Some people say they have no faith. I suspect they don’t really mean that. They have a stern face, but Then they go and and  insulate to battle the shivers of a Chicago cold-front; or when the people without faith have never seen wind but we fear the destructive power of a hurricane; we have never seen electricity but each day it powers our lights, lamps, TV’s, and computers; we have never seen gravity, yet none of us would dare jump a cliff without a parachute. It as if we accept the most common place aspects of daily living, without even realizing it. We cannot explain gravity itself; electricity itself; wind itself; or heat itself, we simply accept that each of these items exist by their effects. There is, in all ways of knowing, a degree of faith involved in the acquisition of knowledge.

Knowledge, according Aristotle, is “justified true belief”. Therefore, off of his definition, we know tennis balls and bowling balls fall from balconies at the same rate, we know nothing in energy can be created or destroyed but only transferred, and we know every action has an equal and opposite reaction, not simply because we want to believe that, but because we are justified in that belief—and that is knowledge. Knowledge is not simply belief itself but belief that can be justified with viable reasons.

Belief and faith are often used interchangeably. For example, while I believe 49ers will win the Superbowl in, I am also using faith to believe that.

Definition of Justification

What is justification? Justification is when God 1.) thinks of a sinner as forgiven in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, and 2.) God thinks of a sinner as righteous in Christ’s righteousness.

Justification is a judicial, legal transaction, like a judge acquitting a criminal. God creates a divine loophole wherein a sinner is seen as Christ and Christ is seen as a sinner. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Without Justification

Imagine a divine court case and God is the Judge. Like all good judges, He has done His homework, and has before Him a Book on everyone’s history. In this Book every sin of mine and yours against His Law is written: every white lie, every false motive, every indignant thought, and everything done in secret or out in the open. By the Standard of that Law which has either been communicated to us through the Bible, moral teachings, or has been written on everyone’s conscience so that none are without excuse, by that perfect Standard God will judge you and me.

At first thought, one may contemplate ‘every sin’, and rationalize, “I’m not that bad. I’ve done reasonably more good than bad, so I should fare better than most”. That thought is not abnormal, and in fact it’s true: you and I probably will fare better than most. It is important though, to consider the actual severity of our sins against a holy God.

 The question comes down to: Why is justification so essential? In other words, how will you and I be judged without justification?

Apart from justification we will be judged not only by the bad we decided to do but also by the good we decided not to (James 4:17). In addition, we will be judged harsher or softer in proximity to our judgement of others and our knowledge of the rules. Finally and most terrifyingly we will be judged not simply by the sins we have committed but by the infinite worth of the One whom we’ve committed them against.

Imagine meeting the president of the United States. He knocks on the door to your house one night, and greets you, “Hello, _____(insert your name). It’s great to meet you! May I come in?” he asks you in a spirited voice. In return you welcome him with a sock to the stomach, and then steal his wallet. That’s bad. No, that’s really really bad. But why? Why is this act in particularly more offensive than lets say kicking and stealing from some random dog on the street. It’s because crime is measured not only by the offense done, but also by the worth of the one to whom the offense was done to.

In other words, our sin is no trivial matter in this court case: The one whom we’ve sinned against is not the president of the United States, who is of marginal human worth—oh how I wish it was only that—but of a holy God who is of infinite worth, and thus regards sin an infinite offense. If we think about the universe, imagine the power of the Creator, imagine the holy God who is himself blameless, imagine the He who sustains every life and every breath at every moment, and we should not be encouraged by the level of sin in our life, but instead—distraught. We sinned against Him?

As human beings, no matter the quantity: we have all sinned (Romans 3:23), and are guilty in this court case. No one is a ‘good person’ and Romans 3:11-12 makes that painfully clear. Everyone’s plight according to the Bible, without justification, will be a frightening silence of confession; we have no defense, we are truly guilty. It’s a more than terrible fate that is likened to “fire”, “darkness”, “gnashing of teeth”, “vengeance”, and “wrath”. Essentially the Bible writers are trying to attach words to a fate that is so terrible, it is difficult to accurately describe with words.

With Justification

The Gospel is justification: that is the ‘good news’ that we are forgiven of all our sins and crediting with the beautiful righteousness of Christ!

Justification is essentially a divine acquittal: It is the wonderful freeing from the dreadful plight of guilt before a holy God, and is the hugest act of mercy: forgiveness and restoration to a righteous standing in God’s sight. The justification of a man who breaks every human law in the courts of men, pales in comparison to the justification of a man who breaks every divine law in the courts of God.

In the simplest form, justification is ‘getting right with God’ by dealing with the ‘sin problem’. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”(Romans 8:1).

As John MacArthur reminds us, “Justification is… a completed fact for the believer; it is not an ongoing process.” It is a once and for all, crediting of a sinner as justified before God’s sight.

Justification ‘in Christ’

There is only one condition that must be met to be justified: ‘in Christ’.

That is how one is justified, ‘in Christ’! One is baptized (literally ‘placed into’) Christ by faith in the Gospel (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12).

Justification by Grace through Faith

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2).

One is truly justified not by good works, but by grace through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Implications of Justification

A puritan once put it: “Faith justifies the person, and works justify his faith.” In other words, God justifies us not because we have done good works, but so that we may be able to do them (Titus 3:4-7). Sanctification is then, not an option for genuine justification, but a necessary product of a life spiritually placed in Christ. It is imperative that once we believe we have been justified we make sure to check that we are being sanctified. “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”(James 2:17).

Justification in My Life

I was justified in God’s sight after REVIVAL 07 when the grace of God gave me a new heart to repent of my sins and put my faith in the Gospel. Justification in my life was an instantaneous event and it can never be taken away from me. Sanctification is an on-going event and it’s existence proves my justification. In other words, the reason I know I was justified is because I began to be sanctified.

Praise God,  that he made me right before His sight, when I deserved to be punished for my sins!

The Definition of Grace

What is Grace? Grace in its purest form is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners, the sanctification of saints, and the day-to-day blessings of ordinary life. In short, as C.H. Spurgeon wrote,  it is all of grace! In Scripture, while grace has a singular definition (unmerited favor) there are multiple forms of grace of which I will discuss: Common Grace, Saving Grace, and Sanctifying Grace. Grace is both doctrinal and practical and will not only affect the Christian mind it will transform the regenerate soul.

Common Grace

Common Grace is the universal blessings of God to all people who otherwise deserve condemnation. In Matthew 5:45 Jesus states that God, “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Additionally Psalm 145:9 tell us that “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” Finally in Luke 6:35 Jesus commands us to love our enemies just as the “Most High…is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” A biblical definition of grace would easily conclude that everything good is by grace, and thus from God (James 1:17). This would, if taken to its fullest extent, include any “good” action done by a non-Christian, such as loving a neighbor or buying a hungry person a taco. (Sidebar: for Christians, their good deeds are superseded by what is called sanctifying grace of which I will explain later.) Finally, whether it is good moral actions (from a sinner), pleasant weather, a just ruler, or anything good in nature, it is to be attributed as the common grace of God.

Practical Implications:

Because God loves all people, via common grace, Christians should love all people as well, even their enemies.

I should praise and thank God for every blessing of common grace because I am an undeserving sinner.

Saving Grace

Saving Grace is the regeneration, redemption, and justification of a sinner, entirely by the sovereign act of God, and not of any human will or exertion. Hardly is there a more clear statement concerning the nature of saving grace than Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works…” Furthermore, Peter, in response to a debate concerning the Law, concluded, “But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” (Acts 15:11). Lastly, Paul exclaims in Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people…”

It is essential to clarify that grace, including saving grace, by very definition, cannot be earned by obeying the Law (Romans 11:6), and if, as Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witness, and all other religions that believe a person is saved by any addition of good works to the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, according to Galatians 5:4, has ”fallen away from grace”, and is an non-saved, unregenerate, non-Christian. First, in all honesty, what mortal man is righteous enough to justify himself before a holy God, whom, if we recall (Habakkuk 1:13), by nature cannot even tolerate a micro-particle of sin? For we cannot deny, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20), and in Romans 3:10,20, “None is righteous, no, not one…For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Second, the unmerited quality of grace in salvation is duly emphasized in Scripture: “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).

Wait. Are good works entirely excluded from true saving grace, then? Do not fall into that trap: The saving grace of God is not a ‘get out of jail free card’ (that’s Cheap Grace), and although saving grace is never earned, it is in itself, the power to live free from sin, and, if real, results in an affluence of good works and a transformed life of godliness (more on that later). It is important to clarify this often misunderstood truth: Good works then, are not the means by which someone will be saved, but the ends by which that salvation, if it is genuine, will produce. Paul concludes Ephesians 2:10 with the affirmation that while no one will be saved by good works, “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…” In short, “Grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them” (St. Augustine). And James 2:17 affirms that, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” The 16^th century reformer Martin Luther cleverly put it, “We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone…” Lastly 1 John 2:3-4 proclaims clearer than any other passage: “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Consider these three helpful equations concerning salvation in Getting It Right by Dr. Mike Fabarez:

1st wrong arrangement:

The Gospel + Repentance/Faith + Good Works = Salvation

2nd wrong arrangement:

The Gospel + Repentance/Faith = Salvation

The Biblical arrangement:

The Gospel + Repentance/Faith = Salvation + Good Works

Sanctifying Grace

Sanctifying grace is the new-found Christian ability to stop sinning and pursue righteousness. In other words, grace is not an excuse to sin, but the power not to. In Titus 2:11-12, sanctifying grace is explained like this, “For the grace of God has appeared…training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul claims, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” Paul was no ‘super-apostle’ of his own accord, but it was the sanctifying grace of God that gave him such ambitious faith! Therefore our spiritual gifts, our demeanor, our actions, and our good works are all by grace! A great example was the Macedonian church in 2 Corinthians 8:1-3, in which Paul says of them, “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia…” and then he goes off on how generous they have been because of this “grace of God”, that has enabled them to be so generous. Even our good works, while externally performed, are really internally driven by the Spirit of God and the grace of God. Thus it is only the grace of God that moves the Christian along in their gradual sanctification.

The Gospel of God’s Grace:

This is the Gospel of God’s Grace: Jesus died and resurrected three days later (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). How is that grace? By faith (virtually doing nothing but trusting Jesus) I am trusting in two specific graces that I do not deserve: 1.) The price for my sin was paid in full upon the cross, and 2.) The righteousness required to gain access to Heaven is in Jesus’ life. That’s good news! Praise God for His wonderful Gospel!

How Grace Works in My Life:

The real test is this: how will grace affect my life? John Piper wrote an exceptional book called Faith in Future Grace, which left a more than profound impact on my life. His thesis was: Christians are purified when they remember the “bygone” grace of God and use that as kindling to fuel their faith in the promises of God’s “future grace”!

While all this is helpful information, it is worthless unless I translate it into action.

First I plan on praying! Earnest prayer is a genuine banking reliance on the future promises of God, sincerely asking of Him that which he has already promised (i.e. sanctification). Since grace is entirely of God, I plan on “praying for grace” in my daily prayers.

Second I plan on banking much more on the promises of God’s future grace.

Here’s an illustration. God owns a bank, and he has a lot of “bank” if you know what I mean. Yet on this earth I make investments daily. When I play a sport that’s an investment, or when I take a class that’s an investment. Yet heavenly investments are when I invest in God’s bank. Essentially I cash coins in at God’s bank, in hopes that I will one day withdraw a huge return. This is what it means to set my treasures in Heaven, to cash in all my “money” in hopes that in Heaven I will reap the surplus of heavenly wealth. This is the great grace investment: that I give to God what He has given to me, in order that I may receive from God what I gave to Him and more! The exchange is cashing in all my “wealth” as an investment in the Heavenly kingdom! It is observing the promises of God and then believing them to be true! In practice, it’s not worrying about tomorrow because God promised he’s in control, etc.

Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of reading A.W. Tozer’s book, The Knowledge of the Holy. I deeply enjoyed this book! The book was a struggle of thought and mind, for while one may apprehend the person of God, who can comprehend Him entirely? That is not because Tozer is an unskilled writer, for I have honestly read few authors who rival Tozer’s writing style. It is the subject matter, not the author that puzzles, because as Tozer pointed out, “Without doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God, and the weightiest word in any language is its word for God.” As Tozer stated as well,

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

And is that not the truth? For what is more important to man than to know the One whom he was created by? For if man was created in the image of God, then by studying Him, should he discover not only himself but the one whom he was created for as well? I contest against the philosophy of “Know thyself”, for I believe by studying God, one not only comes into the most perfect perception of himself, but also the one who created him.

“All the problems of heaven and earth, though they were to confront us together and at once, would be nothing compared with the overwhelming problem of God: That He is; what He is like; and what we as moral beings must do about Him.”

It is hard for me to conceive, much less wonder what is the most heinous of sins? Oh, how manifold are the sins of man! Solomon, the wisest of kings observed from his old age, “See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes”(Ecc. 7:29). With all this rebellion, what is the root? What is the underlying cause for the sinfulness of man? While the answer is deeply layered and a lengthy topic at that, A.W. Tozer claims to have the solemn answer. He reasons in his book The Knowledge of the Holy that the root to sin, the one that propels most men and women to rebel against God, is rooted in something much more fundamental than what we may think. He writes,

“The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us.”

Essentially, Tozer says, we don’t know God. And I agree with him! The 21st century church, by and large, has fashioned for itself a God other than the one who is, and has settled for a god who is merely the fantasy of their minds, rather the reality of the fact.

“The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men. This she has not done deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic.”

If we are to fix our problems, if we are to mend the damage that we have done, Tozer claims, it is not God who must change, it is entirely us. God is immutable, infinite, eternal, holy, loving, and just… Let us not reduce Him to something less than he actually is, for that is nothing less than idolatry, because idolatry is worshiping a man-made image rather than the one true God. It disturbs me to think of the countless churches across America who worship a god other than the one who is. The most cunning trick of Satan, the most sinful act of man is that of “exchang[ing] the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man”(Rom. 1:23).

“The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men. This she has not done deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic.”

Even God himself contests against us in Psalm 50:21, “These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.”

Above all if there is one problem, one thorn currently plaguing the church today and it is the forsaken knowledge of the Holy! We conceive of a God of love without justice and justice without love, and entirely we know not that we have already missed the point. It is both! We must rid ourselves of the idea that God is either love or just, for an attribute of God is not something true about God it is who He is. Let us reform our views, let us return to what the Bible has to say about God. Let us renew again knowledge of God’s holiness, striving to purify our view of God. Tozer answers to the question “What can we plain Christians do to bring back the departed glory?”

“Acquaint thyself with God. To regain her lost power the Church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God.”

Yet the church is no an anonymous body or “a mystical religious abstraction”.

We Christians are the Church and whatever we do is what the Church is doing. The matter. therefore, is for each of us a personal one. Any forward step in the Church must begin with the individual.

Join me in individually elevating your view of God to, as cliche as it may sound, be the change.

To God be the glory!

“Prayer is the greatest of all forces, because it honors God and brings him into active aid.” -E.M. Bounds

In the Beginning… man and God had conversations. All was deemed “good” and Adam and Eve enjoyed fellowship with their Creator.

Then sin showed up and ever since the Fall, a Great Wall of sin separated man from God: that is, sin.

The two kingdoms, the Kingdom of God, adorned with righteousness, goodness, and God himself, and the Kingdom of Man, wherein darkness inhabits, sin is praised, and none seek God (Psalm 14) have been separated by this Great Wall of sin.

But the few who are chosen to choose God (Eph. 1:5-10), that Great Wall of sin is broken down, and a Door between God and man is established (John 10:9), and the key to that Door is faith in the Holy One (Rom. 1:17), Jesus Christ.

The Conqueror who broke down that Great Wall of sin is Jesus. Through his Death and Resurrection he established a New Covenant, one that “made a way” for the Kingdom of God to be established upon earth. Through Christ, the elect are reconciled to God and the hostility that separated man and God is quenched and peace reigns.

For because of salvation we now can pray! Can non-Christians pray? Sure, but God’s not listening. But for those reborn, enlivened with the Spirit of God, they can pray and God is listening! They pray with the imputation of the Holy One: so that in Christ, God now sees Christians as Jesus, and He willingly grants whatever asked in His Name.

Undoubtedly, prayer is above all, a privilege! “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?”(Deut. 4:7). We who have been saved, were once enemies of God, sinners, living in ungodliness, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”(Rom. 5:8).

Prayer is a means by which we receive more grace, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith”(Matt. 21:22).

The month of May has been a stretching month, primarily because I made a longstanding commitment to pray everyday. E.M. Bounds was right, “The little estimate we put on prayer is evidence from the little time we give to it.” After this month I am truly  convinced that for those who excuse that they can’t afford time to pray, quite the opposite is true; they can’t afford not to pray. Join me and make prayer your daily habit!

Psalm 98:1 “Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!”

I’ve always wondered, what’s this “new song” psalmists’ frequently refer to? It’s always puzzled me…

My study Bible takes a stab at it; it says, the “new song”, “need not imply a freshly composed song; instead it may mean singing this song as a response to a fresh experience of God’s grace.”

So this “new song”, doesn’t necessarily mean, make God a brand new song, but reflect upon his grace once again and sing that song with a renewed admiration of God’s “salvation” and His “marvelous” works.

I know I’m not alone, but I’m constantly confronted with the temptation to “just sing along” during worship. It is often difficult to renew again the goodness of God’s grace all over again. It would be like responding with the same excitement over receiving a present you received two years ago. Yet, I don’t believe the “new song” is referring to having the same excitement as you did when you were saved…

The “new song”, or new gaze upon the beauty of God’s grace, is not like renewing excitement for an old present (for presents don’t last forever because of loss of sheen and usefulness; and grace is very much a different kind of present), but looking at God’s gift with new insight and new admiration.

In reality, the “new song”, should in fact be more exciteful, more insightful, and more profound than when a person is young, just saved, and with only elementary knowledge of God’s grace.

See, worship is often trite and redundant, not because the song is getting old to us, but because our knowledge of God is not growing. The problem is not the songs redundancy but our mind’s immaturity. If we would grow in our knowledge of God, worship would revolutionize each time we approached it. I pray that, each day, we would renew the “new song” in our hearts, with a constant study and application of the living word which transforms souls from one degree of brightness to the next, until the brightness of full day is unveiled!

Join me, and sing to the Lord a “new song” with a fresh perspective and renewed admiration of God’s grace, with an escalated experience of worship and joyful praise to God each and every song we sing! Amen, “so be it, O Lord”!

The impact of Jesus’ life is simply remarkable! Far more than any other figure in all of antiquity, kings, leaders, philosophers, rulers, the historical Jesus managed to alter the fabric of the world by a mere three-year ministry, death upon a Roman cross, and resurrection from a solemn grave. Even if one is skeptical of Jesus, the impact of his life is simply remarkable. He has done what men of history have only barely accomplished, “turn the world upside down”, and as the Bible puts it—through the simple Jesus—make “foolish the wisdom of this world”(1 Cor. 3:20).

But honestly, how? Think about it…how could a poor homeless man change the world? History tells us that Jesus was an obscure man from an obscure village, with an obscure following of fishermen and tax collectors—most importantly preaching an obscure message of salvation by grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus who claimed to be God (Jn. 8:58). Not only that, he claimed exclusivity, to be the only way to Heaven, thus indirectly negating all other religions (Jn. 14:6). The story of Jesus in scope looks to be the story of foolishness, yet from an aerial view, in light of all history, it is a story of God shaming the wisdom of this world and exalting that choice wisdom of the Most High.

As the Apostle Paul wrote,

“…God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

Jesus is a man who simply cannot be ignored. His impact is unparalleled, so much so that you cannot study history without beginning with his life and death (B.C. & A.D.). In 1926 James Allen wrote a simple yet poignant sermon that depicts just how remarkable Jesus’ life and ministry was:

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty He never wrote a book; He never held an office; He never went to college; He never visited a big city; He never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place where he was born; He did none of the things usually associated with greatness; He had no credentials but himself; He was only thirty-three. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies,  and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone and today Jesus is the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress. All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned put together, have not affected the life of mankind on earth as powerfully as that…

…one solitary life.

So what’s the point? The point is that even through weak men, through depressing circumstances, through adamant opposition, and through the ministry and death of a homeless man, the Christian population exploded—5000 in the first day—because precisely, this was more than some homeless man, he was and is God. The Resurrection was just proof: it was the very miraculous evidence of Jesus’ deity needed to convince the 500 plus people who saw Jesus in his resurrected body, and eventually hundreds faced martyrdom on the stake of that testimony—Jesus rose from the dead. Given, while misguided people might die for a lie they think is true, these hundreds would not die for a lie they knew was a lie. The New Testament writers were in a position to know the real truth about the Resurrection, yet they still died for it. The sheer explosion of growth in the Christian church amongst vehement opposition gives compelling testimony to the Resurrection and its trustworthiness!

I just finished reading a book titled The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment by Tim Challies. It enlightened me to the dangers of false doctrine and counterfeit truths. Everywhere falsehood wages war against our minds and our hearts.

The difference…is clear: for something to be counterfeit it must attempt to represent something that is genuine.

How deception pervades our society! Oh the media… Too often do their tricks lead us to follow vain pursuits. Advertisements, commercials, internet, TV, radio, billboards… Who is telling the truth? What is really real? I’ve recently wondered, why is it that the majority of professing Christians feel incapable of distinguishing between reality and fantasy, truth and lies? Is it because it is hard and the world is too deceptive—and don’t get me wrong the world is very deceptive and tempting—or is it because we neglect to read the very Source of truth, the Bible. Although our society seems to be ignorant of the differences between real and fake, Christians, by the grace of God, should be capable of deciphering the reality behind the illusion. We need only to pursue diligently the discipline of spiritual discernment.

Just as germs are constantly waging war on our bodies, false doctrine is constantly raging against our faith. God has provided us with discernment to enable us to withstand these attacks.

The axiom is fitting: Nothing is what it seems. Society tells us, “Appearance is everything,” but the wise and learned warn, “Appearance is deceitful”. While the human intellect and wisdom are God-given tools of practicing discernment they are insufficient. Jeremiah 17:9 warns us, “The heart (mind) is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick…” In order to genuinely know truth from error we must consult the infallible source of truth, and in John 17:17, Jesus, in his High Priestly Prayer, prays to God the Father, “your word is truth”. The Bible is unique; it’s a measurement of absolute precision, a book of timeless exactitude. In Hebrews 4:12-14 it says that, “the word of God is…sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” While persons view reality in dim lighting, God views reality with striking clarity. In order to see things as they actually are we must adopt the spotless lens of God.

We must determine whether something is good or evil, right or wrong, based on the objective, unmoving standard of the Bible rather than on our subjective, constantly shifting feelings and preferences.

Discernment is synonymous with wisdom; it is the application of the Bible to distinguish truth from non-truth. Theology is not just the pursuit of knowledge, it’s as the Puritans say, the pursuit of a “God-ward” life.

Tim Challies goes to great effort to define discernment in exact terms. Discernment is:

…the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong

Throughout the book  counterfeit currency is a recurring analogy. In order to discern if a dollar is a true dollar, one must hold it up to the light. Interestingly, if one desires to know if something is true, he or she must examine it in light of Scripture. All throughout the Bible God is described as the light shining into the darkness exposing it for what it really is. Likewise, truth is discerned only in light of Scripture. In order to discern the truth we must know the Bible.

It is absolutely essential. Study the Bible! Read it daily! Gain discernment! We desperately need it. The devil is prowling about seeking for someone to devour; he is never obvious and always subtle in his tricks. He will question, as he did to Adam and Eve, “Did God really say…?” Our primary weapon of defense against the devil’s attacks is God’s word.

Our goal in discernment is to do just this: to see things through God’s eyes through the Bible and thus to see things as they really are. Like wiping the steam from a mirror, we seek to remove what is opaque so we might see with God-given clarity.

O’ Lord, we are in dire need of discernment! Grant us the ability to apply wisdom, depend upon your word, and expose the falsehood of this world. May we cling to the light, and therefore cling to your Truth! Amen!

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 6:23

Everyone’s heard of certain  ‘bad guys’ throughout history who’ve committed heinous crimes: mass genocides, loathsome murders, corrupt tyrants and evil dictators, slavery, racism, and all the like. Crimes like these litter our history like a black stain on a white cloth. It is an awful sight! We can easily conclude from history that our bad supersedes our good, and sadly we’re not improving. With the advent of newer technology, more efficient weaponry has instigated some of the most devastating and detrimental warfare our eyes or ears have seen or heard. Our world is spiraling downwards into an increasingly corrupt position of depravity.

My question for us today is: What will God think of us when He comes back? Our sin is a blemish that God cannot fail to recognize. How will we wriggle free from the mess we’ve placed ourselves in?

First, let’s take a few steps back: Who is to blame for this incessant sin problem—God who created us or man? People often accuse God: with all this evil in the world, famine, poverty, immorality, how can a good God truly exist? It is not reasonable to believe in a good God when all this pain and sorrow and sin exist, right? God must not exist, because God couldn’t have made a world this sinful. In fact, why didn’t he stop the sin before it started!

In the words of Lecrae, “Sorry. Wrong question! Ask again. Why hasn’t God let you feel the wrath of sin (Lecrae, Truth)?”

Making excuses in no way alleviates the guilt of our sin! What do we expect: to be wiped clean of all our transgressions just because God has created us and this world is horrible? How does that work! His creation of us, only proves that what God has made upright, we have turned into sin.

Even still, let’s take a few more steps back: What really is sin? Isn’t sin anything against God, anything that hates his perfect way? Are we to blame God for sin when sin is the perversion of what God has made right? How does that even make sense?

Many people probe God (which is a problem in itself) asking, why didn’t God just stop sin when He saw it at the beginning? Couldn’t God have put an end to the famine, poverty, and racism that’s stinking up this earth? How can God, be good if He just allows sin to occur? Wait a second, think about that complaint. They want God to stop sin? Where should he stop then: the lying level, the cheating level, the murdering level? God hates all sin. That means they want God to stop all sin, that includes our small sins too. Be careful what you wish for! God cannot just stop at the ‘big’ sins, he hates lying, cheating and the like just as much as he hates murder and rape. If you want God to squash sin, that means we’ll be squashed too!

So what are we to conclude then? Is God unjust because this world is? No way, rather the injustice of this world proves that God has not made us for this life, but for the next! As C.S. Lewis put it, the only logical conclusion is to believe that God has made us for another place, our true Country.

Did you think we could get away with our sin this easily? God is not unjust, and he is obligated by his holiness to punish all that is in assault to pure goodness. And we rejoice, because he’s going to punish the Hitler’s and Stalin’s of our day in accord with the terrors of their evil crimes, but we must not be fooled. We have warranted our own condemnation as well. Wait a second, isn’t God being a tad harsh though? Can’t our good deeds, outweigh our bad ones? How can a good God really punish a person who has done more good than bad? What of characters like Gandhi? Is he really going to pay for the little he did wrong?

Imagine this: the president shows up to your house one day desiring to meet you. What an honor! As he reaches out to shake your hand you give him a good punch in the side, right where it hurts. Wham. But, he shrugs it off because—you know—he’s a nice guy and he thinks there’s some sort of misunderstanding. Except, as soon as he enters and set’s down his coat,  you decide to sneakily steal his wallet. Bravo my friend, you have officially punched and pirated the president!  What’s the difference between an act like that, and stealing and punching, let’s say, a dog or a cat. Which one’s worse? Well they’re both bad, but surely the former is more cruel than the latter because the object that is receiving the offense is greater. From this we can reason, an offense is measured not just by what has been done, but also by how valuable or significant the object receiving the offense is. This is why it’s to steal from the president, than from the bum on the street corner.

Apply that logic now to an infinite God. Each sin is a personal affront to the way God created everything. Every lie magnifies itself as a twisting of the truth. It grows to be an infinite offense because God (the object) is infinite in worth. Sin against and infinite God warrants infinite punishment because the object is greater and is of infinite value and significance. Therefore, God’s infinite worth demands infinite punishment. Even Gandhi has lied or slighted the truth a little, and even small sins warrant an infinite degree of punishment because it is directed towards an infinite God.

How can we believe this! Wouldn’t that mean that everyone is guilty? Yeah, but what about God’s love, many will ask? People will now pull the forgiveness card, which is partly acceptable, but I think we need to make this point clear:

“According to the Bible, human beings do not deserve good from God; we deserve death and hell. And because that is what we deserve, God would be acting justly if he brought that penalty upon us. If God had not designed any way by which we could be forgiven and saved but had instead determined to deal with the entire human race according to the strictest justice, nobody would have any right to complain against Him” (Clotfelter, Sinners in the Hands of a Good God).

Do you understand that God is completely just in judging us? Our sin cannot be overlooked! Even if there was no Cross to pay for our sins, God would be free from the guilt of our sin. The only correct response is to on two knees beg the Judge for forgiveness and repent. We need to repent and turn to God. Enough with the confessions of ‘praying a prayer’ or asking Jesus into our heart. We must first deal with the problem of sin and turn from it. God requires nothing less than turning a 180 degree directional life change from ‘in sin’ to ‘in Christ’. Bank everything on the substitutional sacrifice on the cross

Although not popular, His justice amplifies his mercy. The sin we committed, which deserves infinite punishment, no longer will be counted against us!

Therefore, let us call out to God to be merciful and not give us what we do deserve!

“If we deny our guilt before God and the fact that we genuinely deserve punishment from Him, then we will always be offended by His judgments. If we admit that we deserve nothing but punishment from Him, we will be amazed by his patience” (ibid).

This is my prayer: 1.) That we will share with someone else the seriousness of sin and God’s justice, and 2.) we will call out to God for mercy, that he might not count against us what we truly deserve.

For His glory! God is good, Amen!

It has been my experience that telling someone the entire gospel sets itself up to be a formidable task, especially in view of the many people who are presupposed to object to it. So, in order to avoid the tendency a majority of people have—to leave out key ingredients of the delicious gospel sandwich (e.g. repentance and faith and humanities sinful condition, etc.)—I’ve thought it helpful to myself, as well as anyone who agrees, to post a clear presentation of the gospel basics. In my opinion, who more reliable to explain the key elements of the biblical gospel than author and pastor John Piper? I hope this helps you as it did me. Enjoy—’gospel me’! (BTW: this is not plagiarizing because I cited it)

Did you know that God commands us to be glad?

“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

1) God created us for his glory

“Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth,… whom I created for my glory” (Isaiah 43:6-7)

God made us to magnify his greatness – the way telescopes magnify stars. He created us to put his goodness and truth and beauty and wisdom and justice on display. The greatest display of God’s glory comes from deep delight in all that he is. This means that God gets the praise and we get the pleasure. God created us so that he is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

2) Every human should live for God’s glory

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

If God made us for his glory, it is clear that we should live for his glory. Our duty comes from his design. So our first obligation is to show God’s value by being satisfied with all that he is for us. This is the essence of loving God (Matthew 22:37) and trusting him (1 John 5:3-4) and being thankful to him (Psalm 100:2-4). It is the root of all true obedience, especially loving others (Colossians 1:4-5).

3) All of us have failed to glorify God, as we should

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

What does it mean to “fall short of the glory of God?” It means that none of us has trusted and treasured God the way we should. We have not been satisfied with his greatness and walked in his ways. We have sought our satisfaction in other things, and treated them as more valuable than God, which is the essence of idolatry (Romans 1:21-23). Since sin came into the world we have all been deeply resistant to having God as our all-satisfying treasure (Ephesians 2:3). This is an appalling offense to the greatness of God (Jeremiah 2:12-13).

4) All of us are subject to God’s just condemnation

“The wages of sin is death…”(Romans 6:23).

We have all belittled the glory of God. How? By preferring other things above him. By our ingratitude, distrust and disobedience. So God is just in shutting us out from the enjoyment of his glory forever. “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

The word “hell” is used in the New Testament twelve times – eleven times by Jesus himself. It is not a myth created by dismal and angry preachers. It is a solemn warning from the Son of God who died to deliver sinners from its curse. We ignore it at great risk.

If the Bible stopped here in its analysis of the human condition, we would be doomed to a hopeless future. However, this is not where it stops…

5) God sent his only son Jesus to provide eternal life and joy

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15)

The good news is that Christ died for sinners like us. And he rose physically from the dead to validate the saving power of his death and to open the gates of eternal life and joy (1 Corinthians 15:20). This means God can acquit guilty sinners and still be just (Romans 3:25-26). “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Coming home to God is where all deep and lasting satisfaction is found.

6) The benefits purchased by the death of Christ belong to those who repent and trust him

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19). “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

“Repent” means to turn from all the deceitful promises of sin. “Faith” means being satisfied with all that God promises to be for us in Jesus. “He who believes in me,” Jesus says, “shall never thirst” (John 6:35). We do not earn our salvation. We cannot merit it (Romans 4:4-5). It is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is a free gift (Romans 3:24). We will have it if we cherish it above all things (Matthew 13:44). When we do that, God’s aim in creation is accomplished: He is glorified in us and we are satisfied in him – forever.

Does this make sense to you?

Do you desire the kind of gladness that comes from being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus? If so, then God is at work in your life.

What should you do?

Turn from the deceitful promises of sin. Call upon Jesus to save you from the guilt and punishment and bondage. “All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Start banking your hope on all that God is for you in Jesus. Break the power of sin’s promises by faith in the superior satisfaction of God’s promises. Begin reading the Bible to find his precious and very great promises, which can set you free (2 Peter 1:3-4). Find a Bible-believing church and begin to worship and grow together with other people who treasure Christ above all things (Philippians 3:7).

The best news in the world is that there is no necessary conflict between our happiness and God’s holiness. Being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus magnifies him as a great Treasure.

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)

Bible Verses

Jesus replied: “`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37)

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:3-4)

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he, who made us, and we are his [1]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalms 100:2-4)

…Because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel… (Colossians 1:4-5)

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1:21-23)

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. (Ephesians 2:3)

Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the LORD. “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:12-13)

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20)

God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:25-26)

Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:4-5)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

And are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:24)

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (Matthew 13:44)

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4)

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. (Philippians 3:7)

Appearances of the word “hell” in the New Testament

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:22 Jesus speaking)

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:29 Jesus speaking)

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matthew 5:30 Jesus speaking)

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28 Jesus speaking)

And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. (Matthew 18:9 Jesus speaking)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. (Matthew 23:15 Jesus speaking)

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? (Matthew 23:33 Jesus speaking)

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. (Mark 9:43 Jesus speaking)

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. (Mark 9:45 Jesus speaking)

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, (Mark 9:47 Jesus speaking)

But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. (Luke 12:5 Jesus speaking)

In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. (Luke 16:23 Jesus speaking)

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:6 James speaking).

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; (2 Peter 2:4 Peter speaking)

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society. “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.