A Pardon For Your Sins.

Acts 3:19 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;”

Folks when we all began to think of things to be thankful for never forget your sins have been blotted out. The words “blotted out” means - to smear out, that is, to obliterate – and the word forgiven means to bestow a favor unconditionally as a verb; and a dismissal, release as a noun; either way it is a true blessing from God. God said "Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered." Romans 4:7 that is covered by the glorious blood of Jesus Christ. Oh how sometimes we so soon forget what God has done for us, if you are saved it is because God has saved your soul. From start to finish He guided you through the blessing of His glorious grace. The Lord reminds us in Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship..." because He is our Saviour. “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved my soul;” what wonderful words.

Folks your sins are covered; enjoy being a child of the living God! Never in eternity will you ever have to pay account for your sins because Jesus has already paid that price. They are covered; pardoned; and forgiven what a blessing. We as believers only have to worry about serving our God; our Saviour; and none else. Is that hard for you to find time for church; the Lord; prayer; bible study? If it is then maybe you need a revival in your heart. Sometimes things get old if you do them to much, for example offering thanks for food can get old if you repeat the same prayer over and over, sometime the same songs get old if sung over and over, and sometimes going to church and serving the Lord can get old if we do the very same service every time. We all need to keep ourselves revived in spirit and that revival starts with remembering what God has done for you by pardoning your sins. We must be reminded so that serving God never gets old. I was told as a young preacher that observing the Lords Supper looses it’s significant’s if observed to much and so does anything else if we don’t have a revival within and that starts by remembering what God has spiritually done for us. Folks your sins are forgiving, you need nothing else and remembering that begins the revival within.

The Lord concluded in our text scripture “…when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” have you ever on a hot day drank a cool glass of water and when you were finished chugging it down go ahhhhhhhhhh, well that is the case here; if nothing else refreshes your spirit into a revival this remembrance of your pardon should. Folks I pray you attend church often and are as active as you can be, I hope your life is in service for the Lord; and I hope you often remember Gods pardon for your sins because that forgiveness has the power to revive you.

If you do not know the Lord then “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…” after you are saved you may be hated of this world, you may be condemned by many but God has forgiven you sins and has made you His child forever. Psalms 51:1 “...Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions."

Human Responsibility

As we exit the thought of sin and the horrible affects it has on us; we are now going to look at mankind’s responsibility for sin. For those who believe in the sovereignty of God let us be sure not to confuse Gods sovereignty and mans responsibility for sin. Let me make one single very clear point before moving on; God never has or never will cause man to sin. As we look at the predestination of God and the very acts He predetermined such as “the fall of man”, or the “crucifixion of Jesus Christ” please don’t ever say that God caused the acts of these actions. God is all and in all, He knows everything and has predetermined all events that will occur even those such as the fall of man and the crucifixion of Christ; but the actual sins are mans responsibility. Since God is Omniscient (or He knows everything) He knew if He gave Adam a chance he would sin, He also knew the very hearts of those that crucified Jesus Christ and knew if given the opportunity they would crucify Him. God knows what we will do if grace is loosened or decreased just a little. Beloved put simple there is nothing God does not know nor anything He does not have total control over. Since God ordained all things to be; does not mean He actually cause man to do the sinful acts. The bible says; “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” Isaiah 45:7 since God “created evil” does this make Him the author or director of sinful acts? No, that would be Satan whom God did create. If Satan had never been created or had not himself sinned against God then would Adam and Eve had ever sinned? With this all being said we must move on. Adam is responsible for his sin and those that crucified Jesus Christ are also responsible just as you are responsible for your sinful acts. We need never blame God for our sinful acts or say that God caused us to do them. "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (14.) But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." James 1:13 – 14. We will all give an account to God for our sins. Secondly, never confuse our forgiveness of sin with our sinfulness in this life; true all our sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ and we have a full and unconditional pardon of them, but that does not allow us to continue to sin. God said “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:19 both the churches and us as Christians. Folk the truth is everyone from Adam to you and I have sinned by our own free choice; Satan may have played a part, but as a Christian you and I both can resist him and sin not as much if we choose too and if we are weak then ask of God, and strength, He will give you to resist.

We want to conclude our article with the thought that Human responsibility is dependent on knowledge of sin. This brings us to the infant and retarded among us, are they responsible for their sins; I believe the answer is no. It needs to be emphasized that man is responsible only so far as he knows, or has within his reach the knowledge of, what is right. “Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” John 9:41 how can one be held responsible for sin in which they know “mentally” nothing of; nor given the opportunity of repenting of. Therefore I have concluded that the aborted children, the infant deaths, and the mental retarded among us will be saved by Gods sovereign grace without knowledge and repentance but through the blood of Christ. We must understand when Christ died His blood was shed for all the elect and from that moment forward we are all (the elect) guaranteed salvation. Faith while it is necessary for our salvation; is on the other hand God chosen way of salvation. God’s true and only way of salvation is His sovereign election and grace which will stand true for the mentally blind, unborn, and infants. "Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it." Deuteronomy 1:39 - Praise God!!

“The Doctrine of Sin” Part 2

In part two of our study on sin we discover why mankind seems to be so destructive and disobedient to our Master and Creator; and it is because of our total depravity. Why is it that man loves sin more than God; it is because of total depravity. While most preachers deny that man is totally depraved it is a fact according to the scriptures. By total depravity we mean that there nothing good in man outside of Jesus Christ, and I mean nothing. Man will think of himself as good but our opinions and Gods knowledge of us are completely different. While the natural man may look morally good in our eyes God sees them in a whole different way. God sees mankind as a lawbreaker and a sinner. Man left to himself would totally destruct because of our love for sin, the natural man loves sin more than God. As there will be some if not all religionist that will disagree with me let us look at what God says about mans depravity. "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (11.) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." Romans 3:10 – 11

God declares that all mankind is depraved when born. - Psalms 51:5 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." The word "shapen" means - properly, “to turn around, to twist, to whirl;" That is the meaning here. The idea is simply that he was “born” in iniquity; or that he was a sinner when he was born; or that his sin could be traced back to his very birth - as one might say that he was born with a love of music, or with a love of nature, David is saying he was born with the love of sin.

God has also declared that man is depraved from head to foot. - Isaiah 1:5 - 6 "Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. (6.) From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."

God has also declared that no remnant of good remains in Man since the fall of Adam and Eve by nature. Romans 7:17 - 19 "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (18.) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (19.) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do."

Therefore man by nature cannot subject himself to the Law of God or please God. - Romans 8:7 - 8 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (8.) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Since we are born sinners or lawbreakers of God then the laws of God means nothing to man. The natural man hate the true God and all His laws; but since the natural man is condemned already then why would he subject himself to God or His laws.

Since the natural man is in his sinful state he cannot until quickened by the Spirit of God, turn from sin to God in Godly remorse and faith. - Jeremiah 13:23 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." If (because of sin) the natural man is spiritually dead (corpse dead) then how can he cause himself to repent or to resurrect from a dead state. The religionist preachers will tell you it is your choice but if the natural man will not subject himself to the Law of God or to please God then why would he desire to change. Romans 7:17 - 19 "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (18.) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (19.) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do."

“Sin” Part 1

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4

We want to take a look at sin because sin is the most devastating thing to happen to mankind since creation. Sin separates man from God because sin is breaking of Gods law. I am afraid that mankind and even some Christians have reached the point that we no longer fear God in our sinning. I think mankind has reached the point where they no longer understand the depth of sin. I think that sin has become such the norm for mankind that the severity of it has been lost; and not just by the lost but also by Pastors and church members. Simply put mankind and a lot of Christians also have devalued sin to the point it is tolerable. However I must differ with that thinking because sin is the reason God kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden and condemned all mankind, sin is the reason Cain became a fugitive and a vagabond, Sin is the reason the world was flooded and all people and other creation was killed except what was on the Ark, Sin is the reason Jesus Christ the only one to never having sinned had to die, and Sin will be the reason God will once again destroy the world and condemn mankind to eternal hell. With this in mind we as Christian may need to rethink the value of sin. Let us not allow some preacher whose only goal in life is building a “super church” devalue the horribleness of the very thing God hates and that is sin. Folks it is not “ok” to sin, sin is the dirtiest thing mankind can do against God. Sin is breaking Gods law and God is never happy when one breaks His holy laws. The severity of the sin or how big or small it is doesn’t matter, sin is sin.

Sin is a state with mankind or in other words sinners are who we are. Sin is part of our nature, and because it is we are totally depraved. It is because of sin that there is nothing good in man. While we look at the morality of man God looks at the heart of man and this is what God sees in every single man "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9 some preachers will say “you have to look for the good in man” however God says without Jesus Christ in their hearts there is none that are good and none will ever seek God. Folks it is sin that keeps us from ever seeking God on our own. "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (11.) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." Romans 3:10 – 11

Sin affects us all, all mankind are sinners and all mankind are condemned to eternal hell. It is only by Gods grace and mercy that a remnant of mankind will not be punished in the eternal lake of fire. “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3 Folks man must understand that without Jesus Christ in their heart they will spend eternity in hell. "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." John 8:24 Mankind can invent all the different ways of salvation they want but salvation is only in Jesus Christ and none other, not by works, not by church membership, or not by baptism, it is only in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We would like to conclude this article with the understanding that sin has separated us all from God; that sin has condemned us all to hell, and that sin keeps us from being good people. Folks, let us look what God said about mankind, "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." Ecclesiastes 7:20 folks if sin has this much affect on us then why would we want to sin or attempt to excuse it? "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." Galatians 3:22