As I have
watched the deterioration of our North American culture,[1]
and the apostasy of churches that are falling away as Jesus prophesied,[2] I
have been praying about how to communicate the gospel to people who would
rather accommodate sin than experience deliverance.
The issue
standing out to me is that there are particular sins that are treated as so
inherently bound up in who we are that not even God can expect us to be
different. The perception is that, if we were “born that way,” God is powerless
to birth us again into newness of life that frees us from our sin. The only
solution (as many churches attest), is to show love through accepting sinners
rather than saving them.
What I would
like to do is present the hope of Christ as it directly relates to the belief
and feeling that some sins are so powerfully bound to our human identity that
people cannot see how God could make them different, or how God’s difference
would be preferable to their present sinful condition.
In order to
come up with a resource that fully responds to this hopeless belief, I will use
this post to begin compiling the breathed-out truths from God that give hope to
every sinner, no matter what their sin. I will focus on one or two Scriptures
or truths that are inherent to the gospel message, and are true for one sinner
as well as another.
Today I begin
with two realities that must stay together in our proclamation of the good news
of the gospel. When people say they are born as the sinners they are, I must
agree with them. When they say they are hopelessly bound to stay that way, I
must disagree with them. The deadly power of sin meets its superior in the super
abundant power of God to save sinners.
With that in
mind, here is a look at the two sides of this picture.
1. The Inherent
Deadliness of Sin
Yes, sin is
deadly-powerful. Yes, sin is powerfully deadly. In ourselves, sin is hopeless;
no argument there.
This is essential
to an understanding of the good news of the gospel, that sin is impossible for
sinful human beings to fix. We cannot change ourselves. Left to ourselves, even
the greatest devotion to good works will not save us from the sins we have
committed. We are guilty of sin, and all our sin must be punished as prescribed
by the law of God’s holiness.
God’s book
tells us that, “all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God,”[3]
and that “the wages of sin is death.”[4] It
testifies that, “whoever does not believe
is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son
of God,”[5]
and “whoever does not obey the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”[6]
The
hopelessness of man’s sinful condition is expressed in Scriptures like, “The natural person does not accept the
things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to
understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”[7] The
reason for this is explained in this way, “In
their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to
keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is
the image of God.”[8]
Added to this
are clear revelations from God that, “the
mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to
God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”[9]
The reason for this inability to choose God’s ways is because, “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in
which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children
of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”[10]
All this to say that sin is inherently deadly.
No one can escape sin’s power, or the judgment and condemnation it deserves, by
any form of human effort. People were and are “born that way” and have no hope
of changing in themselves.
Which brings
us to the good news.
2. The Unstoppable
Power of the Gospel
When people
accommodate sin instead of administer the grace of God that delivers from sin,
it is because they have forsaken the wonderful realities of who God is, and
what he has done for us through the gospel. While loving sinners and accepting
them just as they are may sound so much more noble and honorable than calling
sinners to salvation, the reality is that leaving sinners in the deadly grip of
sin and its condemnation is not the least bit loving at all.
When we hear
the gospel announce that, “God so loved
the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life,”[11]we
have the ultimate expression of love in relation to sin. This love admits that
sinners will perish apart from an act of God. This love encompasses the whole
world so that people from every tribe and nation are invited to experience what
love has done.[12]
This love provides a solution to sin so that people will not perish as their
sins deserve, but can “have eternal life”
they do not deserve. That is what love does with sin.
The message
of the gospel tells us that the deadly power of sin is weaker than the power of
God to save sinners. God’s book says, “For
I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to
everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”[13]
At the time this was declared, Jews and Greeks were the opposing worldviews of
the day. God’s book told both Jews and Greeks that it was the gospel that was
the power of God for salvation. Neither the Jewish religion, nor Greek
mythologies, could save anyone. But the gospel of Jesus Christ had the power of
God to do so. The same is true today as it was then.
The point is
that, the power of the gospel to save sinners is greater than the power of sin
to hold sinners under the sentence of death. God tells us that, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the
more.”[14]This
means we can name any sin, and there is more grace to save than there is power
in the sin to destroy. Even where we see the increase of sin around us,
including rebellious churches, grace continues to abound “all the more,” so that sinners of every kind are freed from their
sin.
Jesus expressed
this power of salvation so clearly when he declared, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free.”[15]
He then added, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in
the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you
will be free indeed.”[16]
This is
personal. All who practice sin are slaves to sin because we cannot free
ourselves from its grip, or the work of Satan to steal, kill, and destroy.[17] Jesus
comes to free people from sin, and anyone who does come to him will be “free indeed,” or free for real.
It is no wonder
that the birth of Jesus Christ was announced in this way, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be
for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”[18]
The birth of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh,[19]
God with us,[20]brought
the good news of the gospel, the possibility of great joy for all the people.
Because “a Savior,” was born, there
was now hope for every sinner.
Even while so
many churches do the unloving thing of confirming sinners in their sin, we have
this wonderful gift of God that delivers people from their sin and presents
them holy and righteous in God’s sight, no matter what sin they were starting
from. Let us be the bearers of such good news as this.
In my next
installment of “The Gospel For All Sinners,” I want to consider the message of,
“to everyone who believes.”[21]It
is essential to recognize this, that the good news of the gospel is applied to
our lives through belief, or faith, or trust in God and his gift. This is what
adds so much to our hope in Jesus Christ, that it is for those who believe in
him that sin loses all its power, and the super-abundant power of the gospel
delivers from sin.
If you would
like to help me compile Scriptures together into a message of hope you would
happily share with people you know, feel free to add Scriptures to the comment
section below. You can also email me with anything you believe should be included
in addressing the unloving accommodation of sin we see taking place all around
us. Where such sin increases, the grace of God abounds all the more. Let’s work
together as the body of Christ to make this good news known throughout the
world.
© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
II Timothy 3:1-5
[2]
Matthew 24:10
[3]
Romans 3:23
[4]
Romans 6:23
[5]
John 3:18
[6]
John 3:36
[7]
I Corinthians 2:14
[8]
II Corinthians 4:4
[9]
Romans 8:7-8
[10]
Ephesians 2:1-3
[11]
John 3:16
[12]
Revelation 5:9; 7:9
[13]
Romans 1:16
[14]
Romans 5:20
[15]
John 8:31-32
[16]
John 8:34-36
[17]
John 10:10
[18]
Luke 2:10-11
[19]
Philippians 2:1-11 (particularly 2:7-8); Colossians 2:9
[20]
Matthew 1:23
[21]
Romans 1:16
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