Category Archives: Sin

Megachurch Pastor John MacArthur: Denominations That Allow Gay ‘Marriage’ Are ‘Satan’s Church’

Posted by Dan C. on

In the wake of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s recent decision to celebrate same-sex “marriages,” celebrity pastor John MacArthur of “Grace to You” has come out with some strong statements condemning “false churches” that abandon Biblical teachings against homosexual behavior.

“They have no allegiance to the Bible,” MacArthur told The Blaze online news service. “You go back to every one of those seminaries … for a century [they] have been deniers of biblical authority, they have no relationship to scripture, they are the apostate church, they are Satan’s church.”

While it seems clear MacArthur was implying that self-professed Christians who accept gay “marriage” are doing Satan’s work, not necessarily worshiping the devil, it is worth noting that the actual Satanic Temple of America has called same-sex “marriage” one of its “sacraments.”

MacArthur, who is Baptist, believes in the teachings of John Calvin regarding the inerrancy and literal truth of Scripture.  The PCUSA also has its roots in Calvinism, but in 1967 the church updated its precepts to distance itself from Calvin and adopted a more flexible view of Biblical truth.

During a 2001 debate over whether the denomination would permit the ordination of openly homosexual pastors, PCUSA officials said, “We acknowledge the role of scriptural authority in the Presbyterian Church, but Presbyterians generally do not believe in biblical inerrancy. Presbyterians do not insist that every detail of chronology or sequence or pre-scientific description in scripture be true in literal form. Our confessions do teach biblical infallibility. Infallibility affirms the entire truthfulness of scripture without depending on every exact detail.”

In his interview with The Blaze, MacArthur lamented the cultural decline of mainstream denominations like the PCUSA, and said their watered-down approach to theology is a major factor in the increasing secularization of America, which he argues was founded on “cultural Christianity.”

According to MacArthur, the historical “cultural Christianity” of Americans has long been a stabilizing force for society.  It didn’t mean that everyone belonged to the same church or worshiped exactly the same way, but it did mean that the culture as a whole had a shared set of values and generally believed they would have to answer to a higher power in the afterlife.

The founding fathers, MacArthur told The Blaze, “knew you couldn’t compel people to goodness” unless the majority of people believed in God.  But in our increasingly agnostic society, the very idea of “goodness” is open to debate.

“Cultural Christianity … is dying at a warp speed,” MacArthur said. “In the last election … the Democratic platform was pro-killing children and pro-homosexuality.  The young generation has bought into the corruption and lack of ethics morals by media entertainment [and] educators.”

MacArthur cited the unwillingness of mainstream pastors to speak out on controversial issues like homosexuality and abortion as the reason society has begun to embrace immorality as goodness.  He challenged church leaders to meditate on Romans 1, which reads in part:

For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

“Romans 1 describes exactly what is happening in America,” MacArthur told The Blaze. “It defines the wrath as God giving them over, giving them over, giving them over.”

To read the rest of The Blaze’s interview with John MacArthur, click here.

Online Source: LifeSite News

The Wisdom of the Age | Monergism

Posted by Dan C. on

“The wisdom of the age has it backwards. Declaring that a person is a sinner does not make one a hater, but a lover of that person … and of mankind. Do Christians point out sin to shame, bully or incite violence against someone? Absurd and a profound misapprehension of our intent. In calling someone a sinner do Christians think they are superior, more moral? May it never be! Most people’s sin pales in comparison to mine. Fact is, it would only be hate or discrimination if we refused the gospel to someone because we thought their sin makes them somehow unworthy of it. The gospel declares that anyone who, by the grace of God, comes to Christ will be forgiven, no matter how abominable their sin. And such are granted a new heart which loves God and his law.

The gospel is offensive, and according to the Bible, a stumbling block (Matt 21:44; 1 Cor 1:23; 1 Pet. 2:8). If people were not offended by it then I would think we were doing something wrong. Of course, we should not make ourselves needlessly offensive in the process. But I thank the Lord he is forgiving, or I would not stand a chance on my own. And He will forgive you if, by grace, you come to Jesus. He has come to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted and to proclaim liberty to the captives. (Isaiah 61)”

Source: The Wisdom of the Age | Monergism.

‘We wish the gospel, but no lectures against sin’

Posted by Dan C. on

The editors of Leben retell colorful account of the bush preacher and the saloonkeeper.

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The life of the frontier preacher was a series of challenges for which most could not possibly have been prepared. It was a constant struggle between sticking to the traditions and forms with which one was familiar and “going with the flow,” as it were, often with unexpected consequences. Dr. H. J. Ruetenik’s colorful account of his itinerant ministry relates such consequences of his decision to engage in mission work among the German settlers in Ohio. Having not yet found assurance of his own faith, he is no match for the saloonkeeper who would become his host and nemesis. We join der Busch Pfarrer on his westward journey.

I’ll ask the worthy reader to come with me at once to Petersburg, Ohio, where I had been directed to work as a missionary among the Germans. To explain later occurrences, I shall add here that it seemed advisable to drop the name of the denomination to which I belonged [German Reformed], as I had been told in the West the Lutherans and the Reformed lived together in the same community. It was best to drop these distinguishing names entirely, and to call one’s self Evangelical. Because I had no experience in these matters myself, it seemed best to follow the advice of brothers who had, and I called myself simply Evangelical.

Petersburg is a town of three or four thousand on the Eel River. It was in the month of June that I arrived. At this season of the year the whole surrounding country looked most charming. The river, clear blue and silver, glided along between woods and fields bright with flowers, in a narrow, fertile valley; while the town, set on hills, showed a long way off.

Everything about the town appeared favorable. The houses were airy and light, painted white, while in front of them were trim, green lawns and occasionally evergreens for ornament. There were several slender church spires, also painted white, with green blinds and tall, steep roofs. The courthouse dome shone with the tin covering. The streets were straight and wide, keeping the houses apart at a healthful, airy distance.

Naturally I knew not one of these attractive churches was to be mine, for my congregation was to be established by me. Up to this time the gospel had not been preached in German in Petersburg, although the Germans were so numerous that they formed about one third of the population. Also, I had not been invited by any one in particular. The only fact known was that very many Germans lived here without a minister.

All this seemed reason enough to follow the suggestions of an experienced minister and come as a missionary to this district. The consequences of this attempt were in no way to be anticipated. I was filled with the enthusiasm of a young preacher who has not learned that even the most faithful labor must remain unrecognized and unsuccessful, and according to the Lord’s mysterious design.

The friendly appearance of the town as it lay a mile away, set in the beauty of the day, was entirely suited to raise my happy, innocent hopes. I was considering how, among all the other churches, one would soon be having a graceful spire pointing skyward for me; how I would come forward among the people in the power of the Lord and would illuminate eternal life; how I would attract them to their gentle Savior by going about with love and kindness, and —

“Hello, driver!” a voice called out suddenly to the driver in whose carriage I was riding from the nearest railroad station.

We stopped. At the side of the road a fat man with a very red face, round as a full moon, approached and asked to be taken along to town. He spoke English brokenly, and, like the driver, was of German extraction. As he climbed in, I moved over to make room for him on the seat beside me. Then we continued on our way to town.

“Damned hot, eh?” he asked me as he settled himself.

That tore me from my pleasant dreams to crude reality, yet I controlled myself and answered, “It could not be quite that hot. Such a degree of warmth or heat, as you have just mentioned, one can expect only after death.”

“It sounds as if you were a parson,” remarked my new neighbor, good-naturedly pounding my shoulder. “May I offer you a cigar?”

“Thank you, for both,” I replied. “I am no priest, nor do I smoke.”

“Oh, now I’ve guessed it; you no doubt are what is called a Methodist minister. They all do not smoke,” he said, a sly expression on his chubby face, winking cheerfully, proud of his astuteness.

“No,” I countered, “I am a Protestant minister, if you permit me.”

“Bravo, by G—!” returned the stranger. “Then you are the man for me, for I am Evangelical, too. Pardon me, are you stopping in Petersburg?”

“That was my intention,” I answered. “I am traveling just now to find out whether the people here wish me to preach the gospel to them.”

“You are getting to just the right place, Reverend. Yes, indeed, we want to have the gospel preached. I live in Petersburg. The true, pure gospel is what we want. You must come with me to my house. You can lodge there, for I have room enough for you above my grocery. How glad the people will be to know that an Evangelical preacher has come. We have a Methodist one here, but he preaches only conversion and being born again, temperance and repentance; and we don’t want all that, Reverend, by G—, we do not want all that. We wish to have the pure gospel preached, but no lectures against sin. If you are willing to preach the gospel, pure and simple, without meddling in our private affairs, you will certainly be well off with us, Reverend.”

To myself I wondered what the fellow meant by the pure gospel, where there was to be nothing about repentance, rebirth, temperance, etc.; and whether his swearing would be a private affair. Yet the man seemed good-natured, and I thought I should try to have him do better. And so I told him I would gladly accept his offer, but I would beg one thing of him before making any permanent arrangement.

“With the greatest pleasure, Reverend. If it is at all possible, I will gladly grant you any favor.”

“Will you be so kind as to try to refrain from swearing? It always pains me to hear it.”

“That, I think, is really none of your business, Reverend. Pardon me, but that is a personal affair, which I beg you not to meddle with. I shall be glad to have you proclaim the gospel, pure and simple. But as for private affairs, don’t be offended with me, Reverend, but those are private affairs. My G—, if it is nothing more than a little swearing, if a fellow is honest and truthful otherwise, that will do no harm, Reverend. Look, Reverend, here we are at my house. Just get down here. I see there are quite a few Germans in the tap-room. You can meet our best Germans here right away.”

For the full article on Dr. H. J. Ruetenik, please visit Leben’s website.

Rachel Weeping for Her Children: The Massacre in Connecticut

Posted by Dan C. on

Albert Mohler

Thus says the LORD: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more” (Jeremiah 31:15).

It has happened again. This time tragedy came to Connecticut, where a lone gunman entered two classrooms at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown and opened fire, killing at least 20 children and six adults, before turning his weapons of death upon himself. The young victims, still to be officially identified, ranged in age from 5 to 10 years. The murderer was himself young, reported to be 20 years old. According to press reports, he murdered his mother, a teacher at Sandy Hook, in her home before the rampage at the school.

Apparently, matricide preceded mass murder. Some of the children were in kindergarten, not even able to tie their own shoes. The word kindergarten comes from the German, meaning a garden for children. Sandy Hook Elementary School was no garden today. It was a place of murder, mayhem, and undisguised evil.

The calculated and premeditated nature of this crime, combined with the horror of at least 20 murdered children, makes the news almost unspeakable and unbearable. The grief of parents and loved ones in Newtown is beyond words. Yet, even in the face of such a tragedy, Christians must speak. We will have to speak in public about this evil, and we will have to speak in private about this horrible crime. How should Christians think and pray in the aftermath of such a colossal crime?

We Affirm the Sinfulness of Sin, and the Full Reality of Human Evil

First, we must recognize that this tragedy is just as evil, horrible, and ugly as it appears. Christianity does not deny the reality and power of evil, but instead calls evil by its necessary names — murder, massacre, killing, homicide, slaughter. The closer we look at this tragedy, the more it will appear unfathomable and more grotesque than the human imagination can take in.

What else can we say about the murder of children and their teachers? How can we understand the evil of killing little children one by one, forcing them to watch their little friends die and realizing that they were to be next? How can we bear this?

Resisting our instinct toward a coping mechanism, we cannot accept the inevitable claims that this young murderer is to be understood as merely sick. His heinous acts will be dismissed and minimized by some as the result of psychiatric or psychological causation, or mitigated by cultural, economic, political, or emotional factors. His crimes were sick beyond words, and he was undoubtedly unbalanced, but he pulled off a cold, calculated, and premeditated crime, monstrous in its design and accomplishment.

Christians know that this is the result of sin and the horrifying effects of The Fall. Every answer for this evil must affirm the reality and power of sin. The sinfulness of sin is never more clearly revealed than when we look into the heart of a crime like this and see the hatred toward God that precedes the murderous hatred he poured out on his little victims.

The 20th century forced us to see the ovens of the Nazi death camps, the killing fields of Cambodia, the inhumanity of the Soviet gulags, and the failure of the world to stop such atrocities before they happened. We cannot talk of our times without reference to Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, Pol Pot and Charles Manson, Idi Amin and Ted Bundy. More recently, we see evil in the impassive faces of Osama bin Laden and Anders Behring Brevik. We will now add yet another name to the roll call of mass murderers. His will not be the last.

The prophet Jeremiah knew the wickedness and deceit of the sinful human heart and asked the right question — who can understand it?

Beyond this, the Christian must affirm the grace of moral restraint, knowing that the real question is not why some isolated persons commit such crimes, but why such massacres are not more common. We must be thankful for the restraint of the law, operating on the human conscience. Such a crime serves to warn us that putting a curve in the law will inevitably produce a curve in the conscience. We must be thankful for the restraining grace of God that limits human evil and, rightly understood, keeps us all from killing each other.

Christians call evil what it is, never deny its horror and power, and remain ever thankful that evil will not have its full sway, or the last word.

We Affirm the Cross of Christ as the Only Adequate Remedy for Evil

There is one and only one reason that evil does not have the last word, and that is the fact that evil, sin, death, and the devil were defeated at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. There they were defeated conclusively, comprehensively, and publicly.

On the cross, Christ bore our sins, dying in our place, offering himself freely as the perfect sacrifice for sin. The devil delighted in Christ’s agony and death on the cross, realizing too late that Christ’s substitutionary atonement spelled the devil’s own defeat and utter destruction.

Christ’s victory over sin, evil, and death was declared by the Father in raising Jesus from the dead. The resurrection of Christ is the ground of our hope and the assurance of the final and total victory of Christ over all powers, principalities, and perpetrators.

A tragedy like this cannot be answered with superficial and sentimental Christian emotivism, nor with glib dismissals of the enormity and transience of this crime. Such a tragedy calls for the most Gospel-centered Christian thinking, for the substance of biblical theology, and the solace that only the full wealth of Christian conviction can provide.

In the face of such horror, we are driven again and again to the cross and resurrection of Christ, knowing that the reconciling power of God in Christ is the only adequate answer to such a depraved and diabolical power.

We Acknowledge the Necessity of Justice, Knowing that Perfect Justice Awaits the Day of the Lord

Charles Manson sits in a California prison, even now — decades after his murderous crimes were committed. Ted Bundy was executed by the State of Florida for multiple murders, but escaped both conviction and punishment for others he is suspected of having committed. Anders Behring Brevik shot and killed scores of young people in Norway, but he was sentenced to less than thirty years in prison. Adolf Hitler took his own life, robbing human courts of their justice, and Vladimir Lenin died of natural causes.

The young murderer in Connecticut took his own life after murdering almost 30 people, most of them children. He will never face a human court, never have to face a human accuser, never stand convicted of his crimes, and never know the justice of a human sentence.

But, even as human society was robbed of the satisfaction of that justice, it would never be enough. Even if executed for his crimes, he could die only once. Even if sentenced to scores of life sentences to prison, he could forfeit only one human lifespan.

Human justice is necessary, but it is woefully incomplete. No human court can hand down an adequate sentence for such a crime, and no human judge can restore life to those who were murdered.

Crimes such as these remind us that we just yearn for the total satisfaction that will come only on the Day of the Lord, when all flesh will be judged by the only Judge who will rule with perfect righteousness and justice. On that day, the only escape will be refuge in Christ, for those who knew and confessed him as Savior and Lord. On that day, those who are in Christ will know the promise that full justice and restoration will mean that every eye is dry and tears are nevermore.

We Grieve with Those Who Grieve

For now, even as we yearn for the Day of the Lord, we grieve with those who grieve. We sit with them and pray for them and acknowledge that their loss is truly unspeakable and that their tears are unspeakably true. We pray and look for openings for grace and the hope of the gospel. We do our best to speak words of truth, love, grace, and comfort.

What of the eternal destiny of these sweet children? There is no specific text of Scripture that gives us a clear and direct answer. We must affirm with the Bible that we are conceived in sin and, as sons and daughters of Adam, will face eternal damnation unless we are found in Christ. So many of these little victims died before reaching any real knowledge of their own sinfulness and need for Christ. They, like those who die in infancy and those who suffer severe mental incapacitation, never really have the opportunity to know their need as sinners and the provision of Christ as Savior.

They are in a categorically different position than that of the person of adult consciousness who never responds in faith to the message of the Gospel. In the book of Deuteronomy, God tells the adults among the Children of Israel that, due to their sin and rebellion, they would not enter the land of promise. But the Lord then said this: “And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it” (Deuteronomy 1:39).

Many, if not all, of the little children who died in Newtown were so young that they certainly would be included among those who, like the little Israelites, “have no knowledge of good or evil.” God is sovereign, and he was not surprised that these little ones died so soon. There is biblical precedent for believing that the Lord made provision for them in the atonement accomplished by Christ, and that they are safe with Jesus.

Rachel Weeping for Her Children

The prophet Jeremiah’s reference to Rachel and her lost children is heart-breaking. “Thus says the LORD:  ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.’” Like Rachel, many parents, grandparents, and loved ones are weeping inconsolably even now, refusing to be comforted for their children, because they are no more.

This tragedy is compounded in emotional force by the fact that it comes in such close proximity to Christmas, but let us never forget that there was the mass murder of children in the Christmas story as well. King Herod’s murderous decree that all baby boys under two years of age should be killed prompted Matthew to cite this very verse from Jeremiah. Rachel again was weeping for her children.

But this is not where either Jeremiah or Matthew leaves us. By God’s mercy, there is hope and the promise of full restoration in Christ.

The Lord continued to speak through Jeremiah:

Thus says the LORD: “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country” (Jeremiah 31:16-17).

God, not the murderer, has the last word. For those in Christ, there is the promise of full restoration. Even in the face of such unmitigated horror, there is hope. “There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall come back to your own country.”

I discuss these issues more fully in a special edition of The Briefing, posted earlier this evening. LISTEN HERE.

Several years ago, Dr. Danny Akin and I wrote an article addressing the question of the destiny of those who die in infancy or as little children. “The Salvation of the Little Ones: Do Infants Who Die Go to Heaven” is available HERE.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/albertmohler.

Publication date: December 15, 2012

Inward Trembling

Posted by Dan C. on

Truth For Life Devotional, 2 Nov 2012

Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.

Psalm 119:53

My soul, do you feel this holy trembling at the sins of others? For if you do not, you lack inward holiness. David’s cheeks were wet with rivers of waters because of prevailing unholiness. Jeremiah desired eyes like fountains that he might lament the iniquities of Israel, and Lot was deeply troubled by the conduct of the men of Sodom. Those upon whom the mark was set in Ezekiel’s vision were those who sighed and cried for the sins of Jerusalem. Gracious souls cannot help but be grieved to see what pains men take to go to hell. They know the evil of sin experimentally [experientially], and they are alarmed to see others flying like moths into its blaze.

Sin makes the righteous shudder because it violates a holy law that it is in every man’s highest interest to keep; it pulls down the pillars of the nation. Sin in others horrifies a believer because it makes him think of the baseness of his own heart: When he sees a transgressor he is reminded of his own frailty and vulnerability: "He fell today, and I may fall tomorrow." Sin to a believer is horrible because it crucified the Savior; he sees in every iniquity the nails and spear. How troubling it should be when the Christian learns to tolerate rather than shrink from it in disgust.

Each of us must examine his heart. It is an awful thing to insult God to His face. The good God deserves better treatment; the great God claims it; the just God will have it or repay His adversary to his face. An awakened heart trembles at the audacity of sin and stands alarmed at the contemplation of its punishment. How monstrous a thing is rebellion! How dreadful a doom is prepared for the ungodly! My soul, never laugh at sin’s fooleries, lest you begin to smile at sin itself. It is your enemy, and your Lord’s enemy: Learn to detest it and to distance yourself from it, for only then can you give evidence of the possession of holiness, without which no one can see the Lord.

A Darkness to Be ‘Felt’

Posted by Dan C. on

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.” (Exodus 10:21-23 ESV)

Can you even imagine a darkness so dark you could feel it? Such was the darkness of the ninth plague God brought upon the land of Egypt when His children were in living in cruel bondage – a darkness so dark it could be ‘felt’. The closest I ever came to that was deep in Carlsbad Caverns when they intentionally turned out the lights for a few seconds. I really couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

In our passage, the Egyptians could not see each other, and they didn’t even venture outside the houses for three days! The children of Israel however had light where they lived. Reading that, I could not help but think about all those who live apart from Christ the Deliverer, in the darkness of sin, and those who have come to trust in Christ as Savior and have moved out of that darkness and into the light.

There’s a difference though, between the darkness the Egyptians experienced and the darkness that surrounds lost humanity. While the Egyptians knew they were in darkness and could literally ‘feel’ it, the lost and dying around us think they can see! And while physically they can, spiritually they are dead and lying in a foot-thick coffin six feet underground – so dark is their darkness. Can that spiritual darkness be lifted?

In our Exodus account the darkness could only be lifted by God, and God did lift it after three days. What about those trapped in the darkness of their sin? How can that darkness be lifted?

First of all, the Gospel of John identifies the light source that can conquer the darkness:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5 ESV)

Further, John identifies that light source as Jesus:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:14-17 ESV)

Matthew’s gospel also identifies Jesus Christ as the great light shining in the darkness, repeating a prophesy of Isaiah:

"Now when he (Jesus) heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

‘. . .the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light.’” (Matthew 4:12-14; 16 [Isaiah 9:2])

The remaining question is ‘How does the light overcome the darkness of sin?’ Here again, as with the Egyptian, it takes a work of God to lift the darkness and bring light to the human heart.

The Apostle Paul, in a letter to the Ephesian church, describes how someone living in darkness receives light:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.“(Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV)

When God brings life to the dead sinner, something marvelous happens – he begins to ‘feel’ the darkness of sin and his soul cries out for mercy! Nothing in this world seems more important than having the darkness lifted!

The message of the gospel is then applied to the heart crying for mercy. It might happen by way of picking up a Bible and reading, or by entering a church and hearing it, or in conversation with a friend or family member who has already discovered the light, to name just a few of the ways God has of bringing the beautiful message of the gospel to the sin burdened soul:

“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. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 ESV)

Dear reader, are you living today in the light of Christ? Have you ‘felt’ the darkness and had it lifted from your soul? If you have, I rejoice with you! If you have not, I pray that God might begin a work no man can thwart, and that you would indeed ‘feel’ the darkness and flee to the Cross!

Personal Revival–The Birthright of Every Believer

Posted by Dan C. on

“Revival is first personal and immediate. It is the constant experience of any simplest Christian who “walks in the light”. Walking in the light means an althgether new senstivity to sin, callign things by their proper name of sin, such as pride, hardness, doubt, fear, self-pity, which are often passed over as merely human reaction. It means a readiness to “break” and confess at the feet of Him who was broken for us, for the Blood does not cleanse excuses, but always cleanses sin, confessed as sin; then revival is just the daily experience of a soul full of Jesus and running over.” – Norman P. Grubb. in the introduction to Roy Hession’s book, ‘The Calvary Road’

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Through Terrible Conviction to Glorious Conversion

Posted by Dan C. on

“A spiritual experience which is flavored with a deep and bitter sense of sin is of great value to him that hath it. It is terrible in the drinking, but it is most wholesome in the bowels, and in the whole of the after life.

Possibly much of theflimsy piety of the present day arises from the ease with which men attain to peace and joy in these evangelistic days. We would not judge modern converts, but we certainly prefer that form of spiritual exercise which leads the soul by way of the Weeping-cross, and makes it see its blackness before assuring it that it is “clean every whit.”

Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Saviour. He who has stood before his God, convicted and condemned, with the rope about his neck, is the man to weep for joy when he is pardoned, to hate the evil which has been forgiven him, and to live in the honour of the Redeemer by whose blood he has been cleansed.”

– Spurgeon, c. 1890, Autobiorgaphy

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Fear of the LORD

Posted by Dan C. on

“Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.” —Proverbs 16:8

There is more excellence to my hearing of the horror of my sins, the certainty of God’s judgment, and the excellence of justification in Christ alone than in hearing the depth of man’s knowledge, the summit of his wisdom, and the breadth of his good works.

I should much rather hear the excellencies of Christ and the glorious truths of the Gospel from the pages of Scripture by the stammering tongue and stuttering lips of a feeble saint who trembles in the presence of the Master, than to hear the most eloquent speech from the man who has never been undone by the reality of the Lord upon His throne, high and lifted up.

I should much rather receive refreshment in one drop from that well of godly sorrow that worketh repentance than to have my thirst quenched at the river of self-vindication, where there is no repentance and dismisses the precious blood of remission.

To know the exhilarating height of all emotions without trembling in godly fear before the presence of the Holy One is a superficial relationship with Christ at best, and to never have truly known Christ at all at worse. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

Source: Encore Devotional: Fear of the LORD.

THE IMPUTATION OF SIN AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

Posted by Dan C. on

Imputation is one of the principle doctrines of Biblical Christianity. It means to write down in a record or ledger, and signifies setting to one’s account or reckoning something to someone. The verb "to impute" occurs frequently in the Old and New Testaments. The apostle Paul assumed the debt of Onesimus when he wrote, "if he owes you anything, charge it to my account" (Philemon18) "Charge it to my account" is used in the Bible with legal reference to our sin and salvation. God imputes or accredits the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believing sinner while he is still in his sinning state. "God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21, NET).

God has manifested His righteousness apart from the Law “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe” (Rom. 3:21-22). The reason for this judicial standing before a righteous God is because we have “all sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). The foundation upon which God can justify the believing sinner who is still in his sinning state is because this justification is “a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith” (Rom. 3:24-25).

From God’s perspective, righteousness or sin is charged to an individual’s personal account

THE IMPUTATION OF SIN

Romans 5:12-21 teaches the imputing or charging of Adam’s sin to the entire human race. Because Adam sinned as the federal head of the human race, God considers all men as sinners. We are possessed of Adam’s nature (Rom. 5:12-14), and the sentence of death is imposed on us (Rom. 6:23). The effect of Adam’s fall is universal. We are all fallen sons and daughters of old Adam. We do not become sinful by sinning; we sin because we are sinful by nature. We sin because we are sinners. Adam’s disobedience was set to the account of every member of the human family. Every person participates in the guilt and penalty of Adam’s original sin.

The judgment of God rests upon all men outside of a saving relationship with Jesus Christ because of imputed sin, our inherited sin nature and our own personal sins. Human experience shows that Adam and Eve’s sin long ago have affected the entire human race.

The guilt and penalty of Adam’s sin was directly imputed to his descendents, so that all give way to the death (Romans 5:15, 18, 19; 6:23a). "In Adam all die" (1 Cor. 15:22). Adam’s original act of disobedience has been charged to the whole human race. We all stand guilty in Adam before God. Adam acted on behalf of all humanity.

We stand guilty before God and deserve the death penalty until we come to Christ alone for a right standing before God (Rom. 6:23).

Romans five affirms that just as Adam’s act of disobedience brought spiritual ruin for mankind, so Christ’s obedient submission to death on the cross brought righteousness and eternal life to all who believe on Him.

SIN IS IMPUTED TO CHRIST

Moreover, in a similar way, the sin of man is imputed to the sinless Savior, Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). Jehovah, the LORD God, laid on His Son, the Lamb of God, the iniquities of us all (Isa. 53:5; John. 1:29; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18). There was a judicial transfer of the sins of man to Jesus Christ, God’s Sin-Bearer.

The sin and guilt of the human race was imputed to the spotless and pure Lamb of God, Jesus Christ when He became the sin offering for the whole world (2 Cor. 5:14-21; Heb. 2:9; 1 Jn. 2:2). He bore the penalty for sin. God imputed the guilt of our sins to Jesus Christ.

Let it be emphatically clear that Jesus Christ did not die for any personal sin that He had committed because He knew no personal sin in His entire life on this earth. He was the only person who ever lived on the earth who was sinless and pure. That qualified Him to die as a substitute for sinners.

The imputation of sin to Jesus Christ was typified in the Old Testament sacrificial system, where the sins of the offerer were symbolically transferred to the animal victim. The scapegoat of the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:20-22) graphically symbolized the transfer of human sin and guilt to the divine substitute. When the high priest laid his hands on the head of the goat and confessed the sins of the people he in effect transferred the sins of the people on to the animal (Lev. 16:22). The vicarious punishment implies the idea of the imputation of the guilt of our sins to Jesus Christ. He bore the punishment of our sin vicariously, its guilt having been imputed to Him.

Christ “was pierced through” for my transgressions. He was crushed for my iniquities. The chastening for my well-being fell upon Jesus Christ. By His scourging I am healed. “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isa. 53:4-6, 12; cf. 1 Pet. 2:24-25). Isaiah used the strongest words possible to describe a violent and agonizing death in v. 5. It was the divine stroke of judgment when Christ “was pierced through for our transgressions.”

Our sins were imputed to Jesus Christ, and He went to the cross and died as our substitute (Rom. 5:6-8). Christ on the cross bore the punishment due to the believer’s sins. God made Him to be sin who knew no sin (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 9:28).

GOD IMPUTES THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST TO BELIEVERS

Furthermore, God imputes the righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believing sinner while he is still in his sinning state. As a result of His atoning sacrifice, Christ’s righteousness is set to the believer’s account. The imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the sinner lies at the heart of the Biblical teaching on salvation. “The righteousness of God” is credited to the person who puts his trust in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is what makes a person saved. This was true of Abraham (Gen. 15:6). It is true of every believer in Christ (Ps. 32:2; Rom. 3:22; 4:3, 8, 21-25; 2 Cor. 5:21). All of our sins were charged (imputed) to the account of Christ, and His righteous standing with the Father has been imputed (charged) to our account. There is a judicial transfer of the righteousness of God to the believer because there could be no other grounds of acceptance with a righteous God.

God is the author of this righteousness. It is the righteousness of the apostle Paul. "More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness" (Philippians 3:8-9, NET).

This is the righteousness which God imputes to the believer in Christ. Thus we "become the righteousness of God" in precisely the same sense in which Christ was "made to be sin" (2 Cor. 5:21). We become the righteousness of God in the same objective sense through the imputation to us of the righteousness of Christ. The guilt of our sin was imputed to Him so that He bore its penalty.

When the apostle Paul says "faith is reckoned for righteousness" (Rom. 4:5), the meaning is not that God accepted Abraham’s faith instead of perfect righteousness as the meritorious grounds for his justification. God accepted Abraham because he trusted in God rather than in anything that he could do. Saving faith is not a good work (Rom. 3:24). It is a free gift. The true Christian is saved by free, unmerited grace. Faith is simple trust in the grace of God manifest in Jesus Christ with no claims to merit. It is salvation by pure grace. The believer’s sin is covered, and he is counted righteous. Romans 4:6, says, "God credits righteousness apart from works." The logic of Paul’s argument here demands that "to impute righteousness" has the same force as the word "to justify."

The righteousness of God is imputed to all who believe on Christ so that they may stand before Him in all the perfection of Christ. It is true that the Christian is not yet perfectly holy or morally righteous; nevertheless, we are justified before the Law of God and are "clothed" with the imputed righteousness of Christ.

Every saved sinner has been “made” the righteousness of God (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5:21-23). This imputed righteousness is not something man does or earns. It is not "infused" righteousness. Justification and imputation are both forensic. This is a major theme of the apostle Paul (Rom. 3:21-5:21).

When a person accepts by faith the work of Christ in satisfying the righteous demands of God’s Law, God imputes or reckons to the believer this righteousness. Based on the merits of Christ, the sinner is granted a new legal standing; he is counted righteous even while a sinner.

It is all about God’s grace. Grace rules when God’s people are made right with Him. God imputes righteousness by faith. This imputed righteousness is the same as justification without works or personal merit. Grace triumphs when God imputes righteousness that leads to eternal life.

God sees the believer as abiding in His own Son. We have a new identification with Him by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We are members of His body (1 Cor. 12:13; Jn. 15:1, 5). God sees us “in Christ” and justifies us forever. He sees us clothed in the righteous garments of Christ (Isa. 61:10; Rev. 21:2). Therefore the disastrous effects of the fall are effectively reversed for those who believe on Christ. The imputation of human sin to Christ makes possible the imputation of His righteousness to every believer.

Therefore, God loves you and me as much as He loves His own Son (Jn. 17:23). He accepts us as He accepts Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:6; 1 Pet. 2:5). He sees us the same way He sees His own Son (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:22; 1 Cor. 1:30). Christ is the righteousness of God, and those who believe on Him are made the righteousness of God by being “in Christ.” We are complete in Christ (Col. 2:10); therefore, God the Father sees us perfected forever (Heb. 10:10, 14).

The imputation of Christ’s righteousness results in justification before God’s court of law. "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men" (Romans 5:18, NASB95).

The basis of the acquittal of the believer by a holy God is the merit of the atoning death of Christ. God imputes objective righteousness through faith in Christ’s atoning Sacrifice. The merits of Christ’s suffering and obedience are imputed to the sinner as the ground of his justification. The believer is righteous only by God’s imputation of righteousness to him. The basis of justification is a reckoning to the sinner of an objective righteousness.

This justification is the believer’s eternal standing before God. In our daily life we are far from the perfect legal standing with God and must “grow in grace and knowledge of Christ.”

How then shall we live our lives? We are now bondslaves, not of our old Adamic nature, but of the righteousness of God. The Holy Spirit produces through us God’s righteousness. “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). The imputed righteousness becomes the basis for a righteousness imparted through us by the Holy Spirit.

Imputation is the firm foundation upon which we are justified by grace through faith.

Key Scriptures

2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:21-5:21; Isaiah 53:4-6, 12; 1 Peter 2:24-25; Leviticus 16:20-22

Abiding Principles and Practical Applications

1. The application of righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believing sinner is "imputation." The believer has the infinite riches of heaven at his disposal. God puts the moral capital of the Lord Jesus Christ into the empty, spiritual bankrupt account of the believer.

2. God offers to the sinner the perfect righteousness of Christ, apart from any religious works on our part. It is by grace and through faith in Christ Jesus.

3.  Jesus Christ is our perfect righteousness. His righteousness is placed in our account. It is His free gift to us.

4. Everything the Law demanded of the guilty sinner God has provided in the substitutionary death of Christ. We can now rest in the righteousness of Christ. We stand before God, not in our own self-righteousness, but clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ.

5.  As a result of the death of Christ, the righteousness of Christ is credited to the believer. "Abraham believed the Lord; and He [God] reckoned it to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). God supplies His own righteousness to satisfy the holy demands of His own character (Isa. 45:24; 54:17; Hos. 10:12).

For Further Study

Justification by Faith and Imputed Righteousness
Charge it to My Account
Romans What Must I Do to be Saved
Clothed with Fig Leaves or Righteousness?

Message by Wil Pounds and all content on this page (c) 2005 by Wil Pounds. Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent. Scripture quotations from the New American Standard Bible (c) 1973, and 1995 Update by The Lockman Foundation.

Used by permission from an Online Source.