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What Saith the Scripture?
http://www.WhatSaithTheScripture.com/
Without Jesus, My Wage is Death
"For the wages of sin is Death; but the Gift of God is Eternal Life through
Jesus Christ our LORD"
(Romans 6:23).
by Katie Stewart
3-17-2002
Think about it for just a moment. The world has heard it and most people know it to be fact. "Jesus died so that mankind doesn't have to go to Hell." "This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall The End come" (Matthew 24:14). And that is where we are now-- at "The End". "But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into ALL the Earth, and their words unto the ends of the world" (Romans 10:18). Jesus Christ came to us, "being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the Death of the Cross" (Philippians 2:8). But before this time, men didn't understand just how MUCH the LORD Above loved them. "30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 because He [the Heavenly Father] hath appointed a Day, in the which He will judge the world in Righteousness by that Man [the Son of God, Jesus Christ the Righteous] Whom He hath ordained" (Acts 17:30-31). For "the Word of the Truth of the Gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world" (Colossians 1:5-6) has revealed this Great Love to us all.
"THERE is one text in the New Testament that has been preached from oftener than any other in the Bible. It has been the foundation of great revivals of religion... It is a wonderful text. Luther called it one of 'the little gospels.' It is this (John 3:16): 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life.' You will naturally wonder what there is in that old text that is new. I have found something that was very new to me, and which also may be to you. I suppose that I had read that verse tens of thousands of times, and yet, a little while ago, as I was led to preach upon that text, I sought of the Lord a clearer view of it, that I might glorify Him, by bringing forth out of His treasure things new and old. After reading these familiar words over, perhaps a hundred times, prayerfully asking for new light and insight, there suddenly came to me this absolutely new discovery, as though one, looking up into the heavens, should see a cloud swept away from before the stars, and a new constellation revealed." --by A. T. Pierson (1837-1911) -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/A.T.Pierson.html --, from "The Heart of the Gospel" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/The.Heart.of.the.Gospel.html --.
And so this "new constellation" was with me, recently,
as the so familiar Truth of God's amazing Love came as a newborn revelation to my
soul, "when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the LORD"
(Acts 3:19).
The Wages of Sin is Death
An "old, old, story", as an old friend, revisited my prayer closet as a
newly found nugget of Wealth. "It is the Glory of God to conceal a thing: but
the honour of kings is to search out a matter" (Proverbs
25:2). Without Jesus, as my very "Life",
no amassed regretting, no mustered repenting, no aggregate of tears-- NOTHING I could
ever do-- could EVER change the wage I had earned for the sin I had committed against
God's Holy Law. "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil
in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be Justified when Thou speakest, and be Clear when
Thou judgest" (Luke 20:21). My wage was rightfully-- Death. "The soul that sinneth, it
shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20). A Death which would forever separate me from the Creator of my
soul. "Commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a Faithful
Creator" (1Peter 4:19).
"Go onward and still onward; you must yet say -- after ever so many periods of largest conception, I have only just begun. I am only entering the vestibule of this world of woe -- only counting off the first moments as it were of the eternal cycles of my existence! To pursue this train of thought in its details seems utterly impossible! How the mind sinks beneath the overpowering view! O, the worth of the soul, progressing forever under a law as fixed as and as enduring as Jehovah's throne! The worth of a soul that must make progress in knowledge, and consequently in its capacities for bliss and for holiness, or for sin and for woe -- who can estimate it to the last fraction! Tell me, ye young men of mathematical genius -- ye professors in this science of certainties -- ye who think you have some knowledge of fixed truths and some skill in educing them from first principles; tell me, are these things poetry? You know they are eternal truth; you know they are verities that which none in the universe can be more sure. 'What, then, shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?'" --from "The Loss When a Soul is Lost" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/Oberlin_1851/OE1851.When.a.Soul.is.Lost.html -- by Charles G. Finney -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/Charles.G.Finney.html, "The Oberlin Evangelist" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/Finney.Oberlin.Evangelist.html --, Lectures of 1851 -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/Oberlin.Evangelist.1851.html --. (Bold emphasis by WStS.)
So, the loss which occurs when the soul is lost, gripped
in sin and in its penalty, is a total loss. Only in its completeness can you "estimate
it to the last fraction." Who can comprehend the joy lost, the opportunities
wasted, the glories of what could have been in an Eternity? Only the LORD Omniscient
could understand these things, and it is for these reasons that He demands us so
firmly to "repent... [or] ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). Once you are in that place
of torture, you "shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last
mite" (Luke 12:59),
which will take all of the everlasting time you possess in Eternity. "And the
smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day
nor night" (Revelation 14:11). And so, the ultimate loss is paid when you refuse the Ultimate
"Gift" that was given. "37
How often would I have gathered [you]... even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Matthew 23:37-38). "I
have five brethren... testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment"
(Luke 16:28).
We know that "all have sinned, and come short of
the Glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And we know that we are not to continue to sin-- even once, "for
whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of
all" (James 2:10).
We know by experience, that without the Help of the LORD Jesus, we fail Him.
"For it is God which worketh in you both to Will and to Do of His Good Pleasure"
(Philippians 2:13).
Trusting Jesus to work His Will in us allows Him to do with us "of His Good
Pleasure". In actively, present tense, trusting Jesus to be our "Life",
He becomes that Saviour Who can keep us from committing even one more sin. "8 He that committeth sin is
of the Devil; for the Devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son
of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin; for His Seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because
he is born of God" (1John 3:8-9). You cannot honestly claim to be Christ's if you do not obey
Christ, and purpose in the depths of your heart and soul to "sin no more".
"1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous... 3 And hereby we do know that we know Him, IF we keep His Commandments. 4 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His Commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is NOT in him. 5 But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the Love of God perfected: HEREBY know we that we are in Him. 6 He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked"
(1John 2:1,3-6).[For help with the concepts in understanding the verse, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin" (1John 3:9), please read, "Must We Then Sin?" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/Must.We.Then.Sin.html --. And for help with the concepts in understanding the verse, "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His Commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is NOT in him" (1John 2:4), please read, "That Ye May Know That Ye Have Eternal Life" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/That.Ye.May.Know.That.Ye.html --. Understand that the true Biblical Doctrine of the Assurance of Salvation (i.e., knowing Eternal Life personally) is ONLY to those who abide in Christ.]
His Divine Intervention and Intercession as our Divine "Advocate with the Father" (1John 2:1) causes "Jesus Christ the Righteous" (2:1) to be the Only One Who can work "in [us] both to Will and to Do of His Good Pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). By faith, IF we trust Jesus to do so, He thereby causes us to continue to walk Holy. Why? Because, "He is Able".
You see, "I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is Able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2Timothy 1:12). [Read "He Will Subdue Our Iniquities" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/He.Will.Subdue.Our.Iniquit.html -- for a longer glimpse of how Able He is.]
"If the LORD Jesus Christ has already begun His 'perfect work' (James 1:4) of Salvation and Sanctification in us, then He will not only 'perform it until the day of Jesus Christ' (Philippians 1:6), i.e., until Christ takes us Home by death or Rapture; but, He has already begun to work in us 'to will and to do of His good pleasure' (Philippians 2:13). The 'Beauties of Holiness' (Psalm 110:3) extolled by the Psalmist are the decorum of the Saints, in the present day of Christ's Gospel Power. The question for those who already understand their need of the 'manifold Grace of God' (1Peter 4:10) for Salvation, is: 'How can I promote the Beauties of Holiness in my own life (because absolutely nothing is worth sinning against God)?' 'Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the Blood of the Covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace?' (Hebrews 10:29). What cooperation does the Spirit of God require of me to secure me from offending the Father Who loved me, the Saviour Who died for me, and the Spirit Who sought after me? 'My Father worketh hitherto, and I work' (John 5:17). Remember that Holiness means not only separateness or apartness from sin, but consecration or dedication to God. 'In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be Holiness unto the LORD of Hosts' (Zechariah 14:20-21)." --from "How to Promote the Beauties of Holiness" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/The.Beauty.of.Holiness.2.html -- by Tom Stewart.
But the Gift of God is Eternal Life
If there is anyone that God can reach with His Truth, He wants to do so. "Who
will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the Truth"
(1Timothy 2:4).
"The LORD is not slack concerning His Promise, as some men count slackness;
but is Longsuffering to us-ward, not willing [not wanting] that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance" (2Peter
3:9), for "the Longsuffering of our LORD is Salvation"
(3:15). The LORD
gets "no pleasure" in the stiffnecked wickedness that refuses Him. "Ye
stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost:
as your fathers did, so do ye" (Acts 7:51). "As I live, saith the LORD GOD, I have NO PLEASURE in the
death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and Live" (Ezekiel 33:11). But, if there
are people who still CAN repent, even if they are "murderers, and whoremongers"
(Revelation 21:8),
God wants to get them for Himself. "Who will have all men to be saved, and to
come unto the knowledge of the Truth" (1Timothy
2:4). And if He is given the opportunity, through their
submission and our intercession, He will get them. "Therefore will the LORD
wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He
may have Mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of Judgment: blessed are all they
that wait for Him" (Isaiah 30:18). [Read "Intercession Promises: Casting The Net" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Promises/Intercession.Promises.html -- for help in becoming "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17).]
The method by which the LORD GOD secures people unto Himself is anchored in the Person
of His Son, Jesus Christ. "What saith the Scripture?" (Romans 4:3).
"The Gift of God is Eternal Life
through Jesus Christ our LORD"
(Romans 6:23).
[Read "Jesus Is Eternal Life" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Jehovah/Jesus.Is.Eternal.Life.html -- for the simplicity of the
Truth
that Jesus is the "Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6).]
Through Jesus Christ Our LORD
Neither is there Salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved"(Acts
4:12). There is absolutely nothing in this world that
costs more than the sins we commit, for they cost the LORD Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, and Creator of the Universe, His Life-giving Blood. "34 One of the soldiers with a spear
pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. 35 And he [the Apostle John] that saw
it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that
ye might believe" (John 19:34-35). Rev. Charles G. Finney, one of the greatest evangelists of the
Church Age, recognized the value of God's Love to our souls, both now and in the
eternal beyond.
"Sin is the most expensive thing in the universe. Nothing else can cost so much. Pardoned or unpardoned, its cost is infinitely great. Pardoned, the cost falls chiefly on the great atoning substitute; unpardoned, it must fall on the head of the guilty sinner." --from "God's Love for A Sinning World" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/Oberlin_1853/OE1853.Gods.Love.html --, "The Oberlin Evangelist" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/Finney.Oberlin.Evangelist.html --, Lectures of 1853 -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/Oberlin.Evangelist.1853.html --.
In the most complete sense possible, Eternal Life is gained "through Jesus Christ" (Romans 6:23). He, "being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God... 7 made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus is God, and yet was sacrificially born as a Man, "4 made of a woman, made under the Law, 5 to redeem them that were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Galatians 4:4-7). For "Abba Father", "the God of all Grace, Who hath called us unto His Eternal Glory by Christ Jesus" (1Peter 5:10), even Himself suffered the Painful Sacrifice as a Loving Parent, in that He "spared not His Own Son, but delivered Him up for us all" (Romans 8:32). The Father's Supreme Gift of "His Own Son" and the Son's Supreme Gift of His Blood, secure a plan for man's Redemption that is uniquely executed by Divine Authority. "We have Redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His Grace" (Ephesians 1:7). So, it is from the Father, and by His Son, that we inherit the Heavenly Kingdom. "12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in Light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His Dear Son" (Colossians 1:12-13).
Only the LORD Jesus Christ has the ability and the right to save us. "We see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of Death, crowned with Glory and Honour; that He by the Grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9). Only the LORD Jesus provides ALL that we need, "Who of God is made unto us Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Sanctification, and Redemption" (Hebrews 12:2). Again, from Mr. Finney:
"All is done already. You have only to consent to the proposition, give your heart right up to it at once. This is all. Just so it is. All Christians and sinners ought to understand that the whole plan is complete, that the whole of Christ -- His character, His work, His atoning death, and His ever-living intercession -- belong to each and every person, and need only to be accepted. There is a full ocean of it! There it is. You may just as well take it as not. It is as if you stood on the shore of an ocean of soft, pure water, famishing with thirst; you are welcome to drink, and you need not fear lest you exhaust that ocean, or starve anybody else by drinking yourself. You need not feel that you are not made free to that ocean of waters; you are invited and pressed to drink -- yea, to drink abundantly! This ocean supplies all your need. You do not need to have in yourself the attributes of Jesus Christ, for His attributes become, in practice, yours for all possible use. As saith the Scriptures, He is of God made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. What do you need? Wisdom? Here it is. Righteousness? Here it is. Sanctification? Here you have it. All is in Christ. Can you possibly think of any one thing needful for your moral purity, or your usefulness, which is not here in Christ? Nothing. All is provided here." --from "God's Love for A Sinning World", "The Oberlin Evangelist", Lectures of 1853.
Love is His Motive. "God commendeth His Love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Love is His Means. "Herein is Love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the Propitiation [Mediation] for our sins" (1John 4:10). Love is what God is. "8 God is Love. 9 In this was manifested the Love of God toward us, because that God sent His Only Begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." (4:8-9). Love is the End Result God achieves. "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He Ever Liveth to make Intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).
"For I determined not to know any thing
among you,
save Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified"
(1Corinthians 2:2).
What Wondrous Love Is This
Words: Attributed to Alexander Means.
Music: Arranged by William Jenson Reynolds (1920-).
"What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.
When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath Gods righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great I Am;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on, I'll sing on;
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on.
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I'll sing on, I'll sing on;
And through eternity, I'll sing on."
"Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith;
Who for the Joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame"
(Hebrews 12:2).
A Warning: Reject The Gift and Collect Your Full Wage of Death
Divine Justice demands that the worst crime should reap the severest punishment.
"47 And that
servant, which knew his LORD's Will, and prepared not himself, neither did according
to His Will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall
be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much
required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more"
(Luke 12:47-48).
That is why the LORD truly did create a place called Hell. "Let Death seize
upon them, and let them go down quick into Hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings,
and among them" (Psalm 55:15). For the offence of sin is against no one, more, than against God
Himself-- not innocent babies nor abused children, not battered wives nor raped women,
not cheated husbands nor robbed men-- NO ONE is offended more by sin than God. "For
all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the
LORD" (Deuteronomy 25:16). Sin of ANY kind is a complete betrayal of God and all that
He has done for mankind. "8 He that committeth sin is of the Devil; for the Devil sinneth
from The Beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might
destroy the works of the Devil... 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the
Devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is NOT of God, neither he that loveth not
his brother" (1John 3:8,10). If you will not accept "the Gift of God [which] is Eternal
Life through Jesus Christ our LORD" (Romans
6:23), then you will most certainly pay your own sin
debt with your own Unending Death, "for the wages of sin is Death" (6:23). "7 Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall
of the flesh reap Corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit
reap Life Everlasting" (Galatians 6:7-8). "18
For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is the Power of God... 23 But we preach Christ Crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock,
and unto the Greeks foolishness" (1Corinthians
1:18,23).
Do you really want to go it on your own? If so, then you have drawn the line in the sand and you stand upon the side that opposes God. "He that is not with Me is against Me" (Matthew 12:30). "Despisest thou the riches of His Goodness and Forbearance and Longsuffering; not knowing that the Goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4).
Do you have a complaint against God? Has Almighty God not measured up to your expectations? "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus?" (Romans 9:20).
There is NOTHING more that God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, can do for you! ALL has been done that can be done, "for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1Corinthians 3:11). And no other god can help you, for they are ALL false. "As ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the Last Time" (1John 2:18). [Read "Antichrist Shall Come" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Prophecy/Antichrist.Shall.Come.html -- to find the Truth of what the Antichrist does for those who follow him.]
Do you really want what you deserve? You are foolish if you do. You will certainly earn what you reap if you reject the Precious Gift Jesus wanted you to have. "The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth Righteousness shall be a Sure Reward" (Proverbs 11:18).
Do you ever feel shame for the things that you do, indicating that you still have a conscience-- a chance to change? "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is Death" (Romans 6:16, 21). Do you still have a conscience, or have you "seared" it eternally? "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having [your] conscience seared with a hot iron" (1Timothy 4:2).
You have a very limited time to make your choice, "14 whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away... 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do Good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:14,17). You do know what you OUGHT to do. "Sow to yourselves in Righteousness, reap in Mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till He come and rain Righteousness upon you" (Hosea 10:12). Delay will only harden you. "Thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the Day of Wrath and revelation of the Righteous Judgment of God" (Romans 2:5). Take heed, for "the LORD said, My Spirit SHALL NOT ALWAYS STRIVE with man... For I will NOT CONTEND FOR EVER, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before Me, and the souls which I have made" (Genesis 6:3; Isaiah 57:16). Even to "the Great Whore" (Revelation 19:2) of the Tribulation, God said, "I gave her SPACE to repent of her fornication; and she repented not... And her smoke rose up for ever and ever" (Revelation 2:21; 19:3). [Read "Who is Mystery, Babylon the Great?" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Prophecy/Mystery.Babylon.the.Great.html -- and hear what Scripture tells us of the identity of this Whore.] Time will not stand still while men and demons play their wicked games. "For the Son of Man [most definitely] SHALL COME in the Glory of His Father with His angels; and then He SHALL REWARD every man according to his WORKS" (Matthew 16:27).
"6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 to them who
by patient continuance in well doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality, Eternal
Life:
8 but unto them
that are contentious, and do not obey the Truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath,
9 tribulation
and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of
the Gentile"
(Romans 2:6-9).
The Law of God shall be upheld, even if you choose not to do so. "Who knowing the Judgment of God, that they which commit such things are WORTHY of Death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them" (Romans 1:32). You will be a partaker in the Justice of God being executed, even if you are not willingly a party to it. Why? Because the Father in Heaven is a God of His Word, and "shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). Whether you choose to participate in the Judgment of God-- or not-- you will! There is a limit to your abuse of God. "Surely [even] the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou RESTRAIN" (Psalm 76:10).
"God will be as truly honored in the damnation of those who reject, as in the salvation of those who receive Christ.
- 1. Because it will be known He did all the nature of the case admitted, to save those who are lost--that when they had forfeited their lives, He took not the forfeiture at their hands. But when they infinitely deserved damnation, He pitied and spared, and sent his Son to die for them--that they refused salvation either by the law or gospel--that they would neither obey the law, nor repent and be forgiven--that nothing that infinite love could do for them, could persuade them to accept salvation.
- 2. His sending them to hell after manifesting so great a desire to save them, will most impressively demonstrate and illustrate his holiness and justice. So great was his pity and love for them, that He would sooner die Himself, in their behalf, than send them to hell, and yet so great is his holiness and justice, that when they refuse salvation upon the only principles that can reconcile justice and mercy, he does not hesitate to send them to the depths of hell. If an earthly sovereign should order his own children to execution, for rebellion against the laws, would not this be an impressive exhibition of his regard to public order, and of attachment to the principles of his government? What an amazing reluctance did God manifest in the Atonement, to sending sinners to hell. And after such an exhibition of bleeding mercy, if He is obliged to send them to hell, how infinitely honorable to Him, will be such an exhibition of his Holiness and Justice.
- 3. The damnation of the finally impenitent, will greatly increase public confidence in God. What a glorious magistrate is this, how infinitely desirous to avoid public execution, and yet so attached to the principles of his government, so in love with order, so high and holy in his regard to the public interests as to sentence his own children to an eternal hell, if they persist in rebellion, and those very children for whom his love is so great as to have laid down his own life for them! What must the universe think of a sovereign that could do this! What an infinitely holy and glorious king is this! And how must such an exhibition as this establish forever the confidence of all holy beings in Him and his government.
- 4. The damnation of the wicked, as rejecters of the gospel, will give to the law of God great power. The death of Christ has magnified the law, and made it honorable, has manifested God's great regard for it, and demonstrated that, sooner than repeal it, or suffer it to be trampled under foot, he would have his own Son to die, that a way might be opened for setting aside its penalty in consistency with the honor of its precept. The damnation of the wicked, will greatly strengthen the power of his law, by showing that so high is God's regard for it, that when so costly an expedient for setting aside its penalty had failed to subdue the sinner, he would execute his penalty upon him notwithstanding his love and compassion for him, were infinitely great."
--from "The Gospel the Savor of Life or of Death"
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/Oberlin_1840/OE1840.Gospel.Savor.html --
by C. G. Finney
Lecture XV
I. That God has great delight in the Atonement of Christ.
II. That a full exhibition of Christ must do great good, whether men are saved or lost.
III. That such an exhibition of Christ will produce great and manifest changes in the character of those who hear.
IV. That God will be as truly honored in the damnation of those who reject, as in the salvation of those who receive Christ.
But if you repent, "being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye
[shall] have your fruit unto Holiness, and the end Everlasting Life" (Romans 6:22).
"Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep
Mercy and Judgment, and wait on thy God continually"
(Hosea 12:6).
[PLEASE see our "Topical Links on Salvation" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Jehovah/Topical.Links.Salvation.html
--.]
Conclusion
Without Jesus Christ, we will pay our own sin debt, "for the wages of sin is
Death" (Romans 6:23).
With the Atoning Work of the Cross that the LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ suffered,
our debt of Death has been paid in full. He did that for us! As "The Gift of
God" (6:23),
the Father has given Jesus Christ, His Son, to us. He is our "Eternal Life"
(6:23). And, dear
reader, if you receive Him, this "Life" begins in you NOW. You will live
victoriously-- without sin-- ONLY if you live "through Jesus Christ"
(6:23). "In
this was manifested the Love of God toward us, because that God sent His Only Begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through Him" (1John 4:9).
What is your situation? Is it one of present hopelessness and utter despair, balancing
tenuously on the thin edge of the pit of Destruction? Then listen to the Pleading
of the One Who, so exquisitely gave up everything and suffered so incredibly for
you. Jesus Christ said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My
Word, and believeth on Him [the Heavenly Father] that sent Me, hath Everlasting Life,
and shall NOT come into Condemnation; but is passed from Death unto Life" (John 5:24). What more can
He say or do? He has done it all! Let C. G. Finney repeat:
"As saith the Scriptures, He is of God made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. What do you need? Wisdom? Here it is. Righteousness? Here it is. Sanctification? Here you have it. All is in Christ. Can you possibly think of any one thing needful for your moral purity, or your usefulness, which is not here in Christ? Nothing. All is provided here." --from "God's Love for A Sinning World" by Finney.
[Elaborating on the theme that Christ Jesus is the Christian's "All in All" (Ephesians 1:23), these two editions are most helpful: "In Christ Jesus -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/In.Christ.Jesus.html --, The Sphere of the Believer's Life" by A. T. Pierson and "The Relations of Christ to the Believer" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/Relations.Christ.Believer.html -- by Finney.]
Jesus saves us from past sins, but, when we trust Him
to do so, He also can save us from present and future sins. "8 For this purpose the Son
of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin; for His Seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he
is born of God" (1John 3:8-9). Are you, dear reader, a professing Christian? There is a sin-cancer
in the Church today. In this lying age in which we live, you have probably been taught
that a confession of Christ is ALL that you need to reach Heaven. That is
NOT the Truth of the Word of God. The Scripture says, "9 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. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and
with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation. 11 For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall
NOT be ashamed" (Romans 10:9-11). Many today profess that they have done this-- that they believe
in Christ-- and that they belong to Christ. But if your mouth professes Christ--
and your life does NOT-- then you have NOT REALLY BELIEVED! "They profess that
they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient,
and unto every good work reprobate" (Titus
1:16). The Word of God is clear in this. "20 But wilt thou know, O vain
man, that Faith without works is dead?... 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so Faith without works
is dead also" (James 2:20, 26). Jesus warns, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew
you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew
7:23). Remember, it is ONLY "he that shall endure
unto The End, the same shall be saved" (Matthew
24:13). [Please
read "He That Endureth to the End Shall Be Saved"
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/He.That.Endureth.to.the.En.html --, and "Is Faith the Only Condition for Eternal Salvation?" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/Is.Faith.the.Only.Conditio.html --. To understand the Biblical Doctrine of the Assurance
of Salvation and that only those who abide in Christ may KNOW that they have
Eternal Life, please read from the many selections on our "Topical Links on Sound Doctrine" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/Topical.Links.On.Doctrine.html --.]
May you not go through this life without the LORD Jesus Christ, "the Saviour
of the world" (John 4:42). May He be your "All in All" (Ephesians
1:23)-- for "Thou art my Portion, O LORD: I have
said that I would keep Thy Words" [Psalm
119:57])-- in this life, and in the next. "For
the LORD'S portion is His people" (Deuteronomy
32:9)!
"The Gift of God is Eternal Life through
Jesus Christ our LORD"
(Romans 6:23).
.
Related Topics:
"How to Trust God"
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/How.To.Trust.God.html --
"The Excellence of Love"
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/Edit_Excellence.of.Love.html --
.
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