Romans 3:10-18; “As it is written; none is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (any emphasis mine)

Looking at an English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible notation, the above scripture was taken by Paul from Psalm 14:1-3; Psalm 53:1-3; Psalm 5:9; Jeremiah 5:16; Psalm 140:3; Psalm 10:7; Proverbs 1:16; Isaiah 59:7-8; Psalm 36:1 and Luke 1:79. Everything he wrote about was taking place in the world in the first century and was present all the way back to the creation of this earth after the fall in the garden. The fallen angel, Lucifer, has been active in every age, trying to draw as many souls away from the Holy Trinity as possible. His self-pride has been the cause of his downfall, and unlike humans, he and his demons (fallen angels) have no pathway to forgiveness. Reading the above scripture is just like watching today’s world news headlines.

God knew from the very beginning that He would personally have to provide a pathway to Salvation for us, and the Old Testament is the prelude for the arrival of our “Messiah” or “Deliverer.” There was only one human that could ever have fit that role, and that was Jesus. Though He was always fully God, He allowed Himself to become lower than the angels for a period of time, and He became fully human (Hebrews 2:6-8). At any time that He was here, He could’ve decided we weren’t worth His effort and reverted back to being fully God.

Satan was allowed to tempt Him in the wilderness after a 40-day fast, and if Jesus had failed on any one point, His sacrifice for us would have been worthless. He did not fail. He has been the only human to have lived a “sinless” life and will be the only one to have done so through the end of the Millennial Reign. Once He had completed His gift to us at Calvary, He again became fully God and took His place at the right hand of the Father.

Paul summed up his presentation in Romans 3:23 with, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This dispels the statement, ‘But I am a good person and deserve to go to Heaven.’ Without Jesus, no one is “good” in God’s sight. Romans 6:23 gives us the “bad news/good news” scenario to all of this. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We know that our Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is all powerful – Omnipotent; Our God is all knowing – Omniscient; and Our God is everywhere at once – Omnipresent. Therefore, everything that has ever taken place on this earth, and everything that will ever take place here, do not give Him any surprises.

Jesus Himself knew that even though His gift was there for everyone (John 10:16), only a few would receive and accept His wonderful offer. He made this clear in Matthew 7:13-14, which I have referred to numerous times. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide, and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Our Savior knew how easy it was and is to just “go along to get along” in this life. Satan has convinced many people that they’re entitled to all the pleasures and glory this world has to offer. He makes the things of this earth seem more important than anything. The “hard way” is to resist him and those who are of this world and instead seek eternal life with Jesus in Heaven. That takes faith and belief that the wonderful gift of Jesus is real, and it is ours for the asking.

No one can earn one second of time or buy one second of time in the eternal home our Jesus has made for us. Romans 10:9-13 is the key to the “ABC’s of Salvation” with verse 13 as the ultimate promise; “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” That’s me, you, everyone who will ask the Savior to forgive us and to save us from the Lake of Fire – hell. Those who truly do so will be given “the gift” and even have the Holy Spirit come to live within us while we’re here.

Yes, the world does not like us, and Satan’s followers will go out of their way to persecute us. Just keep in mind the pledge Jesus gave us in John 16:33, that we need to take heart because He has overcome the world. Once we’re home, all the evil garbage here will not affect us anymore. We will be in the presence of the One who loved us so much that He shed His precious lifeblood to cover our sins – My sins! He promises us an eternal, immortal body that will be free from all pain, suffering and death that we experience here. Also, we shall be like Him and never subject to temptation again.

As mentioned above, this world is going through obvious changes that are not for the better, nor will it get any better. We are at the time that is spoken of in the scriptures where this era is about to end, and a period of terrible tribulation will begin.

Here again, our Father, through His Son Jesus, will provide that all true believers will not be here for that. First, all the dead in Christ will be raised up from wherever their mortal bodies ended up. They will be reunited with their souls as they rise up to meet Jesus in the air. Their souls have been with the Savior ever since their last breath here. Then, all living believers will rise up and be converted on their way to the Savior with new bodies and mindsets. This is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.

There are no “shortcuts” or other ways to Heaven except through Jesus. John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 are very specific about this.

All who will not accept the Savior will be assigned a place in hell with specific punishment forever at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. False prophets will try to assure you that all religions worship the same god, and there are many ways to Heaven without Jesus. You may just see them at the head of that long line, being advised as to just how wrong they were.

However, rather than worry about their future, be concerned with yours. Remember what Jesus told Peter about John in John 21:21-22; “When Peter saw him [John], he said to Jesus, Lord, what about him? Jesus said to him, if it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You Follow Me!” Jesus wasn’t saying that John would never die, but that Peter should be concerned about his own love for the Savior.

Yes, we want all of our loved ones to be saved and with us forever. God forces no one to accept His Son, and we shouldn’t try to do so either. However, as given in 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as Holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

So, with all this in mind, my prayer is that all who see these messages will receive and accept the comfort and hope that is given by the Holy Spirit to us. The assurance of eternal life with the Savior is very real, and it can be yours. If you have not called out to Jesus to save you, right now would not be too early. He will be calling soon for all His flock, and to miss it would be the greatest tragedy you will ever have. Especially when you now have the opportunity to not have to face that. To believe you will have the time to call out when the Trumpet of God sounds and the shout from the Archangel takes place, remember 1 Corinthians 15:52 about the “twinkling of an eye.” That’s less than one second, and no one is that fast.

As the song line says, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine; oh, what a foretaste of Glory Divine.” He’s waiting for your call, but not for much longer.

Come, Lord Jesus!

huebshman46@gmail.com

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to those who believe.”

“For Jews require a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25, NKJV).

Paul’s journeys throughout the Roman Empire brought him into contact with varied cultures and beliefs, often based on a certain concept of God and His work, as was the case with his Jewish brethren as he reasoned from the Scriptures with them concerning the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 17:2, 18:27-28, Ch.22, 28:21-28). He brought the message of Jesus Christ and His salvation to the skeptical Greeks on Mars Hill, who had been reared in the noted thinkers of the past and their teachings, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle (Acts 17:16-34). To many of these learned men, what Paul had told them seemed to be foolishness, but there were some who wanted to hear more and were led to Christ.

Paul’s own learning had included not just the total memorization of the Scriptures, but he also possessed a knowledge of foreign teachings and customs that worked well in his dialogues with the Gentiles. The conclusion and observations he wrote about in his letter to the Corinthians were based on his own experience as a preacher of the Gospel.

Paul’s own story of redemption showed him the power of the Gospel when the glorified Lord Jesus confronted him on the Damascus Road years earlier (Acts 9:1-6). He was also grateful to the LORD for using him as a chosen vessel of service rather than having struck him dead for his treatment of the Christians and his blind hated for the message of Jesus. He realized that Jesus had come to fulfill not only the Law of Moses, which he cherished, but to fulfill the prophecies spoken of Him by the prophets in providing the salvation that Paul and all people needed to hear about and embrace as truth.

This is what he wanted to present to his countrymen, but they had refused to hear the message. Undaunted, he switched his attention to bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles who had embraced paganism or skepticism and needed to hear about the work of the real God in providing spiritual freedom and a personal relationship with Him.

The message of the Gospel is so basic and uncomplicated that a child can understand it (Romans 10:9-10). Jesus never discussed deep theological questions with the children who were eager to be around Him but loved and blessed them (Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17). He never wants to make His will a mystery or religious maze that demands rule-keeping and strict obedience to rituals or to be in constant fear that if you make one little mistake about following Him, that He will cut you off from His presence and saving grace for all time. He does not possess an attitude of frustration and anger over having to redeem us and remind us of it.

Some preachers today want to pound into their congregants that God is saying to us, “Boy, you’d better be glad I decided to save your worthless, stinking hides, though you do not deserve it in any way, shape, or form. You’d better love me for what my Son went through to redeem you bunch of ingrates and reprobates. Toe the line or else My wrath will consume you and throw you into hell. Got it?” That does not open someone’s heart to the Gospel.

Yes, God does warn us of the consequences of sin and the eternal death in hell that awaits anyone who rejects His offer of salvation in Christ. Scripture says so, and so did the Lord Jesus (Luke 12: 5-6; Mark 9:43-48). But God also says that He takes absolutely no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18).

When Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son, I do not see where the Father told the boy off or met his backside with a switch when he came back in repentance and sorrow for what he had done (Luke 15:22-24). That attitude seemed to be in the heart and mind of the resentful older brother. When Paul and Silas were in the Philippian jail and the earthquake broke their bonds as well as those of the other prisoners, they all remained in the jail and spared the jailer from taking his own life and ending up in hell. He asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:25-34).

Paul answered not with a list of demands and religious standards, but with the answer that we should give anyone who wants to be saved from their sins: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your whole household” (v.31-32). Simple, yet so powerful, and so merciful of the Lord to give us this means of grace and love. We cannot save ourselves while we remain in a state of sin. Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God has provided a way out through Him and Him alone (John 14:6; Romans 5:6-11).

How easy is the act of turning to the LORD?

There was an anonymous preacher reading the words of the prophet Isaiah on a cold January Sunday that touched the heart of a young boy named Charles Spurgeon. He heard these words, “Look to Me, and be saved, all you of the Earth. For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22). The preacher then said that it takes no difficulty to look. It is a simple task to focus on the LORD and His salvation. The young boy was saved and became the greatest preacher of 19th century England. One verse of Scripture can change countless lives, and they all can testify of the saving grace of the LORD. Perhaps your own testimony is based on that graciousness.

Jesus told the people around Him not to perform some act of penance or self-punishment for every sin committed as if that would cleanse the soul. What did He say? “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly at heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).

I ask you, what other religious figure, psychologist, teacher, motivational speaker, guru, or anyone on this Earth can give you that kind of assurance and truth? The world wants you to do the initial work in redeeming yourself through a ritual, chanting a mantra, or making a pilgrimage to a sacred place, or practice doing “good deeds,” or blindly obeying the leader on the penalty of death or loss of membership and being damned for every little infraction.

This world, which is under the sway of the devil (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11) and who wants nothing more than to keep people deceived by the world’s definition of wisdom and peace, will do and say anything to convince them that the message of the Gospel is way too simple and lacks the sophistication and intelligence to make a difference in their lives, or deny and mock its message of Divine grace and mercy.

The evil one’s plan is not only to keep people spiritually blind, but to take them to hell with him at the Day of Judgment as an act of spite on his part. He will never repent or turn away from his evil and malicious intentions and will use the world’s definition of intelligence to fulfill his sick and twisted goal of keeping people away from God. He loves to bring confusion and strife to the house of God and turn us away from presenting the Gospel to the lost.

Scripture assures us that the schemes and plans of the devil and his brood never catch the Sovereign LORD off guard or give Him cause to worry. All things are under His control and will (Proverbs 16:9, 21:1; Isaiah 40:23, 44:25; Revelation 17:17), and He shall bring all things to a conclusion, including the futility of trying to find answers in the system of the world and its definition of what it means to be wise.

The Bible is the true source of wisdom, knowledge, sound advice, and a clear, unmistakable picture of who we are apart from the mercy and grace of God. The Bible holds nothing back as it refers to our sinful state that earthly wisdom would just as soon ignore or avoid (Romans 3:10-18). The Bible is the only means by which the LORD speaks to us and shows us the one way that we might be saved, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ and not our works nor corrupt thinking (John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8-9).

I appreciate every person who defends the faith, as Scripture commands us to do (1 Peter 3:15), but I do wish sometimes that they would place their authority on the Bible and not on the works and words of fallible men or try to sound just as intellectual as the skeptics, but to base their arguments and convictions on the grace of Christ and His call to repent and turn to Him for the answers to life. There are people who will hear the simple message of salvation, no matter if they have advanced degrees or whether they barely scraped by in school or life.

Paul certainly used the knowledge he had to bring the Gospel to the people, and I am not knocking the need for obtaining the best education possible. As a former teacher, I will say that there is no excuse for willful ignorance and the refusal to listen to ideas, but at the same time it is not hard to present the message of salvation to others regardless of where you stand in life. The simplicity of the cross was Paul’s message, and it should be ours as well. Let me conclude with words of wisdom that have guided me in both good and bad times. I have spent my life in teaching and preaching the Word. I earned three advanced degrees and absorbed the lessons of great men of God. It can all be summarized, though, in these words:

“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me; the Bible tells me so.”

Simple but effective. Here ends the lesson.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.realitycityreverend.com