Rick Warren and the Anti-Gospel Position

The Bible clearly divides all people into two groups, expressed in different ways, such as:

Those who are in the flesh, and those that are in the Spirit (Romans 8:9)
Those who dwell in the domain of darkness, and those who are in the kingdom of the glorious Son of God (Colossians 1:13)
Those who are dead in sin, and those who are alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11; Ephesians 1:5)

The Good News (or Gospel) message of the Bible is how God transfers people from this first group to the second group. This is the most important message ever heard by human ears, for everyone in the first group (the group into which we are all born) will experience everlasting suffering, shame, and contempt, while everyone in the second group will experience everlasting peace, love, and joy in God to the glory of His grace. As this message is so vitally and eternally important, it is crucial that the message is proclaimed correctly, lest people believe themselves to be in the second group, while remaining in the first.

Many people in reading my previous two posts will ask, 'why are you making such a big deal about these statements by Warren? Isn't he preaching the Gospel message, and isn't that what's important?'
But my point in this blog is to demonstrate how an unbiblical view of God and an unbiblical view of Man results in a corruption of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Concerning the Gospel, Rick Warren has written:

Real life begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ. If you are not sure you have done this, all you need to do is receive and believe. The Bible promises, "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." Will you accept God's offer?
First, believe. Believe God loves you and made you for his purposes. Believe you're not an accident. Believe you were made to last forever. Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you've done, God wants to forgive you.
Second, receive. Receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior. Receive his forgiveness for your sins. Receive his Spirit, who will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose. The Bible says, "Whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever!" Wherever you are reading this, I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity: "Jesus, I believe in you and receive you." Go ahead.
If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God! You are now ready to discover and start living God's purpose for your life. (The Purpose Driven Life, "Day 7")

Blogger Scott C. Mooney has carefully explored this passage of The Purpose Driven Life and come to the following conclusions:

Their need, according to him, is to “believe and receive.” (p.58) What is the content of the requisite belief? The closest Mr. Warren comes to the truly biblical message is to say, “Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you.” (p.58) However, nowhere does he provide any insight into what quality of Jesus’ death makes it a death “for” anyone. In the first six “Days” of his treatise he never even so much as mentioned the death of Christ. Also, what is the content of what we are to receive? “Receive his forgiveness for your sins.” (p.58) However, Mr. Warren never has provided a satisfactorily biblical discussion of sin. Absent such discussion, what can “receive his forgiveness for you sins” possibly mean to the reader? In terms of the system Mr. Warren builds in this treatise this phrase is meaningless. If Christ’s mission was to bring us full understanding of God’s glory, if sin consists of failing to bring God glory, and if Christ’s death is not a substitutionary propitiation, then how can forgiveness be more contentful than “a fresh start”? (p.28) Though his ideas of “believe” and “receive” are devoid of content, Mr. Warren nevertheless presses on to direct his readers to utter this prayer: “Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you.” (p.58) What can this mean? He presents this to the reader as “…the prayer that will change your eternity.” (p.58) If the creature has the initiative and the power to determine eternity for himself, and therefore to determine eternity for God also, then how can any remotely biblical content attend his notions of “believe” and “receive”? Indeed, it cannot. [emphases added]

Now I would like to briefly point out three problems in Warren's Gospel presentation found in The Purpose Driven Life:
1. What are we saved from? In Warren's presentation, we are saved from purposelessness. Biblically speaking, we are saved from the wrath of God (Romans 1:18). It is crucial that sinners come to view themselves as under God's wrath, so that they will know that they must be delivered from the wrath to come (I Thessalonians 1:9-10)
2. What is sin? In Warren's presentation, sin is failure to give God the glory that he deserves. Biblically speaking, Warren's statement on this issue is true, but insufficient. As Mooney also explains,

“Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the Law of God.” So says the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q14. This is based upon the very clear statement of I John 3:4, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” The sinner stands morally guilty before God. The sinner is not “disconnected from God’s presence,” rather he comes under the wrath of God, “for it is on account of these things [men’s sins] that the wrath of God will come.” (Col. 3:6)

It is crucial that sinners come to view themselves as lawbreakers, so that they will cry to the just God for His mercy (Psalm 19:7; Luke 18:13-14; James 4:6-7)

3. What is the relationship of sinners to God outside of faith in Christ? Warren stresses that sin separates us from God's presence. Again, this teaching is true, but insufficient. As the following passages declare:

Colossians 1:21, "And you were once alienated and hostile in mind because of your evil actions."

Isaiah 59:1-2, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.”

In addition to the aspect of alienation, or separation, from God, sin has also placed us at mutual hostility with the just and holy God. It is crucial for sinners to come to realize this truth, so that they will realize their need for reconciliation with God, which only comes through Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 5:18-6:2)

Rick Warren and the Anti-Depravity Position

Disclaimer
This is the second post in a short series that I am doing regarding a recent interview done with Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose-Driven Life, shown on Good Morning America, September 7, 2005. Today's post will probably be much easier to understand if you begin by reading yesterday's post.

The Doctrine of Radical Depravity as Essential to the Christian's Understanding of the Human Condition
The "doctine of radical depravity" is the technical term for the Bible teaching that all people have been corrupted by sin to the very core of their being.
The Bible teaches that due to the Fall of the first people into sin as recorded in Genesis chapter 3 every part of every person is now utterly sinful.
For the Lord has commanded that we should love God with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul, and all of our strength (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 22:37-40), but the Bible firmly declares:

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

And you were once alienated and hostile in mind because of your evil actions. (Colossians 1:21 HCSB)

The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (I Corinthians 2:14 KJV)

This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19 KJV)

So every part of our being has been infected with an overwhelming tendency to disobey the Lord's commandments as mentioned just before the above-listed verses. We have each become lawbreakers in every aspect of our being. This truth is crucial if we are to rightly understand and proclaim the Good News of God's grace, as made clear in the way that the Apostle summarizes the Gospel in passages such as the following:

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to this worldly age, according to the ruler of the atmospheric domain, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we were children under wrath, as the others were also.
But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved! He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift-- not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His making, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10 HCSB emphasis added)

And you were once alienated and hostile in mind because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him-- (Colossians 1:21-22 HCSB emphasis added)

For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, captives of various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. But when the goodness and love for man appeared from God our Savior, He saved us-- not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7 HCSB emphasis added)

In each of the passages listed above, the fact that all people without Christ are utterly sinful- that they are "dead in trespasses and sins," "alienated and hostile in mind," and "captives of various passions and pleasures"- is given to emphasize that God alone through Christ alone receives glory for our salvation, for it was His grace alone, and not anything good within us at all that made the difference in our lives.

That the Doctrine of Radical Depravity Overthrows 'Free-Will' Philosophy
That there is no real value to the term 'free-will' should be clear from the statements above. For if "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" and the mind is alienated from and hostile toward God, then what faculty within a person can be left to make a 'free' decision to choose God? These truths drive us to the conclusions that the Lord Jesus Himself makes, that "everyone who sins is a slave to sin" (John 8:34)- and therefore obviously not 'free'- and that "no one can come to [Jesus] unless the Father enables him" (John 6:65).

That Rick Warren's Statement Contradicts Clear Biblical Teaching about the Condition of Man
Rick Warren said,

"Well, first thing we need to understand that not everything that happens in this world is God’s will. I have a will, you have a will, we have a free will… And so, we have a lot of things that go bad… But what God wants to do is he wants to comfort us."

By this statement, Warren has affirmed the doctrine of 'free-will', as he also does by his promotion of the 'seeker-sensitive' church. For the idea that there are some people outside of Christ who are seeking God also contradicts the Bible doctrine of Radical Depravity as expressed by the clear wording of Scripture, "there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God" (Romans 3:11 HCSB)

Again, by espousing ideas that clearly contradict God's Word, Warren has helped to further establish a system of thought that would allow sinful individuals to believe that they have been made right with God without ever having understood the biblical diagnosis of their condition. They come to grasp certain truths from the Bible through Warren's ministry, but without biblical teaching- teaching that would eventually contradict statements Warren has made- their sinful pride will be left intact. For this reason I urge everyone reading this blog to equip yourself to answer the doctrine put out by the Purpose-Driven Movement (with resources such as the book Fool's Gold, edited by John MacArthur) and to pray that God would grant Rick Warren true repentence of his unbiblical teaching.

Rick Warren and the Anti-Theology Position

Disclaimer
It is very seldom that I will publish a direct quote from an individual when I do not have a source in front of me that I consider to be reliable beyond a reasonable doubt. This is especially true when I mean to give a critique of a quote. I firmly believe that it is the duty of every Christian to be very careful when critquing others, that we do not misrepresent anyone and thus cause needless division among those claiming the name of Christ. Therefore, if I find that the following quote is in error, I will remove this post and apologize fully for any comments made about the beliefs of Rick Warren.
However- the following quote is taken from the blog of Alan Kurschner, who seems to be diligent in checking his sources, and so unless I am given convincing proof that the quote is in error, I must conclude that Rick Warren did speak these words attributed to him.

A Portion of the Rick Warren Interview on Good Morning America (9/7/05):
Roberts: Rick Warren is the best-selling author of “The Purpose-Driven Life.” He’s also the pastor of Saddleback Community Church…. In my hometown of Pass Christian, [sic] I ran across a woman who came up to me and she said, Robin, it’s, it’s as if God tried to wipe us off the face of the earth. You know there are some people that look and see this destruction and, and say, where, where is whatever it is, or whomever they, they, they look to…
Warren: Right.
Roberts: …for guidance in a higher way?
Warren: Right. Well, first thing we need to understand that not everything that happens in this world is God’s will. I have a will, you have a will, we have a free will… And so, we have a lot of things that go bad… But what God wants to do is he wants to comfort us. Somebody asked me when I was actually on the floor of the, the, the Houston Astrodome talking to people and praying with people, said, where is God in all of this? And I’ll tell you where God is, he’s in thousands of lives of people who love him and follow him, and they are the hands and feet of God…
Roberts: Yeah.
Warren: …You know Robin, we have nearly 4,000 Purpose Driven churches that have done the “40 Days of Purpose” program in the Gulf states. And we know at least four to 500 of them were, lost their buildings completely. And yesterday, I met with…
Roberts: Okay Rick. Thanks you very much… you take good care of yourself. Thank you Rick Warren. We appreciate your time this morning. Always good to talk to you.

The Deadly Problem in Warren's Teaching
The Theologian has said, "Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves." Why would knowledge consist almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves"? Because it is only by true knowledge of God that we recognize Him as the Sovereign Creator-Sustainer and Holy Lawgiver and it is only by true knowledge of ourselves that we recognize our condition as unholy, lawbreaking, rebels against His sovereignty- (for we have all willfully broken God's commandments). This knowledge of God and of ourselves grants us fear before the sovereign God whom we have offended, which fear the Bible declares as the beginning of all Wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10).
But the Church has always had to guard against people that would obscure and distort the true, biblical understanding of God and of Man. Specifically, people hate the following biblical teachings:
1. That Man is utterly sinful, so that every part of Man after the Fall recorded in Genesis chapter 3 is in bondage to sin and therefore "since the Fall of the first man free choice has been a reality in name only, and... we can of ourselves do nothing but sin."
2. That God ordains all that comes to pass so "that nothing happens by chance, but everything befalls us by absolute necessity."
[The above quotes are from Martin Luther, Defense of All the Articles of Martin Luther Condemened by the Latest Bull of Leo X, "Article 36" (WA 7:142-49), as quoted by John Calvin in The Bondage and Liberation of the Will.]
And in the above quote by Rick Warren these teachings are directly attacked.

"Not everything that happens in this world is God’s will."
The remainder of this post will examine how Warren's statement of Good Morning America contradicts the biblical teaching of God's sovereignty. Lord willing, I will post tomorrow on how his statement contradicts the biblical teaching of Man's sinfulness.
One reason that Rick Warren's statement is so unacceptable is that he knows what he said is untrue. As Warren wrote in his best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life:

Long before you were conceived by your parents, you were conceived in the mind of God. He thought of you first. It is not fate, nor luck, nor chance, nor luck, nor coincidence that you are breathing at this very moment. You are alive because God wanted to create you! The Bible says, "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me."
God prescribed every single detail of your body. He deliberately chose your race, the color of your skin, your hair, and every other feature. He custom-made your body just the way he wanted it. He also determined the natural talents you would possess and the uniqueness of your personality. The Bible says, "You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something."
Because God made you for a reason, he also decided when you would be born and how long you would live. He planned the days of your life in advance, choosing the exact time of your birth and death. The Bible says, "You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book!"
God also planned where you'd be born and where you'd live for his purpose. Your race and nationality are no accident. God left no detail to chance. He planned it all for his purpose. The Bible says, "From one man he made every nation,... and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." Nothing in your life is arbitrary. It's all for a purpose.
Most amazing, God decided how you would be born. Regardless of the circumstances of your birth or who your parents are, God had a plan in creating you. It doesn't matter whether your parents were good, bad, or indifferent. God knew that those two individuals possessed exactly the right genetic makeup to create the custom "you" he had in mind. They had the DNA God wanted to make you.
While there are illegitimate parents, there are no illegitimate children. Many children are unplanned by their parents, but they are not unplanned by God. God's purpose took into account human error, and even sin.
God never does anything accidentally, and he never makes mistakes...
God is not haphazard; he planned it all with great precision. (pages 22-24, emphasis added)

(Charles Spurgeon, in his famous "Defense of Calvinism", examined the subject of God's providence in language somewhat similar to that used by Warren in the quote above, having written:

First, let me ask, must we not all of us admit an over-ruling Providence, and the appointment of Jehovah's hand, as to the means whereby we came into this world? Those men who think that, afterwards, we are left to our own free-will to choose this one or the other to direct our steps, must admit that our entrance into the world was not of our own will, but that God had then to choose for us. What circumstances were those in our power which led us to elect certain persons to be our parents? Had we anything to do with it? Did not God Himself appoint our parents, native place, and friends? Could He not have caused me to be born with the skin of the Hottentot, brought forth by a filthy mother who would nurse me in her "kraal," and teach me to bow down to Pagan gods, quite as easily as to have given me a pious mother, who would each morning and night bend her knee in prayer on my behalf? Or, might He not, if He had pleased have given me some profligate to have been my parent, from whose lips I might have early heard fearful, filthy, and obscene language? Might He not have placed me where I should have had a drunken father, who would have immured me in a very dungeon of ignorance, and brought me up in the chains of crime? Was it not God's Providence that I had so happy a lot, that both my parents were His children, and endeavoured to train me up in the fear of the Lord?)

So, how can Warren state that, "Not everything that happens in this world is God’s will," when biblical wisdom as well any reasonable reflection on his own previous statements would lead to a contradiction of this postition?
I would assert that trials often bring forth a person's true beliefs. Under pressure, Warren was apparently ashamed to present the truth about God- obscurring the fact that He is sovereign, holy, and awe-inspiring. Warren chose instead to present God only as a god of love. Though it is true that God is love, proclaiming this truth without also proclaiming His just wrath against sin and sovereign control over His creation will never lead a person to the point of repenting and seeking God's mercy. For only proclaiming the entirety of the Bible message about God- that He is (again) the absolutely Sovereign Creator-Sustainer and the Holy Lawgiver as well as the Merciful Redeemer will lead people to the point of humiliation by which God's mercy will be found.
For:

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
(James 4:6 NIV)

[I would like to encourage everyone reading this post to also view Tim Brown's excellent post on the same subject, which made me aware of Rick Warren's statements on Good Morning America.]

Rightly Understanding God's Word: The Literal, Grammatical-Historical Method

The following is from a section of an article entitled "Practical Hermeneutics: How to Interpret Your Bible Correctly" by Thomas A. Howe:

You may have heard a preacher or read a Bible commentator talk about using the grammatical-historical method of interpretation. This descriptive title means that we interpret the Bible according to its normal, grammatical, historical significance. In other words, we understand the words and sentences according to the way they were normally used by the speakers of the language. It also means that we understand the words and sentences in their historical context. Using the grammatical-historical method means we interpret the Bible in light of:

1. The original languages of the Bible. The Bible was not originally written in English. We must understand the meaning of the words and sentences in the languages in which they were originally written.

2. The historical/cultural settings of the Bible. The various authors of the books of the Bible lived at a time in history and in a culture that was, in many respects, quite different from our modern techno-culture. Communication is highly influenced by one’s culture and place in history.

3. The literary genres of the Bible. The word genre means kind. Literary genre simply means different kinds of literature. Poetry, for example, is a different kind of literature than historical narrative, and there are different principles for understanding it. Since the Bible contains different kinds of literature, we must take into consideration how meaning is expressed differently in each kind.

4. The universal and particular principles of communication and understanding. There are certain principles that govern the way people communicate. Some of these principles are universal: they are the same for all people at all times regardless of their language, ethnic background, culture, or point of view. All people who want to communicate, for example, assume that the claim they are making cannot be both true and false in the same sense. This is called the principle of non-contradiction. Everyone who communicates does so on the basis of this principle. Some principles are peculiar to the fact that we are interpreting the Word of God. If the Bible is inspired (God-breathed) and inerrant then our interpretation must take this into consideration.

5. The preunderstanding and presuppositions of the interpreter. These words, preunderstanding and presuppositions, refer to the points of view, the perspectives, the background, and the assumptions of the reader. A person who assumes that God does not exist, for example, will interpret the Bible quite differently from a person who believes that God does exist. Our assumptions and perspectives play a significant role when we try to understand the meaning of the text.

These are some of the basic factors that are important in good Bible study.

Along with this, I would like to point out Article XV of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics, with commentary by Norman L. Geisler:

Article XV

WE AFFIRM the necessity of interpreting the Bible according to its literal, or normal, sense. The literal sense is the grammatical-historical sense, that is, the meaning which the writer expressed. Interpretation according to the literal sense will take account of all figures of speech and literary forms found in the text.

WE DENY the legitimacy of any approach to Scripture that attributes to it meaning which the literal sense does not support.

The literal sense of Scripture is strongly affirmed here. To be sure the English word literal carries some problematic connotations with it. Hence the words normal and grammatical-historical are used to explain what is meant. The literal sense is also designated by the more descriptive title grammatical-historical sense. This means the correct interpretation is the one which discovers the meaning of the text in its grammatical forms and in the historical, cultural context in which the text is expressed.

The Denial warns against attributing to Scripture any meaning not based in a literal understanding, such as mythological or allegorical interpretations. This should not be understood as eliminating typology or designated allegory or other literary forms which include figures of speech (see Articles X, XIII, and XIV).

These principles, along with the Christ-centered understanding of Scripture previously mentioned, help ensure that the following words of the Apostle Peter are consistently practiced in Church life:

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (II Peter 1:20-21 NASB emphasis added)

Entering Through the Narrow Gate

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
(Matthew 7:13-14 NIV)

This past Lord's Day at Grace Heritage Church in Auburn, Alabama, where my wife and I have been attending, the Sunday school teacher Stan Reeves, in leading a study concerning the biblical teaching on sanctification, gave a lengthy quote from the classic Christian allegory Pilgrim's Progress. (The entire Sunday school lesson was very good, and I would suggest that any anyone reading this blog listen to it if you get the chance.)

In the section that Stan quoted, the main character of the book, who is named "Christian," meets two charcters named "Formalist" and "Hypocrisy". "Formalist" represents someone who is trying to get to heaven by following either traditions or his own ideas, "Hypocrisy" is (obviously) someone who is hoping to be considered right with God just by keeping up a 'religious' outward appearance.

Here is the quote:

[Christian] espied two men come tumbling over the wall, on the left hand of the narrow way; and they made up apace to him. The name of the one was Formalist, and the name of the other Hypocrisy. So, as I said, they drew up unto him, who thus entered with them into discourse.

CHRISTIAN: Gentlemen, whence came you, and whither do you go?

FORMALIST AND HYPOCRISY: We were born in the land of Vain-glory, and are going, for praise, to Mount Zion.

CHRISTIAN: Why came you not in at the gate which standeth at the beginning of the way? Know ye not that it is written, that “he that cometh not in by the door, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber?” John 10:1.

FORMALIST AND HYPOCRISY: They said, that to go to the gate for entrance was by all their countrymen counted too far about; and that therefore their usual way was to make a short cut of it, and to climb over the wall, as they had done.

CHRISTIAN: But will it not be counted a trespass against the Lord of the city whither we are bound, thus to violate his revealed will?

FORMALIST AND HYPOCRISY: They told him, that as for that, he needed not to trouble his head thereabout: for what they did they had custom for, and could produce, if need were, testimony that would witness it for more than a thousand years.

CHRISTIAN: But, said Christian, will you stand a trial at law?

FORMALIST AND HYPOCRISY: They told him, that custom, it being of so long standing as above a thousand years, would doubtless now be admitted as a thing legal by an impartial judge: and besides, said they, if we get into the way, what matter is it which way we get in? If we are in, we are in: thou art but in the way, who, as we perceive, came in at the gate; and we also are in the way, that came tumbling over the wall: wherein now is thy condition better than ours?

CHRISTIAN: I walk by the rule of my Master: you walk by the rude working of your fancies. You are counted thieves already by the Lord of the way: therefore I doubt you will not be found true men at the end of the way. You come in by yourselves without his direction, and shall go out by yourselves without his mercy.

To this they made him but little answer; only they bid him look to himself. Then I saw that they went on, every man in his way, without much conference one with another, save that these two men told Christian, that as to laws and ordinances, they doubted not but that they should as conscientiously do them as he. Therefore, said they, we see not wherein thou differest from us, but by the coat that is on thy back, which was, as we trow, given thee by some of thy neighbors, to hide the shame of thy nakedness.

CHRISTIAN: By laws and ordinances you will not be saved, since you came not in by the door. Gal. 2:16. And as for this coat that is on my back, it was given me by the Lord of the place whither I go; and that, as you say, to cover my nakedness with. And I take it as a token of kindness to me; for I had nothing but rags before. And besides, thus I comfort myself as I go. Surely, think I, when I come to the gate of the city, the Lord thereof will know me for good, since I have his coat on my back; a coat that he gave me freely in the day that he stripped me of my rags. I have, moreover, a mark in my forehead, of which perhaps you have taken no notice, which one of my Lord’s most intimate associates fixed there in the day that my burden fell off my shoulders. I will tell you, moreover, that I had then given me a roll sealed, to comfort me by reading as I go on the way; I was also bid to give it in at the celestial gate, in token of my certain going in after it: all which things I doubt you want, and want them because you came not in at the gate.

To these things they gave him no answer; only they looked upon each other, and laughed. Then I saw that they went all on, save that Christian kept before, who had no more talk but with himself, and that sometimes sighingly, and sometimes comfortably: also he would be often reading in the roll that one of the Shining Ones gave him, by which he was refreshed.

The reason I bring this quote to your attention is the following-
It is often very confusing for us as biblical Christians when we hear of people who obviously do many good works and who may even name Jesus as their Savior, and yet they trust in things other than Christ to secure their position of peace with God.

I, like the author of Pilgrim's Progress, am thinking specifically of Roman Catholics who (according to their official documents) trust in sacraments of the church to infuse grace into their lives.

A devout Roman Catholic may hold many very politically conservative family-friendly views, may have a reasonably biblical understanding of doctrines such as the Trinity and may give of their time and money to all kinds of charities. For these reasons, the suggestion that they are all lost if they have not come to trust in Christ alone for their salvation (and not Mary as co-redemptrix- and not sacraments of the church to infuse grace) may seem ludicrous and offensive to many modern Christian ears. But when we realize that we are all lawbreakers in God's sight, having willfully broken His commandments and that there is only one way that God has established for forgiving the penalty that our lawbreaking has earned- that of faith alone in Christ alone, then we realize why any good work outside of biblical faith or supposed addition to the completed work of Christ on the Cross that is meant to contribute to our salvation is actually offensive in God's sight. God's justice against lawbreaking could only be satisfied at the expense of the voluntary suffering and death of His only begotten Son; there is no chance that our loving Father will accept any other way to peace with Him, as devised by sinful men.

The Faith of Unbelievers

Last month, I posted a few times on the subject of the recent debate between James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries and John Dominic Crossan of the Jesus Seminar, beginning with the post "Scavenging Animals".

On September 13th, James White gave some comments about the debate on his webcast, playing some audio clips. One of the main points that White was trying to uncover in the debate was that Crossan holds to certain foundational beliefs ("presuppositions") that do not allow him to even honestly view a great deal of the historical material we have about Jesus. This is a crucial point because Crossan claims that his position is much more historically accurate than the understanding of orthodox Christianity (Crossan is the author of the book, The Historical Jesus).

White: Dr. Crossan, given your presuppositions regarding divine consistency and the like, what kind of evidence could possibly exist in antiquity that would prove to you that the events of the Gospel story, especially miraculous events, such as the Virgin birth, or the resurrection of Christ from the dead, actually took place in the historical context?
Crossan: In the context of a pre-enlightenment world, nothing.

To clarify Crossan's answer, White restated his question:

White: But in a post-enlightenment world, which I am assuming we’re talking about this evening…
Crossan: Right.
White: …could there be any kind of evidence whatsoever in antiquity that would cause you to believe that God did intervene in the first century in a way that He’s not intervening in –now- the 21st century?
Crossan: No.

So, by Crossan's own admission, no historical evidence that could be found could ever persuade him that miraculous events occurred and that God intervened in a unique way through the ministry of Jesus Christ. Crossan's position is not an extension of careful historical research, but rather an expression of his own faith- a faith in a god that ever and only uses naturalistic means to accomplish divine purposes. This is a god of Crossan's own making. And so Crossan, apart from a supernatural work of grace, which he apparently does not now believe in, could never hear the Gospel message as preached by the Apostle Paul- a message firmly rooted in eyewitness history:

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
(I Corinthians 15:1-8 ESV)

It is important for biblical Christians to know how to respond to Crossan's position, because anyone that we know who is in a university setting will more than likely be exposed to the teachings of Crossan or other members of the Jesus Seminar. The teachings of these individuals are presented as being historical and as contradicting biblical faith. It is important for us to know that the teachings of the Jesus Seminar are not sound history, and they are, in fact, representative of a type of faith- albeit the faith of unbelievers.

I encourage everyone reading this blog to pause and pray for John Dominic Crossan, that the Lord would bring him to repentence and true, biblical faith.
I would also encourage everyone to prayerfully consider purchasing the White/Crossan debate from Alpha and Omega Ministries, so that you can be better prepared "to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (I Peter 3:15 ESV).

Looters and Radical Depravity

I was planning to post on the subject of how the looting in New Orleans reveals the utter sinfulness in the heart of every person demonstrating our great need for salvation, but on reading my friend Nathan White's recent post, I realized that he had said everything I wanted to say, quoting the theologians I would have quoted (Jonathan Edwards and John Owen) and, most importantly, the Scripture that best addresses the issue (Mark 7:18-23).

So, I again encourage everyone to check out Nathan's blog, "Preach the Word" and prayerfully consider how you can help those who have been personally harmed by this storm. You can help through ministries such as:
Lakeshore Baptist Church
Grace Heritage Church
Grace Bible Church
Alpha and Omega Ministries

The Cross and the Storm

Upon seeing photographs of the devastation of New Orleans and hearing reports of the catastrophic loss people have suffered as a result of hurricane Katrina, many people were once again asking the question voiced so often after 9/11, namely, "where was God in all of this?"
Following September 11th, the anti-theologians could easily appeal to the popular notion of 'free-will.' As obviously wicked humans were involved in hijacking the airplanes on that "fateful" day, it was simple work for those who claim the name of Christ and yet have failed to conform their thinking to Scripture in this area to subtly slander God Almighty by clnging to traditions that claim our Lord's sovereignty is limited by the decisions of sinners.
But the recent crisis, being weather-related rather than terrorist-related has presented a more focused challenge to those with an inadequate view of God as Sovereign Creator-Sustainer and Holy Lawgiver. As their 'free-will' philosophy is irrelevant to explain "natural disasters," another aspect of the traditionalists' false philosophy has been exposed, as briefly examined in my previous two posts, The God of the Storm and the Uncovering of Blasphemous Theology, and Katrina and the Sovereignty of God. For in raging and taking counsel against the Sovereign LORD [cf. Psalm 2], people imagine that His reign is not only limited by the decisions of the wicked, but also by Natural Laws that He has established. According to this view, God is truly a cosmic Dr. Frankenstein who is now being terrorized by His uncontrollable creation.
But anyone who has truly been wondering, "where was God in all of this?" and has been filled with anxiety or has reached unbiblical conclusions has certainly not contemplated God's work in the death of Christ. People ask, "how could God be in this when there is so much suffering?" or, "how could God be in this when innocent people died?". But these questions reveal a deficiency in a true, biblical faith toward Jesus, who is truly God and truly Man, as well as the sacrificial Lamb of God ( John 1:29)

For the Prophet declares:
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:10-12 NKJV, emphasis added)
And as the Apostle Peter proclaimed at Pentecost:
"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. (Acts 2:22-23 NASB)
And the earliest church prayed:
"For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. (Acts 4:27-28 NASB)

From these passages we know that this greatest example of human suffering, Christ's death on the Cross for our sins, occurred according to the LORD's pleasure (Isaiah 53:10), for His satisfaction (Isaiah 53:11), following His predetermined plan and foreknowledge (Acts 2:23), controlled by His hand and His purpose (Acts 4:28).
Therefore we know that the only truly innocent man to ever die, God's own Son, suffered and was executed entirely according to His will and His power, though uncoerced sinful men were the direct agents of this grisly work. For Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the Jews who crucified Jesus, followed their own sinful desires, believing that they were acting according to their 'free-will,' but God was working out His master plan for His glory and our good through their evil plans ( Gen. 50:20, Rom. 8:28, Eph. 1:11).

Similarly, the natural world around us has been placed under a curse ( Romans 8:20-21) due to the sin of Man, who had been given stewardship over the created order ( Genesis 1:26-30). And so, as noted before, the natural world is often grossly inhospitable to the people for whom it was originally created to provide. Yet even the most horrible crises of nature serve God's good purpose, demonstrating the need to sinners for immediate repentance and purifying the devotion of the saints, as God informs us in the book of James:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4 NIV)

Please pause to give praise to God, who is entirely in control and who gives us hope through any circumstance.
Also continue to pray about how God might lead you to meet the needs of those who have suffered loss through this storm. You may wish to contribute through the ministries of Grace Heritage Church and Alpha and Omega Ministries.

The God of the Storm and the Uncovering of Blasphemous Theology

Perhaps we would do well to listen to the likes of Rabbi Harold Kushner, who contends that God is not really as powerful as we have claimed. Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures does it say that God is omnipotent. Kushner points out that omnipotence is a Greek philosophical concept, but it is not in his Bible. Instead, the Hebrew Bible contends that God is mighty. That means that God is a greater force in the universe than all the other forces combined. [Tony Campolo, "Katrina: Not God's Wrath- or His Will"]

A week ago today, Albert Mohler quoted the above statement from Tony Campolo on his blog.
Like the preacher quoted at the head of my last entry, the aftermath of this storm has not motivated Tony Campolo to glorify God, as did Job, but rather to deny God's sovereignty over this event. Campolo and others would have us to believe that there are limits to God's control and that some events occur simply by Natural Law or according to Chance.

But there are no truly random events, "nothing happens by chance" [Martin Luther, Defense of All the Articles of Martin Luther Condemned by the Latest Bull of Leo X, "Article 36," cf. Prov. 16:33], or according to fortune or fate, or mere coincidence.
There is no Mother Nature or Natural Law that has been established that can operate outside of the loving, just, willful power of God (Ps. 104:14).
Likewise, there is no power in the spiritual realm, whether angel or devil, that acts apart from the sovereign will of God "because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and by Him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:16-17 HCSB)
And so when king Ahab of Israel purposed to conquer Ramoth-gilead with the assurance of victory by 400 of his false prophets and with the LORD's prophet Micaiah as the sole dissenting voice prophecying the death of Ahab and the scattering of Israel's army, God is glorified for His sovereign command of the lying spirit that deceived the false prophets as well as His revelation of truth through Micaiah. As the true prophet proclaimed to Ahab, "Now you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit into the mouth of these false prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you." (II Chronicles 18:22 HCSB)
And as even the angels must depend upon the sovereign will of God for all of their activity, it is obvious that Man, who has been created a little lower than the angels (cf. Ps 8:5 LXX) is also dependent upon God's will in all things, "For it is God who is enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose" (Philippians 2:13 HCSB).

And so the statement "that God is not really as powerful as we have claimed" is shown to be unbiblical and blasphemous. For there is no limit to the power of God "in whom we live and move and have our being" (cf. Acts 17:28) who created all things out of nothing by His Word (cf. Genesis 1:1, John 1:1, Acts 17:24, etc.), holds all things together every instant (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3), who will destroy all material things with fire (II Peter 3:10-12), and will create a new heaven and new earth (II Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-4).

At this time, please pray about how you can glorify God more in answering those who question His goodness and power following tragic events.
Also continue to pray about how God might lead you to meet the needs of those who have suffered loss through this storm. You may wish to contribute through the ministries of Grace Heritage Church and Alpha and Omega Ministries.

Katrina and the Sovereignty of God

"...then we must conclude that the storms that blow against us are not from God. They are part of the natural order which follows a course of natural law." [Jim Evans, quoted in the Opelika-Auburn News, C1, 3 September 2005 under "Where is God in the Storm?"]

In response to the above quote concerning Hurricane Katrina made by a pastor near where I live in Auburn, Alabama, Paul Stith, of Grace Heritage Church, where I attend, made the following comments:

Why is it that we feel compelled to let God off the hook, as it were? Why do we want to find comfort by saying that God had nothing to do with this? Are we really better off with a God who is little more powerful than the Red Cross, running to the disaster to hold our hand in the aftermath? This is the god that some have constructed in their imaginations.

In stark contrast to this "god of our imaginations" the Bible presents God as omnipotent [that is, "all-powerful"].
God’s omnipotence is majestically and undeniably demonstrated in the first act of creation in which the universe was created out of nothing by God's Word, but often we are distracted by the visible matter around us in such a way as to miss the continuing activity of God throughout creation. We may be quick to acknowledge God as Creator, as I am sure the pastor quoted from the article above would do, but fail to glorify God by declaring that “He sustains all things by His powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). That ‘all things are sustained by God’s might’ should clue us in to what the phrase “all-mighty” really indicates, namely, that “God’s omnipotence brings out every phenomenon of existence. This is the essential and sufficient cause of all things” [Quoted from Fredrik Brosche, Luther on Predestination, 1978.]
Therefore we see that God’s omnipotence is not a static phenomenon. God is not a clockmaker who builds and then leaves His invention to run according to the mechanics He has set in place. Nor is He an absentee parent who only visits on occasional holidays. Nor does He even act within our lives often. Rather He is constant- like the very breath we breathe and the beating of our hearts- the activity of nerves carrying information from our minds and the contracting and relaxing of our muscles- providing all power necessary for our every action- “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). So when the Bible declares, “He is before all things and by Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17) we can be sure that without Him all things would fall apart into oblivion.
And God is not like some computer program that simply allows a video game to run- neutral to the outcome of the game- He is not passive in His sustaining power. Rather the Bible declares that He is the “One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will”(Ephesians 1:11). And this is to our great benefit as He works all things “together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
God’s active power over His creation is seen throughout the Scriptures:

· In inanimate creation (Job 37:6-13; 38:12, 22-32; Ps. 104:4, 14; 135:6-7; 148:8 Matt. 5:45)
· In animals (Job 38:39-41; Ps. 104:27-29; Matt. 6:26; 10:29)
· In seemingly random or chance events (Prov. 16:33)
· In the affairs of nations (Job 12:23; Ps. 22:28; Dan. 4:34-35)
· In the will of kings (Ezra 1:1; 6:22; Ps. 33:14-15; Prov, 21:1)
· In the will of believers (Phil. 2:13)
· In every aspect of our lives (Job 14:5; Ps. 139:16; Prov. 16:9; Prov. 20:24; Jer. 10:23; Matt.6:11; Gal. 1:15; Phil. 4:19)

And so we see that all power belongs to God and that any power an individual may seem to have is actually derivative. John 19:10-11 and Romans 13:1 prove this concept and allow us to know that God establishes all authorities and works through ‘em- whether they be just or tyrannical.
And so, is God the author of evil? Not at all. God never creates evil, nor does He entice anyone to evil. This is made clear in passages such as James 1:13-17. But God can never be inactive in His creation, which is entirely dependent upon His sustaining and ordering activity, as examined above. Rather God is constantly working out His purposes through His entire created order, regardless of the will of His creatures. And so we see that there are times in which God empowers men to work according to their own corrupt nature and achieve His good purposes (as in the cases of Pharaoh and Judas) and there are times when He transforms the nature of His creatures to achieve His good purposes (as in the cases of Rahab and Paul). As Luther also explains:

Here you see that when God works in and by evil men, evil deeds result; yet God, though He does evil by means of evil men, cannot act evilly Himself, for He is good, and cannot do evil; but He uses evil instruments, which cannot escape the impulse and movement of His power. The fault which accounts for evil being done when God moves to action lies in these instruments, which God does not allow to be idle. In the same way a carpenter would cut badly with a saw-toothed axe. Hence it is that the ungodly man cannot but err and sin always, because under the impulse of Divine power he is not allowed to be idle, but wills, desires, and acts according to his nature.
This is sure and certain, if we believe that God is omnipotent [emphasis added]; as it is also certain that the ungodly man is a creature of God, but one which, being perverted and left to itself without the Spirit of God, cannot will or do good. God’s omnipotence makes it impossible for the ungodly man to escape the action upon him of the movement of God; of necessity he is subject to it, and obeys it; but his corruption, his turning of himself from God, makes it impossible for him to be moved and to act well. God cannot suspend His omnipotence on account of man’s perversion, and the ungodly man cannot alter his perversion. As a result he sins and errs incessantly and inevitably until he is set right by the Spirit of God. [Quoted from Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will, translated by J.I. Packer and O.R. Johnston, 2002. 204-205]

And as God works out His perfect purposes through sinful people, He also sovereignly works out His purposes through the natural world, which has also been impacted by sin in such a way as to often be grossly inhospitable to the people for whom it was originally created to provide:

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:19-25 NKJV)

[For more articles on a biblical understanding of God's purpose in Hurricane Katrina, please visit albertmohler.com, desiringgod.org, and the blog, "Preach the Word". For ways that you can help those impacted by the hurricane, please visit the websites of Grace Heritage Church and Alpha and Omega Ministries]

Law and Gospel

The Bible begins, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth”(Genesis 1:1).

God has made the whole universe out of nothing through the power of His Word, and through the power of His Word He holds the entire universe together. He has made each one of us individually and in Him we all “live and move and exist”(Acts 17:28). We are always in God’s hand and under His eye. As our Creator, God has the absolute right to command us how to live our lives. God is perfect and He commands us to be morally perfect. God’s commandments are given to show us His holy character and His standards for a right relationship with Him. Let’s examine some of God’s commandments.

God’s Law:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

Have you always loved God more than anyone or anything else? The Bible says to love God with everything you think, everything you feel, and everything you do—to love God so much that your love for your parents, brothers and sisters, friends, and even your own life is like hatred compared to your love for God. Have you ever failed to love God, as God deserves?

2. You shall not make for yourself any idol.

Who is God in your opinion? Do you think that God is only a god who loves and that God would never punish anyone for breaking God’s Law? If that is your idea of God, then you are correct. The god that you are thinking about could not punish anyone for breaking God’s Law, because that god is not real. You have created a god in your own mind that you are happier with than the real God. You may call it your “personal belief,” but the real God calls it idolatry. The Bible warns that idolaters will come into God’s kingdom- that they will be kept outside of God’s kingdom forever as punishment for breaking God’s Law.

3. You shall not take the name of God in vain.

Have you ever used God's name as a curse word? Have you ever said “O God!” or “Jesus Christ!” when you were not praying or telling others about God, but only out of anger? If you have, then you have taken the name of God-- who gave you your life, your family, and everything else that you love-- and you have used God’s name as a curse word. Hitler's name was not even hated enough to be used as a curse word! If you have used God's name in that way, you are a blasphemer and the Bible says “God will not hold him guiltless who takes the name of the Lord in vain,” (Exodus 20:7).

4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

God commands that we worship God one day in seven. Have you ever been guilty of breaking this Commandment in God’s Law?

5. Honor your father and your mother.

Have you always respected your parents in all of your actions? Ask God to remind you of the disrespectful actions that you did as child. You may have forgotten them, but God has not.

6. You shall not murder.

The Bible warns, “Whoever is angry with his brother without cause, is in danger of judgment,” (Matthew 5:22) and the Bible also says, “He who hates his brother is a murderer,” (1 John 3:15). God sees hatred in the heart to be as wrong as murder. We can break this command in God’s Law by how we feel and how we think about other people.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

The Bible warns, “You have heard… ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” (Matthew 5:28). Have you ever looked at another person with wrong desires? The Bible says that adulterers and fornicators (those who have had sex before marriage) will not come into God’s kingdom.

8. You shall not steal.

Have you ever stolen anything (even if it was something small)? The price of the thing stolen does not matter; petty theft is still theft. Have you ever taken anything that someone else owned without permission (from the office, school, parents, etc.)? If you have, then you are a thief and you have broken God’s command not to steal.

9. You shall not lie.

Have you ever told a lie? If you have, then you are a liar. How many murders do you have to commit to be a murderer? Just one. If you have told even one lie, that makes you a liar. The Bible warns that all liars will be separated from God’s love forever and punished for breaking God’s Law. You may not think that lying is a serious sin, but God does.

10. You shall not covet.

This means that we should never desire anything that belongs to another person. Not their house, nor their car, nor their money, nor their wife, nor their lifestyle, nor anything that belongs to our neighbor. Have you ever broken this commandment?

An honest self-assessment must reveal that you have broken God's Law.
As a lawbreaker, the Bible teaches that God will punish all lawbreakers.
The place of God's punishment for lawbreakers is called Hell.

Please take the time to read what the Bible says that Hell is like:

The Bible refers to the punishment of lawbreakers with such fearful words as the following:

•“Shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2)

•“Everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46)

•“Weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:51)

•“Fire unquenchable” (Luke 3:17)

•“Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish” (Romans 2:8,9)

•“Everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

•“Eternal fire...the blackness of darkness for ever” (Jude 7,13)

Revelation 14:10,11 tells us the final, eternal destiny of the sinner: “He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone...the smoke of their torment ascended up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night."

According to the Bible, you are not a good person who occasionally messes up and does something wrong, like all of us, you are a sinner by nature and by choice and there is nothing that you can do or try to do for yourself that can put you right or bring you into God’s favor. As a sinner, your relationship to God is the relationship of a convicted criminal before a good judge and He must give you the punishment that you deserve- eternity in Hell. You need a new relationship with God through a moral and spiritual re-creation, what the prophet Ezekiel spoke about when he talked about God giving a ‘new heart,’ and what Jesus spoke about when He said we must be born again.

Christ’s saving work (the Gospel):

Jesus Christ, the Son of God (also called “the Word”), became a human being after God the Father Almighty sent the Holy Spirit to the Virgin Mary, as the Bible says in John 1:1,14,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus lived the only absolutely perfect human life, perfectly keeping all of God’s commands that we have failed to keep.

Jesus took the guilt for our lawbreaking on Himself. Jesus was arrested and He was condemned to be crucified on false charges during the government of Pontius Pilate. On the cross, Jesus died as a substitute for lawbreakers, taking all of the suffering, death and punishment in Hell that lawbreakers deserve.

Jesus was buried and on the third day after His death, He rose again from the grave, proving Himself to be the champion over death and Hell, offering you life and freedom from the guilt of lawbreeaking and the tendencies you have to break God's Law if you will believe in Him.

Jesus ascended into heaven and now is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, freely offering new, eternal life to anyone who believes in Him.

Jesus will someday return to earth and judge the living and the dead based on their faith in Him. If you have trusted in Jesus, then you will be found innocent in God’s sight based on the perfection of Jesus and you will live with Him in the eternal joy of heaven. If you have rejected Jesus, you will be judged guilty as a lawbreaker and an enemy of God and you will suffer forever in the eternal punishment of Hell.

Your response to the Gospel:

God has promised to give eternal life to anyone who believes in Jesus and calls out to Him asking to be saved.

(Romans 10:9-10,13)

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

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

I urge you, my friend, call out to God today, praying for salvation from lawbreaking and death. Confess that you are a lawbreaker, that there is nothing that you can do to save yourself, and that you need Jesus Christ come into your life to save you from your lawbreaking. Tell God the laws that you have broken that you have been reminded of as you have examined God's commandments. Then repent of your lawbreaking, turning away from a life of lawbreaking and shame before God and submitting to Jesus Christ as the Master of your life. Place your faith in Jesus, fully trusting in Him to save you from sin, death, and Hell and to give you eternal life in Heaven.

Pray to God to save you today- there is no better time. As the Bible says (II Corinthians 6:2),

Look, now is the acceptable time;
look, now is the day of salvation.


[Sections of the above text on "God's Law" were adapted from the Way of the Master website.]