the little "i"

There is a little hell within every one of us: the human heart. The carnal mind loves to rain Cain. Strange things are happening in the heart every day. There is a very remarkable process going on there which men do not understand; men do not know what God is driving at, some are often driven to very great despondency - some even to despair. There is first a life without the Law - Men are naturally trying to make it from this life over into Eternity on the 'rickety bridge' of their own self-goodness, laboring to earn favor with an unknown God. But this weak bridge of self-effort will not hold up their heavy-laden Soul, and they will soon fall into the Lake of Fire unless they are awakened from their Sin Coma and the Mercy of God comes to their soul by the help of the Holy Spirit.

You see, The heart of the natural man is like a snow globe filled with black flakes settled at the bottom. To those looking on from the outside, the water appears clear and pure. Everything seems calm, clean, and undisturbed. But when someone takes the globe and shakes it up, all the black flakes rise and swirl throughout the water. What was once hidden at the bottom is now suddenly exposed for all to see. The water was never truly clean; the darkness was simply lying undisturbed. 

So it is with the human heart. Many people imagine themselves to be righteous, because the corruption within them has never been exposed. Their Sins lie hidden beneath the surface, unnoticed by themselves and unseen by others.

But then the Holy Spirit, The Finger of God, comes with the Law of God, and stirs the heart and shakes the conscience. The Commandments begin their search of the heart and stir up the SINS that were once concealed. Pride, unbelief, lust, selfishness, envy, covetousness, and rebellion against God begin to appear in their true colors. The sinner sees that the problem is not merely outward actions, but a corrupt nature dwelling within him.

In mercy, God awakens the self-righteous sinner and shows him what he truly is. The Law pulls back the dark curtain and reveals the true hidden condition of the soul. What seemed clean is discovered to be defiled; what seemed alive is found to be spiritually dead. Then the sinner begins to understand his desperate need of Christ Jesus, for only the Savior can cleanse the heart and make it truly pure before God.

THE HOLY BIBLE still says in Romans 7:8-9: "But Sin, taking occasion by the Commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the Law Sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once, but when THE COMMANDMENT CAME, sin revived, and I died."  You see, THE BIG "I" was broken by the LAW and died, and became a little "i". And in Proverbs 6:23 it is written, "For THE COMMANDMENT is a lamp; and the Law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." The Law comes and reproves and condemns us. "For Thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness." (II Samuel 22:29)

"Sin, taking occasion by the Commandment" means that the sinful heart rebels against God's Commands. When God says, "Thou shalt not," sinful human nature immediately desires the forbidden thing. This is why a child may not think about touching something until he is told not to touch it. The Command itself reveals the rebellion already present in the heart. The spiritual truth is that God's Law does not create sin—it exposes sin. "Concupiscence" means sinful desire, lust, covetousness, and unlawful cravings. Before the Law shines its put Light upon the heart, a person may think himself relatively good in his own eyes. But when God's Commandments are understood spiritually, they expose countless sinful desires within. The Commandment, "Thou shalt not covet," reveals that SIN is not merely outward actions but your inward desires and cravings. The Law is very broad and reaches down into your evil thoughts, vile desires, selfish motives, filthy imaginations, and strange affections of the heart, and not just your outward deeds.

Sin lies dormant within you, hidden, and not fully recognized. Like a deadly disease that has not yet been diagnosed, it is present, but not understood until the Blood work shows you the inward facts. A man may think he is spiritually healthy, because he has never seen himself measured by God's perfect standard - THE All-Seeing Heart-Searching LAW. I know thy works. Sin seems "dead" until God's Law awakens the conscience. There was a time when you considered yourself spiritually alive, righteous, and acceptable before God, and you felt secure.  Many people today are "alive" in this sense. They believe they are good enough for God because they compare themselves with other sinners rather than with God's holiness. The Commandment "came" in its true spiritual meaning strikes your dead conscience: suddenly you see what you really are before God. The Law exposes pride, covetousness, self-righteousness, unbelief, and inward corruption. Sin "revives" in the sense, that it appears in all its ugliness and power. What had been hidden within you, now becomes visible. Your self-righteousness must die; your strange confidence in yourself must be slain; all your hope  of earning God's favor must meet their demise; The LAW must slay your vain illusions that you are righteous. This is the Spirit of God working in the heart before Conversion/Regeneration. The Spirit of God strips a sinner of every refuge of self-trust until the person sees himself as guilty, condemned, helpless, and spiritually bankrupt. 

The Law kills first before the Gospel HEALS. The LAW'S purpose is to reveal your sins and destroy self-righteousness. A sinner who has never seen himself condemned by the Law inwardly will never see his need for Christ Jesus.

The LAW says: You are guilty. You have broken God's commandments. You cannot help justify yourself. You deserve judgment and eternal condemnation. The GOSPEL then says: Christ has obeyed the LAW perfectly where you've failed miserable. Christ has suffered the punishment sinners like you deserve. Christ's RIGHTEOUSNESS is given freely to the sinner who believes on THE LAMB OF GOD, The Sinner's Substitute. Salvation is Now Freely offered and given by Grace through Faith in GOD'S PRECIOUS BLOOD. The Law shows the plague within; Christ's Precious Blood provides the Cure. The Law reveals the sinner's crimes; the Gospel reveals the SAVIOR. When God's Commandment truly enters your conscience, your dreams of self-righteousness will all die, and you will learn that your Soul's true need is Jesus Christ alone.

Knowing that a man is NOT justified by the works of the Law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be Justified by the Faith of Christ, and NOT by the works of the Law: for by the works of the Law shall no flesh be Justified. (Galatians 2:16) For as many as are of the works of the law are under the Curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth NOT in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them. (Galatians 3:10)

Here's an Illustration - A person goes down into his dark and dingy cellar, that has been shut up for a good while, and there are lots of foul odors in the air and vile creatures on the floor and spiders creeping along the walls. The first time he goes down into the cellar without a flashlight, and he doesn't see the disgusting things dwelling there. But the next time, he takes a flashlight, and he soon wishes to get out of that place.

Now understand, this time the flashlight shows him all the rats, cockroaches, spiders, and all the other vile creatures that were lurking so closely to him. The flashlight (the Commandment) did not create the vile creatures, but it only revealed and excited them. The Law does this in the heart of sinful man. The Law takes down the shutters and let in the Light, so you can see your Evil. The vile creatures (your sins) are all quiet, sleeping, and at rest while there is only darkness, but when the flashlight (the Commandment) comes, your sins all scurry to and fro to escape the light. When the 'Commandment' comes to the sinful heart of man, it does just that - it excites and reveals all the vileness of your sinful nature which has hidden before - it stirs up your sins, and you find out in reality that your sins were there all the time, always there, and then you will say, "Sin revived, and I died." The great "I" in all of us must die, before we will seek Christ Jesus sincerely.

You may not know it, but Sin is lurking in your heart, and the Spirit and Law of God, working in tandem, are gently attempting to show you the exceeding sinfulness of your heart. The Law of God (the Commandment) comes with a flashlight and attempts to show you what you never thought was in your heart.

Once the Law has visited your heart and revealed your real sinful state to you, He then points you up the stairs to the True Light, the light of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Coming out of the cellar of sin is repentance, you can't stay in the cellar, and go to Heaven - you must Repent and Believe the Gospel.You must acknowledge you're a sinner, and in need of a Savior, and then you can "WILL" to be saved by receiving Christ into your body and soul, and believing (trusting implicitly) on His name. Simply trust God's promise to save from sin. Jesus said this, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on ME hath everlasting life." (John 6:47) 

You must admit that you are helpless to save yourself. It is impossible for Jesus to cure those, that will not admit they are sick. Jesus did not die for good people that think that can save themselves. The only people that Jesus came to save was sinners. Jesus is God as well as man - God manifest in the flesh. Christ is the One who is the JEHOVAH SAVIOR. JESUS offered Himself as a Sacrifice for ungodly sinners, not the righteous. He paid the price for redemption with His own life's blood. He saves all lost and guilty sinners that come to Him by faith in His precious blood. He then gives them assurance that their sins are forgiven and delivered from the just judgment of God. Jesus received what He didn't deserve (the wrath of God on the Cross), so we could receive what we don't deserve (the mercy of God). There is only one way to get rid of your sin - TRUSTING ONLY in the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST.

The lost, natural man is like a ship out at sea that ought to have been decommissioned long ago and sank. There he is out at sea, living life everyday as if everything was just fine. He does not care to inquire whether the hull is sound, or whether it is not leaking, or whether the pumps work well or not. He has seemed to sail very well in fair weather, and he does not care to know anything else. No one in their right mind would like to go to sea in a vessel like this. The sane person would want to know whether the ship would stand the strain of a storm, whether it was seaworthy, and, if it were not so, you would stay on shore. You may be in a leaking ship - a ship that is rusted through and through, and you will go to pieces when a storm comes upon you. Only God can deliver you from false hopes, and living without the Law; may the law come on board your vessel even now, and begin to inspect you closely. And when the Law's inspection is done, you will soon discover that your vessel is only fit to be abandoned. At that time, I hope you will get onboard a better vessel, a vessel that shall stand all storms, of Whom Christ is the Captain - a Vessel which, indeed, is CHRIST HIMSELF.

Many people have heard and read the Law and The Ten Commandments. Some are acquainted with every letter of the Law, every jot and tittle. They have constant discussions and disputes with one another about the minute particulars of the Law. But the Law has never come home 'spiritually' to the heart and conscience of most men. The Spirit of God brings home the Commandment to the heart, and then Sin revives, and Self-Righteousness DIES. Men are living in a state of false security. They 'think' they are keeping the Law. They do not dread dying, or standing before the judgment-bar of God. They feel perfectly ready to meet God - the Judge of all the earth. Self-righteous sinners are comfortably resting in their own Law-keeping, according to their own imagination and religion, and they feel perfectly secure. They are perfectly at ease and have a false peace. Nothing disturbs them. They don't have sleepless nights thinking of their past iniquities. The religionist thinks he is doing all he ought to do, leaving nothing undone that he ought to have done. The unregenerate heart is alive without the Law.

This false security brings men into a proud self-righteous state, and he will begin to look down upon others. They expect to be saved or help save themselves by their own doings. He has not yet understood about Jesus, the Son of God, who died for his sins, and Who has risen from the dead to GIVE them pardon - He has never trusted in the works of Christ, he clings to his own. The tree of good works, that the self-righteous sinner finds shelter under must be withered and chopped down by the Spirit of God using the Law of God.

He thinks he is good as he ought to be, and he is better than others, and sets out to make other people better. The Law of God, the axe of God, cuts to the root of self-righteousness. The "I" must be cut down and killed and left dead on the spot. They have a notion that the 7th Commandment, "Thou shalt not commit Adultery" only meant an ACT of outward uncleanness. They feel perfectly innocent, because they have never committed adultery by a physical act. But what they don’t know is -- that the Law condemns the sinner if there has been even an unclean thought or filthy imagination, and that uncleanness of heart and 'thought life' was as obnoxious to the holiness of God as an actual physical act. God can see your thought life at all times.

Once they discover this, their life of pride and self-security will come to an end. If you have hated someone in the heart, and angry and wished him harm or spoken bitter words concerning him, you have killed him in your heart. You have already committed murder in the sight of God in your thoughts.

The 10th Commandment, "thou shalt not Covet" condemns every sinner even the slightest "covetous desire". Sinners are not as secure as they think they are. They cannot afford to be proud and judge others. Most people live in a proud, haughty way, because they do not understand the Law. The entrance of Thy words giveth Light.

Good self-righteous people have wrapped themselves up in the filthy cloak of their own goodness, because they have really been very 'careless' about what the Law of God really is. They have not sincerely looked into it. It has not been thoroughly and deeply considered by them. They think the Commandments are only a matter of religious teaching, but nothing more. Your conscience convicts you of committing sins against God.

Some say "how does God know, and is there knowledge with the Most High?" What if we do break His Law - does God really care about it?" God is very merciful. He won't be severe with us poor sinners. And if we have offended God, we will whisper a prayer or two on our death bed, and all will be blotted out. They think that God is such an one as themselves. They think they can trifle with Sin, and so they think God will trifle with sin. The Law is inflexible, it is Holy.

Many professors of religion are living without the Law; they are very active in their religiousness. They are living reputable, respectable, religious lives, and they believe they are converted, but they are alive without the Law of God. There is mingled with their faith in Christ some sort of trust in themselves. They have never seen that the Law puts an end to all human power, strength, and righteousness as any assistance to help Christ out in the matter of Salvation. The Commandment of God has not yet come into their souls and laid them low. Until the Commandment comes from The Spirit of God, the self-righteous religious man will be in such a state as to think he is all right because he does not know the Law, he does not KNOW HIS SIN yet - this is the most foolish and dangerous condition a sinner can be in. He doesn't truly care about the Law, he doesn't know it, and concludes based on his ignorance that he is righteous. He continues to say he is all right - believes he is all right - thinks he is all right. But his future is grim, and will end in everlasting ruin.

"The Commandment came, and Sin revived." Sin before was dead in him. He did not believe he had any great sin in him. He is so good, there cannot be much sin at all in him. What does the Bible mean by the 'Commandment' coming? It means this, you see the Law's meaning. You never saw the Law before - that it had respect to your thoughts, wishes, and desires. God has sworn by Himself, that He will carry out the Law, and will not spare those who dare to break it, and will execute judgment upon all those who defy Him to His face and break His Commandments.

The power of the Law begins to work in your soul, and the Law is sharper than any two-edged sword. There is no sharper instrument with which to cut the soul than the broken Law of God. There is no plow that can tear the soul's fallow ground like that plow of the Ten Commandments. There is no arrow that can shoot forth, stick into the heart, and slay the soul's self-satisfaction as God's Commandments do when you see that they are holy, just, and good, and you have broken every one of them - broken them a thousand times a thousand times, and every breach of the Law is calling out for vengeance against you this very moment. The 'coming of the Commandment' is a dreadful, but a necessary thing, that must come to heart of every sinner. You may think your sin is dead and buried by your good works or religion, but then 'the Commandment comes' directly to you, and your sins will revive. Your sins LIVE, and every one of them will torment you, and point at you, and accuse you as the LAW condemns you. The way of transgressors is hard; be sure your sin will find you out.

Sin also revives in another sense - You think that God is too stern and strict and realize that you do not love God or His Law. The rebellion which has always been in your spirit begins to raise its ugly head and show itself in your thoughts, words, imaginations, and deeds. You will begin to feel a hatred against the Law that condemns you, and against God whom you have offended. Sin revives in your soul. Sin hates God, and God hates sin.

The good things you've done, or will do, are not sufficient to save your soul. Church membership and baptism is not adequate, any amount of money you may give to charity or church is not satisfactory. When it comes to salvation - it is Christ HIMSELF that saves the soul. You only need to know two things to go to Heaven - yourself a sinner, and Christ as the Savior. You provide the sinner, and God will provide the Savior. Salvation is a miracle, man cannot perform miracles, God must get all the glory for the miracle of salvation.

The working of the Holy Spirit and the Law is the strange process and experience that the soul of man 'must' encounter prior to receiving Christ. You must die inside, before you are Born Again, that is, made ALIVE by the Spirit of God. This is the only way a sinner is brought to Christ, and when the 'Commandment' comes to you, remember it is only in Mercy, so you will forsake all your self-trusts and place your Soul's entire Trust simply in the Blood of the Crucified and Resurrected Creator - the Lord Jesus Christ. The Sinless Blood of Christ is your only escape from the damnation of hell.

What is Hell? Hell is SIN and SELFISHNESS on fire. If you are SELFISH and think that you can help save yourself from Hell by your religious efforts and good works, you will end up burning forever. Abandon all your carnal trusts and self-goodness. Flee from the wrath of God to come. Only the blood of God can save you from the wrath to come. Seek ye the Lord Jesus Christ while He may be found, call upon *HIM* while HE IS NEAR. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved from the wrath to come. You may be a deceitful scoundrel, or a horrible wretch, a lustful prostitute, or a defrauding thief, or a respectable church-going citizen - it doesn't matter - you need Christ and GOD'S BLOOD today. Look to the Lamb of God, He is Alive forever more, Call upon His name, and trust Him now.

First, you see that you are condemned to die. He heard the sentence of condemnation. The great Judge of all the Earth is summoning him before the Judgment Bar of Eternity. Accusing him of having broken His Commandments. He feels condemnation pronounced upon Him. This is a dreadful feeling. All your hopes from past life die. You used to look back with great comfort upon your good works, religious efforts, but now you feel that you are an awful hypocrite, your never heart was in your actions and words. You never really loved God sincerely, or His Law at all.

And then, all your hopes as to the future died. You have broken the law, and all attempts to keep it in the future could not mend the past breaches and transgressions of the law; and you know that as you had broken it in the past you would be sure to break it in the future, and in that respect you died. All your self-powers seemed to die. You realized God's pure holiness, and you perceived that every thought, word, and wish would condemn him, you sat before the law and trembled, and entreated that those words might not be spoken to you any more. So died all your hopes. You felt that you were condemned forever. Your last ray of self-hope was gone. You were once quite secure in your self, and even boastful - you were self-righteous, but not any more. You have broken God's law so often, and that you must perish and be cast into hell on account of your sins, your feel yourself quite lost. When the Commandment comes, it makes you mourn and feel you are lost.

When a sinner is killed by the Law inwardly, they truly understand where Salvation lies. You have no merits of your own; you do not want any. Christ has all the merits that you need to take you to heaven. If you will trust Christ to save you, he will save you, and His righteousness shall be yours. As long as you have any good in yourself, you will receive nothing from Christ, but when all your hope from your own goodness is laid at the foot of the law, then the Gospel can save you. The Gospel then says this to you, "Come unto *ME* all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will Give you REST." The Gospel points you directly to CHRIST CRUCIFIED, BURIED, RISEN, ALIVE FOR EVERMORE, who carried your sins, who was punished instead of you - The Gospel shows you how God's justice has been satisfied by the atoning BLOOD OF GOD. Believe on The Lamb of God and Live Forever! Take the mercy that God freely offers you. Take Mercy without money, without price, without works. Take it without preparation. Take God's free mercy now; simply take it as God presents it to you. Just as you are ,without having but one plea, that Jesus died -- just as you are - Simple Take/Receive Jesus, and your sins are put on Him, and His Righteousness is put on your Soul.

You are filthy, condemned, and guilty in the sight of God. God has pronounced the eternal death sentence for you because of your sins. God's mercy is freely held out to you. You cannot be saved by works. Let others try it if they will; you cannot, you know you cannot. You can only be saved by the Mercy and Grace of God. God freely offers salvation through His Dear Son in the Gospel. God will not deny you, however black and filthy you may be with Sins, or however vile you may feel yourself to be. You only have to COME, to TRUST, to BELIEVE in JESUS, RELY solely upon HIM, to throw yourself upon HIM, to lean upon HIM, to hang upon HIM, to depend on HIM, and you will be saved forever. Look to Jesus Christ bleeding and dying and TRUST HIM with your SOUL.

Life is Short, Eternity is NOT: Be Wise, Plan Ahead.