Acts 4:5-12 ESV
“On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’”
Our Sin Situation Today
Rather than go into the story behind this all, I believe
that I am to focus my attention today on Peter’s words and their meaning, and
especially as applied to our world and to our lives today in 2022. But before I
get into his words, I believe that I am to set the stage for what is going on
in our present world so that we understand what we are up against.
Sin is sin. That has never changed. All people are born with
sin natures, in the image of Adam, and that will never change (Rom
3:23; Rom 5:12-19; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49). But the Scriptures do talk about how,
in these last days, that wickedness will increase, and how that the love of
many will grow cold, etc. And we are definitely seeing this in our day and time.
But how it is impacting the church is the real concern.
Satan wants everyone sinning against God. But the true
gospel of salvation was impacting that from happening. So, he and his human
cohorts devised a plan whereby they could get more people to sin so that sin
would increase and spread and abound. So, the traitors to the true faith in
Jesus Christ (the deserters of the true faith) created a vehicle (a means of
accomplishing something) to help sin to increase and to spread to all people.
What they created is often referred to as “the cheap grace
gospel,” because they cheapened (diluted, altered, modified) the grace of God
to where it accepts sin as a normal course of people’s every day lives and to
where it does not put sin to death in the lives of those who profess to believe
in Jesus. This cheap grace gospel cares nothing about Christians sinning
against God, and in fact it promotes sin, not holiness and righteousness.
For many, many years, perhaps always, but definitely
increasing in these last days, we have had with us those who make shallow
professions of faith in Jesus Christ based on a prayer they prayed after
someone else one time in their lives which they believe secures them heaven
when they die regardless of how they live on this earth. They are the authors
of this “cheap grace gospel” which they are using to lead other people into
sin.
Basically, what this half-truth false gospel teaches is that
we can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ one time in our lives and now
we are good to go for eternity regardless of how we live our lives on the
earth. No repentance, no forsaking of sin, no obedience to God, and no submission
to Christ as Lord required for salvation and for eternal life with God. And “faith”
is reduced to words we say or to giving lip service to God only.
And right here is where the Lord then directed my attention
to the internet. Ever since the creation of the internet, and especially ever
since we have had personal computers in our homes, and then most grievously
ever since we have all had pocket personal computers on our persons or in our
purses, with easy and private access, sin has massively increased in volume and
in intensity, even or especially among those who claim to be Christians.
The whole world of sin is at our fingertips, and now at the
fingertips of many of our children and grandchildren, too, who are being handed
these internet devices as babysitters and/or as toys and/or for school. And the
people who are running the internet, who are the wealthy and powerful people of
the world, who are also those who are intoxicated to sin, purposefully place
ads and images on the internet on the side or on the bottom of articles, even
on some “Christian” sites. These are traps being laid everywhere on the
internet which are trapping many people in sexual idolatry and in addiction.
And then the “cheap grace gospel” is telling them that God
does not judge them for their sins, and some are even saying that God can’t
even see when they sin, for all he sees is Jesus when he looks at them, even if
they are steeped in porn/sexual addiction. And so they convince them that they
can “believe” in Jesus, have all their sins forgiven, including future sins,
and so their sins no longer matter to God. So, if they feel guilty for sinning,
they are told just to “claim who you are in Christ,” even if they are not in
Christ.
The Sin Solution For All Time
Jesus Christ, and what he did for us on that cross, is our only
solution for sin, but we have to have a correct biblical understanding of what
that solution is and of what Jesus’ death on that cross actually provided for
us. For, Jesus did not die on that cross merely to forgive us our sins, to free
us from the punishment of sin, and to give us the hope of heaven when we die. And
our salvation from sin is not a one-time deal and then all is well.
Jesus Christ, God the Son, who knew no sin, became sin for
us on that cross that we might become the righteousness of God, not just in
name, but in practice. For he died that we might die with him to sin and live
to him and to his righteousness. He gave his life up for us that we might no
longer live for ourselves but for him. And he shed his blood for us to buy us
back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now honor God with our bodies.
And faith in Jesus Christ is not of ourselves, but it is
authored by God/Jesus, it comes from God, and it is gifted to us by God.
Therefore, this faith will be in line with God’s moral and righteous character,
and it will be submissive to his will and purpose for our lives, and those
exercising this faith will forsake their sinful practices to follow Jesus
Christ in obedience to his will for our lives, in the power, wisdom, and strength
of God’s Spirit living within them.
So, when we believe in Jesus Christ with this God-given
faith, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with
Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness. For our old self was crucified with Christ in order that the body
of sin might be brought to nothing, so what we would no longer be enslaved to
sin, but now we would live as slaves of God and of his righteousness.
Therefore, we are not to let sin reign (rule, be in control)
in our mortal bodies to make us obey its passions. For sin shall no longer have
dominion over us because Jesus set us free from our slavery (bondage,
addiction) to sin. Thus, we are slaves of the one whom we obey, either of sin,
which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness and to sanctification,
which then results (ends) in eternal life with God.
But, if we choose to walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin,
thinking our sins no longer matter to God, or that they won’t impact our
eternal security, then we need to be aware of what the Scriptures teach on this
subject. For they teach that if we walk in darkness (sin), and if sin is what
we practice, and if righteousness is not what we practice, and if we are not
repentant, and if we do not walk in obedience to our Lord, and if we hate our
fellow Christians, that we will NOT have eternal life with God, but hell will
be our destiny.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is
in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your
name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you
workers of lawlessness.’” Matt 7:21-23 ESV
So, please take this to heart, for your life depends on you
believing the truth.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn
15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1
Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal
5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal
6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb
10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev. 2-3; Rev
18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]
Hear
my Voice
An Original Work / July 9, 2012
Based
off Psalm 27
The Lord is my great salvation.
He’s the stronghold of my life.
When my enemies attack me,
My heart will not fear at all.
Though a war break out against me,
Confident in Christ I’ll be.
Of the Lord, I ask that I may
Live with Him eternally.
Hear my voice, Lord, when I call you.
Merciful to me You’ll be.
Though my relatives forsake me,
My Lord God will receive me.
Teach me Your way, O my Jesus.
Lead me in Your righteousness.
I will sacrifice to my Lord.
I will sing with joyfulness.
I am confident that I will
See the goodness of the Lord.
All the richness of His blessings,
My Lord has for me in store.
He asks me to be of courage;
To be strong and to take heart,
Patiently as I wait for Him,
And from Him to ne’er depart.
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