Are You Ready to Reach the Lost?

“I began the conversation by asking him about his family.  He told me that the cholera had visited his home, and that he had lost no less than thirteen of his relatives, one after another, by death.  My question, and the man’s answer, prepared the way for a dialogue somewhat in this fashion:  

Spurgeon.-Have you, my friend, a good hope of Heaven if you should die?                                                   Waterman.-Well, sir, I think as how I have.                                   

 S.-Pray tell me, then, what your hope is, for no man need ever be ashamed of  good hope.                                                            
W.-Well, sir, I have been on this here river for five-and-twenty or thirty years, and I don’t know that anybody ever saw me drunk.                                                        

 S.-Oh, dear! Oh, dear!  Is that all you have to trust to?                                                                                  W.-Well, sir, when the cholera was about, and my poor neighbours were bad, I went for the doctor for ‘em, and was up a good many nights, and I do think as how I am as good as most folk that I know.

Of course, I told him that I was very glad to hear that he had sympathy for the suffering, and that I considered it far better to be charitable than to be churlish; but I did not see how his good conduct could carry him to Heaven.  Then he said: “Well, sir, perhaps it can’t; but I think, when I get a little older, I shall give up the boat, and take to going to church, and then I hope that all will be right-won’t it, sir?”

“No,” I answered, “certainly not; your going to church won’t change your heart, or take away your sins.  Begin to go to church as soon as possible, but you will not be an inch nearer Heaven if you think that, by attending the sanctuary, you will be saved.”

The poor man seemed perfectly astounded, while I went on knocking down his hopes one after another.  So I resumed the dialogue by putting another question to him:                               

S.-You have sometimes sinned in your life, have you not?                                                              

W.-Yes, sir, that I have, many a time.                                           

S.-On what ground, then, do you think that your sins will be forgiven?                                                                                  W.-Well, sir, I have been sorry about them, and I think they are all gone-they don’t trouble me now.                                                                      

S.-Now, my friend, suppose you were to go and get into debt with the grocer where you deal, and you should say to her, “Look here, missus, you have a long score against me, I am sorry to say that I cannot pay you for all those goods that I have had; but I’ll tell you what I will do, I’ll never get into your debt any more.”  She would very soon tell you that was not her style of doing business; and do you suppose that is the way in which you can treat the great God?  Do you imagine that He is going to strike out your past sins because you say you will not go on sinning against Him?                                                                  

W.-Well, sir, I should like to know how my sins are to be forgiven.  Are you a parson?                                                                     
S.-I preach the gospel, I hope, but I do not go by the name of a parson; I am only a Dissenting minister.

Then I told him, as plainly as I could, how the Lord Jesus Christ had taken the place of sinners, and how those who trusted in Him, and rested in His blood and righteousness, would find pardon and peace.  The man was delighted with the simple story of the cross; he said that he wished he had heard it years before, and then he added, “To tell the truth, master, I did not feel quite easy, after all, when I saw those poor creatures taken away to the graveyard; I did think there was something I wanted, but I did not know what it was.””-C.H.Spurgeon, excerpt taken from his autobiography.
"So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."-Romans 1:15-17
Are you ready? Christian, the "power of God" is in the gospel. 
Think of the most powerful thing known to man: nuclear fusion. The sun in our solar system is a gigantic fusion reactor. But our sun isn't large for a star. Take our galaxy, the milky way. It's been estimated that there are at least a hundred million more galaxies of similar size in the universe. This how much effort is was for God to create all that power: ". . . he made the stars also."-Genesis 1:16c. No big deal for God to make that kind of infinite power.
God's Word is powerful.
"Who [Jesus] being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"-Hebrews 1:3
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts an intents of the heart."-Hebrews 4:12
The gospel is in God's Word. 
"How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."-Romans 10:14-17
"It is Jesus Christ who has made Paula  debtor (Romans 1:14-15) by committing the gospel to his trust. . . . Similarly, we are debtors to the world, even though we are not apostles. If the gospel has come to us (which it has), we have no liberty to keep it to ourselves. Nobody may claim a monopoly of the gospel. Good news is for sharing. We are under obligation to make it known to others."-John Stott, The Cross of Christ.
We must share the gospel with all whom we come into contact.  Because, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."(Hebrews 10:31). And that is exactly where all mankind stands at the mercy of God, but those whom He has saved through His Son, Jesus Christ, can stand without fear before Him. "According as he hath chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."-Ephesians 1:4-6.
And the most important reason to share your faith is because that it's a direct command from the Lord Jesus Christ to us. 
"And he said unto the, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."-Mark 16:15
We will all be held accountable to God. If you aren't saved, and have never been regenerated, then you must face a completely holy God, and will be without excuse ("Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man,..."-Romans 2:1a). But those who are saved will be held accountable as well: "When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand."-Ezekiel 3:18.
Let me leave you, beloved, with the words of Charles H. Spurgeon once again.
"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unarmed or unprayed for."
And may we unashamedly proclaim the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in all of its fulness and uncompromisingly perfect beauty! Love in truth.

The Cross of Jesus Christ

For many people, the cross is just another symbol for one of the many religions of the world. However in the first century, the cross had a very different meaning. The cross was a symbol of the worst possible punishment and death sentence reserved for only the most horrific criminals. It was deemed so horrible that it could never be used to punish a Roman citizen, and the Jewish people saw it as a curse from God: “he that is hanged is accursed of God”-Deuteronomy 21:23). The cross was a disgusting, repulsive, thing; something people didn’t talk about and definitely didn’t want to think about. So why is it the symbol of Christianity?

Jesus. who was crucified, is the God of Christianity, but the early Christians still could’ve chosen any number of other symbols to represent Him. As a matter of fact, the cross was such an unlikely symbol for anyone to choose to represent God, that even the Bible says. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness: but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” - 1 Corinthians 1:18. So, the more pertinent question is, what does the cross represent to the followers of Jesus Christ? What would make someone exalt such a disgusting and repulsive sign?

To the Christian the cross symbolically reminds them of the death of Jesus Christ and the work His death accomplished there. So, what was that work? Jesus Christ took the deserved punishment of His people at the cross (Isaiah 53:10-12), and in so doing He reconciled them to God (Romans 5:10). But why would anyone need to be reconciled to God?

To see what is keeping us from being reconciled to God, let’s look at Isaiah 59:1-2 : “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.”

God will not  hear us because we have sinned against Him. That is the point of Isaiah 59:1-2. He’s perfectly capable of saving, of forgiving, of loving, and hearing our prayers, but He won’t listen to us as sinners. We must first be reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. He is a perfectly righteous judge, and He must side with justice. Justice is for those who have sinned to be punished for their sins. So, the question now becomes, are we sinners?

To get an honest answer to this question, we must first be completely honest with ourselves as to what we are truly like. After all, “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness; but a faithful man who can find?” - Proverbs 20:6. So the question is: Are you a good person?

To find the answer, let’s look to God’s standard, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.” - Hebrews 9:27; that is the only standard that matters. Let’s examine ourselves in the light of the Ten Commandments:

Have you ever told a lie? The Bible says that “all liars, shall have their part in the lake  which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” - Revelation 21:8b. Have you taken God’s name in vain (i.e. OMG)? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you loved God with all your heart, mind, and soul? Has God always been first in your life? Have you honored your father and mother in obedience? Have you set aside a day to honor God/ kept the sabbath? Have you ever coveted/desired what didn’t belong to you? You may or may not have committed adultery, but Jesus said that “whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”- Matthew 5:28.  Have you ever looked at someone with lust/sexual desire? You may not have murdered anyone, but in 1 John 3:15 it says that, “ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” So, do you still think you’re a good person?

 Keep in mind that in James 2:10, the Bible says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”  And this from 1 John 1:8-10, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word in not in us.” Listen to what Psalm 14:1-3 says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.  They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” And hear the words of the prophet in Isaiah 64:1-7, “Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make Thy name know to Thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Thy presence! When Thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, Thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at Thy presence. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember Thee in Thy ways: behold, Thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee: for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.”

Our best is never enough to satisfy God’s standard. There is nothing we can do to erase sin or our guilt, which points to our sinfulness. “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds:”-Romans 2:5-6. “God creates out of nothing. Therefore until man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.”- Martin Luther. 

Your good deeds cannot undo the wrong you have done or your guilt, and justice demands you be punished. You may think eternity in hell is a bit extreme for your crimes, but keep in mind that punishment is dependent upon whom you have sinned against or committed the crime against. For example, if you lie to a total stranger at the grocery store, there’s probably no consequence outside of your conscience bothering you. Yet if you lie to your spouse, you might suffer their anger and damage the relationship, but if you lie to your boss, you might get fired.  And still further if you lie to the government you could go to jail or worse. The crime or sin was the same; lying, but the consequences and punishment were greatly changed because of whom you sinned against. 

We have sinned against the perfect and Almighty God of the universe. Any infraction of His commands is considered high treason; a capital offense (God killed a husband and wife in Acts 5:1-11 for telling one lie.). God is our Creator and gives us every breath we take, provides each beat of our hearts, and has given us all the good things we enjoy (i.e. food, family, friends, etc.). He can do with us as He chooses, and by His law we stand condemned and guilty deserving of eternal hell.  

“That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.. . . . And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh, For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” - Ephesians 2:12-13, 16-18.  

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” - Romans 6:23

 In the “Institutes of the Christian Religion”, John Calvin said, “For God, who is the highest righteousness, cannot love the unrighteousness that He sees in us all. All of us, therefore, have in ourselves something deserving of God’s hatred. With regard to our corrupt nature and the wicked life that follows it, all of us surely displease God, are guilty in His sight, and are born to the damnation of hell. But because the Lord wills not to lose what is His in us, out of His own kindness He still finds something to love. However much we may be sinners by our own fault, we nevertheless remain His creatures. However much we have brought death upon ourselves, yet He has created us unto life. Thus He is moved by pure and freely given love of us to receive us into grace. Since there is a perpetual and irreconcilable disagreement between righteousness and unrighteousness, so long as we remain sinners He cannot receive us completely. Therefore, to take away all cause for enmity and to reconcile us utterly to Himself, He wipes out all evil in us by the expiation set forth in the death of Christ; that we, who were previously unclean and impure, may show ourselves righteous and holy in His sight. Therefore, by His 

love God the Father goes before and anticipates our reconciliation in Christ. Indeed, “because He first loved us”(1John 4:19), He afterward reconciles us to Himself. But until Christ succors us by His death, the unrighteousness that deserves God’s indignation remains in us, and is accursed and condemned before Him. Hence, we can be fully and firmly joined with God only when Christ joins us with Him. If, then, we would be assured that God is pleased with and kindly disposed toward us, we must fix our eyes and minds on Christ alone. For actually, through Him alone we escape the imputation of our sins to us - an imputation bringing with it the wrath  of God.” 

This is what made those first century Christians and all true believers today cling to the symbol of the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the payment, the propitiation, for our sin debt to God. Jesus was sinless, and therefore the only One who could pay that debt in His own life’s blood. “For he hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in HIm.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21. This is what Christianity is truly all about.  God has redeemed and pardoned sinful people by offering His own Son, Jesus, to be punished in our place; that’s what happened on the cross. That is why the cross is the symbol of Christianity. Not because there is beauty, favor, power, or social status in the symbol, but because it symbolizes the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the forgiveness offered in that sacrifice to reconcile us to God, as sinners “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Colossians 2:13), without anything we could do on our own account “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9), by repenting (confessing our sinfulness to God, asking His forgiveness, and turning from those sins) and putting all of our hope for Heaven in the sacrifice of Jesus making it possible. Don’t run from the cross, cling to it!

Listen to the words of A.W.Tozer: “The glory of the Christian faith is that the Christ who died for our sins rose again for our justification. We should joyfully remember His birth and gratefully muse on His dying, but the crown of all our hopes is with Him at the Father’s right hand. “  

 This unbelievable knowledge should cause the unsaved to seek God’s mercy and salvation in Jesus Christ, and should make the Christian praise the Savior and seek to serve and obey Him in telling the whole world the “good news” of the gospel. Let us as Christians live as if all our hope is in Christ, His atoning death and resurrection, because there is no other hope!  And may this powerful knowledge allow us to say confidently with Justin Martyr, a first century Christian martyred in A.D. 165, “You can kill us, but you cannot do us any real harm.”

Letter to an unsaved friend. . .

First, I must ask your forgiveness. My own feelings or pride may have taken the place of what I should’ve said. And I feel that these written words may sound harsher than they would if spoken to you, and please know that it was not my intention. I have already asked forgiveness of God for any wrong that my foolish pride has done to you, and so now ask you to forgive me as well.

I do not claim to know your heart, or anyone else’s, but I do know that God’s word tells me over and over that neither my heart or anyone else’s can be trusted to do good left to itself. My concern for you is the same I have for all, and for myself. That we be not just trusting in a profession of faith, but in the person of Jesus Christ alone, and thereby should have ample fruit to give proof of our faith.

Allow me to explain why this is so important to me. I spent many years of my life in hypocrisy and thinking I was okay with God, because I could profess a faith in Him, and I believed He existed, and that He died and now lives. The problem was that I came to the realization that if I truly believed that, then my life in every aspect should show some sign of my faith being real. There should be submission to His Word and will on my part. Scriptures like those found in Matthew 7:21-23 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” and “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that  Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” - 2 Corinthians 13:5, scared me.

These and other Scriptures made me take a hard look at what I was actually living for. I was living for me. I did only things that satisfied me, pleased me, and even when something might look good to others, I did them with the intention of their seeing it and thinking well of me. 

I am not trying to presume to know whether or not you are saved, merely to exhort you to be sure, because you have implied to me that we cannot know for sure if we die this instant where we will be. “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye  shall never fall:” - 2 Peter 1:10

You have told me that the Bible is full of contradictions. A Christian should never think such a thing of his God. “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:” - Hebrews 6:18. God cannot lie, so if any of part of the Bible should be seen as untrue or not trustworthy, then it is to call God a liar. I do not say this to be condescending, but because God had to bring me to this. If there is something that may appear to be a contradiction in His Word, I trust that it must be true, not because I always see it as such, but because I trust it to be His Word, and I trust His character, that He cannot lie. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”-2 Timothy 3:16. And that if I don’t understand something, I don’t just have to say, “Oh well, must be wrong.” “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” - James 1:5.

I do not think myself better than you. On the contrary, I see myself as the most selfish and vile of all people. I know who I am and who I have been, and am disgusted with myself. When I read: “Master, what is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law of the prophets.” - Matthew 22:36-40. I see only am imperfect love for my Savior. I cannot keep His commandments. All my heart, soul, and mind do not even to seek to love Him all the time, not even a fraction of the time. I do not love my neighbor as I should, let alone as myself. This only makes Jesus more precious, because He kept all of the law. He was and is the only One who could satisfy the great and perfect requirements of God’s perfect and holy law. My salvation, my hope for anything and everything, rests solely in Him and what He has done. I could never choose right, and have proven so by always choosing wrongly when left to my own wisdom and doing. 

Could you share with me your conversion? Is Jesus precious to you? Would those who know you best say that Jesus is the most important thing in your life? Your greatest affection? 

“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself so to walk, even as he walked.” - 1 John 2:3-6

We do sin, I sin all the time. But I can also look at my life and see God growing me. The sign of true Christian faith is that we do sin, but we repent of our sins, and we do not live continually in gross sin. We are supposed to submit to the Word of God and its authority in all things. 

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not committ sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” - 1 John 3:4-10

I am in no way claiming that I do not sin, but have the greatest desire not to sin, and am ashamed of my sins, and continually must seek the forgiveness of God for them. I love you, and I think you already know where we disagree, but let us make sure that our disagreement is with eachother and not with God. 

I do earnestly seek that all those I know would be saved. I say all this with love for your soul. I do not know whether you have ever looked at the Scriptures or not. I do not know whether or not you believe what they say. I do not know if you have justified yourself in sin by believing they are  untrustworthy. I know myself, and I know that the Bible says: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” - Romans 1:21-23. 

We create an image and commit idolatry when we do not take what God has said about Himself through His own word, the Bible, but instead create a god that we are comfortable with. When we take what we like from the Bible and reason away what we don’t like, we call Him a liar, and have made a god for ourselves to please our reason or worse that we might continue to live in sin. I have done this, and according to Scripture so have we all. I am not trying to stand in judgement over anyone. It’s not within my power to exact judgement, nor do I want to, and if I have been judgemental, God forgive me. But do not mistake God’s judgement in what He has already decreed in His Word, the Bible, for my judgement. If you truly have any desire to understand my understanding (which is infinitely limited) for how I would see anyone, myself included, apart from God, read the first three chapters of Romans. Please, read it for yourself, and take it for what it says, instead of assuming that it can’t be trusted. Trust the One it represents, as it is He who wrote it.

I love you enough to speak the truth to you, and will always love you thusly

Do I possess what I profess?

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.  Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” - 2 Corinthians 13:5

To profess something is simply to make a verbal statement, it’s just words.  To possess something means you actually have it; it’s real and solid and obvious to others.  Can our faith be defined in terms of profession and possession?

R.C. Sproul once made the statement that there are only three types of people.  Those who know they are saved, those who know they are not saved, and worst of all those who have deceived themselves into believing they are saved, but in actuality are not.  Obviously, most of us would agree that there are those who know they are saved and those who emphatically know they are not, but is it possible to think you are saved and not be?  Is there Biblical proof for this?

Let’s examine one of the most terrifying passages in all of Scripture.  

In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus tells His disciples of people who professed faith in Christ, did good deeds in the name of Christ, and who had even deceived themselves in thinking that they were saved by their deeds and profession.  Listen to Jesus, God’s response to them: “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Their good deeds meant nothing.  Think of Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Our righteousness, our goodness, our best is disgusting when compared to the perfect standard of a holy, righteous, and sinless God.  Even when we try to do the “right thing” we can’t do it, for nothing in us is enough.                       

Consider the pharisees in Jesus’ day.  In Matthew 23, Jesus rebukes the pharisees openly.  The pharisees professed to have great faith in God, and had all the outward appearance of it, but Jesus calls them hypocrites and confronts the reality that “all their works they do for to be seen of men”.

The major difference between a professor and a possessor of faith must be the ultimate motive behind their works.  Our works may impress men and fool them, but they will never be acceptable to God.

Listen to what Matthew Mead, the puritan, had to say about false professions of faith in his book, The Almost Christian Discovered:

“Many rest in a notion of godliness and an outward show of religion, and yet remain in their natural condition.  Many are hearers of the Word and not doers of it, and so deceive their own souls.  He that ignores the teachings cannot be a true Christian.” 

Here’s what Mr. Mead said about the true Christian in contrast:

 “When a man’s heart is thoroughly renewed  by grace, the mind savingly enlightened, the conscience convinced, the will truly humbled and subdued, the affections spiritually raised and sanctified, and when the mind and will and conscience and affections all join issue to help on and with the performance of the duties commanded, then is a man altogether a Christian.”  

We are to have some sort of real change, but it’s not a change in behavior that men can imitate.  It’s a deeper and sincere change of heart.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

    - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Just because we make a profession of faith, doesn’t mean we are saved, but if we truly are a Christian and are saved we will profess our faith in the Lord Jesus, but just because we profess faith doesn’t mean we actually possess it.  Clear as mud, right?

Test your faith with questions from the Puritans:

Is your faith primarily a mental assent to the truth of the gospel?  You agree with the Bible, but that’s just about as far as it goes.

Does your faith totally rely on Jesus for forgiveness of sins, or is there a part of you that tries to do your best and let Jesus take care of the rest?

Does brokenness of heart over sin accompany your faith?

Does your faith produce a willingness to endure hardship for the interests of Christ?

Can you honestly say that you delight in God?

Do you enjoy communion with God?

Do you fear and revere God and yet love Him as well? (Isaiah 66:1-2, 1 John 1:3)

Do you welcome examination of your heart by the Scriptures?

Is Jesus precious to you?

Is this even Biblical?  Take a look at Galatians 5:19-21.  These are the works of the flesh (remember that Christians are no longer slaves to their sinful flesh i.e. Romans 6:14-23).  Notice in verse 21 that after such a long list it says: “of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”  This doesn’t mean that Christians never sin, it is just not characteristic of them.

Now compare these with the fruits of the Spirit  that all believers should possess in Galatians 5:22-24.  Verse 24 succinctly states the difference between a false profession of faith and someone who actually possesses that saving faith in Christ Jesus: “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”  (cf. Romans 6:6, 8:13; Colossians 3:5).

Christ says to us: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” -Luke 9:23.  The only reason someone would be carrying a cross would be because they are headed to their own execution.  The possessor of faith has come to the end of themselves with the realization that there is no other way for them to be saved from the just wrath of the Father God, then to surrender and beg God for mercy through His Son, Jesus. (Romans 12:1-2)

This is not to say that the Christian won’t sin, but after what you must go through in the painful realization of your hopeless estate apart from the Savior, you won’t want to.  But when a Christian does sin, they will handle it differently than a false professor.  Hebrews 6:6 says that: “If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”  The sinning Christian will repent of their sin and cling to the cross of their most beloved Savior to forgive them. 

Perhaps now you are saying, “What should I do if I think I might be only professing to have faith, but not possessing it?”  Consider again, what Mr. Mead would say:

Seven Suggestions from Matthew Mead:

Do not rest until God has changed your heart until you know it.  God always gives a true believer a new heart with new desires.  Don’t rest until He has given it to you.  Seek Him earnestly until you know He has changed you.

Change begins with a conviction of sin.  Puritan Richard Baxter said, “God brings a conviction that will make a man feel his sin as the heaviest burden in the world.  The man will be crushed in his heart over his sin.  God’s Spirit will make him understand that he is liable to God’s wrath and curse.  He will make him see that he is a lost man facing damnation unless pardoned by the blood of Christ.” - The Reformed Pastor, p. 250

You must be wounded for sin and troubled under it before Jesus will give you peace.  You won’t receive forgiveness until you understand the vile and wretched nature of your own sin.

You must understand that performances, prayers, tears, self-righteousness, religious practice will not help you.  Only an infinite righteousness can save you.  Our sin has offended an infinite God.  

 Your case requires infinite mercy to pardon you, infinite merit to reconcile you to God; infinite power to renew your heart, and infinite grace to save you from hell.

 Know that you cannot come to Him by your own power.  You are dead in your trespasses and sin.  Call out to Him to make you alive.

Make sure you understand how offensive your sin is to God an know that sin is who you are, not what you do.

Do not rest in your convictions until you are thoroughly convicted of your sin and you have pleaded with God for mercy and you know that He has granted it,

Do not despair, but know that if you don’t know you are wrong you cannot be corrected.  Truth is often hard to handle, but that doesn’t change its truthfulness.  Rest in God’s Word and let it be the filter for your life.  Do not trust in anything or anyone else, including these words I have written, but only in the Holy Word of God.