Habakkuk 1:12-13 “Wast thou not from the beginning, O Lord my God, my holy
one, and we shall not die? Lord, thou hast appointed him for judgment: and made
him strong for correction. Thy eyes are too pure to behold evil, and thou canst not
look on iniquity.”
In our Friday evening small group Bible Study, we continued
to look in depth at developing an authentic, genuine and meaningful
relationship with our Lord God. In having a “real” relationship with God, the
first step is to know and understand when we do and when we don’t, and why. In
an age when so many in our society lack integrity, when our ethics and moral actions
rest completely on our personal judgment, feelings, desires, and opinions, and
absolutes are challenged and rejected by those who do not even see that they
are truly lost. In all honesty, we have to realize that we are lost and see our
need to be saved, before we can joyfully accept the rescuer. Those who do not
believe that they need to be saved (physically or spiritually), will never
accept a “Savior”. We need to truly know the seriousness of sin and understand
the sovereignty of our Almighty God, then how our Lord God defines sin and what
sin leads to in our relationship with Him and affects our life, now &
eternally. Awareness and comprehension of the “Truth” is the key. Then we can willfully
and purposefully work to fix what is broke, if we so choose, or not and leave
in broke. We can reject or believe a lie, but we cannot say that we didn’t
know. This it why we “speak the truth in love” – Ephesians 4:11-15.
Sin is a tough subject, but must be understood because it is
the relationship breaker . What exactly is sin? 1 John 5:17 says “All unrighteousness is sin.” Unrighteousness is
living contrary to what God says is “right”. 1 John 3:4 explains that “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is
lawlessness.” When we think in sin, many
times we think of robbery, murder, stealing, rape, et cetera, but the Bible
tells us that sin is anything that doesn’t please God or a transgression
(violation or breaking) of His law. Anything that we shouldn’t do, but
willfully do anyway, are sins of commission (the act of committing to and
doing). James 4:17 “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then
not do it. Failures to do what ought
toward God and men are sins of omission (leaving out of account or neglecting
to do). There are not only sins in deeds of action, but also sins in word and
thought, like lying, lust, pride and hatred. Naturally, because
of our fallen nature, when men fail to honor God and obey His Word and seek to
replace Him with their own “wisdom”, it always results in tragedy. Our first
instinct as lawless sinners is to build our doctrine (principles of belief)
around ourselves and our self-perceived well-being. Faith is taking God at His
Word, believing what He says is true.
Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned— every
one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all.” Iniquity is a
synonym for sin meaning great injustice or wickedness, willfully choosing to
walk in a way contrary to what is right in the eyes of the Lord, but look what
Lord does for those who believe in Jesus, the Christ. Romans 3:9-10 says, “Well then, should we conclude that we Jews
are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all
people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the
power of sin. As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous — not even
one.” And continuing in verse 23: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s
glorious standard.” So what does sin
produce? Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world,
and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. We are all born sinners on the same wide road to
destruction, a slave to sin, separated in our relationship with God, and dead
in our sins. Don’t believe the lie (Genesis 3:4-5); sin has serious and eternal
consequences. Where is salvation, redemption, and restoration to be found? Who
shall save us from this slavery to sin and damnation that we earned and deserve?
Good news!
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He
who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God.” & Romans
10:9 “If
you confess with your
mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved.” This is
the Gospel! God turns
defeat into victory and separation into a hallelujah! A relationship Maker.
Philippians 1:9-11 “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and
more, with knowledge and all
discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
In Christ, Brian
3 comments:
Great point Brian, have you watched the 180 movie? It is really good. Here's the link... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y2KsU_dhwI
This is a pro-life movie that is 33 minutes long. Ray Comfort has a very unique way of confronting people with the fact that we are all sinners.
I believe that most people think they are good and not sinners at all. How far from the truth that is. Even some Christians think that well, they have said the "sinner's prayer" they are saved. This too is not so. We need a relationship with Jesus and the only way that happens is by us following in His footsteps and doing as He does. I know a few people who think they are saved yet still live they way they want to. One fellow is a homosexual and even though my husband and I have went over many, many Bible verses that showed this lifestyle is wrong, he refuses to see.
Sin is a very tough topic people just don't want to hear. They want to hear the 'fuzzy coated Jesus' all covered in love and forgiveness. Yes, this is true but our Jesus is very disciplined to living the Truth which is a very narrow life.
Thanks Brian, love the verses.
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Wow, Child of God! Your comments touch so many areas of "being a Christian". Fist, yes, I've seen and own the 180 movie DVD. If you get a chance, I recommend you read Mr. Comfort's book "Hell's Best Kept Secret". I believe that the reason so many think that they are good and not sinners is because they do not understand sin or God properly, and therefore use the wrong standards for determining "right" & "wrong" or "good" & "bad". Others willfully reject God completely (John 3:19-21). So many do what is "right" in their own eyes today (Judges 21:25). They are basically blind to the truth, but ministry is light. The "Sinner's Prayer" is a prayer, but not "magic" words. It's not the words that "save" a sinner (Romans 10:9). There is nothing outwardly that we can do for salvation; its inward from the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Following involves believing that we are a sinner and cannot save ourselves, deserving God penalty for our actions, repenting of our sins, give our lives to the Lord, accept the free gift, by the grace and mercy of God, of forgiving atonement and eternal life through Christ's redeeming death in our place, receiving by faith the Holy Spirit that regenerates our spirit and gives us a new heart that spiritually discerns the "things of God" in restored relationship through His Holy Word that we can follow Him as a true believing disciple. Those who do not want to hear the truth about sin, Hell, Satan, et cetera are the ones talked about in 1 Timothy 4:3-4, but the truth is as Jesus told us Himself in Matthew 7:13-14 and we are to be, as a child of God, set apart from sin. Thanks for visiting and your great comments.
You made some good points! Yes, sin is the relationship breaker. However, as believers in Christ, sin is the fellowship breaker. Yes, before a person can get saved, that have to listen to the Holy Spirit and realize their need for a Savior. Those who refuse to see their need won't get saved. I am not following your blog...
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