Hurricane Sin

Almost every year America experiences a large hurricane along her shores. This year it is Hurricane Sandy.  The photo to the right is a shot of Sandy from space.  Prior to these huge storms, government officials plead with residents to flee the path of the storm in order to avoid death or injury. They cannot stress it enough, that if you are in the projected path of the storm, you must take precautions now. Don't wait, don't delay, prepare for the worst, take the storm seriously, listen closely and follow instructions of your local officials, and obey evacuation orders.

However, another storm is brewing on every man's horizon and it passes over man's soul, that is the storm of God's Wrath on Sin which will be a Category 10 storm which destroys everything in its path, it is the mother of all storms. This is the monster storm, this is the real deal, this a big, deadly, and dangerous storm. The Holy Ghost has declared a State of Emergency for your soul. The best wisdom is to prepare for the inevitable. Please heed this warning. Waiting until the last minute is not a smart thing to do - this is life threatening. Head for the only Shelter from God's wrath - Christ Jesus Himself - Hide in Him now. *John 3:36*

Get out of harm's way - use your common sense, be smart, heed the call, be sensible, use your head, think soberly, prepare now, your sins will damn you if you die in them. The calm before the storm makes people complacent and lethargic. It is high time for you to get focused. Do not panic, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am telling you now - the calm before death is deceptive. But this storm of divine justice is approaching your sinfulness quickly, it will only get worst with time, the intensity of sin's temptation, deceitfulness, and hardening is tricking you into trying to ride life's storm out in your own strength. Sin will cause your life is start going downhill fast when you least expect it. *Ecclesiastes 8:11*

Hurricane Sin along with God's divine wrath is the worst possible storm you can imagine - it is headed your way at a fast pace. This storm will soon pass directly over you. It is growing more powerful every day and will only continue to intensify. Hurricane Sin is an imminent threat to you. Your inward corruptions, filthy thoughts, and evil desires are continually surging in your soul. Every sinner is residing in the path of certain death. Remember - All sinners that need assistance can be picked up by Grace and brought to the Red-Cross Shelter free of charge. Do not try to hunker down in your own goodness. Your rickety shack of self-goodness will not endure the gale force winds of God's divine wrath and vengeance on your sins. Abandon your own righteousness immediately. Your puny dams and levees of vain religious pretence will be useless against this storm.

You have paid no attention to many calls for evacuation from the Holy Ghost in the past. Men are naturally careless and insanely suicidal pertaining to their soul's eternal safety. Vain human nature causes you to take risk, to be careless, procrastinate, and love the forbidden. You need to find THE safe place to hide your soul immediately, that is in Christ. Your soul is in jeopardy.  You are facing serious eternal danger. If you die in your sins without Christ, death will be a sudden and catastrophic disaster.  Proud human natures defies the imminent wrath of God Almighty on Sin, and remains in the path of the coming storm.  Be wise - flee from the wrath to come, come to Jesus now and trust in His sheltering love.

Sin threatens your life and soul. A full-scale evacuation has been ordered for all sinners to leave their sins. You should be deeply concerned, but sin has slowly lulled you into a suicidal slumber. Get out of your sins now - head for higher ground - to Calvary's hill where the Heavenly Lamb of God was slain for your sins. You need to be scared, reconsider your actions, you need to be concerned, do not play around, heed this warning, do not linger in your sins. Get out now, your window of opportunity is closing very rapidly, this is not optional, it's time to get out, in fact, it is way overdue, if you stay in your sins, you do it at your own peril - we beseech you - we beg you - get out now.

You're already feeling the winds and outer bands of judgment in your conscience, and you are hearing the distant thunders of divine wrath in your soul's ears. The storm of death and Hell is closing in on you fast and it will be devastating to your soul. Your worries are now rising up in your mind and the dread of death is looming. Death is threatening you; it is near at hand and is likely to occur at any moment. Don't try to ride out this storm. Flee from the wrath of God which is coming on sin. Your sinful condition is deteriorating daily. You're between the Rock and a hot place. The Rock is Jesus Christ and the hot place is Hell Fire. Which way will you choose? You have less time than you think - take heed to the evacuation order from God's words. Sin leads to eternal devastation. The gentle whisperings of Calvary are calling to you flee to safety.

Your body is reaping the effects of your past sins and your health will soon begin to severely weaken. Your soul has been declared a disaster area by the law of God. You are inundated with the threatenings and warnings of your conscience. You think you are safe just the way you are, but your religious delusion and selfish pride has made insanely suicidal. You are in death's target zone. Don't take a foolish risk with your eternal destiny. The world and the pride of life have made you complacent. In your sins, eternal destruction is inescapable and very close to you. Flee to the only safe place for your guilty soul at Calvary's Cross - the Mighty Refuge. Total devastation is just around the corner. You are under the gun - death will soon bear down on you. Prepare for the worst. The Shelter of God's Forgiveness is open to all lost and hopeless sinners now. Flee into the covert of Christ's blood now. You must leave your favorite sins voluntarily.

You have become unconcerned, jaded, and blase' because you've heard about Jesus and the danger of death many times. You may have become uninterested because of your frequent exposure to Bible truth. I cannot over emphasize the peril you are facing without Christ. Eternal ruin is hanging over your head. Stop flirting with disaster. Certain death awaits you. The imminent peril of death is brewing now on your horizon. You don't know what you are dealing with. There is a serious threat to your soul's safety - it is called Sin. This may be your final call for 'voluntary evacuation' before the Storm of God's wrath barrels down on your soul. It's only going to get worse for you if you procrastinate and reject Christ. One day soon it will be too late to flee the storm.

The tempest of death is closing in on you - Head for the Shelter now. This storm will certainly overtake you if you tarry in your sin. It's time for prayers and pleading with God for mercy. Your condition is the worst-case scenario. You are facing a potential catastrophe. The most important message I can send to you is this: Don't take the storm of Sin lightly. Satan tempts you to ride the storm out and party hard. Sin is nothing to gamble with. Christ died for miserable sinners like you and me, He will receive you into His Shelter at the Cross today - don't look back, turn away from your works and favorite sins, flee for your life to Christ Himself. There is no other place to hide from the Storm of Eternal Death. Flee now to Safety at the Bloody Cross before time runs out. Look only to the Cross of Christ. Depend upon nothing but Christ and His finished work on Calvary's Cross.

The Blood of Christ is gently calling you to Calvary's Cross today. But your self-righteousness says, “I must bring some good works with me to the Shelter.” Listen to the Blood as it speaks to you! It says, “Sinner, I am full of merit and righteousness: why do you bring your works here?” “Ah! but,” you say “I have too much sin.” Listen to the still, small voice of the Blood: as it falls from Calvary's Cross, it cries, “being now justified by My blood you shall be saved from wrath through Me.” “Ah! but,” you say, “I know I am too guilty to come.” Listen to God's Blood! “Though your sins be as scarlet I will make them as wool; though they be red like crimson, they shall be whiter than snow.” “Oh no!,” you say, "I have such little faith.” O hearken to the Blood! “The bruised reed I will not break, and the smoking flax I will not quench.” “No, but,” you say, “I know God will cast me out, if I do come.” Just listen closely to the blood! “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” “No, but,” you say, “I know I have so many sins that I cannot be forgiven.” But the Blood say, "I will cleanse you from all Sin."

Now, hear hear the Blood once more, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” Come, poor sinner, cast your lost soul at the foot of the Cross, simply rely on God's truth and mercy. Away with your good works and all your vain trustings! Lie simply flat on the sweet promises of Christ. Trust Jesus' Precious Blood now and forever; and when you put your trust alone in Jesus, in His most Precious Blood, He shall speak eternal peace to your soul and conscience. Plead Christ’s blood alone, not your merits.

A receiving faith comes from the Holy Spirit and it is the vital point, Christ-trusting faith is absolutely needful for your soul to obtain eternal life – Christ must be your all in all. “To as many as received Him.” Have you ever received Him, the Lord Jesus, the real Christ? Do you talk to Him? Do you know Him? Is He your companion? Is He a friend of yours? Is your sin pardoned? Is the law satisfied? Are you prepared to die and meet your Maker face to face? If you have received a personal Christ by confiding, trusting, and depending upon Him, your sins are gone forever and you soul is safe and sound.

Always say, "Yes!" to Jesus, and "No!" to self and sin. Just do the right thing – trust Christ – live for Christ! There is a God, He is real, He is always looking at you with His holy gaze, He is always thinking of you, He is a very present help, He is always observing you, He is always listening, He is God Almighty, you are always in His presence. The Bible cannot be bribed, it cannot be resisted, it cannot be escaped, and it will never be changed - we be very careful to be right with the Scriptures. Be always looking to Christ's Cross and waiting for His coming. Lord Jesus, please take the helm, direct my ways, my steps, my paths, my heart into the love of God.

Dear Lord, help me to think soberly from day to day, quicken me, make me holy, earnest, loving souls, cheerfully obedient, gentle yet courageous, pleased with your will, trustful, denying self, brave, consecrated, teachable yet firm, dependent, and Christ-like. Help me to be grieved when I grieve You. Help me to trust your Precious Blood, rely on your Promises, depend on your Spirit, always look out of myself, and always look to the Bleeding and Living and Interceding Christ of God. Holy Spirit, please work in me, keep me pure in thought and deed for Jesus' sake. Lord, salt my eyes and tongue, keep my thoughts clean, and may my words few and graceful. The Bible disturbs our selfish routine, wounds our pride, exposes our sins, demands obedience, saves our soul, and exalts Jesus Christ. The finished work of Christ for us is our only hope for eternal life, and the work of the Spirit in us is our only hope of a pure life. Let God be Magnified – All the Glory be to Christ alone.

Guard Your Conscience

One of the main reasons why men don't read the Holy Bible today is because the Holy Scriptures and the work of the Holy Ghost quicken the conscience. A man wants a dead conscience so he can enjoy his sins without them bothering him.  A conscience not guided by the Holy Spirit and the words of God is an unreliable conscience.  The first time you ever did something wrong, you knew it was wrong, but in time you abused and neglected your conscience, and you slowly got accustomed to sinning and adjusted to the darkness which you love.  You slowly deadened your conscience by intentionally sinning against the light you had been given by God.  Conscience alone is not a reliable guide; your conscience has to be purged by the Blood of Jesus Christ, and directed by the words of God and the Holy Ghost. *Hebrews 9:14*

God has granted to every man a conscience; the conscience is a universal gift from God to assist us with discerning between good and evil, right and wrong. Your conscience is the reason why you sometimes feel badly about your thoughts, words, and actions. The conscience operates based on how it is programmed by our moral instruction in our life from parents and others.  You have a evil tendency within you called Sin that leads you to do what want to do and not what God wants you to do.  Never let your conscience be your guide, unless the Holy Spirit guides your conscience.  *Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:18*

When you were first born, the light of conscience was burning bright, but you slowly turned off the lights of conscience in the house of your soul intentionally by sinning against God.  The Ten Commandment teaches how we are to respond to God, each other, and ourselves. The conscience is the alarm bell that goes off within you when there is disobedience towards God. The news media and educational systems of America are diligently working to reprogram your thinking and your conscience. The purpose of your conscience is not to guide you but to alarm you.

A good and pure conscience must be maintained and guarded daily. If you say "yes" to sin over and over again, your conscience will be slowly violated, and the sound of the warning conscience gets muffled, stifled, and silenced.  Trust Christ Jesus Himself as your Savior from your sins, make God's word the basis of your daily conduct, have a strong desire to obey God, prayerfully consider the decisions you make at home and work. A good conscience that can be trusted is one that sounds the alarm immediately when you consider wrongdoing, and when you feel guilty upon your disobedience, and you feel compelled to repent of your dependence.

Sin-loving people don't read the Holy Bible, because it makes them uneasy in their sinful state.  The Holy Bible will keep you from your sins, or your sins will keep you from the Holy Bible.  The Holy Bible will upset and disturb your sinful daily routine.  The Holy Bible will cause you to lose your carnal mind and give you the mind of Christ.  The Word of God exposes your sins - that's the main reason why you don't like reading the Bible.  A room may seem clean until you lift the shades and then in comes the beams of sunlight, and suddenly you see the room is filled with millions of dust particles.  Your life may seem fine until the Holy Bible's light shines into your dark heart and exposes the Sin in your thoughts, words, and deeds.  *Romans 7:9* The Holy Bible demands obedience to God's ways, and you by nature love to disobey what God says.  The main reason you won't receive Jesus Christ is because you love darkness rather than Light.  Your conscience is the inward God-given guide that keeps your behavior in check.

Have you ever wondered where your Conscience came from? It came from the only wise God – the Creator. The word Conscience means ‘with knowledge.’ When we do right or wrong, we do it ‘with knowledge’ from the light of nature that ‘every man’ is born with. The Conscience is seen by the modern world today as something that robs people of their self-esteem. But the Conscience is actually a precious gift from your Creator to help you sense your own sin and guilt. The Conscience is given to help you stay out of trouble. Purify your conscience with the words of God and the blood of Christ, and it will not lead you the wrong way. Listen to the words of God first, and then listen to your conscience as well.  To a man who wants a pure mind, contact with sin, in any form is truly horrible. 

If you can live in iniquity, and yet have peace in your conscience, your conscience is seared and dead. The Holy Spirit first works to make a lost man feel uneasy in his conscience and troubled in his mind about his sins against God, and especially his rejection of Jesus Christ. A man sears his conscience and then he says, "I don't see anything wrong with doing this." Be wise, don't waste your soul on the frivolous things of this world. The more a man curses and blasphemes God's name, and the more he argues against the Bible, the more he is trying to stifle the cries of his uneasy spirit. Your conscience is doing its best to warn you from day to day. Take the warning, flee from your sins to Jesus, while the door of mercy is still open. Your conscious is God's pointer and guide in your soul.

Conscience is the candle of the LORD in your soul. The conscience's light shows you your sins in the secret regions of your heart, soul, and mind. You try to put out the candle by religion or evolution, but you can't blow the candle of conscience. Death is hastening on, Eternity is near, the coming Great White Throne Judgment is a reality. Outside of Christ, there is no true peace to the conscience or reconciliation to God.

The conscience reveals to us a knowledge of our past sinful thoughts, words and deeds; and a present knowledge of our sinful nature with its thoughts and desires.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart now; make Him your soul's only trust and solitary refuge. Never turn your conscience over to the dictation of another. Trust to the exclusive Savior. The conscience is the eye of the soul which watches out for wrong. The conscience is only made pure, tender, and sensitive by God's grace. Cast your guilty soul upon the love, blood, and power of Christ Jesus.

You have sinned, God must punish sin, Jesus was punished for your sins. By faith in His Blood, accept Christ's punishment for your sins, or you must pay for your sins in the Lake of Fire. The Gospel of Salvation is by simple faith in the Precious Blood of Jesus. The blood of Christ is the only balm for an uneasy conscience. Only the Holy Ghost can lead a sinner t the Cross and then apply Jesus' Blood to a man's conscience. Seek the good, the pure, the true Savior. Watch against, and pray without ceasing, keep your conscience tender, fear the LORD and please Him. He that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

We all understand right and wrong, because the work of God’s law is written on the heart of every man (Roman 2:14-15). The work of God’s law directs you when it comes to right and wrong, examines you in thought, word and deed, and then condemns you for sinning. TheConscience is the inner voice that pronounces judgment of right and wrong. The Conscience has been called the ‘Judge’ in the courtroom of the soul which pronounces judgment on our actions (Guilty or Not Guilty).

The Conscience is also like a smoke alarm of the soul that alerts you to the ‘smoke of sin’ and reminds you to flee or be burned. If and when you violate your Conscience, it becomes defiled and doesn’t alert you to sin as it should. This is very dangerous, just like a malfunctioning smoke alarm in your home could put you at danger if a fire breaks out when you’re sleeping. Do you violate your Conscience and defile it? Many people wrestle with their Conscience and break or defile it – and then it doesn’t function as it should. A good Conscience has to be maintained (Acts 23:1; I Timothy 1:5,19; 3:9; II Timothy 1:3; Hebrews 13:18; I Peter 3:16), just like a smoke alarm. Have you broken your Conscience?

The Conscience is also like the guard dog of the soul that protects against the intruder called Sin. The Conscience will bark when it sees or smells Sin, you can either respond and avoid sin or shoot the guard dog and let Sin steal from you and kill you. The Conscience is a way of escape from sin, if you list to it closely (I Corinthians 10:13).

The Conscience is the soul’s nerve endings that protects it from sin. Just like the nerve endings of your hand alert you when get to close to an iron or stove, your Conscience alerts you when you get close to sin. Your Conscience will testify against you in the day of judgment when we stand before God. Conscience is that thing that feels bad when everything else feels good. Your conscience reminds you what you really are on the inside, and it frightens you at times.

The Conscience’s voice is heard in moral deeds – it will excuse and accuse depending on your actions. It excuses when you do what the law of God requires with: “Not guilty”, or accuses when you do what the law of God forbids with: “Guilty”. It speaks powerfully to our mind when we sin with guilt, shame, and fear. The Conscience also causes us to blush, stammer, sweat, or tremble. Sin also brings feelings of regret, anguish, misery, depression, worry and confusion.

Have you been a good steward of your Conscience, or has it been buried and defiled under loads of filth and trash in our life: sinful thoughts, attitudes, deeds, and cursing. The first time you ever cursed (used God’s name or Jesus Christ’s name is vain) your Conscience convicted you, but you kept on doing it and your Conscience quit bothering you because you defiled your Conscience. Don't let your conscience be your guide unless God guides your conscience.

When you’re tempted to lie, cheat, steal, lust or take God’s name in vain, your Conscience will alert you to the danger. But you, like all of us, ignore your Conscience and willfully commit Sin. Do you remember standing face to face with right and wrong, and choosing the wrong? Have you ever known the truth about something, and intentionally told a lie or misled someone with deceit? Sure you have, the Bible says, all men are liars. Have you ever secretly lusted after the opposite sex (pornography, internet web sites, or lustful imaginations)? JESUS said, “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28).

Your conscience is the small voice inside our heart and mind approving right, and disapproving the wrong. When it comes to sin, please err on the side of caution.  A troubled and guilty conscience will not let you sleep or eat at times. One of the most dreadful sins a man can ever commit in this life, is to sin directly and to sin persistently against his own conscience. When you do do that thing which conscience says you ought not to do, and when you don’t do that thing which conscience says you ought to do, it is sin. Conscience cries out, “Stop, hold on! That is wrong, wrong, don’t do it! Every man on earth has violated his conscience at one time or another. God is the Creator of the conscience of man.

Every time you’ve violated your Conscience and rejected the light that God gave you, you committed a Sin. If you’re honest, you will realize that you’re guilty and your sin must be forgiven. Your Sin deserves the eternal punishment of Hell. But there’s good news: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. God commendeth [proved] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Jesus Christ died to take your place so you wouldn’t have to suffer the eternal judgment of God for your sin.  Sin is sin, the wages of sin is sin, you will reap what you sow, more than you sow, later than you sow.

What are you going to do about your sin? All of your good deeds cannot undo your sin against God. Good works cannot remove the sin stains from your soul. Only the Blood of Jesus Christ can wash away the deep, dark sin stains of your heart and Conscience. If you have not yet trusted Jesus with your soul, please do so.  If you are reluctant to be saved, think about your soul, reject the evil tendency to procrastinate and come to Jesus now. No one ever loved you like the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you accept His payment for your sin? Please don’t turn Jesus away today. How shall ye escape if ye neglect so great salvation? “Dear God, Please be merciful to me a sinner. I repent of my sin and trust Jesus Christ’s precious blood to save me today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Frustrating God's Grace

I do not frustrate the grace of God:  for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:21)

Self-salvation, either by personal worthiness, by repentance, or by carnal resolve is a hope ingrained in human nature and very hard to remove. This foolishness is bound in the heart of every man on the face of the earth. This false idea arises from ignorance of the Law of God and of what holiness really is. Even an 'evil thought' is a violation of the Law and the Law once broken in any point is altogether violated. There can be no righteousness by the works of the Law to those who have already offended it. Your 'very best' works are filled with pride and self-congratulation afterwards. It is not only ignorance which leads men to self-righteousness - they are also deceived by 'pride.' Man cannot endure to be saved by pure mercy-he hates to plead guilty and throw himself on the favor of the great Savior- he cannot stand to be treated as a bankrupt sinner who needs a handout of charity.

The natural man desires to have a finger in his own salvation and claim at least a little credit for it. Proud man will have not have Heaven, itself, upon the terms of Grace alone. As long as he can, he set up one plea or another and holds to his own righteousness as though it were his life. This self-confidence also arises from wicked unbelief, for through his self-conceit, man will not believe God. Boastful man will in some shape or other, stick to the hope of legal righteousness. They must 'prepare' for Grace, or 'assist' mercy, or in some degree 'deserve' eternal life. There is none that doeth good, no, not one is cast aside and refused.

Man will not seriously examine his condition and fancies himself and has thoughts of self-justification. He is living in a fool's paradise, living on the verge of eternal wrath and the lake of fire. Many think well of themselves because they never think seriously. They do not look below the surface and are deceived by their own heart's pride. It troubles man to start weighing his actions, testing his motives, and pondering his ways to see whether things are right with them. Self-righteousness is strongly entrenched in the heart of men and cannot be driven out but by the power of God. Self-righteousness is evil, for it makes light of sin! It brags of its goods works and boast of self-merit. It speaks of mistakes, little faults, small failures, and slight omissions and so makes sin to be a minor wrong or a spiritual slip - not SIN AGAINST GOD.

Self-righteousness frustrates the grace of God and makes Christ's death in vain. Frustrate means to make void, to reject, to refuse, to regard as needless. The carnal mind hopes to saved by his own righteousness and rejects the Grace, or free favor, of God! He regards Christ's finished work as incomplete and useless. The frustration of the Grace of God is a heinous crime in the sight of God. Many think that they are to merit as much as they can by their exertions and accomplishments and 'then' the Grace of God will make up for the rest.

The mixture of works and grace is most dishonoring to the salvation of Jesus Christ. It makes the Savior's work to be incomplete, though on the Cross He cried, "It is Finished!" It treats the Son of God's sacrifice utterly worthless, since it appears to be of no use until man's works are added to it. This is arrogant treason against the majesty of Divine Mercy. This is a capital crime which will condemn all who commit it. This insults the Throne of Grace.

He who trusts in himself, his feelings, his works, his prayers, or in 'anything' except the Grace of God virtually gives up trusting in the Grace of God altogether. God's grace will never share the work with man's goodness. As oil will not combine with water, so neither will human goodness and Heavenly mercy mix together. (Romans 11:6) You must either have salvation wholly because you deserve it, or wholly because God graciously bestows it, though you do 'not' deserve it. A combination of works and grace is utterly impossible. Trusting in your 'own' works in ANY degree absolutely shuts you out from all hope of salvation by Grace - and frustrates the grace of God.

As long as a man can maintain any hope in himself, he will never look to the Redeemer of Calvary. As long as there remains one drop of hope in your heart that you can clear yourself from sin and win the favor of God by your own works, you will never accept the free pardon through the blood of Christ. Any hopes of saving yourself by your own righteousness rob God of His Glory. You say in your heart, "I do not need Grace, my work will save me." Your secrets thoughts say, "My human works are as good as the sinless life and substitutionary death and glorious resurrection of the Son of God himself." It cries, "We will not have this Man to save us." Self-salvation attempts to pluck the Royal Crown from the head of God and disgrace the Throne of His Glory.  Self-glory wickedly boasts of innocence and pretends to be clean in the sight of God. This is a sin which even the devils don't commit.

Self-salvation also attempts to make Christ's death to be in vain. If salvation can be by works, then why did the Lord Jesus die for us? If you can save yourself or help save yourself by your own righteousness, the death of the Incarnate God, the bleeding Lamb of God, was a waste of suffering and needless and a vain thing and insufficient. Some say that the death of Christ goes only part of the way and that man must 'do' something in order to merit eternal life - they make the death of Christ ineffective. If it is even 'hinted' that the blood of Jesus is not price enough till man adds his two-bit works, then Jesus' blood is not our redemption at all and Christ is no Redeemer. "It is finished" was Jesus' cry from the cross before he died: this must have been all a mistake if it must be finished by man's works. Man thinks he must do something, himself, to complete Christ's work, to finish his salvation and lend the Saviour a hand to make up for His deficiencies. What blasphemy lies in such a doctrine that supposes that Christ on Calvary made a needless and useless offering of Himself.

Are you careless with the Gospel? Do you go to Church now and then to hear a sermon, but you hear without heart? You read the Scriptures occasionally, but you do not search them as for hidden treasure. Is the Grace of God of no great value in your thoughts? Do you not think the Gospel is worth the trouble of prayer, Bible-reading and attention? The death of Christ is nothing to you - a beautiful story - you know the story well, but you do not care enough to seek the Gospel with your whole heart. To be saved by the atoning blood Christ doesn't strike you as being half as important as to carry on your business at a profit and get gain for your family.

Do you have a sense of guilt for sin? You may think yourself certainly as good as others and in some respects even better. It is highly probable that you are good as others and even better than others, but still, you are not good enough to save yourself by your own goodness. In your own opinion, you have done nothing worthy of death. You claim that you have done nothing very bad, but you are very bad because you are so proud as to think yourself righteous, though God has said that there is none righteous, no, not one! You tell God that He is a liar! His Word accuses you and His Law condemns you, but you will not believe Him and actually 'boast' of having a righteousness of your own! This is high presumption and arrogant pride that will doom your soul if you continue in it.

Oh, believe that JESUS is able to save even you and freely, at this very moment. Do not be despondent, for if you do not trust Him - you will make void His Grace. You must be saved by Grace alone, and not by 'anything' in you. It is not what you 'are' or 'feel'. Place your sole and entire reliance upon the great Substitute, the Lord Jesus, who loved and lived and died and rose for you. God smote sin while it was laid on His Son on the Cross, so He could spare a sinner like you. God spared not His own Son, so that you could be spared and forgiven.

Nothing can be tolerated as an 'aid' to the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. The Grace of God cannot be frustrated by human goodness, and Jesus Christ died not in vain. Throw back your soul and rest in His Grace and that Grace will never fail you. Rest in the Saviour's Divine Grace and His precious blood and you are saved. Calvary's finished work by the Lord Jesus Christ has never failed a lost sinner in 2,000 years. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. (Acts 16:31)

I do not frustrate the grace of God:  for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:21)

Do You Know Him?

The Lord Jesus Christ is God's Son, He's the Sinner's Savior, He is God with us, He Finds the Lost, He Discharges Debtors. I wonder, do you know Him? He delivers the captives, He's the Pathway of Peace, He's the Roadway of Righteousness, He's the Highway of Holiness, He's the Gateway of Glory, I wonder, do you know Him?

Well, His Life is Matchless, His Goodness is Limitless, His Mercy is Everlasting, His Love never Changes, His Word is Enough, His Grace is Sufficient, His Yoke is Easy, His Burden is Light, I wish I could describe Him to you. He's indescribable, He's incomprehensible, He's invincible, He's irresistable, You can't get Him out of your mind, You can't get Him off of your hands, You can't outlive Him, and you can't live without Him.

The Pharisees couldn't stand Him but they found out they could stop Him, Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him, Herod couldn't kill Him, Death couldn't handle Him, and the Grave couldn't hold Him. I wonder, do you know Him today? He want's to know you. He died to save you, redeem you, love you, and take you to Heaven freely. I beseech you, please call upon the Lord Jesus Christ today for His free salvation, and He will give you Eternal Life on the spot. Ye 'must' be born again. (John 3:7)

Gratis

You may already know the Latin word for “Freely”: ‘Gratis.’ Revelation 22:17 tells us that the water of life is ‘gratis’ to anyone who is thirsty and takes it. Jesus said in Matthew 10:8 that freely ye have received, freely give.

It was a cold January afternoon, and a poor beggar was wandering down a busy city street. The snow was collecting on his hair and tattered coat. He was tired and hungry, just looking for a handout. Then, a smell comes under his nose from a restaurant across the street. He makes his way through the traffic, and presses through the crowd, and presses his nose against the restaurant’s plate-glass window. The smells of the restaurant are intoxicating to him.

The down-and-out tramp has no work, no shelter, no money, and no hope. His stomach growls in protest, and his mouth waters as he watches the well-dressed, well-fed patrons enjoy their steak and lobster dinners. This is the finest restaurant in town. Who is he kidding by even looking upon the elegance of their feast? As a matter of fact, here comes the waiter to shoo him away, unappetizing scenery that he has become.

But the waiter’s face bears no rebuke. Instead, compassion is written across it. “I’ve brought you our finest entrée,” says the waiter, uncovering a sumptuous plate. The vagrant’s eyes grow wide, and he reaches for the embarrassing pocket change that is all he can offer. “Put your coins away,” laughs the waiter. “This one’s on our owner, who spotted you from the window. He knows you could never afford such a meal, and he offers this one ‘freely.’ Come back again when you’re hungry.”

The man is the story is a one-percenter. He is that one percent of society that no one cares about or seeks. He is the base and despised sinner. But Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.  Jesus came all the way from Heaven to seek you and find you out in your wanderings and to save you and rescue you. He shed His very heart’s blood for you on the Cross to redeem (buy back) your soul from death and Hell. He wants a sinner. He longs after perishing sinners. He wants sin-blackened souls, so He can wash them white. He seeks dead souls to make them alive.

Look away to the Cross with me: See Jesus eyes, He has pity for you; Look into His side, it was opened that you may hide your sins in it. See those drops of crimson blood streaming from His hands and feet, every drop is trickling down to the ground for you; Hear his death shrieks, He is crying out for your sake. “For me?” you may say, Yes for you, if you are a sinner. Let go of your good works, your goodness is your own peril; your righteousness is your own destruction, flee to the Cross now with empty hands and cling to the bleeding Lamb for His forgiveness, mercy and lovingkindness.

Christ came into the world to save sinners. Christ died for the ungodly. Today, reader you are an invited ‘guest’ to the heavenly banquet of the King of Heaven, not a paying customer. You can’t buy the food that comes from the King’s table. It is Gratis – you have to like that word. Come, come to Christ, come at His own invitation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. To believe is to trust in Christ – to drop into His great and powerful and loving arms that can catch the heaviest laden sinner that ever breathed. To believe is to fall flat on the Jesus’ promise (John 6:47) – to let Him do all for you and let Him save you by His Grace.  Being justified freely… - Romans 3:24

Never Trust Yourself

Self-righteousness is a hopeless effort of human nature to save itself from the wrath to come. When sinners begin to be convinced of their lost and sinful state by the Holy Spirit, the one great mistake they make is they start trying to improve themselves. When the Law begins to condemn them, when they have the sentence of death ringing in their conscience – they turn to themselves for help. They try to search for life within their dark heart, and dig for water and light in the shadows of their minds. First, they try outward reformation and realize their own helplessness. Then they turn their eyes toward their feelings and strive after tears and mental guilt till they grow scornfully miserable, because their heart is so hard. They often rush to religious ceremonies and go far in formalism but find no peace, and still unable to quit their bad temper, proud eye, lustful looks, corrupt heart, covetous desires, rebellious will, and a lazy spirit.  Never trust yourself, always trust Christ Jesus.

And often they turn to the belief of orthodox doctrines and seek salvation in mere head knowledge of the word of God, not knowing what Jesus once said, “Ye search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; but ye will not come to Me that ye might have life.” In some shape or other, all natural men seek refuge in self and hasten there, again and again and again, though often driven from it. Their so doing is useless and foolish, dishonoring to God and defiling to themselves. They can no more save themselves than they can turn evil into good, or Hell into Heaven.

They need to understand they are only destroying themselves, and their only help for salvation lies wholly in Christ Jesus. When they are convinced of this, they will cast themselves upon the Gracious Redeemer, and peace and joy will fill their hearts by grace. It is an impossible thing for a preacher to rescue someone from his proud delusions, the make him see that salvation must come from above as the pure gift of Divine Grace. Salvation requires a miracle of Divine Grace. Looking unto Jesus puts an end to looking to self and feelings and works. The perfection of the Saviour will save you alone, but poor sinners habitually look for perfection in themselves, and search for fitness and strength in them. You need to flee to Jesus, where everything vital for salvation is so richly provided.

Christ is willing to save you. Why, then, O Sinner, do you continue to look to yourself? You say, “I am not perfect.” Why, do you want to be? The perfection is in Christ Jesus, not you. You say, “I am not this and I am not that.” What has that to do with anything? Jesus is all that you need. If you try to save yourself, you are in a bad situation, because you are full of faults and failings.

All Grace from God flows through Jesus Christ. He is All in All. He is the Designer, Creator, Worker and the Cause of Salvation. By Him, salvation has been accomplished. In love, the Holy Spirit gives you the first sense of your sin. Man cannot contribute one thing to Christ’s finished work. He has never asked for any human help. You may be to preface Christ’s work with your own efforts, but your carnal sweat is fruitless. Come to Jesus without any works, just as you are, filled up to the throat in the filth of sin, stained with the slime of sin. Come to Him without previous preparation and lay your heart open before Him and He may wash it clean. When Jesus saves, He saves completely. He does not ask us to perfect His work, it has been perfected by His obedience and suffering. You cannot add anything to His finished work. It is finished and you are accursed if you add one to it. Take His finished salvation and rejoice – never add to it.

What you have to do Sinner, is to take Christ’s salvation – not prepare for it, improve it, or add to it – but just take it as it is. There it is for you! It is to be had for the taking – hold out your empty hand and receive it. Bring your empty cup and hold it under the Divine Fountain and let it be filled. Faith is to accept it is all that is required.

Why is it that you delay? Are you trying to make yourself better before you believe in Jesus? That is to say, you want to be the ‘doer’ of your own salvation and elbow Christ out of His place! “Oh but,” you may say, “I cannot pray as I want.” If you could pray perfectly, would Christ then be able to save you? He needs your prayers to help Him, does He? “Oh, but I do not feel as I ought.” Are you going to help Christ with your feelings? “Oh, but I want to be better and different.” And if you were better or different, then would Jesus be able to save you?

Jesus can save you this very moment as you are reading – this very instant, just as you are, a sinful and all but damned sinner. Don’t be deceived by your own sinful heart – Jesus is able to save you now. You need to personally believe in Jesus today. Christ is both willing and able to save you. Jesus promised to save all that trust Him with His free grace and dying love. Jesus said, “Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.” Trust Jesus wholly, simply, heartily, and alone! Recline your soul wholly on Jesus and you are saved now. I have led you to the Water of Life, but I cannot make you drink.

Don't Die In Your Sins

How many sins did Jesus Christ pay for for you?  Think about it this way: suppose you thought you were really, really good and only sinned three times a day, that would still be over a thousand sins a year.  Now multiply a thousand times your age.  That is still a pretty heavy load. And that’s if you think you’re really good. Do remember, it only takes one sin to sin your soul into death and hell.  All of your unkind thoughts, lustful imaginations, selfish acts, the things you did but shouldn’t do, the things you didn’t do but should’ve done, these are all sins.

Think about it, you can commit three sins just on the way to work:  you’re late, so you speed (uh oh, that’s a trangression); then you see a car go by and you wish you had it more than your own (oops, that’s lust), then someone cuts you off and you curse them in thought or word (that selfishness and impatience).  There is no human way for you to atone (pay God back) for all your sins, because you’ve always sinned, and you will always sin till the day you die.  Let’s face it, on your very best day, you’re only a guilty sinner in God’s sight.  Please don't die in your sins when there is an available way out of your sins through the Blood of Jesus Christ.

But imagine if you had a black and filthy book in your hand that was a complete record of your life. The first page of the book is your birth certificate and last past page is your death certificate.  And all the pages in between are all the sins of your entire life.  In the book there are chapters for each part of your life: My Childhood, My Teenage Years, My 20’s, My 30’s, and so on.  This is the record book of all your bad thoughts, selfish deeds, wicked ideas, and every unkind gesture.  In it is recorded every thought, word, and deed you’ve ever done in private or in public. Included in this book are all the things that you hope nobody ever finds out about, this volume is the entire weight of your iniquity.  If you die with this sinful black book in your hands, it will condemn you at the judgment.

Then imagine that Christ approaches you and in His right hand He holds a snow-white book, and in it is the entire record of His holy, sinless life on earth.  Christ lived a perfectly sinless life to answer the divine justice of God for you.  He died a lonely death to suffer the wrath of God for you, He shed God’s blood for your very sins, He rose from the dead for you, and is living and reigning in glory now.

Christ Jesus looks you in the face and says, “Will you let Me take your sin-filled book in exchange for My sinless book?  I want to take your sins and guilt away forever, and then give you my perfect Righteousness as a Free Gift.  Friend, you will need My Righteousness when you stand before God’s judgment bar in Eternity.  If you will only trust Me, all the deeds in My perfect book will become yours, and all the sinful deeds in your black book will become Mine.  I will freely pay for all your sins with my Blood, and I will appear as a sinner in your place, and you can go to Heaven freely and appear in the sight of God as if you had never sinned, and you will be eternally righteous, because of what I have done for you.  Only trust and rely on what I did for you.”  The choice is yours, trust Christ only now and live forever, give Him your black book (all your sins), and take His white book (absolute perfect righteousness) as a free gift, and you are saved in an instant.

Christ Jesus owned and ruled the entire universe, but He was born in a cattle-shed in Bethlehem-Judah 2,000 years ago.  In the stable that night, it was cold, dark, and damp, they were surrounded by the stench of animals and manure. The inn was overcrowded that night; there was no room for Jesus.  The hearts of men are overcrowded today; there is still no room for Jesus. Jesus’ first crib was a borrowed feed trough.  The animals there that night loaned it to their Creator.  Jesus stooped very low to die for despicable sinners like us.  Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.  He humbled Himself and put on the rags of humanity. He lived a life of abject poverty, submission, subjection, perfect obedience, and selfless love. He was born to be the final sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the whole world. Don't be stupid, avoid the wrath of God, get out of your sins, come to Jesus, hide in Him by Faith. Take your sins seriously: sin will damn your soul if you die in your sins without letting Jesus Christ take your sins away with His Precious Blood.

Christ Jesus, the King of Heaven, left glory and His royal throne on purpose. He was born to die so that sinners could be saved from God’s wrath and have eternal life.  He came from Heaven to earth, so we could go from earth to Heaven. He was born of a Jewish peasant, a virgin named Mary; He was born so low and destitute.  He went from riches to rags, so we could go from rags to riches. He borrowed everything He had through life.  The holy child Jesus was nursed by Mary, and baby Jesus learned to walk and talk just like we did.  God Himself became a poor man.  The Infinite became an infant, The Holy One of Israel became a human, the Most High God became a man, and the Creator became a creature.  Immanuel, God with us, came to this sin-cursed earth to die so we could be with God in Heaven.

The Word was made flesh; the eternal God was confined in time.  (John 1:14) Christ was more than just a baby in a manger that people think about in December, He was fully God and fully man.  Christ is both God and man, and He is only One able to reconcile sinners to God.  Christ represents us as a man and redeems us as God.  (See Matthew 1:18,23; Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:31-35; I Timothy 3:16).  The Redeemer had to be a man so He represent man the human race in His sinless obedience to the law of God.  The Messiah has to be a real man so could become the Substitute for the human race through His sinless, atoning blood sacrifice.

Someone had to bear the wrath of God for human sin and rise victoriously from the dead. Jesus Christ was born sinless and lived a sinless life, and then He suffered the death penalty for the whole world through His bloody death, and He came back to life and gloriously resurrected.  Christ was God and He bore the sins of the whole world.  Our sins are against an infinite God and it  would take an infinite amount of time to pay the penalty, so God became a man to bear the weight of your sin against an infinite God.  Only God could pay this infinite penalty - Christ was fully God and fully man.

Christ Jesus came to earth to bear the sins of the whole world, it pleased the Father to bruise Christ, God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all, you sins were placed upon Him, Christ bore in His human body on the Cross your weight of sin.  He was wounded for your transgressions; He bruised for your iniquities.  Eternal Death was the wages due for your sin, and He paid the death penalty that your sins deserved, He bled and died for you personally.  Because Christ is God, He was able to pay the penalty for all your guilt, and then He rose from the dead, and now He offers to you to the forgiveness of sins and eternal freely.  Jesus offers salvation freely only to ungodly sinners, to all hopeless wretches that stop trusting themselves and what they are doing, and trust completely in His penalty-paying sinless, blood sacrifice to save their soul.

Christ came to bleed for your sins and die the death you deserved for sinning against a holy God.  The Lawgiver came to die for the lawbreakers.  For God so loved the world of sinful men that He gave His only Son on Calvary.  He came to bring God’s bleeding love and the new birth to fallen man.  Jesus was born to die on Calvary’s Cross for us vile and rebellious sinners, He born to set sinners free, Jesus was God Himself in human form with God’s blood flowing through His veins. The death of Christ the Lord was for your immortal soul.  It took God’s divine love to save helpless and ungodly sinners like us.

Jesus carried the rugged Cross from Pilate’s judgment hall through the streets of Jerusalem as the cruel mob hooted at Him.  He was brutally nailed to the Cross; the soldiers nailed Him there in your place, so you could be saved by God’s redeeming grace.  There on the dark hill called Calvary, Jesus willingly bled and died for dying sinners. No greater love for mortal man has ever been known. He suffered the wrath of God on the Cross for hours and hours and then at the last, He cried, “It is finished.”  Christ on the Cross was the bleeding God dying in the place of sinful man.

Jesus had satisfied the justice of God and paid your sin debt in full.  Then they took down His broken body from the tree and carried Him away and placed Him in a lonely, stone-cold tomb.  The Jewish and Roman authorities thought they done away with Jesus once and for all.  But three days later, on the most glorious Sunday morning ever, the stone was rolled away and the Lord Jesus Christ arose victoriously over death and hell.  Then forty days later, Jesus ascended into Heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.  Now, Jesus will save all sinners to the uttermost that come unto God through Him.  We deserve to be damned; we have willfully and wickedly offended and sinned against God.  We cannot help save ourselves.  We can only ruin and imprison our souls, but we could never rescue and redeem our souls.

Your sins cannot escape unpunished, so let Christ answer for your sins. Christ Jesus is living right now and is seeking to save you.  Most sinners today either hate Christ or ignore Him, but few trust *Him*. The very wisest thing you can do is seek mercy from Jesus Christ in prayer. “Great God, save me for Jesus' sake, I'm a self-ruined sinner! Save me, forgive me, have mercy upon me!  I renounce all my merits for I have none; I deserve to be lost and damned; but Lord, I trust to your Precious Blood alone, please save me now for Christ’s sake.”

How to Meet Your Maker

Here's how to die and safely meet your Maker:  Be very careful with your immortal soul - if you keep messing around and are clumsy with your precious soul, you will lose it, and you will surely be damned forever. Be wise - fear God - take special care of your soul - you must personally come as a Sinner to Christ Jesus for ALL your salvation. Christ only died for ungodly sinners. You must nullify and trash all your so-called good works - your best deeds are all no good in God's sight.

Eternal damnation is absolutely certain for you if you continue to put any reliance in your self-righteousness. Be wise - prepare to die - die trusting only in Jesus Christ's blood and righteousness with your sins all forgiven. You must die sinless, that is, with your sins on Someone else. Only God through His Son's Blood can remove your sins from your soul and place them on His Son - this is the miracle of God's salvation. Only Christ can take your sins away and bear them for you - but it's not automatic, you must heartily ask Him to save you. You can't supply your own spiritual needs, and no religion can meet your soul's needs.

Christ didn't come to share in your salvation - He came to die and rise again, and be ALL your Salvation. If you put a speck or atom of trust in yourself at all, you have not scriptural Faith.  If you place a particle of reliance upon anything else but what Christ has already finished, you are surely doomed.  If you trust in your works at all, your works are antichrist.  Christ will do all or nothing for you, He must be your whole Savior, or not at all.  Salvation through human merit is the way of Cain, the way of religion, and the way to Hell.  Human merit is rotten and empty.  Human nature naturally clings to human merit.  The foul ditch water of human merit will kill you - don't drink from it at all.  Have done once and for all with human merits, and rest with childlike confidence, helpless dependence, upon the finished work and righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Religion always clings to and exalts human merit.  The Gospel exalts only Christ's merits.  There is a conflict between human merit and Christ's merits.  Satan is tempting and deceiving you into thinking you can help meet your soul's needs, this is a heinous and damning lie.  Jesus Christ, God Himself manifest in the flesh, came to bear all your sins and their full penalty, and provide you a full and free salvation - Jesus paid it all for you on Calvary's Cross.  Plead only the merits of God's Precious Son.  Human merits and human effort will damn your soul to the Lake of Fire. Human merit is a foundation of sand.  Salvation is free gift of divine mercy to guilty sinners, and is never the reward of any human merit.  You are not good at all, and you have no merit, only demerit.  You must either trust in human merit, or Christ's merit - they cannot be mixed.

Life has rules; the rule book is the Holy Bible.  God has rules for your life, and they are fixed.  If you break the rules, you're in trouble.  There is a penalty for breaking God's rules, if you violate His rules, you'll pay the penalty.  Whosoever offends God's Law in one point is guilty of it all.  Your environment or the way you were raised is not the problem; your main problem is your inward sinful nature. Your case is not special. Human nature rebels against the will and providence of God.

You can't blame others for your mistakes and pass the buck to other people.  You're responsible for your sins.  Every one of us shall give account of himself to God. There is no respect of persons with God. The Ten Commandments for the basic rules for living.  The government wants to protect your children from the Holy Bible.  God is very interested in your moral character.  You're not smarter than God, you need His wisdom, lean not to your own understanding.  God knows when you are doing your best.  Jesus died, but He came back from the dead, and He is still alive today and able to save you to the uttermost through faith in His atoning blood.

The Bleeding and Living Savior you slight so thoughtlessly now, will soon say to you on the Eternal Judgment day, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." This is the harrowing truth that you must face. Christ Jesus loved you enough to die for your rotten sins, and if you reject Him, one day soon, you must meet Him face to face, and then, He will point His eternal finger at you, and say, "Get out of My sight, get out and stay out, you're damned, go and burn forever in the Lake of Fire, I never knew you, you rejected Me, I now reject you, get out of here, I never want to see you again, depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!" God is a consuming fire - prepare to enter His presence at death.

Get it nailed down - Make sure about your soul's eternal safety - don't trust in yourself at all, don't trust anything on this earth at all, look up, trust only to the finished work and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Salvation is not found in any religion or church. Salvation is only found in trusting in a Sinless Person. By grace are ye saved through faith in God's blood, not of human works at all, lest any man should boast in his self. Jesus Christ is alive today, and He is your soul's only Hope of salvation.

Believing in Jesus

Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.  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.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.  To Jesus give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;  To declare, I say, at this time His Righteousness: that God might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Now, what is it to believe in Jesus?  It is simply this:  to wholly trust your soul and your sins with Him.

Believing in Jesus is, first, to give your firm and cordial assent to Scriptural Gospel Truth, that God did send His Son, born of a Jewish virgin, to suffer and die in the place of guilty men, and that God did lay on Him all your iniquities; and that Christ Jesus bore the punishment due to your transgressions on the Cross of Calvary, and was made a Curse for you. Jesus was condemned and damned in your place, so you could be justified and blessed in God's sight.

Sin is a spiritual disease which belongs to all men and is only curable by the Blood of Christ. The stripes and wounds, the blood and sacrifice of the Lamb of God is the only remedy for human sin. With His stripes our souls are healed. Jesus bore your sins in His own body, He was wounded and bruised for them, He endured the blows of divine wrath, and then suffered death itself for your sins.  Your own sins are personally offensive to God Himself; transgressions of the divine Law are deliberate acts of disrespect and intentional slight and insult to your Creator.

Jesus was absolutely innocent, He was God as well as man, He died to pay the price for your sins with His own innocent blood. The price for your sins was paid to God's divine justice when Jesus died for you.  Jesus declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.  All the founders of all religions have died and stayed dead except for one Person - the Lord Jesus Christ died for sinners, and then He rose from the grave victorious over death, sin, and Satan. Grace is anything you get from the hand of God that you do not deserve.

You must heartily believe the Scripture which says, — “the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”  You must assent to the scriptural doctrine of Substitution, which is the heart of the Gospel. The penalty due to your sins was inflicted on the Lamb of God. Reconciliation with God was made by Jesus. In wrath, God the Father took vengeance on your sins when they were laid on Jesus. Only in Christ Jesus is divine wrath appeased, justice answered, and peace made with God. God the Holy Spirit must lead you to give your cordial assent to Christ's Atoning Blood which can cleanse you from all your sins.  Believe the great fact that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing your trespasses unto you.  Jesus loves to have mercy and save the sinful. The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth us from all sin.

This blessed fact is revealed in the Holy Bible by God Himself. Believe that the Substitution of the Son of God, God manifest in the flesh, is certain; doubt not this plan of Salvation from God's heart, do not question its validity. God has ordained to save sinful man by a sinless substitutionary bloody Sacrifice.  You must agree to God's method, and trust and adore Jesus Christ, the Author of free Salvation for the ungodly.

As you trust a bridge while you cross a river, as you trust a ladder as you climb into your attic, as you trust a doctor to conduct surgery on your body, as you trust a cook you've never seen to prepare your food, as you trust an airline pilot you've never seen with your safety during a flight, as you trust a doctor and pharmacist to give you the right prescription for your sickness, even so trust the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to save your soul for time and Eternity.

The justice of God is vindicated through Jesus' sufferings and blood, and His mercy is now offered to you freely. Your Sins have been punished in the person of the Christ, and now mercy is extended to your guilty soul.  Divine justice is satisfied by Christ's act of Mercy. The Cross is the very center of God's infinite Wisdom and Love. This is the main focus of Faith — to give your hearty assent to the giving of Jesus to suffer in your place, and to agree with all our soul and mind to God's way of Salvation.

The second part of Believing in Jesus is that you by faith accept these Scriptural truths for yourself. In Adam’s sin, you did not sin personally, for you were not in existence then; yet you fell; but you have willingly committed personal transgressions and injured and affronted God's divine justice. By nature you are in a state of slavery and bondage to your sins, Satan, and the Law.  Only Christ's Blood can deliver you from your sinful state. You are now condemned and the wrath of God abides on you for you have committed personal and actual sins and neglected Christ. You must be saved by the works and Righteousness of Another, which you must accept and appropriate personally through Faith in Jesus' Atoning Blood. Jesus has offered an Atonement, and that Atonement becomes yours when you accept it by putting your trust in Christ's most Precious Blood. This is the act which brings Salvation to your soul.

Thirdly, one more thing is needful; and that is personable trust in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. First comes assent to the truth, secondly acceptance of that truth for yourself, and then finally a simple personable trusting of yourself wholly to Christ Jesus the Lord, as your own Sin-Bearer and Substitute.  The taking hold of Christ Himself by Faith and receiving Him into your soul and casting yourself on His mercy. The essence of Bible Faith is trust, reliance, dependence on the Son of God Himself. Faith is to cast away every other confidence of every sort, and to put your unmixed reliance in Jesus. Reject anything you can do, or anything that you can be.  Simply look alone to Jesus whom God has set forth to be the Atonement for human sin. Put your personable trust in Jesus this very moment.

The love of God in the Gospel is so plain and easy to understand. Despairing and needy sinners are always welcome at the Cross. A wise man understands his limitations, and you need to understand you cannot save yourself.  You cannot work for the forgiveness of your sins, but you can simply believe in Jesus who is merciful, faithful and true.

Sinners by nature go astray from God, they are alienated from the life of God, they deviate from the rule of God's word, err from the right way, and go into crooked paths, which lead to destruction; and never return to God by themselves, or by their own power, until they are lead by God's Spirit and grace unto the great Savior of the soul.

Every man turns to his own way; and that is an evil one, a dark and slippery one, a crooked one, and the end of it is damnation and ruin.  This is the way of a lost man's own choosing and approving, and the worldly way in which he delights. Man strays into a particular way of sinning that is peculiar to each man; some men are addicted to one sin, and some to another, and have their own way of committing the same sin.  Men turn their faces from God, and their backs upon Him, they look to their own way, and set their faces towards their favorite sins, and their hearts on them; and which seems right and pleasing to them, yet the end of it are the ways of death; and so men are bent on these destructive and suicidal ways,  and nothing but God's grace can turn them out of them, and to the Lord Jesus Christ.

God the Father laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all; that is, God the Father, against whom we have sinned, from whom we have turned, and whose justice must be satisfied; He has laid on Christ Jesus, His own Son, the sins of the whole world; which are as it were collected together, and made one huge bundle and burden of, and then laid on Christ, and were bore by Him.  This was a heavy burden which none but the mighty God could bear for us.  Our sins, like a large and mighty army, beset Jesus around, and fell upon Him in a hostile manner, and were the cause of His death.

If you are sighing because of your sins, come on to Jesus now.  He will give you rest from your sins, change your heart within, and give you a nature that loves God and hates sins. Simply trust in Jesus and you are saved from divine justice and the love of sin. Whosoever believes on Jesus is justified from all things.   Whosoever believes in Jesus has everlasting life.  Look to the crucified, buried, and risen Creator Savior God. The very instant you trust to Jesus' Atoning Blood, you are a saved soul, and all your sins are forgiven immediately and forever.

Actual Truth 2

Your main problem is that you believe in yourself, and not in your Crucified and Risen Creator. Take some wise advice - Don't ever put any trust in yourself. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:26 - "He that trusteth in his own heart is a FOOL." The Proverbs also says, "Fools hate knowledge, fools make a mock at sin, the mouth of the foolish is near destruction, fools die for want of wisdom, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, the heart of fools proclaim foolishness, a fool lays open his folly, it is abomination to fools to depart from evil, a companion of fools shall be destroyed, the folly of fools is deceit, the fool rages on and is confident, the mouth of fools pour out and feed on foolishness, wisdom is too high for a fool to understand, as a dog return to his vomit so a fool returns to his sin, and the fool walks in darkness." Without Jesus Christ, you are alone in this world, without hope and without God, and you are separated from God right now, and condemned already.  Be very careful with your soul, turn it over to Jesus Christ, or you will lose it, that is for sure.

If a man is an atheist, he is an egotist, he's stuck on himself. You're headed for hell, and you've got your mind made up to go, because you're going to trust in Darwin, or your man-made religion right up to the bitter end. There will never be any Bibles or Christians in Hell to bother you, there's no babies or little children in hell, there's no water or food in hell, there'll be no sunny days or blue skies or cool breezes in hell, and there will be no mountains, rivers, lakes, or beaches in hell. That's what men like to see and enjoy, but Hell will only be darkness, fire, weeping, wailing, horrible tempest, gnashing of teeth, and smoke.

It's simple to get to Heaven without Jesus Christ, just be perfect and live a sinless life. There's nothing to it, right, just don't ever make any mistakes in thought, word, or deed all the days of your existence here on earth. But there is no difference in any of us, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There are no sinless people, no exceptions, including you. There's no difference, human nature thinks there's a difference between certain men and women when it comes to SIN, but there's not. The Bible says THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. The reason a man goes to hell is because he thinks his opinion is more important than the Holy Bible, God's Book.

God became a Jewish man, His name was Jesus of Nazareth, He came down to this sinful earth and lived a sinless life, and He suffered, bled, died and paid for your sin on Calvary's Cross, so you could get to Heaven freely on His Righteousness instead of your own (Romans 10:3-4). Hell is filled with good people that did good deeds on this earth, but their own righteousness cannot save them from the White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20). Darwin and/or religion has conditioned your mind, and this *actual truth* really upsets you. Verily every man at his *best state* is altogether vanity (Psalm 39:5). Only God in the person of Jesus Christ can give you a divine nature that can dwell in His presence safely and enjoy His holy nature forever.

When you die, you will get to Hell really quick. You may ask, "How far down is hell?" Just a step. There is but a step between you and eternal death and darkness in hell fire (Jude 1:6). If you die without Jesus Christ, you'll go to hell like a bullet. Hell is at the end of a Christ-rejecting life. By nature, you're lost and going to hell. Here are Eight roadblocks to keep you from going to Hell: The Holy Spirit, The Holy Bible, a Christian's witness, Calvary's Cross, someone's prayers for you, sermons on Sin-Christ's Blood Atonement-Death-Recompense-Judgment-Hell, your conscience, and the Creation you see every day. If you get to Hell, you will have to work at it like a dog. You can't go to Hell without stomping right over the Blood of Jesus Christ.

Now understand - A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. You may have the best intentions and be very sincere, but if you turn up your nose at Jesus Christ and His Righteousness, and refuse what the Scriptures say, you'll cut your soul's jugular vein with the knife of your Unbelief. In the Holy Bible, there is only one escape hatch from Hell, and it is not a religion or a church, it is not good works, meditation, prayers, keeping the golden rule, or doing good to your fellow man. The Bible says that says that Jesus Christ Himself is the Way to Heaven (John 14:6; Romans 10:3-4). And right now, you are either a saved sinner because you have trusted Christ's sinless Blood Atonement to pay for your sins, or you are a lost sinner, because you are trying to work your own way to Heaven. God help you to trust your soul with Jesus Christ before it's too late.

Actual Truth 1

There is religious heresy, and then there's the world's ideals, and then there is Actual Truth (John 17:17; John 14:6). *Actual Truth* is found in one Perfect Book (the AV 1611) and in one Perfect Person who bled and died for you (the man Christ Jesus - I Timothy 2:5-6). The Lord Jesus Christ said, "If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." This is the worst place you could ever die - IN YOUR SINS. If you do your best and follow your conscience, you'll end up in the Lake of Fire. You don't like that because you're self-righteous and you love yourself. You may think you're good enough to escape the judgment of your Maker without Jesus Christ's Righteousness, but you won't.

All you have to do to go to Heaven when you die is just be Perfect. But you can never be Perfect, because you're a sinner. Just one sin (a lie, a vile desire, a theft, a lustful thought, a selfish action, a proud attitude, or rejecting Christ and His Righteousness) makes you imperfect in God's sight. If you put helium in a balloon, it goes up, but if you put water in a balloon it goes down. It's what you've got in you, that will take you up or down at death (Romans 8:9, 11; I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). It's not what you've done, or didn't do. You need Jesus Christ's Spirit within you (John 1:12), or you will die in your sins.

Christ must make you Perfect in God's sight through the imputation (free transfer) of His Righteousness to your sinful soul. Remember, JEHOVAH God is holy and He is a consuming fire. If you are not perfectly holy within through Christ's Righteousness when you die, you will have to endure God's wrath, the Lake of Fire forever. You have a soul and your soul will never burn up. If you *die in your sins* you'll have to burn as long as God lives - forever and ever. Your soul is within your body now, and when you die your soul will leave your body. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Christ is the authority on Eternity, not Darwin or your professor. Jesus Christ mentioned Hell 18 times in the four Gospels - Hell is a fact. The best you can do will land you in Hell. Self-righteousness hates that truth.

The self-loving atheist has his mind made up, he's going to think what he's been taught in the classroom till the day he dies, no matter if he costs him his own soul, and nobody's going to tell him anything to change his mind. But Frailty, Mortality, Reality, and Eternity are just around the corner. It's just a matter of time. The *actual truth* goes off the back of an atheist just like water off a duck's back. They try to brush off, duck, deflect, redirect, ignore, marginalize, and mock the Biblical facts of life, death, and Eternity. But soberness and truth are just over the hilltop. Simply put - atheists believe what Darwin says and go to Hell, and born-again Christians believe Christ Jesus' words and go to New Jerusalem.

Hell really exists, it is a real place of torment (Luke 16:28) - you hear it mentioned by unsaved people every day at work and maybe even in your home (they say, "Ah go to hell, it's hot as hell, that's funny as hell, as sure as hell"). Just listen closely each day to the unregenerate man's words - he'll preach to you about hell more than most preachers, and he doesn't even know he's doing it. Hell's not just for bad folks, and Heaven is definitely not for good folks. Hell is not the grave or just separation from God, it is literal fire and flames (Matt 13:42; 18:8; 25:41; Luke 16:24; Jude 1:7). Everlasting fire or Everlasting life -- it's your choice.

There is a dreadful hell, and everlasting pains, where lost sinners must with devils dwell, in darkness, fire, and chains. The flames of hell will pierce your unredeemed soul, yet death will flee away, and though in flames you'll ever burn, you'll never burn away. There in hell fire you'll weep and wail and gnash your teeth, with bitter groans and sighs; No rest you'll have, night or day, and you'll never shut your eyes. The Lake of Fire will be the cursed end of every sinful wretch if he does not trust his soul with Jesus Christ alone. The world cannot tolerate the fact, that when a man dies, if he is not Perfect and Holy he burns forever in his sins. No earthly religion will tolerate that truth, a Hindu, or Buddhist, or Muslim, or Jew will never believe that. No religion teaches that the best you can do will land you on your back in hell fire, except one, and that is Biblical Christianity. One day if you die unconverted and unprepared to meet God, you will go and help fill Satan's dark dwelling in the fiery prison beneath your feet, where you'll be weeping, yelling, and gnashing your teeth.

The reason you'll wind up in Hell, is because you want your way, instead of God's way. You are resisting the Holy Spirit. You've made up your mind to go to Hell. When you go into Hell one day, you're going to make it there without Jesus Christ. This is why - you think you're smarter than your Maker, you think you know more about life, death, and eternity than God your Creator; you think you're Somebody. You think you know something that God doesn't know, so you'll have to endure torment forever and you won't be able to blame God, or your mother, or your friends, or your wife for it. You'll go to Hell because of your own stinking pride and self-righteousness. You've been truly warned about Hell. But you're stuck on yourself, and you think you're going to outsmart your Creator, but you're not. Mark it down - your fancy smart-aleck arguments won't save from death and the judgment to come.

Real Christians are not good enough to make it to heaven, Christians can't do one thing to get to Heaven. Jesus Christ did everything for me to get to Heaven - that is all. My eternal hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' precious Blood and perfect Righteousness. There's nothing I can do to get past the judgment of God (Titus 3:5). You must stop trusting what you are doing, and simply trust what Christ Jesus has already done for you, or your eternal destiny will be outer darkness with the devil and his angels.

The torments and flames of hell and the lake of fire will never end. Why is that? Well, if you sin against a man, you can pay for it here in TIME, but you sin against the immortal Being that lives forever - you've sinned against the One that made you. And you will have to pay for your sins against God in Eternity until He dies. If God doesn't die, you've had it. You will want mercy and water in the lake of fire, but there won't be any there. And you'll hate yourself forever for going to hell. Are you saved and pardoned from eternal punishment - the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:15)?

Why Can't I Help? 2

You must be Born Again, because you were born into the wrong family. See Romans 5:12. You were born into the fallen human family of Adam, and that is the wrong family to be a part of, if you ever hope to have 'eternal life'. Our original father Adam was a criminal, and he was given the sentence of death. That death sentence is yours also, and you'll prove it one day soon by dying. We're all condemned because of our sin. That is the bad news. The world is already under judgment, Jesus came to save sinners from Judgment. The world desperately needed a Savior. Jesus was not just a judge, a teacher, a healer, a philosopher, a moralist, or a founder of a new religion. Jesus was the Savior of the whole world - He came to seek and save that which was lost in sin. The whole world is perishing in sin. Every member of the human race will die and face their Maker in their sins, unless they trust the Savior, and give Him their sins.

Now understand - You must be born again. Why? Because your first birth placed you into the a deadly family. So now must be supernaturally birthed into a new family by the power of Christ Jesus (John 1:12). You must be freely adopted into the right family by God's rich grace. A miracle from God must take place that rebirths you into the 'God's family'. You need a supernatural second birth - Ye Must Be Born Again.

There's no Grace in Buddhism, you PAY, their false new birth is called Reincarnation. By being reincarnated, you pay and pay and pay throughout many lives here on earth for your bad deeds until you reach a state of Nirvana. Buddhism teaches you have to PAY. But reincarnation is only a fatal delusion and a diabolical lie right out of hell. There's no Grace in Hinduism, you have to PAY. In Islam, you must PAY for your sins, Allah never promises the sinner free and eternal forgiveness.  You see, Muhammed never bore your sins, became Sin for you, paid for your sins, or died for your sins. Muhammed was a sinner, Jesus was the sinless Sin-Bearer who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven from earth; He said so Himself in John 14:6. There are not many roads to God, there is only ONE - His name is Jesus Christ. The Incarnate God said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by ME." This is the offense of the Cross. Jesus Christ is right, and everyone else is wrong. He is the WAY, and everything else is not the way. The Gospel of Christ is TRUTH, and all other worldly religions are a lie. Jesus is the way to Heaven, and every other way is the way to Hell.

Jesus Christ is LIFE, and all other man-made religions will take you straight into ETERNAL DEATH - the Lake of Fire. If you trust anyone other than Jesus Christ, you will find out for yourself when you die. Man never treats any other truth or science like he seems to treat spiritual and eternal truth. Man always wants to deal with facts and reality, except when it comes to his soul and his eternal destiny. Sinful man is insanely self-destructive and suicidal with his immortal soul. Man is concerned about losing his hair or health, but not his soul. Sin is deceitful and blinds the mind. One thing is needful - the Righteousness of God on your soul.  See John 20:31; I John 5:12-13; John 3:7,16-18,36; Romans 5:8-12; II Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9. You're as full of sin as the ocean is full of salt. Sin has saturated your entire life. Regeneration occurs instantaneously, justification and forgiveness of sins occurs as swiftly as a flash of lightning. There is no good thing whatsoever in you, vile and dirty within. You life is a vain bubble, and it shall burst directly.

You are full of sin one minute, you look to Christ, and then it is all forgiven in an instant; all your sins, past, present, and to come, are all cast behind the Lord's back. Jesus saves the sinner who trusts in Him immediately. You have no good works in which to trust, no self-righteousness on which to rely, cast away your boastings, come to Christ as a poor, guilt, helpless sinner. Believe in Christ's Blood Atonement alone. You are full of sin, ye must be born again from above.

Salvation is not a process of a combination of good works and faith, but a supernaturaltransaction that takes place personally once and for all between you and the living Savior. This transaction is called the New Birth - Being Born Again. Fix your attention fully on Christ dying for your sins and then rising from the dead - Meditate on His bleeding love for your sins. Jesus paid the full penalty for all your sins, there's nothing left for you to do. You cannot work your way into His acceptance of you. You can't help Christ save your soul. Stop loving your sins. Believe on Christ now - Lost sinner, come just as you are and trust Jesus - Look completely to HIM alone for all your soul's needs. The very moment you do that, you are Born Again. After you trust Christ, start striving against your sin by the grace of God, and tell some other sinner how Jesus saved you from the love of sin.

Why Can't I Help? 1

Man wants to do his best to get rid of his own sin. The natural instinct of mankind is to 'work' on behalf of their own cure. Human nature naturally wants to help God provide the solution to its sin problem. But there's no human remedy for sin, none. Religion and human nature doesn't want to admit that. You must renounce all your self-goodness. You can't be good enough, you can't join any church, you are cursed with Sin, you're a sinner, you must give yourself over to Jesus Christ completely, and He must give you Free Eternal Life, without any human merit.

Every sinner by nature is entirely lost and full of sin. There is no hope of you being saved by your own righteousness, because it is unrighteousness. There is none righteous, no, not one. Human nature despises Christ because of Satanic pride.  Man goes to go hell because he loves his sin.  You must be made a *new creature* within by the power of God (John 1:12), not by your own human works.

"What must I do to be saved from *the love* and penalty of sin?" What is your answer to this all-important question? Mankind is asking this question today, and there are many different answers that the world throws at lost souls groping in the darkness of sin. Well, the Holy Bible's answer to being saved is this, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31)." Believing on Christ is simply trusting to *Him*! That is, Trusting only in His Great atoning sacrifice for miserable sinners. Believing is relying upon, or trusting. Sinner, only trust in Christ. True Faith is the gift of God, and God only gives His Faith to sinners in need of a Savior.

Real Faith looks up to Christ Jesus, God in the flesh who dwelt among us.  He lived selflessly on earth; He was crucified for sinners. He offered up Himself for all of us upon the tree of Calvary. Jesus did all this out of pure love to His enemies. God Incarnate, He that made the heavens, veiled Himself in manhood.  God Himself came down here as a Jewish man to you, poor sinner, that He might take you up to Himself in glory. The Son of God bled for every human sin. His griefs and sufferings were not for Himself, for in Him is no sin at all. God suffering instead of sinful man, that the justice of God might be fully satisfied, and the mercy of God might be freely bestowed on needy sinners.

Think much of the Savior, picture His wounds, look only to His blood, see your Creator bleed. Jesus died especially for you, and on the Cross He shed His blood, from Sin to set you free. Only Jesus can forgive all your sins. Have done once for all with all reliance upon feelings or doings, and Rest yourself on the sinless Blood Atonement and Righteousness of Jesus Christ.

But what does it mean to 'Believe'? "Believe" means to "to place all your trust in the finished cross-work of the Lamb of God - Jesus Christ." Believing is to fix your entire dependence on the sin-atoning work of Christ Jesus, to make Him your soul's only object of Trust. Fix your eye on the fact that God Incarnate bled and died for your sins. Christ's blood and righteousness is completely sufficient for all your eternal salvation from sin. In other words, it is not Jesus 'plus' something else; it is not the Cross 'plus' human works; it is not anything plus - it is Christ Jesus alone that saves real sinners, period.

Self-righteous human nature wants to try and pay for its sins by self-atonement. Self wants to suffer and work in some way to help atone for its own sins. Self is just too stinking proud to give up trying and working, and simply trust in the finished sinless work of Jesus Christ for the total payment of all your sins. If you try to pay for any of your sins with your works, you will have to pay for all your sins in Hell. Either Jesus will pay for all your sins, or you must pay for all of them. This is not a "hope so" or a "think so" salvation, or "I'll give it my best shot".

All the worldly religions teach that you must pay for your sin-debt in some way or fashion by the completion of some undefined amount of good deeds, but the Glorious Gospel of Christ teaches that Christ Jesus bore all your sins and paid it all with God's Blood that flowed from His veins on Calvary's tree. Jesus cried, "It is Finished!" from Calvary before He died for your sins. God's divine justice was completely satisfied by Christ's sinless blood-shed and death on the Cross. We know that for a fact, for Christ Jesus rose from the dead three days later according to the Scriptures, proving that God the Father accepted His payment for man's sins.

The man-made false gospels teach that Salvation is a *process*, that is, you believe, and you get baptized, and take the ordinances or sacraments, and make confession, and do your dead-level best to help God out. Men naturally seek salvation by human works; they refuse to surrender to the grace and righteousness of God, and try to hide themselves behind their own sham righteousness. Man's false gospels say, "You must hang on until your last breath, because you might not get in, if you mess up along the way. Your lifestyle on earth plays an important part in your self-salvation. You have to live IT, you know. You cannot depend exclusively on a merciful God who died for you. If you're good enough, you'll get to go to Heaven, maybe."

You see, your poor soul needs insurance, but you can't afford the payments. You're broke and in serious debt because of your continual sinning against God. You know that insurance isn't cheap. You have your home and car and dog insured. You probably even have your physical life insured, so that there will be financial provision for your family when you are gone. But what you need most, is to have your immortal soul insured with Christ's free divine, eternal insurance. When you Believe on Christ and receive His free soul insurance, you will have real assurance of safety from sin, death, and hell. As the old song goes, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine."

But what does it mean to "Believe?" To believe means to completely stop trusting in yourself, and completely trust in Christ Jesus Himself. Believe means to trust your never-dying soul into the hands of the Crucified and Risen Savior for eternal safekeeping. Only by the mercy of God can you be Born Again. Never trust yourself at all, only trust Christ. Men do not understand the way of trusting. They want to see, to reason, to argue; but to simply trust in "God in the flesh, living, bleeding, dying, buried, risen, gone into the heavens, and coming again", they do not like that. Believe is not 'doing' anything; it is to leave off doing altogether; it is just believing that Christ Jesus did it all! You have nothing to work for, nothing at all sinner, Jesus did everything for you, He did it all, long, long ago.

Self-Righteousness or the Substitute? 2

Self-righteousness cannot live in the environment of the Cross. You must not try to bring your ‘good works’ to God: for He will refuse you and them. The best you can do, just won’t do in the sight of a holy God. You have sinned and come way short of the glory of God. But Christ Jesus kept every jot and tittle of the Law perfectly and entirely for you.

Do you know what the word “Substitute” means? It means “Christ for us.” Christ will be your Substitute, if you will simply receive Him. The Gospel is not a list of commands you must do in order that God may be reconciled to you, but the Gospel is what the Son of God has done instead of you. He took your place here, on earth, that you might obtain His place in Heaven. As the Perfect One, in life and in death, as the Doer and the Sufferer, He is offered to you that you may freely receive the benefit of His Perfection and Righteousness as soon as you trust in the gospel.

All your sin and imperfection, however great, is lost in the completeness of His perfection, so that God sees you not as you are, but as He is. All that you are, and have done, and have been, is lost sight of in what He is, and has done, and has been. Sinners can only rest upon this sin-bearing completeness of the Son of God, as the Substitute,. You need the Sin-bearer; and God has given you One who is altogether perfect and Divine – the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can only be saved by another (the Lord Jesus) doing the whole for you. This is the way; the only way. It is God’s ONE WAY of saving the sinner. You have nothing to do in order to be saved, but to trust Him. Christ offers Himself to you as your Substitute; to do what you should have done, to suffer what you should have suffered, to pay what you should have paid. Christ died for you personally on the cross to pay your sin debt. But your debt is not paid till you believe: when you trust Him then you sin debt is paid – paid once for all, once and forever; but not till then. You must believe in Christ alone in order to be saved from sin, death, and hell. It is believing in Christ (complete trust) that brings you all the blessings of the sin-bearing work upon the cross. You must trust in Christ and stop trusting in yourself.

God has provided a Substitute for the guilty: 2,000 years ago God became a Man, and His name was Jesus Christ. He suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust. God offers this complete Substitute to you, and He waits for you to make the exchange for your sin. You must do business with God. The Son of God presents Himself to you, offering to be your Substitute. He died in your place, so you could go free. Jesus is willing. Are you willing? Do you want to do business with God one on one? You must go face to face with Jesus Christ to get to Heaven.  He must take yours sins away, or they will forever remain on your guilty soul. Give God your sin, and He will give you His Son. Your yielding to take Christ as your Substitute is faith. That is it. This is the only thing that will break the sinner’s chain. It is in receiving the Divine Substitute that the sinner is set free to serve the living God. To go to Heaven, you must begin with the Substitute; you must deal with Him for pardon and deliverance from sin.

Now is the time, now is the time. Dear sinner, this is your opportunity. Seize it and use it, before it passes away forever. There is danger all around in your life; hell is only a heartbeat away, death is pursuing you this moment, but there is still time. The door of mercy is as wide open as the love of God can throw it; the Son of God begs you to come and He will give you rest. Will you let this opportunity slip? Will you lose heaven, your soul, and eternal gladness? Time is closing, life is ending, and the Judge is coming, prepare to meet the living God, flee from wrath to come, look unto Jesus and trust in His works alone: His blood and His righteousness. Drop your good works and fly to Christ for shelter and refuge from the storm of God’s wrath. There is reconciliation with God simply through the blood of the Lamb. God is waiting to pardon and receive you sinner. Let go of your sin and self-righteousness and lay hold on eternal life – the Lord Jesus Christ.

Men cling to their righteous self with a death grip. Only the Holy Spirit’s power can persuade them to let go. Man is determined to cling to his self-righteousness and that the root problem what makes salvation so difficult.

Deep down in your depraved heart lies this awful evil, which only God can remove, this determination not to give up self-love and self-trust.  You may say, “I can’t believe!” This is only an excuse to cover your guilt and to pass the blame of your unbelief on God. You think that you have some ‘great thing’ to do in order to be forgiven; but the ‘great thing’ is done. Jesus cried, “It is finished!” when He was dying on the cross for your sins. You want to do some great thing, and get the credit and glory for doing it. But God has declared that the great thing is done, “once for all,” never to be done again, but you still try to attempt another great thing within yourself. You want to draw attention to your self and earn a pat on the back by your good works, but your good work, your righteous self, is a hideous monster that lives with you. Your righteous self hates God with a passion and despise the free gospel. You foolishly think you will please God and satisfy your own conscience.

But the receiving of the great thing done (Jesus’ finished work) is what God presses on you as the only thing sufficient for your salvation and your peace. You may think you must wait, and work, and struggle, and weep before you are in a ‘fit state’ for receiving Jesus, but this is only self-delusion. You refuse to do what God wishes you to do; you continually substitute something else of your own, some process of preparation for acceptance with God: but you will not make any progress in your own works and will not receive any reward for your voluntary humility. You may think this is too simple, and turn away seeking something to do so you can receive some accolades and draw attention to yourself!

But God sets the Fountain filled with Jesus’ blood before you, and says, “Wash.” But you turn away to some something else. God brings you the best robe, the righteousness of His Precious Son, and offers you to put it on. But you say, “this is too simple.” And you turn away and cling to your own filthy rags of self-righteousness. You say, “This kind of gospel leaves nothing for me to do. But what about me? Don't I have to impress God somehow?” The gospel of the grace of God leaves nothing for you to do – nothing but to be clothed by another’s hand in another’s raiment. Your soul must be stripped naked of your own goodness before you can put on Christ’s righteousness.

God must bring you face to face with His free-love. He says to you, “Take my Son, and be at rest.” You must recognize the great work of His Son and give Him all the glory. The Bible says, “but him that glorieth, let Him glory in the Lord.” Just face it, if you are ever saved, God must receive all the glory for salvation. But you continue to hesitate or turn wholly from God’s offer of free-mercy.  You refuse to let God’s love flow into your soul, because it so absolutely free. The gospel is simple, faith is simple, the word of God is simple, the way to God is simple; but your heart is wholly set against all of these things. You resist and refuse. You prefer some way of your own, and you cast the blame of your own sin on God. Man’s glory and goodness is clean forgot, dumped, and left out at the cross. The Cross exterminates and extinguishes all human goodness.  Self-righteousness cannot live in the environment of the Cross.

Remember, Jesus Christ came to earth and died in your place to lift off your sin from you and lay it upon Himself. He bore all your sin, and He is mighty to save. That which should have come upon the sinner (wrath and justice) has come upon Jesus, that the sinner might go free. The Judge of all the earth’s Justice is satisfied with the work done on Calvary, and asks no more: and a sinner can only be satisfied by Him (Jesus) who satisfied the Judge, the chains of sin will snap, the burdens fall, and disappear forever – buried in the grave of the Substitute, from which it cannot rise. In the cross there is salvation – and nowhere else. You must come wholly as a sinner to the cross and blood of Christ, or be shut out from God’s mercy forever. God will only the cry for help from a sinful, contrite heart: Send up this heart cry to God – “O God, save me, or I perish. God of the Bible, please forgive me for your Son’s sake. God of mercy, have mercy on me and save me from my sin.”

If you are overwhelmed by guilty and in despair over your sin, there is forgiveness through the blood of the Lamb – the finished work of Immanuel. If eternity is a reality, then it behooves you to prepare for it, for endless terror or endless joy is no small thing to trifle with. If sin is a certainty in your life and consciousness, and the Bible says it is, they you must not play with it; and if God hates sin utterly, they you must hate it too, and you must get rid of it, and you must get rid of it God’s way – through His Precious Son’s works, not yours.

You are not bidden to work for pardon, but to receive it freely – without works. You are not bidden to wait for pardon, but to get it at once as a finished and provided gift, given to every sinner who will go to God for it, and take it in God’s appointed way. You must be in earnest concerning your soul’s destiny. You need to mind eternal things without delay. You must go straight to Jesus Christ for all your needs, and you must meet Him at the cross.

If you will not go to Jesus, you will seek all your life in vain for peace and satisfaction. You are trying to be happy, but you know not how. You go from place to place searching for pleasure, but your life seems to have no joy in it. You are passing through this life weary and unhappy; you live in vain, both for yourself and others.

Sinner friend, would you be happy? You must go to God for His love and joy. This world and your sin will do nothing for you. It cannot give you peace. Only the God who made you can give you peace – His own satisfying peace. Go immediately, and get it from Him. Would you be safe? In Divine Love, God gave His Son, as the bearer of your sins; as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” In love, God wrote down the gospel message in His holy word, the whole story of the life and death of the divine Sin-bearer, the Lord Jesus.

The “Word was made flesh” at Bethlehemjudah; the Son of God there became a man, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. There He who knew no sin came under the burden of your sins. For sin is so evil and God is so just, and the law is so holy, that either you must bear your own sins or another must bear them for you; your sins cannot pass unpunished. There must be a substitute, if you are to have salvation. For thirty-three years “the Son of the Blessed” (the Lord Jesus Christ) dwelt among us, speaking words of grace, doing deeds of mercy, revealing God to men, carrying out the great work of love, and completing the great atonement and propitiation for your sin.

Up Calvary’s mountain, one dreadful morning, JESUS the Incarnate God, went up to the cross as the innocent Sin-Bearer for you; He suffered the wrath of God for six long hours on the cross; He died and went down to the grave; He rose again the third day and His great Sacrifice was accepted by the Father. “He was delivered for our offences, and rose again for our justification.” “He suffered, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” “He made peace by the blood of His Cross.”

All the perfection of Christ’s person and work is now presented to you sinner, that you may receive it, and be saved by the grace and kindness of God. The Gospel comes to you with the finished work of the Substitute, and presses that work on your acceptance. By simply taking Christ as God presents Him, you may stand in the perfectness of Christ, instead of your own imperfectness. Come to the mercy seat of God – the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ – with all of your sinfulness and worthlessness. Only believe and be saved today.

You must seek your soul’s safety in the Son of God, and beneath the protection of His cross. In Him only are you safe. His cross is the only shield and hiding-place for time and eternity. Time for you will soon pass away: you must stand before God and give account of all your sinful thoughts, words, and deeds (open and secret). Seek immediate safety in Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him. He waits to welcome a guilty sinner. He loves to bless the sinner. Go to Him now, and deal with Him fully, and fervently, and honestly, about your sin and the destiny of your soul. He will not send you away empty. Flee to Jesus and find safety under the shadow of His wings.  *Psalm 36:7; Matthew 23:37*