Word of God is true concerning homosexuality. Also, membership allows for discipline when people fall back into sin. One can be struggling with these or other issues, but they agree that the Word of God is true as to it being sin and against God’s will.

The difference is one of struggle, between admitting that it is sin and trying to deal with it, and openly denying that it is sin and continuing to practice it. While we can call practicing homosexuals friends, we cannot call them Christians. They can still attend so that the Word can act on their lives. They forfeit that privilege if they try to win others to their “pet” cause.

We cannot say that what God calls unholy is somehow holy. A practicing homosexual who has “prayed a prayer for salvation”, and says that they love God, but disagrees with His Word on the subject of homosexuality is living an unacceptable and unchristian lifestyle. The sincerity and sweetness of the particular individual does not negate the clear teaching of scripture.

As Christians, we are forgiven people, and as forgiven people we are to become forgiving people. Having said that, there is indeed a difference between a person who is struggling with sin, and one who defiantly remains in open rebellion, when confronted with scripture. Certainly there is a difference to one who is also trying to win others to their sinful cause.

Yes we would affirm that there are certain sins that are common that we could take to this level, but it would not be appropriate; there is a matter of degree. There are consequences that are matched to the damage to person or community. We cannot affirm that a person in such obvious, open rebellion against the Word of God is in right standing with Christ. It is not simply about someone who commits sins, but one who is living in it as a continual state. It would be similar to a couple living together unmarried, yet also compounded. A man who has temper issues is in a different situation than one who also acts out and attacks people.

As leaders we must take specific actions when specific behaviors are present. To do anything less is to compromise the truth and pollute the assembly. We cannot judge someone’s soul, but we can and must be diligent to keep poison from infecting the local body.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Addressing the Ultimate Issue (Radio / Podcast)

He will render to each one according to his works… There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil…but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good…
(Romans 2:6,9,10 – ESV)

We all must address the ultimate issue. Paul has just told us that all the Gentiles are under the wrath of God and has indicted the Jews and the moralists as well, saying that none of us are righteous and that all of us are without excuse. But now he tells us that we need to pursue goodness and the path of righteousness in order to inherit eternal life, and that if we do not, we will have eternal wrath. Is Paul saying that we are all going to hell? Yes, unless there is a remedy, and that remedy is the gospel, the righteousness we need to inherit eternal life. We need to face the ultimate issue, and we can do so without fear if we have Jesus.

The Jews and the Gentiles are in the same boat. The judgment of God will be applied in the same way using the same standard. God will be just. It doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or if you are a Gentile, all persons are going to be judged according to the same standard. That standard is perfection (Acts 17:31 / Romans 2:16). No amount of goodness by any individual in history is enough to justify them. No one has been or will be holy enough to merit eternal life; only Christ was and is perfect. Man left to himself can never climb his way out of his own heart. He will sink into the depths of his own depravity, unless God in His common grace restrains him, and until God in His saving grace rescues him.

Paul is showing us once again the need for the gospel; “each” means all individuals regardless of class, race, gender, location, nationality, or the like. The eternal life of everyone depends on the kindness of God, not our goodness. But it is not something we can presume upon. He gives it to those whom seek it with repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

This text is saying the only path to eternal life is the path of righteousness. But what Paul has said before this and in the New Testament and our lives and the world all reveal to us that none have or ever will walk it except Jesus. But we can follow Him on that road by faith. We will not walk it perfectly, but His walk not our walk is what saves us. That is the gospel and out of gratitude for it and love for Him we attempt to walk that same path, knowing that our walk will be imperfect and that we will stumble and fall, but that God will pick us up and if we will get up and want to walk again He will empower us to do so. Like a child learns to walk so too we learn to walk and we grow stronger as we walk, but we must be careful to keep our eyes on the One who walks before us and that is what under girds us and keeps us from stumbling. Humbly look at the goodness of God, and repent of straying from or staying off of the path. Follow Jesus.

Someone who is saved does not presume upon the goodness of God, they act in accordance with it. The Jews whom Paul was chastising here were God’s called out people, they knew about God; they weren’t like those people in Romans 1. They knew they were called out ones, and yet they presumed this meant that they could just coast along, and they are wrong, dead wrong. God is calling you out; you must answer the call with humility and repentance and not with hypocrisy. Just because you know the truth doesn’t mean you are trusting in it. Those that do not walk the path at all are saying that they have no faith. Wrath or mercy, which do you want? Follow Jesus, and you will have mercy, follow your heart and you will have wrath.

THAT is the ultimate issue.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Avoiding the Ultimate Issue (Radio / Podcast)

…God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance…
…But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself…
(Romans 2:4-5 – ESV)

God’s goodness is meant to lead us to address the ultimate issue. Paul says that the goodness of God has kept the wrath of God from them (and from you) for now, not forever. People presume on God’s goodness and think they can just play the game of their lives any old way they want to. Paul is telling us all no way. Jesus tells us to store up treasure in heaven but some are storing up wrath in hell.

So many want to just play around and pretend that if we ignore this issue, THE issue, that it will somehow go away. Paul was saying that we had better make sure of what we are doing, because the Jews thought they were fine because they weren’t as morally corrupt as others, but Paul says they were heaping up wrath to be revealed. The wrath of God is thereby separated into two different categories: (a) that wrath which is presently being revealed against sinners as we see in the first chapter of Romans, and (b) that coming wrath of God, which is yet to be revealed against sinners.

Presuming on God’s goodness is more than deadly. All through life and even at death’s door people want to ignore the issue and distract themselves and medicate themselves with their chosen poison. Adults grow up and want to blame someone else for their problems, and we hire people to lead us back into the past to heal our wounded heart. Christians ought to know better than this. They should know that sin is the problem, and that sorrow is a part of Christian life. It reminds us this world isn’t all there is and that we are to remain repentant.

Some people may see their sin but they don’t see the solution, and that is why they medicate, ignore, distract, avoid, deny, and do anything they can to escape the coming wrath, and the wrath against their conscience. They do this so long and so strong that their consciences are finally what the apostle Paul calls seared as with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2). Paul describes it as being past feeling (Ephesians 4:19). They will look to anything and everything but Him. They will even try “being good”. They are hard and cold and dead to God.

The truth is that this hardening has been going on since we were children. We think we can let our children “off the hook” of making them go to church, read the bible, and such, but we are only setting them up for ultimate failure. We think they will grow out of it but they won’t because we won’t. It is ironic that we know we are supposed to mature out of wanting nothing but fun; we teach children this when they are young, but wonder why they don’t follow it when they are old. It is because while we teach this we don’t live this, we continue to foster the idea of fun as the ultimate pursuit. We either train them in the Lord or they are trained by the world.

How many people have you known who are old in years but are still as self indulgent as a teenager? It is no wonder our children grow up the way they do. We have such a confused conception of joy, we think to have joy means the same thing as to have fun, and we have lost the value of doing things meaningful, significant, and truly fulfilling. We presume on God’s goodness, thinking we’re okay, and we teach our children, our spouses, each other, and ourselves this deception. We are learning to avoid the ultimate issue.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Called to be Saints (Radio / Podcast)

…who are loved by God and called to be saints…
(Romans 1:7 – ESV)

Christians are called saints (Ephesians 1:1); it isn’t some special designation given by men to other men because of what they have done. The Bible says that even our righteous deeds are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Those who are saved are all saints on account of Jesus Christ and His righteousness. All our good deeds are because of what He has done not what we have done.

Grace and peace to the saints; this is a standard opening of Paul’s. He states the fact that those who have been called saints are also called to be saints; that is those whom God called Paul knew by their faith – they acted like saints, not like aint’s (Romans 1:8 / Colossians 1:2-4). He calls them saints corporately, the group of individuals that God has called out for Himself, the saints.

These days we are committed first to results and relationships. But here Paul declares that we are first called to be saints, to God and His kingdom, not first to results or relationships, but to God. Of course this falling away started all the way back in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve chose results by Eve wanting what the fruit supposedly offered. Adam still had a choice to make, even after Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit, but Adam chose his wife (relationships) rather than God (obeying His Word). This is why Christ said that we must put our relationship with God and His Word above any other relationship; He even described it as “hating” you father and mother as compared to God.

Jesus reversed this human tendency toward results and relationships by denying Himself. In His testing in the wilderness (Matthew 4 / Luke 4), imagine if He had turned the stones to bread. Satan would not have said, “aha!” he would have told Him to feed the world – results to the glory of the devil. But Christ knew the Word comes before the bread – John tells us that Jesus first taught them then fed them (John 6). Satan tempted Jesus in His relationship with the angels, and also with the results of gaining the world. But what will it profit a man to gain the world but lose his soul (Mark 8:36)? Jesus knew the discouragement of having a ministry that didn’t seem to meet its goals (Isaiah 49:1-6), but He with was more interested in faithfulness than results, and He knew that God would reward Him (Philippians 2:9-11 / Hebrews 12:2).

The quest of results and relationships has clouded the judgment of the Church, and of individuals that ought to know better. The world in the church – look at the fruit of the Church Growth Movement – has the Church changed the world, or has the world changed the Church? They may get the whole world into their churches, but are the people transformed, or does that church become transformed? The churches are bigger than ever but full of unregenerate, unrepentant unbelievers. Instead of tares among the wheat we now have wheat among the tares.

We have got it backwards. They even speak of “transformational churches” these days. The Bible says that we are not to be conformed to this world, but we are to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. The people are to be transformed by God, not the church being transformed by the world. They say that if we don’t adapt we will be left behind, but I say that if we do adapt we will be left behind all right, when the trumpet sounds at the Rapture, where the unspotted bride of Christ will be taken away (Ephesians 5:27 / Colossians 1:22). They say that if we don’t get with it that we will fade away. But my Bible says, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever (Isaiah 40:8).” Again, I say, what profit a man, and we could say, the Church, to gain the world but lose its soul?

You are called to be a saint; how long before you answer the call?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Behold His Beauty (Radio / Podcast)

as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
(Romans 3:10 – ESV)

Man best sees the marvelous beauty of Christ when it is set against the backdrop of sinful humanity, in all its depravity. In Romans 3:10-18 Paul uses quotations from the Psalms (Psalms 14:1-3, 5:9, 140:3, 10:7 and 36:1) and from Isaiah 59:7-8 to support the statements of verses 9 and 10: both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, and none is righteous, no, not one.

This look at the human condition is depressing. What’s the point? The Apostle Paul wants us to understand our complete inability to save ourselves. This is actually a hopeful message, we are hurt to be healed, wounded to be made well, put to death to be made alive. If we see the depths of our sin we can appreciate the magnitude of our deliverance. We must believe that we have the sickness so that we will believe in and take the cure. We see the problem before the prescription.

In looking at each of these six Old Testament quotes Paul doesn't mean that every one has the whole indictment in it, but that taken all together they have the whole indictment. Psalm 14:1-3 (vs.10-12) refers to the Gentile world, while Isaiah 59:7-8 (vs.15-17) refers to the Jews. The point is that the Old Testament declares that Jewish people are sinners and Gentile people are sinners.

No one seeks for God – What about all the religion and rituals and practices from the beginning of time? What about them? If man initiates the search then he doesn’t seek the true God, the God of the Bible. Instead he seeks an idol that he makes himself, as Paul explained in Romans 1. Again, he has already said all of this, now he is using the OT scripture to back it up conclusively. He finishes off with “There is no fear of God before their eyes”.

In Romans 1:18-3:18 we see ourselves, and our whole race. We see our lack of power and our lack of purity. I am not God, and I do not deserve His kingdom. Neither do you. I realize that I deserve nothing from God but His anger, and that I am lost without hope if I do not receive grace from Him. I know this to be true. How about you?

Now having seen what we all are, what about Jesus? That is the whole point isn’t it? Just look at Him here in all His beauty. Yes, against the backdrop of sinful humanity, we see the surpassing glory of Christ! Look at the negative phrases in Romans 3:10-18 again and see Christ as opposed to them in magnificent splendor. Like a diamond set in a black box, His radiance shines all the more brighter.

10 – as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
Jesus was righteous; the Bible says yes, He is the only One.

11 – no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Jesus did understand God, the Bible says He is the only One to have seen the Father, and came from Him, and Jesus is His Son. The Bible says that Jesus did seek God. He only did what His Father wanted; He sought Him early in the morning and late at night in prayer, and followed the lead of the Holy Spirit His whole life, even if it meant death.

12 – All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
The Bible describes Jesus as turning aside to do the work of the Father, turning aside to help others, not turning aside to His own, selfish way. Jesus started out in a manger, but became of more worth to the world than anyone else in history. The Bible says Jesus went about doing good, healing people, and setting them free from oppression.

13 – "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips."
His throat wasn’t an open grave; He called people out from the grave. When He died people sprung forth from their graves, and when He returns we will all come out of our graves. His tongue spoke no deceit and His lips had no poison, His words were Spirit and Life.

14 – "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness."
His mouth was full of praising His Father and His bitterness was sorrow for those that had caused curses upon themselves.

15 – "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
His gave His own feet to be shed blood for those who didn’t even love Him.

16 – in their paths are ruin and misery,
In His path are resurrection and joy.

17 – and the way of peace they have not known.”
Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

18 – "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Jesus only had eyes for His Father’s will, and for your salvation He said to the Father, not my will but thine be done.

Jesus was like us in that He had human flesh, but He was not like us in that He had no sin. Against the backdrop of all we have seen here, we can surely see that Jesus is the most beautiful, wonderful, marvelous, awesome being in the universe, and He bids us to come to Him. If we receive Him, He will receive us into glory.

In this passage I see my own sin, and I see my only Savior. It is Jesus that I want, it is Jesus that I must have, it is Jesus that will truly fulfill me, it is Jesus that will pay the penalty for me, it is Jesus who will be righteousness for me, it is Jesus to whom I owe my love and my life, it is Jesus who will set me free, it is Jesus who will bring me back from the dead, it is Jesus who will give me eternal life. Jesus is what I need, how about you?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

I’m On Fire! (Radio / Podcast)

…fervent in spirit; serving the Lord
(Romans 12:11)

The components of a fire are heat, fuel, and oxygen, and fire brings heat, light, and energy. And when we are talking about being alive, about being on fire for God, that fire needs the same three components as any fire: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Take away any of the components and the fire will not burn. Have these three in place and look out! A living church is a church where people are dying; dying to self, and to die to self you must stay on fire for God. There is a difference between a fire made by men and a fire made of men.

We have spoken before about churches today that have no real fire. What we need is for people to be on fire for the gospel, but what we see is more adrenaline, activity, and acceptance of the sin in our lives. We may have passion, but we don’t have any real power, no real fire, and no true life, because we lack purity, which is the fuel for the fire. We may have all the heated feelings and emotional outbursts we can muster, but without the proper fuel, and the sustaining energy of the oxygen, they will not last, not for eternal purposes. They have a man made fire.

Feelings are only the heat, purity is the fuel, and the Word is the oxygen. Feelings are not the fuel for the fire they are the God given emotion that drives it and the heat that results from it. The fuel is the combustible material which is you as God’s refining fire burns off the dross. This is what keeps the fire fed with fuel. If you are not being purified then you are letting the true fire go out. Holy Ghost fire is apparent in a life lived for Christ, a life that is being transformed. A living sacrifice Paul says in Romans 12:1-2. It may hurt but if you want to be a living fireball that is the price you have to pay (1 Peter 4:1). This shows as the light of a life being changed by Jesus, the gospel light. Where there is no fuel, the fire goes out. You must feed the fire with you.

Fire also needs oxygen, the breath of God the Word. It is the energy; a fire without the Word will be snuffed out without the necessary oxygen. Scripture is “God breathed” as it declares in 2 Timothy 3:16 – this is the energy that shows it is God who is doing the work. Everybody sees your burning light and realizes that you couldn’t have done it on your own, and so it must be true this gospel you speak of (Matthew 5:16). You must fan the flames with God’s Word.

Not only does a fire need fuel and oxygen it also needs heat, and this heat shows to the world. The heat is your feelings, and these show forth in your increased affections for the things of God, your zeal, and your emotional self. In Romans 12:11, the word fervent in the Greek is zeo, which means to boil with heat, to be hot. This same word is used in Acts 18:25 – Apollos was fervent in spirit. In James 5:16, fervent is energeo; it has several roots and variations of meaning, but in this particular verse it means a showing outwardly of what is going on inwardly. You will experience the fruit of the Spirit not only as thoughts but also as actions and attitudes. You must feel the fire like a burning lamp.

This is how to be set on fire, and how to light a fire in your church and in your world. A fire fed with the breath, the oxygen of God’s Word, giving you energy, burning your old man as fuel which shows the light, and blazing with fervent heat that will catch anything else that can catch fire on fire too!

Take away any of the components and the fire will not burn. You must feel it, feed it, and fan it.

Do you know, do you believe, and are you realizing that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation in your life, and do you carry the message in your words and your actions? Are you cashing in on the truth that the gospel of your justification is also the gospel for your sanctification? Are you keeping the fire burning hot or are you letting it die out? Don’t be lukewarm; sound the fire alarm!

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Doors of Desire (Radio / Podcast)

…I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now)…
(Romans 1:13 – NKJV)

Paul was letting the Romans Christians know of his desire, but circumstances had prevented him from coming to see them. This was not going to stop him, though. Paul’s will was to come to them, but was it God’s will that he should not?

Too many are operating from the Open Door Policy alone, as if it is some definitive way to know God’s will, like the Urim and Thummim of Old Testament times. Today, the way some rely on it, it becomes little more than divination. Of course, if the Lord opens a door, or closes one (something mentioned in the Bible in Matthew 25:10 / Luke 13:25 / Acts 16:6-7 but not applicable in the way the modern church uses it), we need to take a good look. But open doors are not authoritative. Paul prayed for open doors for the gospel, asking for opportunity to spread the good news, yet in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 God had given him an open door which he chose to ignore. Acts 14:27 / Acts 16:9-11 / 1 Corinthians 16:8-9 / Colossians 4:3 – the doors are for preaching the gospel, primarily, not for life choices.

Some want to know the will of God, not to know Him, not to give Him glory, but so as to secure comfort for themselves, and often irrespective of God, divorced from an ongoing relationship. It’s as if we say, yeah sure, God, just give me the bottom-line. Would we want God’s will for us if it meant to go straightforward into a certain death? When Paul knew of God’s will, he didn’t let anything deter him (Acts 20:22-24 / 21:4, 10-14). The will of God isn’t always about avoiding trouble, but that is what we see taught these days, or at least what we believe.

Why are we looking for an open door, and what exactly are we hoping to find? There is little point in pursuing God's will if we are not willing to comply, especially with obedience in the things He has already made known to us. How can we expect to receive more light if we have not responded to the light we have been given? God's guidance subsides when it is unaccompanied by our acceptance (Philippians 3:15-16). We should examine our lives to see if we are disobeying in areas He has already made clear.

God can lead us by bringing us into direct contact with certain needs, but not every cry for help is a call from God. We can assume more burdens than we can carry and spread ourselves so thin that we become ineffective. We must be careful not to let the good become the enemy of the best. Otherwise, we may become victims of desires and inclinations that are not from God. It is better to do a few things well than to multiply mediocrity.

Paul wanted to give and receive fruit from these Roman Christians like he did all others, but he wasn’t going to go until it was the right time, in the right way, and for the right reasons (Philippians 4:17), if ever. Sometimes it doesn’t turn out like we think it will or should.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Defeated and Discontented (Radio / Podcast)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Romans 1:7)

Beloved of God – you are pleasing to God but you need to exercise your faith for it to manifest in your life (Ephesians 1:6 / Colossians 3:12 / Hebrews 11:6). God is not against you for your sins, He is for you against your sins. We are not at war with God (Romans 5:1), so we need to get on the right side of the battle. You don’t have to do things to get Him to love you and to bless you. In faith you are pleasing to God, and He wants to please you, you just need to get with the program. You can’t be fed lunch when you aren’t in the lunch line, stop complaining about being hungry and get in line.

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2). You have got to keep on keeping on, and give thanks to God no matter what (Job 13:15). You have got to “pray through” (Daniel 9:2-19). Don’t let the world, the flesh, and the devil steal your blessing (Mark 4). You hear the message, you know it is for you, you believe it, you receive it with joy, and then you go home and let it all slip away. Keep watching and keep praying (1 Peter 4:7).

Preachers, we need to be more concerned about what happens to our people after they leave the building, not just how excited they get when they are in the building. We need to teach people not only how to get it, but how to keep it. Continue in prayer, and abound in thanksgiving.

Abounding in thanksgiving means to be giving thanks a lot, but also that you will abound when you are in a continuously thankful attitude (Colossians 2:7). Remember the old hymn, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul. This is the will of God (1 Thessalonians 5:18)! A.W. Tozer said that God wants to please you, but He will not do it if it will spoil you. We are beloved yet still discontent, and we are not ready for God’s blessing (Hebrews 13:5).

Proverbs 30:15-16 / Proverbs 27:20 – There are two sorts of discontentment, one good, and one very, very bad. There is spiritual discontentment and there is carnal discontentment. The heart of a carnally discontent person is comfortless. Wherever he goes, his ever-increasing misery goes with him. It is hell on earth. The flesh is a raging fire that will never be satisfied. The carnal nature can never be satisfied, if you are discontent, you are living out of your flesh. Our contentment must be in God (Colossians 3:3), or we will be discontent. Philippians 2:3-15 – Jesus was able to give up heaven and take on flesh because He was content in God.

James 4:1-2 – discontent originates in self. Self is the assertive principle in this agony of wars, fighting and murders. It is ‘your lusts that war . . .’ Self gives birth to carnal discontentment. This is always the case; there is no exception.

Psalm 127:2 (ESV) – It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Don’t be so anxious (Philippians 4:6).

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Deity Demonstrated (Radio / Podcast)

This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
(Romans 3:25b – ESV)

With the text of Romans 3:25-26, when we start with a man centered, “what’s it mean to us” then we cannot appreciate the “what this means about God” aspect. God put Jesus on the cross to demonstrate His own righteousness, which is what the text declares as primary.

In this passage Paul’s emphasis is not so much on the righteousness that God has provided in Christ as the righteousness that God has demonstrated through Christ. This distinction may seem subtle, but it is one of great significance. Our minds like to avoid this truth, and we much rather focus on what He has done "for" us. It is too easy to fall into the trap of sentimental thinking about the Gospel, and we need to be reminded that the love of God makes absolutely no sense apart from the wrath of God. Take away the latter, and all you have is the image of a kindly old man who wouldn't hurt a fly, much less punish sinners, and then we start thinking that maybe our own sins really aren't that bad. We cheapen His love by downplaying His wrath.

When we choose to look at salvation from a merely human perspective, we see salvation from the standpoint of what it does for us. God becomes the One who “meets our needs.” While salvation does do something for us, and God does meet our needs, the focus is wrong. Paul portrays this passage from the divine point of view, fixing our attention on God’s purpose for saving men: the demonstration of His righteousness. If you can see this, you will see the value of a God entranced worldview, not one where we say it but we actually have it, and we can see with God’s eyes, and we will begin to learn the value of God, not simply as someone who gives us the treasure of forgiveness, but as the very treasure itself.

The death of Christ proved God’s righteousness. Hebrews 9:15,26 – in His forbearance He passed over the former sins, made during and before the old covenant, knowing justice would be served by a new covenant. People just want God to pardon but that doesn’t demonstrate His righteousness. That would be saying that sins are really no big deal to God, and it would also mean that offending God and despising Him isn’t all that important. The sins are real and they must be paid for, and yet God seemingly overlooked them before. The problem in God's passing over sin (which the natural mind does not grasp) is that God's worth and glory and righteousness have been despised, and passing over it makes him look cheap. God would be unrighteous if He passed over sins as though the value of His glory were nothing.

God’s worth and His name are dishonored by our sins, but He vindicated His glory by slaying His Son. That is how valuable His glory is and how awful sin really is and what it requires. It is not that we were worth it, that we were worth saving, but that God’s glory was worth vindicating, and that Christ was the only payment that could satisfy the justice of God for us offending and despising His glory. That is what sin is, falling short of and devaluing God’s glory. We have done violence to the throne of God. That is why hell must last forever because you can never pay it back, your worth is nothing compared to His, no amount of penance can offset the terrible injustice you have done against the infinite worth of God.

This is all about the value of God not the value of man, how much He is worth not how much we are worth. Now we square this with John 3:16 by saying that His love for us is so great that He paid the only way it could be done. God, out of His love and justice, renders Himself favorable to us by His own action. He suffers the ultimate offense and yet He takes on the punishment for that Himself. He passed over sins before Christ because He knew the plan, it was the plan all along, and that is why He could wait until it was the right time (Galatians 4:4).

Did Jesus really have to die to pay for our sins? We say, “Certainly we’ve done bad things, but what we’ve done isn’t so bad that a merciful God can’t overlook our failings.” We are wrong on two counts. First, what we have done IS so bad, that we cannot even begin to fathom how horrible it is. Second, God cannot overlook, He cannot wave His hand and let bygones be bygones. He may freely forgive us, but He Himself must bear the cost.

The wrath of God had to be satisfied. God could not simply overlook sin; it had to be judged. And so God provided men with salvation in such a way that He demonstrated His righteousness and satisfied His wrath, all at the same time. God’s forgiveness costs something, He freely forgives but it cost Him something. It is the heart of the good news...a bloody yet beautiful thing that proves God's worth, not ours...

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Lone Ranger in Danger (Radio / Podcast)

…that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith…
(Romans 1:12 – ESV)

In the verses surrounding our text here, Paul defines a main purpose of his prayers for the Christians at Rome, that he might see them personally. Face to face time is most always better than letters or anything else: communication is good, but companionship is better. Discipleship happens best person to person, not person to program. Paul wanted to see them and live as a light before them (Philippians 2:15). Is it better to learn from the manual or learn from the man? The Bible is more than the Owner’s manual; it is how we meet with God himself (John 5:39). It is about more than principles; it is about a Person.

Paul is determined to see them that he might be able to help strengthen their faith, but it is not only that Paul will give, but also receive from them.

Our faith is strengthened within the company of other saints. You may live as a virtual outsider from God’s people and wonder why you keep falling down, or wonder why the Bible seems so dry, or wonder why your faith just doesn’t seem as real anymore, or wonder why all you see is hypocrisy; you need fellowship to see that the plank in your eye makes you see everything as having a plank in it. We see our problems in the context of our community; then we can change.

(2 Corinthians 1:4) You need the comfort of others and you need to give comfort to others. The lone ranger’s are wrong; you do need church, but even if you didn’t, the church needs you.

Take the time to invest in someone others miss (James 2:8-9). Ephesians 5:21 – you should be able to learn from every Christian (1 Corinthians 6:17).

The poorest of the poor in God’s kingdom have something of value for you to receive; it is our pride that hinders us – when Paul says “for you all” he means even sandpaper people have value.

Paul is praying that God will allow him to see the Roman Christians in person so that he could give and receive from their mutual faith (2 Peter 1:1). He was passionate to be with others who have a growing and showing faith. Are you? God wants to guide, guard, and gift you, but you have to be in the lunch line to get fed. Do you want to be escorted, established, and encouraged?

Are we as Paul praying for God to guide us into fellowship with others so that we may be strengthened and comforted by our mutual faith? Do you pray that you will find one reason (person) to go to church, not one reason to stay home? Do you pray for those who don’t make it to church? Do you pray for others to come so that they may be blessed? What is your faith known for?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Recognize and Realize (Radio / Podcast)

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
(Romans 6:11 – ESV)

There is a difference, perhaps subtle, but a difference nonetheless, between recognition and realization. Most would see these terms as synonyms for the same thing, namely that they both mean to come to an awareness of something. However, for the purposes of our discussion, and for clarity in our understanding of how sanctification works, we point out the process of progress using these two words. This distinction will help us tremendously as we move along the process in our progress toward sanctification. Conversely, the lack of a distinction in these terms can cause a hindrance in our growth. We misunderstand what recognition means, and therefore we fail to achieve realization in our lives.

As we come to know something, in that we become aware of its reality, its presence, and its importance, we can be said to recognize it. Now when we go from a mere awareness to a more full understanding, or apprehension, what we are doing is realizing something. To recognize something is to spot it, to realize something is to capture it.

See the difference? Now lets make it real, shall we?

Again, there is a difference between the two and it can be stated thus. Recognizing something is about seeing it. Identifying, acknowledging something. Realizing is about being it. We internalize it, we make it real to our situation, and we cash in on the idea.

For example, we go from recognizing there is sin in the world and that you have sinned into realizing that you are a sinner when you find yourself doing it in practice. We go from recognizing that Jesus paid for your sins to realizing it in the practice of sanctification in your life. You see a verse many times, read it and even meditate on it, but then one day the Holy Spirit applies that verse because it jumps out at you and you see it for your life, it becomes real.

In some ways, the difference between recognition and realization is the difference between the indicative and imperative. You know what the Word says about you, and then you become what it means for you. If you can recognize the fact, then you can realize the future.

Let's go from seeing it to being it.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Wake Up! (Radio / Podcast)

…the hour has come for you to wake from sleep…
(Romans 13:11 – ESV)

Martin Luther, in the first of the 95 theses, said, "The whole life of a believer is repentance". That makes us consider this question: what role does repentance have, if any, in the life of a believer, one who has already repented of their sins and been saved by Jesus Christ? If we have already been forgiven, then how or why would repentance be an ongoing thing? Does the Bible teach a repentant lifestyle?

The Apostle Paul, in a sense, said that repentance and faith are the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:20-27). In the verses following our text in Romans 13, Paul says to the believers that they need to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (vs.12), to walk properly as in the daytime (vs.13) and to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (vs.14). Friends these things are what a repentant lifestyle is all about.

Colossians 2:6 tells us that “as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him”. You received Him in repentance and faith, so you are to walk in that daily. Daily repentance is about fellowship with God, and this requires a humble admission of our dependence on God. When you woke up this morning, were you God? No? Then repent! Of what, you ask? Think of it this way, repentance is looking away from ourselves and toward God. We must do that every day.

The Apostle John tells us “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). This is about more than the initial salvation experience, it is about fellowship with God. When we sin, we are forgiven, that has already been accomplished. Our sin cannot negate the relationship. We may never speak to our earthly father, but we are still his offspring. However, if we aren’t talking to him, we may have a relationship, but it is soured, in that we have no fellowship.

In the same way we, as believers, can grieve the Holy Spirit with our disobedience (Ephesians 4:30), and in a sense, fall out of fellowship with the Father. Oh, He still loves us, and we will still make it to heaven. But we lack the assurance of a daily walk, that is, until we repent and receive the blessings of being able to look at our Father without having to hang or head, or turning away completely from Him. We draw near to Him, and we know He draws near to us (James 4:8). That is how we draw near, in repentance. Again, repentance is turning back to see God. David said it like this: “restore unto me the joy of thy salvation” (Psalm 51:12).

In Romans 12:2 Paul instructs us to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If part of repentance (metanoia) is changing our mindset, then to change our mind is to renew our mind, and so therefore, to be transformed is by repentance. As we are transformed, as we grow in grace, we learn this repentance more perfectly.

Luther was right...

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Here Comes the Judge (Radio / Podcast)

…you have no excuse… For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself…
(Romans 2:1 – ESV)

Paul is not telling people that they are not supposed to judge actions and behavior. He is not saying that we should all just “go with the flow” and let everything and anything go. He is talking about hypocrisy. He is saying that one cannot escape judgment by judging others, by appealing to how much worse their behavior is to your own. Such judgment leads one away from the necessary self-examination and repentance for one’s own sin, and leads to your own inevitable judgment (Hebrews 9:27). He is not condemning judging others, or using discernment, but judging others without first judging yourself.

The most quoted verse or passages from the Bible today do not come from Psalm 23 or even John 3:16, but Matthew 7:1 (NIV), “Do not judge, or you too will be judged”. This is why context is so important because you could just take this part of our verse from Romans 2, “anyone who judges”, marry it with Matthew 7:1, “judge not”, and come out with some liberal doctrine just like we see today. The cry of the unrepentant is “who are you to say”, but this is what the authority of the Word of God answers when we use it properly (Titus 1:9-11).

Paul speaks of discerning, or judging those who are following Christ in truth and says to follow them (Philippians 3:17). He speaks of putting away some and staying away from others (Romans 16:17-19 / 1 Timothy 6:5 / 2 Timothy 3:5 / Titus 3:8-11). We are supposed to judge (1 Corinthians 11:31 / 1 Peter 4:17 / John 7:24 / Matthew 16,18), we are supposed to discern (Philippians 1:9), but we are supposed to look at ourselves first (1 Corinthians 11:31), looking at discipline as a means of restoration not condemnation (Galatians 6:1).

We are to judge, and we are to realize that we have given ourselves to the Savior instead of giving ourselves over to sin: the good works that follow do not save us but they are a sign that we are saved; they are not the root but the fruit of our relationship with God (1 Corinthians 6:8-11). We may still commit acts of unrighteousness, but our lives are not characterized by an unbroken pattern of unrighteousness. Believers get convicted and then they commit themselves to change. We know we are bad to the bone, and that we need a Savior, it is those who think they are righteous and do not need a Savior and those who judge based on their own worth rather than Christ’s worth who will be in trouble. Jesus takes you as you are, but He doesn’t leave you there.

Think of the situation regarding the Corinthian church, which had a man that had slept with his father’s wife. He had continued in this sin defiantly, and the church thought it no big deal, but Paul instructed them to put him out of the fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:9-13).

Church discipline is a forgotten practice today. However, we must not be ignorant of Satan’s schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). In our desire to do things rightly, we must be careful not to let the pendulum swing too far, from overly casual to overly critical. Paul had put the Corinthian church to the test, and they applied the punishment. Now, apparently the man repented, and Paul told them to comfort him in reconciliation and restoration (2 Corinthians 2:5-10).

It boils down to whether someone has a repentant attitude or not. We cannot judge a person’s soul, but we can keep them from peddling rotten fruit in our assemblies (Matthew 7:15-20).

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Averse to Avowed (Radio / Podcast)

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.
(Romans 1:26 – ESV)

The point of our text today is that God has given, is giving, and will give mankind over to unnatural desires. Paul mentions homosexuality as an example, but this is just the obvious manifestation of it. All sin is on the same road. God gives men over to rule themselves, and men do more than sexual perversion, they give themselves to all sorts of unnatural things.

When we don’t find our passion in the glory of God, we will be consumed with our own natural passions, and then, being jaded, we will turn ourselves over to unnatural passions. We become so bored with ourselves that we have to invent new forms of evil (1:30). A man cannot be delivered up to a greater slavery than to be given up to his own lusts.

Young man, young woman, all men, all women, make no mistake, there is a diminishing return on the evil you do and the evil you look at. Even the secular world knows of this, it is called the law of diminishing returns. This law says that we grow less sensitive to the same level of stimuli over time, and thus require ever-increasing stimuli to elicit the same response. An alcoholic may require twelve beers to match the effects that one beer has on someone who does not drink regularly. Just as we can build up a tolerance to alcohol with regular use over time, we can build up numbness to any sin with regular use over time. For that reason, when we continually give in to sin we will require more over time to arrive at the same level of satisfaction and fantasy.

You will become a slave to that thing you don’t want anyone else in authority to know about, you will become bored with it, and will need an ever increasing stimulus to feed your appetite. To everyone I say; if you are not getting better and better you are getting worse and worse. To those of you young ones, and everyone who is ensnared in their own self: You are not wiser than those before you, your friends aren’t going to be wise enough to help you, you will not be able to turn off the switch when you want to, you will not be able to stop yourself, you will go from one bad thing to another, or you will trade one bad thing for another, and think you have escaped yourself and your sin, but you will not escape the coming judgment, you are not escaping it now, you won’t be able to turn back then, you must turn back NOW!

Verse 27 in the KJV says they burned in their passions. You can think you’re smarter than me, that I am just a fool, that this is all a show. You can think in your heart that this isn’t you because you aren’t turning into a homosexual. Well let me tell you, Paul was telling them, and he is telling you, that you may not become a homosexual, but that isn’t the bigger point, the point is that you are going to get worse and worse, fall further and further away from God, if you do not give up the idolatry of yourself. You may not burn for another man, but you burn for your own plan. Now is the time to be saved, turn or burn!

This world shows you how it is, and where it is headed. Homosexuality, just like all sin eventually, has gone from being averse to being allowed, and now it is going from allowed to avowed. Isn’t this what we see in television and movies, they are becoming more promiscuous and more perverse every year. What has changed, are these things less evil, or are we more evil? What do we think this is, liberation? No, it is slavery. We are so bound we think we’re becoming free. Indeed we are, free to be ourselves, the morally depraved, sexually confused, socially chaotic children of disobedience that we are at heart, unless God gives us a new heart.

Think about it; is this you? Things you once said you would never do, now you do, you look for ways to do them, and you burn with passion for them. We think we can sin, and still be in our right minds, but we don’t see sin as sinful as it is. Every sin you commit affects your mindset towards sin itself; every little bit ruins a little bit of your mind. Look again at verses 21-22, when we sin willingly, we go against the knowledge of God, we don’t glorify Him, we are not thankful, we become a little more hard hearted, and we start down the road to being or remaining a fool. That’s why Paul says that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), because sin is exceedingly sinful. On your own you won’t win against sin.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Judgment Day Delay? (Radio / Podcast)

God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie
(Romans 1:24-25 – ESV)

Often we hear that if people are not repentant then God is going to visit America with judgment, or the church with judgment, or many other variations on this theme. The truth is, judgment is already here, and that is why we see what we do.

In this text those who dishonored God were given up to dishonor themselves. The impurity Paul is speaking of in this text is mainly sexual, sensual disorder. This type of disorder is a prime example of spiritual disorder. In many lives this is the starting place for the downward slide. However, all the disorder we see in the world, in the social chaos, sexual confusion, and sinful carrying on are a judgment of God because we exchanged the value of God for other things; we turned our knowledge of God into images.

Now let’s get the order of this disorder right in our minds. People believe that we do these vile things we see, and so God is displeased, and He is, but the process is vice versa. God is displeased and we do these vile things as a result.

When God speaks of judgment, often it is not that God will lay His hand on us, but take it off us. He will leave us to our own depraved devices. The restraining power of God's grace is being lifted and man is being left to himself (a temporal and an ongoing fulfillment, a parallel of what we see in Romans 1:18-32). Judgment is here, the wrath of God is being incrementally revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down, or suppress, the truth with their unrighteousness. It is not that these vile things bring God's wrath, but that these vile things are signs of God's wrath. The Hand is coming off but some will be saved out of the midst of this corruption even as the whole is being damned.

When Paul wrote this it had happened before, but he says it was happening then, and it is happening now, the question is, is it happening to you? We make an image of God even as Christians and we serve and worship it instead of God as He has revealed Himself in the Bible, and we only see the Bible as we want to.

Get it right – It is idolatry first, immorality second. Everything sinful hinges upon this exchange in all its forms. We don’t like God as He chooses to reveal Himself, and/or we don’t like the restrictions God places upon us, and we create a god of our own image. Apply this to order your sanctification. Stop the idolatry first, and you’ll stop the sin. We want to stop the habitual sin first, so that we can please God, but we need to please God, and He will stop the habitual sin. Get the order right and you will be in order. We have habitual sin because of how we habitually see God. With God’s guidance you can judge yourself rightly, so don’t delay.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©