Sinners do not want to acknowledge their personal sin
They are repelled to accept the pathetic and damning truth about their souls (1/7/10)
Of all the amazing sayings of Christ as recorded in the Christian 4 Gospels, Christ made the following stuning statement to certain Jewish people who continually hounded Him during His 3 year ministry [John 5:16-18]:
“But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” [John 5:40]
On another occasion, Christ said:
“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” [Gospel of John 3:19-21]
During my undergraduate academic schooling years, I was accustomed to (erroneously) think, that people (by and large) were repelled from the Christian Message and Faith, because they were generally ignorant of the Christian Religion’s unparalleled historical roots, oftentimes substantiated by other “Christian evidences,” such as archaeology.
I would often think that a person could be convinced of the historical fact of Christ, by logical persuasion and intellectual argument. By “Achieving” that “Process, I falsely believed that such and such a person, then, was well underway, doing the best thing for his precious soul, and thereby in the [final] process, would believe, and than would avoid the just punishment for personal sin, administered by a holy and just Creator God.
However, my reasoning was false. That foolhardy thinking does not match up with Christ’s own words, as referenced above. Even though souls could and would come back from the dead to convince people of the realities of eternity and the horrors of hell, humans will not be persuaded to change their thinking and behavior and to put their faith in Christ. [Luke 16:19-31 – especially verse 27-31]
Even at death’s door people will generally live their remaining moments as they have lived, all their life
Death bed conversions are few and far between. They are as scarce as hen's teeth. That is one of the reasons why the Good Lord urges: “Seek the Lord while He may be found……." [Isaiah 55:6-7]
One of the worst civilian airline crashes in history took place on the Canary Islands in 1977 when two Boeing 747’s collided. I remember hearing Dr. James D. Kennedy one Sunday. In his sermon message he related how many of the passengers reacted upon the fiery impact. He stated that many of them were heard to have spoken their last, in profusely cursing fashion. Rather than making their “peace with God,” their last earthly moments, some were cursing God – living their last gasping moments in the smoking inferno the way they had lived their lives.
The sad fact remains – people will clasp and grasp their personal sin until their life’s end. By and large most people will not recognize the present and eternal reality of unforgiven sin in their lives. They will take that sin to their deaths and enter a godless eternity -- thinking that they do not qualify for a holy Creator God’s just accounting. Others are just as without a clue, in that in this life, they deny their created existence and deny the very God that rules all.
Wise up Friend and smell the “Gospel coffee”
Friend, even if you have the worst impression of Christian people, the Christian religion and the Christian holy book, the Bible, you owe it to your priceless soul to read the words of Christ. Of all the books in the world – past and present, the Gospels are the most important.
Don’t allow someone’s opinion or interpretation to formulate your thinking about Jesus Christ; what he said and the purpose for which he lived, died and rose from the dead. Don’t allow yourself to be sweet talked and snake charmed that you and your human ancestors evolved from some lower form of life. Don’t allow anyone to belittle or demean your eternal and priceless soul.
Come to realize that you are a sinner, by God’s standards – not your own. After all, His standards are the only that ultimately count. Even if your mind cannot fathom many realities, expose your sinful life to that of Christ’s sinless existence. Read those Gospels and pay particular attention to the prophesied fulfillment of Christ’s birth, life, death, burial and resurrection from the dead, (documented in human history). Regard your soul with kit gloves. Cry out to Christ that he be merciful to you, a sinner. [Luke 18:9-14] May you also face the reality that your soul is not yours to save by repeating a prescription prayer formula. [Gospel of John 1:12-13 ; John 3:1-21 – especially verse 3 -- Young's literal translation]
This Sunday’s Message, Related Scriptures:
Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures:
Psalm 1 –The way of the righteous and the way of the unrighteous
New Testament Christian Scriptures:
The Gospel of John, Chapter 3:1-21 – Christ must illuminate the needy and sinful human soul. Most Biblical translations render [the wording] that the sinful soul must be "Born 'again.'" [John 3] However, the more correct Greek rendering, is the phrase in verse 3 -- being born “From above.” ["ανωθεν" -- "from above; by analogy from the first; by implication anew: - from above, again, from the beginning (very first), the top" - Strong's C.] This correlates with John 1:12-13. Even though a sinner is commanded to repent and believe, that process initiates from the good and gracious action of a loving Triune God.
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Of Whom Does the Prophet Speak" -- by Victor Buksbazen -- an in-depth view of Isaiah 53 and the prophecy of Christ, hundred of years before his birth. Isaiah 53 underscores the truthfulness of Divine Revelation as exemplified in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Note for further reference and understanding:
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Rev. Nathan Bickel – Bay City, MI
