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Besides his sinful nature, another defining characteristic of man is his relentless pursuit of happiness, his unrestrained desire to live in peace, for the world is under curse. Some may ask, why the curse? The Lord cursed the world because of human rebellion against Him. In other words, the world where we live is cursed as a result of sin. Others may ask, why are we all subject to the curse? The answer is, “For all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory” (Rom. 3:23). No one is inherently righteous; for we were all conceived in sin, born in sin, and in sin we live. We are all inherently evil, by nature enemies of God, alienated from his glorious presence because of our moral corruption.
These truths exist: we are utterly depraved while God is holy, and no one can escape the implications of this reality. Affirming the Lord’s holiness, Hab. 1:13 says, “Your eyes are too pure to look at evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor. […]” Expanding on Habakkuk's assertion that the Lord abhors sins and that the wicked cannot find favor in God’s sight, the psalmist writes, “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man” (Ps. 5:4-6).
To stand in the presence of the holy God, one must be without sin. But the truth is: no human being born of a man and a woman is sinless; we are all sinners. A sin is an offense against God, a violation of his commandment. Every sin is punishable by death by the Lord, the Holy One against Whom the offense is perpetrated. And one sin is enough to condemn one’s soul to eternal destruction. In other words, it only takes one sin to end up in hell. Therefore, what we all deserve is death, i.e. eternity in hell; for we have all sinned against God by breaking his laws and commands. And so, the Apostle Paul writes in Rom. 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
That death is the destiny of all men is without a doubt a devastating revelation to every reasonable mind, for as Heb. 10:31 says, “It is a terrifying thing to fall in the hands of the Living God!” But there is a comforting truth I am pleased to share with you today, i.e. the good news of peace, the message of hope, the Gospel of Christ, through Whom God offers redemption to every repentant sinner. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God graciously justifies the wicked and rewards them with eternal life, setting them free from the sting of death; He puts out their dread by giving them hope. However, this life, this hope is only available for those who know where and when to find it, and who seek it wholeheartedly.
God in his love, sent his only begotten Son into this world to save those who turn to Him in repentance and faith, in order to obtain remission of their sins and find peace with God. “For our sake He (God) made Him (Christ) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21); “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:19-20).
Christ is our Hope! Anyone who humbles himself, recognizing his own sinfulness and inability to save himself, and turns to Christ in repentance and faith is graciously freed by God from the sting of death; he is cleansed of all his filthiness by the precious blood of Christ and crowned with everlasting life. Christ died for those who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy, then turn to Him in repentance and faith, confessing Him as Lord and Saviour. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven”, declares the Lord in Mat. 5:3.
Today is the day of salvation, the season of salvation, when Hope can be found. In the beginning of his earthly ministry, the Lord declares in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” I exhort you to seek the Lord when He is near, to turn to Christ the Lord and Saviour before judgement comes. For the day is coming, i.e. the Day of God’s wrath, the season of damnation, when the Lord will punish all those who in their pride have trampled underfoot the precious blood of his Son, treating it like a worthless thing. Those who reject the blood of Christ have no hope for salvation, as Heb. 10:26-29 clearly specifies it, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?”
Zep. 1:15 says, “A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end He will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.”
The day is coming, when the Lord will unleash his righteous judgments upon the ungodly, upon those who place their hope in the futilities of this world. God will punish the self-righteous, those who think that their good works can save them from the coming judgements. Salvation is found exclusively in the Lord Jesus Christ. He came into this world in the likeness of man and went to the cross, “that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:14-15).
However, the sting of death remains attached to all those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, the holy Lamb of God who takes away the sins of men; He is our victory over death. If you have not yet turned to Christ, I urge you now to flee from the wrath to come. Do not wait for the Day of the Lord to come upon you. For “Behold, the Day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.” (Isaiah 13:9-10) reads. V.11-13, “I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.”
Neither your good works, nor your merits cannot justify you before God; “Nor is there salvation in any other [than Christ], for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). To those who turn to Him in repentance and faith, Christ is Hope. When He came into this world, He called people to “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat. 4:17). And before ascending back to glory, the Lord said to his disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).
This is the season of salvation! The Lord has stretched out his hand of mercy to welcome anyone who is burdened by his sins, anyone who wants to have peace with God and escape hell. Thus declares the Lord in Mat. 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all 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 in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” In Isaiah 45:22-23 the Lord God declares, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.”
Isaiah 55:1-3, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.” V.6-7, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Do not harden your heart, for “Behold (says the Lord in Rev. 3:20), I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.”
There is no forgiveness without repentance, and no one can please God without faith, faith in his Son Jesus Christ. Salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). From glory to humiliation, Christ conquered death and accomplished the redemption of the sons of men. “And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me”, declares the Lord in Mat. 11:6. “For whoever is ashamed of Me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels”, says the Lord in Mark 8:38. “So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven”, declares the Lord in Mat. 10:32-33.
Unless you lay down your pride and your pretense of virtue and piety, you will die in your sins and go to hell; unless you count your works as refuse and seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, there will be no hope for your soul; unless you repent of your sins and put your trust in the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, you will not escape the wrath of God. For you are a debtor who cannot afford to pay his debts. You have sinned against the holy God; neither your good works or merits, nor your nobility or influence in this world can justify you before Him. Zep. 1:18 says of all those who place their hope in the futilities of this world, “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the Day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end He will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.”
John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” All those who do not turn to Christ in repentance and faith remain at enmity with God, they are unable to make peace with God. Their works cannot atone for their sins, they cannot appease God’s wrath. Consequently, they are subject to the second death, i.e. hell. As children of wrath, they will be tormented day and night, the full measure of God’s wrath will be their portion for all eternity. The Lord gives hope and life to every repentant sinner. But on the day of his wrath, “to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against Him” (Isaiah 45:24). Anyone who rejects Christ the Living Hope “will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Rev.14:10).
I urge you to seek the Lord’s mercies, that He may clothe you with his robe of righteousness and shield you on the day of his wrath. Stop trying the Lord’s patience! You may presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, “But (as Paul writes in Rom. 2:5-8) because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgement will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, He will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.” God’s kindness, as the Apostle Paul says, “is meant to lead you to repentance”, for the Lord does not hold guiltless anyone who violates his commands. So repent of your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will give you eternal life!
There is no hope for the ungodly, there is no escape for anyone who rejects the Son of God, “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). If you have not yet settled the account of your sins with God, I urge you today to turn to the Lord before the day of his wrath is revealed. The holy God is angered by your sins every day. And every sin that you commit adds to the cup of bitterness that God has prepared for you. I urge you to flee from the futilities of this world, from the sinful passions and lusts of the flesh, and seek forgiveness in Christ Jesus. Unless you repent of your sins and turn to Christ the Saviour, you will never find peace with God.
Do not try to convince yourself that you will escape judgement. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it”, declares the Lord in Is. 55:10-11. In other words, everything the Lord has promised, including his judgments, will come to pass. Ps. 1:5 says, “…the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.” “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Is. 40:31). “For the Lord loves justice and does not forsake His godly ones; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off” (Ps. 37:28).
Do not be deluded by false preachers, because their view of man (that he is essentially good) and of God (that God being love cannot send people to hell) is wrong. They measure themselves according to human standards rather than God’s standard, i.e. his holiness. According to God’s standard, “No one is good except God alone”, declares the Lord in Mark 10:18. Rom. 3:10 reads, “None is righteous, no, not one.” These false preachers have a wrong view of God and his character, and thus teach that God loves sinners. Here is the truth: God is holy and righteous, He hates sin and sinners. And He will judge all those who do not repent of their sins; He will send them to hell.
The Lord is a God of wrath; He expresses his righteous indignation against injustice and iniquity, He punishes those who refuse to abandon their evil ways. To the ungodly, He is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. “Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder”, says the Lord in Luke 20:18. But those who admit their spiritual corruption, humble themselves by acknowledging their inability to save themselves and then turn to the Lord in repentance and faith will inherit the Kingdom of God. Mat. 3:12 reads, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Do not be fooled by the Roman Catholic Church who believes in salvation by faith plus works; it teaches that faith is a necessary but insufficient condition to salvation. Rome also claims that the sacrament of baptism is a means through which one can be justified before God. Justification is by faith alone, in Christ alone. As Is. 64:6 says, “we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” The righteousness that saves, as Paul says in Rom. 3:22-25, is “the righteousness of God [granted] through faith in Jesus Christ [and available] for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
If you cling to your good works, you will die in your sins and go to hell. If you think you are right with God because you have received water baptism, I urge you to repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; and He will impute his righteousness to you, and you will be saved. For justification is by faith alone. Hab. 2:4 reads, “…the just shall live by his faith.” It is only by faith in God’s Son that one can be right with God. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9).
Through the substitutionary death of his Son on the cross, God has atoned for sins. But only those who repent of their sins, recognize that they have neither worth nor virtue, and put their trust in Christ receive his righteousness and are justified before God. Justification is granted not on the basis of what we ourselves have done, but rather on the basis of Christ’s work on behalf of those who have faith in Him. Is. 26:3 says this, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You.” Jer. 29:13,“You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.” Ps. 145:20, “The Lord keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.”
Every day that passes brings us closer to the Day of the Lord, the Day of his wrath, when “The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat. 13:41-42). Do not delay! Flee from the wrath and seek refuge in Christ our Hope, for tomorrow will be too late. Seek the Lord now that his hand of mercy is stretched out to welcome all repentant sinners. “The LORD Almighty says, ‘The day is coming when all proud and evil people will burn like straw. On that day they will burn up, and there will be nothing left of them” (Malachi 4:1).
There will not be a second opportunity for latecomers. Salvation is now or never. Hope is to be found now or never, for this is the season of hope, the season of salvation. Soon it will be harvest, the season of judgement. The Lord says in Luke 12:40, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” “Therefore (to repeat the words of the Apostle Peter in Acts 3:19), repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11).