A person who hears the Gospel, repents and believes in Jesus Christ as the one true Lord and Savior is saved. However, why are there are so many professing Christians who have heard the Gospel and yet have continually lived in sin and carnality?
First of all, let us define salvation. Salvation is the supernatural redemption of man from his sins along with its eternal consequences. This is made possible by the Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on the cross. Salvation is the removal of the eternal condemnation tied to every unconverted soul. However, it does not end here. God supernaturally puts His Spirit on the one He saves as a mark of ownership and also as a means to correct and direct the person's life. Man, who once belong to the devil, now belongs to God. It is also the Holy Spirit that makes the converted soul a new creature by supernaturally creating a new, God-fearing nature within him. This is the very reason why Jesus calls a person who repents of his sins, accepts his helplessness and believes in the Messiah as one who is "born of the Spirit" or "born again" (John 3:3). The Bible never taught that it is possible to be saved and yet continue to live in carnality. In fact, the Bible always refers to the elect as "new creatures" or men who have once been in bondage with sin but are now slaves of righteousness. In other words, it is impossible to have an encounter with God and not be changed.
Going back to the question, there are two Biblical and logical reasons why a professing believer who has heard the Gospel is not living a transformed and renewed life.
1) They heard the true Gospel but rejected it. (Written throughout the New testament)
2) They heard a false gospel. (Paul, Peter and other New Testament writers warned us about this)
The second reason is the most common reason. They did not hear the real Gospel. They heard a gospel that has been reduced that is why their commitments to Christ do not last. That is why adding more discipleship programs will not solve the problem. They must first be transformed by the Gospel before they can grow in Christ. Whenever we train unconverted souls we are training goats to act like sheep. As Christ said, we do not pour new wine into old wine skins for this would cost them to burst. The old wine skins must supernaturally renewed first before we start pouring the wine of God.
If we want to see the Holy Spirit move again as it did during the last 2000 years, we must go back and start preaching the fullness of the Gospel.
Modern, seeker-sensitive preachers no longer talk about the condemnation brought about by sin and have therefore taken away the offense of the Cross. A half-true gospel is still not the Gospel and it will only result to false fires. It is only through realizing the darkness of our souls that the Light of Christ can be seen. If we do not preach the depravity of man and the eternal disease that all mankind suffers in, we will have no Gospel and no true conversion. A person has to first understand the dark and hopeless prison he is in before he can desperately seek out the keys out of genuine need. Its not only that we have a God-shaped hole that needs to be filled in. It is also not only that our sins have separated us from God. Rather, it is our sins resulting to eternal damnation in hell and only through this understanding can we come to know the love of Christ on the cross. He offered His life freely as an atonement for our sins. If a person comes to Christ in ignorance without understanding the true state of his unconverted soul, he will not fully repent and he will not fully believe and will therefore not be saved at that moment. A patient who does not believe he is terminally ill will never seek a physician with a burning desire. That is why when a physician heals him, he gets no reaction, does no appreciate the fullness of the healing and simply goes back to world to once again indulge in carnality.
Watch this supplementary video and take note of every detail. Understand how modern preaching works: we take the desires of the people into consideration and change the message in accordance to the wants and whims of the people. We get applauses but we never get true conversion. We get more numbers but none of them have really been converted. This is not true evangelism. Evangelism is taking the hard truth of Scripture and preaching it regardless of what the people think. This is true evangelism and this is how the Gospel must be preached among the nations.
In the second video, Paul Washer's explains the psychological and emotional manipulation brought about by modern cultural evangelism. Also take note of his very first statements. It is only by the preaching of the Truth that true conversion by the Holy Spirit can take place. When we water down the Gospel into some sort of: "sin separates man from God-Christ died for you-do the sinner's prayer" we get an unconverted soul thinking that he's saved. But when we fully discuss the condemnation of sin, the depravity of man and the sacrificial substitutionary work of Jesus in the cross and the result of repenting and believing, the person would be exposed to the fullness of the Gospel and he, one way or another (it may take minutes to months), would manifest the works of the Spirit if he repents and believes.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The Hope I Look Forward To
There's this eschatology course I took years ago back in the Philippines. Their Biblical exegesis was pretty impressive. The interpretations of the coming signs made sense and all the possibilities of "who" or "what" the Antichrist may be were astounding. But the thing that I found really overwhelming was the coming of our Lord Jesus. I just can't imagine the greatness of that day. On that day, everything will be restored to its rightful place. Even our flesh would be destroyed and God's regenerative work in us would be complete. More so, we would finally see the face of our Master! I, Michael Borja, would be able to see the face of the Lord? What awesome grace and love! What a great privilege! What an honor is it to serve the Lord of Hosts!I can't imagine the beauty of that day. All the universe would tremble with reverence as the Son descends and lays His hands on those whom He had justified. With madness we would rejoice and bow to this one King that leadeth an army of burning angels. Oh what a day it would be! It would be like His birth in Bethlehem, if not more, where hope and life entered our perishing world. How much joy and hope would erupt from our consciousness? Our hearts would burst open as Christ approaches every one of His elect and says, "It is time. Come now, my child." Oh! What a great God that He saved me! What did He see in me? There is nothing in me that He could possible need and yet, by His own grace and mercy, He had called me out from the condemnation I brought upon myself and redeemed my soul! I belong to Him now. What a privilege! What a great honor to be a servant of the Holy One who ruleth the universe with a rod of righteousness.
I hold on to the second coming so dearly. With a steadfast heart, I sprint for the glory of God in this marathon He has laid before me. With a repenting heart and a conforming faith, I seek not only to do His will but to dwell in His holy presence so that every thought, breath and step I take would be from Him and for Him alone. As the bride so dearly waits for her bridegroom, so do we, the regenerate Church, with tearful eyes and a joyful hope, wait for the coming of Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
So then, with humble hearts burning with zeal, let us endure and strive for the things of heaven. Our Lord is coming. We'll soon see His glory. And on that glorious moment, everyone, saved or unsaved, slave or free, shall bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. For Jesus is indeed the Lord... no one else.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Stepping Out Of The Way
Stepping out of the way is one of the hardest things to do. Even in our converted state, we always fall short in this area. We have always been vulnerable to the calls of the wicked flesh. We have this conceited idea that we should be the main character and we should be "manning" the work with our bare hands.
Scripture teaches us the other way. Whenever we are to do something, we are to do it by the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of our God. The work of salvation and regeneration is not really our work. Even our ministries are not really ours. They belong to Him and exist for Him. We do not have the right to take the credit from God's work. We are also not to boast about our achievements lest it be things of the Spirit. The glory is to God and we are but slaves to His will and power.
We are not the main actors. Neither do we direct the play behind the curtains. These areas belong to the Sovereign God. We are stage cleaners. We prepare the stage but it is God who makes the show. We are sowers of the seeds amongst men but is God who makes them grow. We do not alter the seeds of Truth to fit the soil. We just sow what God has given us in its fullness and leave the rest to Him. However, we do so with genuine love and kindness. We preach not out of arrogance but out of love and compassion.
In our own earthly minds, we have been led to believe that Christianity is all about getting what we can. Jesus is not an addition in our life. We are called to empty our hearts and put Christ alone as the center of everything else. Christ is not just the first in our lives. He is the first and the last.
Stepping out of the way is humbling but at the same time spiritually rejuvenating. It is not a secret to health or wellness, rather, a means to get closer to Christ. The only way we could be closer with God is if we approach Him with a repentant but joyful heart knowing that He has paid the price with His precious blood. Our Lord purchased us. We are no longer in bondage with sin nor are we still under the wrath of the Holy One. We are now prisoners of His infinite grace. We are bond servants to our Master, the One true God of all creation.
Our lifestyles should be that of slaves, seeking only the pleasure of our Master and constantly living in communion with Him. This is His show and His stage. He doesn't need us. The only reason why we are given a great privilege is so we can experience His awesome love even more. More so, He is also a God who finds pleasure in uplifting the foolish and embarrassing the wise so that His Name will be glorified to its fullness. The Lord asked Gideon to reduce the soldiers he has so that they would be totally outnumbered in the battlefield and God's sheer power might be known among the nations. He would do the same to us if necessary. He will cut down the things in our lives that reduce His glory so that we may know that He alone is worthy of all praise. I learned this the hard way and I praise God for such agonizing years. Truly He is a sovereign God and He alone knows what is right.
We are servants of the Most High. Every aspect of our life should be built around this reality. We are slaves not to the world but to righteousness. We have been justified, having declared right before God by His Son who became the atoning sacrifice to our sins. There's no sense in going back to our fleshly desires nor is there any sense in going back to our idols. Having seen the glory of the One on the cross, what can we do but bow and worship for the rest of our lives? And indeed we shall for God is faithful and true. He will finish the work He began in us.
Have a blessed day!
Scripture teaches us the other way. Whenever we are to do something, we are to do it by the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of our God. The work of salvation and regeneration is not really our work. Even our ministries are not really ours. They belong to Him and exist for Him. We do not have the right to take the credit from God's work. We are also not to boast about our achievements lest it be things of the Spirit. The glory is to God and we are but slaves to His will and power.
We are not the main actors. Neither do we direct the play behind the curtains. These areas belong to the Sovereign God. We are stage cleaners. We prepare the stage but it is God who makes the show. We are sowers of the seeds amongst men but is God who makes them grow. We do not alter the seeds of Truth to fit the soil. We just sow what God has given us in its fullness and leave the rest to Him. However, we do so with genuine love and kindness. We preach not out of arrogance but out of love and compassion.
In our own earthly minds, we have been led to believe that Christianity is all about getting what we can. Jesus is not an addition in our life. We are called to empty our hearts and put Christ alone as the center of everything else. Christ is not just the first in our lives. He is the first and the last.
Stepping out of the way is humbling but at the same time spiritually rejuvenating. It is not a secret to health or wellness, rather, a means to get closer to Christ. The only way we could be closer with God is if we approach Him with a repentant but joyful heart knowing that He has paid the price with His precious blood. Our Lord purchased us. We are no longer in bondage with sin nor are we still under the wrath of the Holy One. We are now prisoners of His infinite grace. We are bond servants to our Master, the One true God of all creation.
Our lifestyles should be that of slaves, seeking only the pleasure of our Master and constantly living in communion with Him. This is His show and His stage. He doesn't need us. The only reason why we are given a great privilege is so we can experience His awesome love even more. More so, He is also a God who finds pleasure in uplifting the foolish and embarrassing the wise so that His Name will be glorified to its fullness. The Lord asked Gideon to reduce the soldiers he has so that they would be totally outnumbered in the battlefield and God's sheer power might be known among the nations. He would do the same to us if necessary. He will cut down the things in our lives that reduce His glory so that we may know that He alone is worthy of all praise. I learned this the hard way and I praise God for such agonizing years. Truly He is a sovereign God and He alone knows what is right.
We are servants of the Most High. Every aspect of our life should be built around this reality. We are slaves not to the world but to righteousness. We have been justified, having declared right before God by His Son who became the atoning sacrifice to our sins. There's no sense in going back to our fleshly desires nor is there any sense in going back to our idols. Having seen the glory of the One on the cross, what can we do but bow and worship for the rest of our lives? And indeed we shall for God is faithful and true. He will finish the work He began in us.
Have a blessed day!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Looking Through A Misleading Manual
I was looking through a manual entitled "Growing in Christ". I went through it and looked at how the Gospel was presented. I just can't help but weep on what it says. It quotes Revelation 3:20 "Here I am! I stand on the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with Him, and he with me." And then it says that Jesus is waiting for you to open your heart. It then goes on and quotes John 1:12 "To all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to be children of God." It then describes how sin separated man from God and then finally asks, would you like to accept the Lord Jesus in your heart as your Savior?
Oh.. I just can't help but weep. What has happened to the great Gospel of Jesus? Brothers and sisters, my dear friends, before we come to know Christ we must first understand our position against Him. Man is not just separated from God because of his sin. He is in bondage with it and for this reason he is going to hell to suffer there for eternity as penalty. Sin is a vile thing and it brings about the wrath of God. Whenever we sin, we are offending a God of infinite worth and are therefore laid with a curse of infinite duration (hell). Before the Good News becomes "good", we must first understand the bad and terrible situation that we are in. All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. This doesn't just mean that we are separated from God. It means that we stand condemned before Him. It is important to explain the truth about man's total depravity and sinfulness, not just his incapability to attain salvation on his own. Only then will the power of the Gospel be manifested in his life.
We have a penalty to satisfy because of God's justice. We cannot pay for it and so hell awaits us. We are in the end of the road, helplessly chained in sin. However, God with His mercy, love and grace, sent His Son to die in our place. He suffered the condemnation which we were suppose to take. So then, if we fully repent, believe and cry out for His grace, He will save us, put His Spirit in us and begin to work in us.
Dear friends, we live in an age of half-truths. No one talks about the fullness of the truth anymore because they are either scared of what men would think or they are simply ignorant of it. Ever wondered why prostitutes and death row convicts have this overwhelming zeal for God after hearing the Gospel? It is because they have experienced man's depravity to the core that is why they have no problem accepting their wretchedness and repenting. We, on the other hand, who have "clean" and "decent" lives think that we are not full of sin. A man will never admit that he is full of sin. He will constantly defend himself or make some excuses even though sin is a reality in his life.
It is through our depravity and dislocation that the fullness of God's glory and love is seen. We have sinned against Him. Despite this, He sent His only begotten Son as an atoning sacrifice to us. This should be enough to bend our knees, weep over our wretchedness but at the same time rejoice and praise Him for His mercy, love and grace. The truth hurts but it will set us free.
It is through the understanding of our helpless and depraved state that we would learn to desperately need him. We come to Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Savior not in ignorance but in repentance. Genuine faith is preceded and followed by repentance. And repentance will only result if you have fully understand your sinful self and helpless case before God. The Bible is clear about man's nature. If you do not believe that we are sinners and transgressors of the law, you cannot be saved, at least for now. We are not ignorantly saved. We are also not saved by a contract we make with God. We are saved when we repent, believe and throw ourselves into the Lordship of Christ Jesus.
No wonder so many "converts" are not really converted. Our pulpits no longer have power because we only preach one-side of the Gospel. We no longer preach what the Bible says about man. The depravity of man is the hardest part to preach because men will not admit that they are under the condemnation brought about by their sin. They will hide their sins and cry out that they are basically people who do good and will therefore go to heaven. They will say that they need Christ but you can see no repentance on their part. To repent is to let go of all your self-righteousness, to admit that you are a sinner and that you are under the condemnation brought about by your sin, and to desperately seek God's mercies. I tell you, when a person repents and the Gospel is presented to him, he will leap with joy praising and worshiping God for the rest of his life. It is only through darkness that the light can be seen. If we do not accept the darkness we are in, we will never see the glory of the Light.
Oh.. I just can't help but weep. What has happened to the great Gospel of Jesus? Brothers and sisters, my dear friends, before we come to know Christ we must first understand our position against Him. Man is not just separated from God because of his sin. He is in bondage with it and for this reason he is going to hell to suffer there for eternity as penalty. Sin is a vile thing and it brings about the wrath of God. Whenever we sin, we are offending a God of infinite worth and are therefore laid with a curse of infinite duration (hell). Before the Good News becomes "good", we must first understand the bad and terrible situation that we are in. All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. This doesn't just mean that we are separated from God. It means that we stand condemned before Him. It is important to explain the truth about man's total depravity and sinfulness, not just his incapability to attain salvation on his own. Only then will the power of the Gospel be manifested in his life.
We have a penalty to satisfy because of God's justice. We cannot pay for it and so hell awaits us. We are in the end of the road, helplessly chained in sin. However, God with His mercy, love and grace, sent His Son to die in our place. He suffered the condemnation which we were suppose to take. So then, if we fully repent, believe and cry out for His grace, He will save us, put His Spirit in us and begin to work in us.
Dear friends, we live in an age of half-truths. No one talks about the fullness of the truth anymore because they are either scared of what men would think or they are simply ignorant of it. Ever wondered why prostitutes and death row convicts have this overwhelming zeal for God after hearing the Gospel? It is because they have experienced man's depravity to the core that is why they have no problem accepting their wretchedness and repenting. We, on the other hand, who have "clean" and "decent" lives think that we are not full of sin. A man will never admit that he is full of sin. He will constantly defend himself or make some excuses even though sin is a reality in his life.
It is through our depravity and dislocation that the fullness of God's glory and love is seen. We have sinned against Him. Despite this, He sent His only begotten Son as an atoning sacrifice to us. This should be enough to bend our knees, weep over our wretchedness but at the same time rejoice and praise Him for His mercy, love and grace. The truth hurts but it will set us free.
It is through the understanding of our helpless and depraved state that we would learn to desperately need him. We come to Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Savior not in ignorance but in repentance. Genuine faith is preceded and followed by repentance. And repentance will only result if you have fully understand your sinful self and helpless case before God. The Bible is clear about man's nature. If you do not believe that we are sinners and transgressors of the law, you cannot be saved, at least for now. We are not ignorantly saved. We are also not saved by a contract we make with God. We are saved when we repent, believe and throw ourselves into the Lordship of Christ Jesus.
No wonder so many "converts" are not really converted. Our pulpits no longer have power because we only preach one-side of the Gospel. We no longer preach what the Bible says about man. The depravity of man is the hardest part to preach because men will not admit that they are under the condemnation brought about by their sin. They will hide their sins and cry out that they are basically people who do good and will therefore go to heaven. They will say that they need Christ but you can see no repentance on their part. To repent is to let go of all your self-righteousness, to admit that you are a sinner and that you are under the condemnation brought about by your sin, and to desperately seek God's mercies. I tell you, when a person repents and the Gospel is presented to him, he will leap with joy praising and worshiping God for the rest of his life. It is only through darkness that the light can be seen. If we do not accept the darkness we are in, we will never see the glory of the Light.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The One True Gospel
We need preachers like this man (Paul Washer) today. Men who are just men of God. Men who belong to Him, who walk with Him and dwell in His presence.
It's been a while since I've heard a preaching like this. A sermon so full of truth and love for God and men. I felt as if God was speaking through this man, talking about our total depravity, proclaiming His glory and defending God's divine attributes. This is the Gospel. It is the fullness of God's Truth. I wasn't even half-way when I started crying to God, weeping over my sin and the cost that God had to pay just to get me out of my cursed and wicked state. The mere fact that the Son of God was tortured and murdered in our place is enough to drive us into insanity, worshiping Him with bowed heads, rejoicing hearts and broken knee caps. The just wrath that should fall upon men, fell upon Him who is blameless and who is of infinite worth.
What he said is true because it is not his words but God's. It is true that we are wicked and we are going to hell. We are not just occasional violators of the law but sin-loving, continual transgressors and enemies of God. But despite our wretchedness, He came to save and free us. He paid the price with His precious blood and made it possible for man to be reconciled with God.
This man did not speak out of worldly wisdom. He spoke of the one true theology that is so lost in this present age. He spoke about the fullness of God's overwhelming glory, wrath, justice, love, grace, mercy and power.
I urge you to beg the Holy Spirit to work in you before, during and after watching this video. Watch this sermon until the end and examine the Truths being presented here. I will answer questions with the best of my efforts to clarify everything.
God bless!
See link below for a better view:
http://revver.com/video/707178/the-greatest-words-in-all-of-scripture-true-disciple-conference-8-of-8-paul-washer/
It's been a while since I've heard a preaching like this. A sermon so full of truth and love for God and men. I felt as if God was speaking through this man, talking about our total depravity, proclaiming His glory and defending God's divine attributes. This is the Gospel. It is the fullness of God's Truth. I wasn't even half-way when I started crying to God, weeping over my sin and the cost that God had to pay just to get me out of my cursed and wicked state. The mere fact that the Son of God was tortured and murdered in our place is enough to drive us into insanity, worshiping Him with bowed heads, rejoicing hearts and broken knee caps. The just wrath that should fall upon men, fell upon Him who is blameless and who is of infinite worth.
What he said is true because it is not his words but God's. It is true that we are wicked and we are going to hell. We are not just occasional violators of the law but sin-loving, continual transgressors and enemies of God. But despite our wretchedness, He came to save and free us. He paid the price with His precious blood and made it possible for man to be reconciled with God.
This man did not speak out of worldly wisdom. He spoke of the one true theology that is so lost in this present age. He spoke about the fullness of God's overwhelming glory, wrath, justice, love, grace, mercy and power.
I urge you to beg the Holy Spirit to work in you before, during and after watching this video. Watch this sermon until the end and examine the Truths being presented here. I will answer questions with the best of my efforts to clarify everything.
God bless!
See link below for a better view:
http://revver.com/video/707178/the-greatest-words-in-all-of-scripture-true-disciple-conference-8-of-8-paul-washer/
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