Condemnation, our friend
“And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.” (Ju. 4:3). The whole church in repentance. Imagine it today! Not just guilty individuals, but the whole congregation was in repentance. Then God acted to save them.
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mk.1:14,15). Repentance always precedes God’s help. It must. Our pride makes us unsafe to save. If He were to save us in our proud state, we would become imprisoned in a malaise where need would be non-existent; and that’s the last thing He wants. For an unconverted person to believe God has saved when the requirement of desperate need was not satisfied is to encase that person’s soul in unbelief, possibly forever. Yet, this is going on all over Christendom.
For good reasons “the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.” (Gal. 3:24). When God has worked sorrow for sin and the turning away from it into our hearts, “godly sorrow” that “worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of” (2Cor 7:10), then He can take the next step of pulling us out of sin. But not until then.
If we claim God’s blessing while denying His requirement of repentance, then Satan takes control and leads us to himself. “Salvation” without repentance is spiritualism. Self is showcased. Service to God is corrupted with self-exaltation. Self is woven into our offerings to Christ. We are doomed to self-destruction.
But how to bring a whole church to repentance? How to bring a whole denomination? a whole remnant movement? We can’t make ourselves repentant. There is only one way to repentance—the law of God; where thus saith the Lord, “SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW!” (1Jn. 3:4).
The Law of God defines sin and is the cause of guilt and shame. The condemnation and pain of the Law and the prophets is His arrow to break down our proud tough exteriors. He can’t deal with sin until He has called out sin and called it by its right name.
The covenant/gospel sets the tone for God’s grace and love toward the helpless, ignorant sinner. The Law sets the tone for God’s condemnation and hatred for sin. Together, the Law and the gospel save us. Separated, they each are the strength of sin and they each work death.
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mk.1:14,15). Repentance always precedes God’s help. It must. Our pride makes us unsafe to save. If He were to save us in our proud state, we would become imprisoned in a malaise where need would be non-existent; and that’s the last thing He wants. For an unconverted person to believe God has saved when the requirement of desperate need was not satisfied is to encase that person’s soul in unbelief, possibly forever. Yet, this is going on all over Christendom.
For good reasons “the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.” (Gal. 3:24). When God has worked sorrow for sin and the turning away from it into our hearts, “godly sorrow” that “worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of” (2Cor 7:10), then He can take the next step of pulling us out of sin. But not until then.
If we claim God’s blessing while denying His requirement of repentance, then Satan takes control and leads us to himself. “Salvation” without repentance is spiritualism. Self is showcased. Service to God is corrupted with self-exaltation. Self is woven into our offerings to Christ. We are doomed to self-destruction.
But how to bring a whole church to repentance? How to bring a whole denomination? a whole remnant movement? We can’t make ourselves repentant. There is only one way to repentance—the law of God; where thus saith the Lord, “SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW!” (1Jn. 3:4).
The Law of God defines sin and is the cause of guilt and shame. The condemnation and pain of the Law and the prophets is His arrow to break down our proud tough exteriors. He can’t deal with sin until He has called out sin and called it by its right name.
The covenant/gospel sets the tone for God’s grace and love toward the helpless, ignorant sinner. The Law sets the tone for God’s condemnation and hatred for sin. Together, the Law and the gospel save us. Separated, they each are the strength of sin and they each work death.
posted by David | 7:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home