The world wants to know why we say salvation is so exclusive. How come just because I don’t acknowledge Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour I don’t get to go to heaven? Is it fair to say that ONLY people who follow Jesus get to go to heaven? What about all the “good” people?
Truth: “There is no one righteous, not even one;”
“there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, together they have become useless; there is no one who does good, there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Viper’s venom is under their lips.Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.
C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, the Great Divorce, (and I’m paraphrasing) that the gates of hell are “locked from the inside” and if they were to be thrown open and it’s inhabitant beckoned to come out but worship God, they would be slammed shut again.
Church, we have so romanticized sin and the world we ourselves don’t see why it’s offensive anymore. If you asked your middle schooler, why sin is offensive to God, he/she would probably reply, “It just is.” We superficially treated the wound of the sinner. Our evangelism is reduced to massaging their stiff neck and telling them that God will let them slide if they “give their heart to Jesus Christ” and live a semi-moral lifestyle. This is an especially awful thing to do if you do not first explain to them that something is wrong with them.
Here are three facts we desperately try to avoid because in truth they highlight our former lives of depravity:
1. Friendship with the world is hostility toward God.
2. The world hates God because it is made up of people who hate God. Every person who is rejecting the revelation of Jesus Christ hates God.
3. No person is ignorant of God: forget about your opinions, or your memories and what people tell you about their view of God. The bible says they know because God has made it known to them but their heart are darkened.
Here is a forth truth you probably don’t know. They have no excuse for not believing in Jesus Christ because the saga of earth rebellion has always been about Jesus Christ. Make no mistake the gospel starts in Genesis. You might say, “Jesus didn’t come into the game until Mathew. Wrong, in John 1 it explains, “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.
A side note: It is important that Jesus was God because the word here logos implies knowledge, thought and logic. In logic their is a rule called the law of non-contradiction. (If P=P P cannot equal non-p) So if this says that nothing was created that was created apart from Him. He could not have been created.
So the gospel of Jesus Christ began on page one. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Creation was created to glorify the creator. When the Son is glorified the Father is glorified. BUT, “He was in the world, and the world did not recognize Him.”
“Why do the nations rebel and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspired together against the Lord and His Anointed One.”
Later in that chapter God says this, “Pay homage to the Son, or He will be angry, and you will perish in your rebellion, for His anger may ignite at any moment.” This is the side of Jesus we hide -to our shame- Christ is Very loving and compassionate we all know that but why are we dumming Him down? Why are we dumming everything down? God is not casual. Christianity is not casual the only place on earth Christianity can be casual is right here in the United States. Everywhere else in history throughout the world Christianity is so offensive that Christans must die because they just can’t stomach us being around anymore. Why because they hate God and anything that looks like Him any holy thing is repulsive to them. Have you ever thought maybe, just maybe I’m just worldly enough that they aren’t offended by the mere fact that I am alive. Maybe it’s time to some thing drastic.
In closing, I would be careful how many time we tell people not to fear God.
Much love,
dom
Truth: “There is no one righteous, not even one;”
“there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, together they have become useless; there is no one who does good, there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Viper’s venom is under their lips.Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.
C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, the Great Divorce, (and I’m paraphrasing) that the gates of hell are “locked from the inside” and if they were to be thrown open and it’s inhabitant beckoned to come out but worship God, they would be slammed shut again.
Church, we have so romanticized sin and the world we ourselves don’t see why it’s offensive anymore. If you asked your middle schooler, why sin is offensive to God, he/she would probably reply, “It just is.” We superficially treated the wound of the sinner. Our evangelism is reduced to massaging their stiff neck and telling them that God will let them slide if they “give their heart to Jesus Christ” and live a semi-moral lifestyle. This is an especially awful thing to do if you do not first explain to them that something is wrong with them.
Here are three facts we desperately try to avoid because in truth they highlight our former lives of depravity:
1. Friendship with the world is hostility toward God.
2. The world hates God because it is made up of people who hate God. Every person who is rejecting the revelation of Jesus Christ hates God.
3. No person is ignorant of God: forget about your opinions, or your memories and what people tell you about their view of God. The bible says they know because God has made it known to them but their heart are darkened.
Here is a forth truth you probably don’t know. They have no excuse for not believing in Jesus Christ because the saga of earth rebellion has always been about Jesus Christ. Make no mistake the gospel starts in Genesis. You might say, “Jesus didn’t come into the game until Mathew. Wrong, in John 1 it explains, “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.
A side note: It is important that Jesus was God because the word here logos implies knowledge, thought and logic. In logic their is a rule called the law of non-contradiction. (If P=P P cannot equal non-p) So if this says that nothing was created that was created apart from Him. He could not have been created.
So the gospel of Jesus Christ began on page one. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Creation was created to glorify the creator. When the Son is glorified the Father is glorified. BUT, “He was in the world, and the world did not recognize Him.”
“Why do the nations rebel and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspired together against the Lord and His Anointed One.”
Later in that chapter God says this, “Pay homage to the Son, or He will be angry, and you will perish in your rebellion, for His anger may ignite at any moment.” This is the side of Jesus we hide -to our shame- Christ is Very loving and compassionate we all know that but why are we dumming Him down? Why are we dumming everything down? God is not casual. Christianity is not casual the only place on earth Christianity can be casual is right here in the United States. Everywhere else in history throughout the world Christianity is so offensive that Christans must die because they just can’t stomach us being around anymore. Why because they hate God and anything that looks like Him any holy thing is repulsive to them. Have you ever thought maybe, just maybe I’m just worldly enough that they aren’t offended by the mere fact that I am alive. Maybe it’s time to some thing drastic.
In closing, I would be careful how many time we tell people not to fear God.
Much love,
dom
Amen!
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