The Sinfulness of Sin

Sin is the dare of God’s justice, the rape of his mercy, the jeer of his patience, the slight of his power, the contempt of his love.  We may go on and say, it is the upbraiding of his providence (psalm 50), the scoff of his promise (2 peter 3:3-4), the reproach of his wisdom (isaiah 29:16).  And as is said of the man of sin (i.e. who is made up of sin) it opposes and exalts itself above all that is called God (and above all that God is called), so that it as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing itself as if it were God (2 thes 2:4).

-Ralph Venning, The Sinfulness of Sin, pg. 32-

Oh Love and Justice Church, I pray that we would see our sin in this way, that way we can see how beautiful the cross of Christ is.  When we see how disgusting and filthy our sin is to God, we see the great price that Jesus paid on the cross for us.  Let us get in our minds that in our sin we are enemies and hostile to God, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Oh I pray that that sinks deep into your heart, while you hated him, wanted nothing to do with him, you weren’t even looking for him, in fact you even opposed him.  It was in that moment that he died for you.  Praise His name for there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

love and justice

brandon

The Importance of the Gospel in Everyday Life

The older and older I get, the more I truly see the need to remind myself of the Gospel everyday. Every morning when I wake up, it is not only a good idea to preach the Gospel to myself… it is a necessity! Every day throughout the day we should dwell on the Good News of Jesus Christ. Not simply a raking of the surface. As John Piper has said, “If you rake the surface, you get leaves. If you dig deep, you get gold.” Here is the treasure that we seek: The holy, righteous, and just God of the universe became a perfect man in Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life for us, and went to the cross, bearing our sins. On the cross, He suffered in agony under the holy and powerful wrath of God, our sins being punished in Him. On the third day, He rose again showing the perfection of His sacrifice, and now He sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for His people. Now, through faith, we become united to Christ. We are saved…”There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” -Romans 8:1. That is good news. That is beautiful news!! And it is very practical news… It seeps into every aspect of our lives… When we sleep, when we wake, when we get ready for the day, when we eat, when we work, when we talk…everything is affected by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So often there are days where I just seem separated from God. There are days that I just don’t feel right. My heart seems hard… And then I immediately think back on how often I have thought of Jesus that day. How much have I dwelt on the Gospel today? It never fails… Almost always in those days I have neglected this great and glorious news. How can I feel separated from God when He already went through that separation in my place? How can I have a hard heart when He has lavished His love on me through the cross? All I have is grace upon grace. Brothers, let us dwell on these amazing verses that get me through the day:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? – Romans 8:31-32