Now, We come to a list of adjectives, that describe their inner life--
DESTITUTE OF MORAL UNDERSTANDING, QUARRELSOME [Covenant Breakers, men whose word means nothing];
DESTITUTE OF NATURAL AFFECTION [Heartless];
IMPLACABLE [Irreconcilable--breach widens];
UNMERCIFUL [Un-pitiful, without pity, or compassion].
In closing the list of crimes, Paul describes the highest Moral Degradation and Abandonment of
God, I.E. Demonic Pleasure in those, who not only know God's Judgment on Sin, but, who deliberately commit these sins, and encourage others in sin.
Sinners, who consent to commit these sins, are in the last stage of Reprobation--are in The End of The Way--Ready and Ripe for God's Judgment--This is The Depths of Satan.
God does not infuse any new evil principle;
Those, who continue to pursue evil, fulfill that which is ALREADY in their hearts.
He, who commits Sin, transgresses The Law--
I John 3;4--''Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.''
God's Standard is His Holy Law, and He is, His Own Law.
Now, Listen to This; Sin and Reprobation go hand in hand.
They stand or fall together.
Because of Sin, God provided Redemption for His people.
Sin and Redemption become measurements of each other. When Sin is minimized, Redemption becomes automatically impoverished.
You see, God's Law is the only true standard for measurement.
Sin, defined best, by the phrase. ''mossing the mark,'' obviously exists.
Its existence can be proved by The Revelation of Scripture, and it can also be verified, apart from any knowledge of God's Word.
God reveals Sin to Men, by The Word, by Jesus Christ, and General Revelation.
The Unclean Lives, lived by men today, are THE RESULT of their turning from The Light, unveiled in Creation.
Death did not exist, until Adam's Fall, in The Garden of Eden.
Death is the consequence of Sin--Romans 5;12--[Turn].
The Whole Creation groans, because It is under God's Wrath.
EVERY PERSON, WHO DIES, MANIFESTS THE REALITY OF SIN.
SIN IS SINFUL, BECAUSE IT IS UNLIKE GOD, WHO IS HOLY.
God describes Sin as Transgression, in that, It oversteps His Marked Boundaries.
God describes Sin as Iniquity, in that, It is altogether wrong.
As Error, in that, It disregards Light, and goes astray.
As Wickedness, in that, It lacks The Fear of God.
As Evil, because It opposes all things of God.
As Disobedience, because It is unwilling to be guided by God's Will.
As Unbelief, in that, It fails to trust God.
As Lawlessness, because It has contempt for God's Law.
And as Universal, since none are exempt.
All have sinned-Romans 3;23.
Everyone has always been A Sinner.
Each one sinned in Adam.
There is Solidarity of Mankind in Adam's Fall.
Sin is A Fact, an obvious Reality.
The Knowledge of Sin comes by The Law--
Romans 3;20--''Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.''
By the works of The Law, or, out of the works of The Law--The Mosaic Law and any law, as the source of being right with God.
''The knowledge of sin''--The Effect of The Law universally, is rebellion against It.
I Corinthians 15;56--''The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.'' Galatians 3;19-22--[Turn]. Hebrews 10;3-4--''But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.''
Salvation comes only through The Righteousness provided by God--
Romans 3;21-23--''But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. 22. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference; 23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.'' Verse 21--''But now the righteousness of God APART FROM THE LAW.''
The God-kind of Righteousness, which Paul has shown from 1;18-3;20, is ''apart from the law'' of any kind, and is all of Grace,
But, It is not a new discovery to Paul, but it is witnessed by The Law and the Prophets--it is made plain continuously, by God Himself.
Verse 22-the Righteousness of God is through faith in Christ--IE. The immediate agency of The
Righteousness of God is faith in Christ.
The Justification, or, Getting Right with God, is offered to Jew and Gentile, on the same terms--
Verse 23-All men have sinned [missed the mark] of God's Righteousness, and come short of
God's Glory.
Man's coming short of God's Glory issues from his fallen condition.
Falling short denotes the sinful habit--an act, flowing from The Fall.
When men fall short, they do not value God's Name, or, His Attributes.
They value themselves above God, and exchange His Truth, for a lie.
Overwhelming data proves that man is a fallen creature.
Every person has some sense of Rightness and Wrongness--Romans 2;21-[Turn].
A Person must have a sense of RIGHT and WRONG, to judge Another's actions.
Man's confused drives, urges, and impulses demonstrate that he is fallen.
Before The Fall, those forces in Adam, were all perfectly balanced.
His desire for food, and self-preservation, before The Fall were harmonious.
However, when he fell, they were contaminated with Sin;
Perverted and Corrupted.
And since then, Man's drive for food, hid drive for self-preservation, and his urge for love are
Today, unbalanced.
Sin is A Fact, whether it is dormant, like a slumbering volcano, or, evidenced in the devastaing lava, of a man's fiery missions.
Sin is There, and One's evil nature, will, at times, manifest itself, in the hot lava of thoughts and deeds.
The Reality of Sin has many witnesses.
The Law of God was given, to uncover The Fact of Sin--Romans 3;20--''Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.''
The Law is A Standard, to measure Man's Shortcomings.
It is The Scale, on which, Man must weigh His Deficiency;
A Looking Glass, which shows Man, his sinfulness;
A Stethoscope, which shows the condition of Man's heart;
A Rule, which evidences Man's Crookedness;
An Officer, which demands Man's condemnation;
and A Judge, that condemns Man to death, for his disobedience.
Scripture, The Highest Court of Appeal, declares The Fact of Sin.
Sin is a grievous malady--
Genesis 18;20--''And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gommorah is great, and because their sin is very grievous.''
Sin contaminates The Whole Man--
Isaiah 1;5-6--''Why should ye be stricken any more/ ye will revolt more and more; the whole head is sick, and the heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.''
Sin is an obscuring cloud, that hides God's Face from Man--
Isaiah 59;2--''But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, anf your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.''
Sin is a crouching Beast--
Genesis 4;7--''If thou doest well, shall thou not be accepted/ and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.''
Sin is a binding Cord--
Proverbs 5;22--''His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.''
Sin is A Written Record, An Accusing Witness--
Isaiah 59;12--''For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them.''
Sin is a sum of additional sin-Sin added to Sin.
The Coming of Jesus Christ also reveals The Fact of Sin.
His followers confessed their sin, as they beheld His Holiness.
Next, We find that, SIN IS A STATE OF DELUSION AND DECEPTION.
It is NOT merely a deed.
There can bev no act, apart from Principle, and Sin is The Source, from which, The Act proceeds.
Sin is A Quality of Being,
There is no sin, separated from a sinner, and there is no act apart from an actor.
The Fact that Man sins, verifies The Fact that he is a sinner.
One Who knows, what he should do, and does not do it, reveals that, he is a sinner-his disobedient heart proves he sinned.
James 4;17--''Therefore to him that knoweth to do Good, and doeth it not, to him, it is sin.'' ''To him that knoweth''=''to one knowing how'' ''to do Good''=To do a good deed.
''And doeth it not''-and to one not doing it.
Not A Doer-James 1;23-24--[Turn].
Matthew 7;26-27--[Turn].
Unused Knowledge of one's duty is sin--The Sin of Omission--Matthew 23;23--[Turn].
Man's disobedient heart proves he has sinned.
Although his sin is not manifested, it comes from the source, or principle, of his being.
Sin is A State of The Heart--
Jeremiah 17;9--''The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it/''
Sin, that cannot be known by Man, IS NOT A Sin of Action.
Many sins are committed, of which, others are unaware-they are committed in the heart.
Sin exists in the soul PRIOR to One's consciousness of it.
Paul said, Sin lay dormant in his heart, until The Commandment came, causing him, to become conscious of it--
Romans 7;9--''For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.''
A Momentary act of Sin cannot dwell, or reign, in the heart, but The Principle of Sin DOES.
''For I was alive without the law once''--Before The Conscience awoke, and Moral Responsibility came.
''But when the commandment came, sin revived''--Sin came back to life, waked up.
''And I died''--my seeming life was over, for I was conscious of sin, of violating The Law.
I was dead therefore, but didn't know it, now I found out, I am spiritually dead.
Sin covers the heart's deepest intentions, while it masquerades as Good.
The goal of every sin is to deceive, and Sin's Penalty is Death--Romans 6;23--[Quote].
Death is Separation.
Physical Death is separation of the soul, from the body.
Spiritual Death is separation of the soul from God.
Eternal Death is separation of bothy soul and body from God, throughout Eternity.
There are three kinds of life;
Physical, Spiritual, and Eternal.
The element of union is common to all three.
Physical life is union of the soul with the body.
Spiritual Life is union of the soul with God.
Eternal life is union of soul and body with God throughout All Eternity.
Faith does not flee from Responsibility, and it never explains guilt in any way, but as proceeding from Man's own depraved heart.
The Sun causes a foul odor, to proceed from a dunghill, but it doesn't cause the dunghill.
It is only the occasion of drawing forth the scent.
The LORD forced Pharoah to an issue, causing him to manifest the hardness of his heart.
God was not The Author of his hardness;
He only left him, to his unrestrained, deopraved nature.
In like manner,God's proclaimed Word, becomes the occasion for people, to manifest their depraved natures.
Hence, Man's Condition Before God proves The Necessity of his sin, by God.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment