We Are Not God
I feel it is impossible to improve on Spurgeon; however, some thoughts regarding the following devotional from Grace Gems are swimming in my head.
1 John 2:3-4, "By this we know that we have come to know Him, IF we keep His commandments. The one who says, 'I have come to know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
We preach salvation by grace alone, but we do not preach the salvation of those who still continue to live in sin. The children of God are a holy people, washed, purged, sanctified, and made zealous for good works. He who talks about faith, but has no works to prove that his faith is a living faith--is simply lying.
So many ignorant people in our world live that lie. They believe they will go to Heaven just because. Some of them have never or rarely cracked a Bible open. They try to fool themselves into thinking they are good enough for eternal glory apart from God. I get it. This was me. I was taken to Sunday School a lot of weeks as a child; but that stopped. In later years, I tried opening my Bible several times, but Matthew begins with a very long list of names, many of which are impossible to read. Book closed. I thought I was ok with God because I believe He created the world and because I was a “good” person. I wasn’t a good person. I was living for myself alone. I had no idea what it meant to live for Christ alone.
Sometimes it’s the people sitting in church week in and week out that have fooled themselves. They’re really no different than I was; except they sit in the pews every Sunday. They might be involved in the church; Bible studies, small groups, etc. but their heart hasn’t been changed by the Holy Spirit. They live a legalistic life where the fruit of their heart is the world’s fruit and not the fruit of the Spirit.
It is faith that saves us, not works--but the faith that saves us, always produces a holy life. God-given faith always . . .
renews the heart,
changes the character,
and influences the desires and motives.
Salvation comes through grace by faith. Faith produces the holy life that Spurgeon mentions. Evidence of that holy life is the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That fruit evidences itself when no one is looking.
One who merely professes to be a Christian, but lives continually in unrepentant sin--shows by his life that he is not a genuine believer. The New Testament consistently affirms that saving faith always produces holiness. (James 2:17; 1 John 2:3-6). Persistent, willful, unrepentant sin--demonstrates that one's profession is false.
No doubt about it, sirs. You may be baptized and re-baptized, you may attend to sacraments, and you may believe an orthodox creed; but you will be damned if you live in sin! You may become a deacon, or an elder, or a minister--but there is no salvation for any man who still harbors his sins. "The wages of sin is death"--death to professors as well as to non-professors. If you hug your sins in secret, and will not part with them--then God will reveal those sins in public, and condemn you according to the strict justice of His Word.
Yes, we can attend church, go to our bible study, do mission work, and walk the walk of a born again believer, yet have false faith. If we “hug our sins in secret and will not part with them,” while professing to follow Christ, we are acting as if we are God. We are white washed tombs. We might look good on the outside and be full of dead bones inside. One might be so blinded they don’t even realize the depth of their sin; God could have given them over to their evil desires and they might be as blind as I was when I thought I was ok because I believed God was the Creator and I was a“good” person. This kind of person might have convinced themselves that because they do their “good” works they are pleasing God. Friends, this is contrary to Scripture. I fear these souls might be lost forever to the Lake of Fire.
Dear friend, are an accomplice to the sin of one that may very well be lost. I fear there are many church leaders that live in this place. They are arrogant and have convinced themselves that their congregants don’t sin. If you are one of those, you have denied the congregants you say you serve the full and complete Gospel; which means you have denied them saving grace. If one isn’t faced with their sin, they cannot be convicted of their sin, they cannot repent and run to the Cross of salvation! If that is you, you have made yourself to be a god. You will stand before the righteous Judge and give answer for the soul(s) you refused to bring to the foot of the Cross.
King Saul’s heart was hard. King David, while sinning in similar ways to Saul, realized his sin. Nathan confronted him when he sinned with Bathsheba and though there were consequences, David grew in faith through the situation. May we all be like King David whom God called a man after his own heart, instead of like Saul, and so many of the other Kings, that made themselves to be a god.
"Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil ... No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God." 1 John 3:8-9
"They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and unfit for any good deed." Titus 1:16
As the verses above state, we cannot continue in the “practice”* of sinning. If one never confronts their sin, or is not confronted with their sin, one will have false hope. Unfortunately, I fear those people are in grave danger of hearing. “Depart from me, I never knew you” from the One they pretended to serve. Those people are really choosing to serve themselves rather than the One true God.
If you are a willful sinner, I beg you to repent! I beg you to put your faith in Christ Jesus who went to the Cross in your place so you could be free from a fake gospel. A fake gospel that proclaims you to be God, instead of acknowledging the one true God.
If you are a church leader who denies that your congregants sin, I beg you to repent! I beg you to preach the fullness of the Gospel. I beg you to preach about the sin that is most certainly lurking in those sitting in the pews week after week. I beg you to preach about the mercy and grace of the Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ his son. You sirs, in your arrogance, are giving those people false hope! If you refuse to acknowledge your sin and the sins of your flock, you will stand before the throne and give a greater answer to the perfect, just and righteous Judge.
If you are a born again believer that sins but lives in grace, I ask you to join me in praying for those that are deceived in this way, that their eyes may be opened before it’s too late.
Eyes on Jesus
*the practice of sinning is the willful, continuation of a sin with no conviction or desire to change as opposed to one who feels conviction and sorrow for their sin.