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Proverbs 3:5

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Naked and Condemned

NAKED AND CONDEMNED

09.17.09

J.A. Matteson

Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any

of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty….

Leviticus 4:27

As Scripture testifies, God is holy, and consequently by necessity in accordance to His own character a future time of reckoning will come to pass when the wickedness of men will be judged by Him who is altogether righteous.  The sons of Adam walk about on the face of the earth and their existence is feeble before the eyes of Him with whom they must give an account.

Spiritually blind and deaf, and unbeknownst to them, their daily wanderings are chronicled perfectly; indeed, every dark thought entertained in the inner recesses of the mind is known and captured, each careless word spoken in haste recorded and preserved, all their wicked deeds motivated by pride, greed, and avarice will by laid bare before the Lord of Glory, before the eyes of Him with Whom all must give an account.  Blissfully ignorant of immanent peril the sinner stands naked and condemned before His judge (Jn. 3:18), vulnerable, and his moment-by-moment existence is by the mercy of the Lord, “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger? How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale?” (Job 21:17-18).

Sinner, you have suppressed the reality of your plight, denying any awareness of the certain doom and destruction which awaits you (Rom. 1:18).  You know in your heart—your conscience bearing witness—you are guilty of transgressing the righteousness of God—your defiled mind is still able to convict you of wrong, but you muse to yourself that all appears to be going well, you continue to prosper in every way and even enjoy good health, and your past acts of wickedness have not been exposed by others or met with divine retribution, you have convinced yourself that your deeds have gone unnoticed.  Foolishness!  Be reconciled to God today.

Do you not know that with every breath you are storing up for yourself divine wrath, for the day of divine retribution is near where the fury of the Lord of Hosts will be unleashed against you?  Hear the Apostle, “because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed’ (Rom. 2:5).  As an ant in the path of a tornado or a gnat at ground zero of a nuclear blast you will be obliterated in an instant, mercy will be withheld, your pleas will be unheard, and your eternal demise sealed, “But since you rejected Me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out My hand, since you ignored all My advice and would not accept My rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.  Then they will call to Me but I will not answer; they will look for Me but will not find Me.  Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord….” (Pr. 1:26-29).

In your ignorance you have repeatedly transgressed the Law of God throughout your life, and on judgment day claiming ignorance of the Law will not be an adequate defense as the righteousness of the Lord demands that justice be metered out in order to preserve His holiness.  By grace the Lord sent forth His Son, Jesus Christ, in the likeness of sinful flesh, Who suffered and died for sinners as their substitute with the wrath of God poured out on Him, as a result all who look to Him in faith as their sin bearer will be passed over when the fury of the wrath of God is revealed, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners….” (1 Tim. 1:15).

On judgment day you can either stand before God and attempt to defend yourself—in which case you will be judged guilty and consigned to hell; or, you can fall at the foot of the cross and have the Advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ, plead your defense before the Father, in which case you will be acquitted of your transgressions and spend eternity in heaven.  The time is near and the choice is yours, choose wisely dear friend, be saved from this perverse generation, cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ this day and your sins will be removed from you as far as the east is from the west.  And turning to Christ in faith the grace and peace of God fill your heart to overflowing.

Copyright (c) 2009 Immutable Word Ministries (”…the word of our God stands forever….” Isa. 40:8).

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Decisionism

How To Give Assurance Of Salvation Without Conversion

1. Focus on the “decision,” not conversion. Then they’ll remember their own “wise” choice, not Christ’s work on the cross.

2. Skim over the gospel and push the prayer. The actual gospel is simply too offensive.

3. Please your listeners with positive assurances; don’t confuse them with the whole truth. Tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.

4. Emphasize God’s goodness, not His justice or holiness. Talk about his love, not His legal requirement that demands sacrifice for sin. Let them think they are headed for heaven no matter what!

5. Describe Jesus as Savior, not Lord of our lives. Promise His blessing but, by all means, ignore His warning about “counting the cost!”

6. Don’t mention sin, guilt, hell or wrath. No need to offend them with the whole dreadful reason why they need the Savior.

7. Whatever you do, never mention Judgment Day. Too distasteful! You could lose both friends and financial supporters.

8. Add some humor or rousing music. Lighten things up. Don’t sound too sober or serious.

9. Don’t mention repentance until they’ve repeated a “sinner’s prayer.” Then your project won’t be aborted by sudden doubts or reservations.

10. After they pray “the prayer,” celebrate “their” achievement, not God’s grace. Be sure to praise the deceived sinner, not the God they don’t know that they don’t yet know.

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Order of Salvation Part 4: Justification

Sometimes as Christians, we can have a very lop-sided view of God, for we equate His mercy and compassion with His love, and pretty much cast out His holiness and wrath as something that no longer applies. This is completely in error, for our God is love, and is just and perfect in all His [..more..]

The Faithless Preachers - Part 2

Part two of a ten part Saffron Planet investigation of the Word of Faith movement, featuring Justin Peters.
More from the Copelands, Osteen, T D Jakes, Paul Yongi Cho and also asking how the WOF movement adapts itself to different cultures and is there any Biblical foundation at all for being “slain in the spirit”?

[..more..]

Enemies of the Cross

Saturday, June 20, 2009
Enemies of the Cross
06.20.09

J.A. Matteson

“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.” Revelation [..more..]

How to live in a pagan society.

Here is a link at an article over at Sola Dei Gloria, which contains the transcript of an excellent message spoken by John MacArthur that really is challenging, and is a message we as Christians need to take note of.

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His Providential Care

Tuesday, March 2, 2010
His Providential Care
03.02.10
J.A. Matteson

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” Mark 8:34

Self-determination constitutes the foundational bitter fruit of the Adamic nature and left unbridled it is the ruin of men. Here in the Lord’s injunction lies the central issue by [..more..]

The Fire!

Originally posted 2009-10-17 03:17:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Faithless Preachers - Part 1

Part one of a ten part Saffron Planet investigation of the Word of Faith movement, featuring Justin Peters.

Tribulations of Love

TRIBULATIONS OF LOVE

02.19.10

J.A. Matteson

“But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.’”

Acts 24:25

As pilgrims labor to broadcast the gospel in the world, responses to it are unpredictable and [..more..]