The Gospel Of Repentance

In regards to salvation, we are dealing with basically four types of people. They are: 1.       Those  who are not saved and know they are not saved 2.        Those who are not saved  but believe they are saved 3.       Those who are saved, but are not sure they are saved 4.        Those who are saved and know they are saved With the first group I recently had the opportunity to preach at a Men’s juvenile detention center. During my discussion I came across a young man who said not only was he going to hell, he wanted to go to hell! Shocking. He had no desire to go heaven. Perhaps because of the state of mind he was in which was obviously hopeless at that point, he may have regarded death as a relief from his current miserable life. He may have had so much self hatred that hell was solace for him and heaven was sheer fantasy. I don’t know. The devil was definitely after him (John 10:9-10). Nevertheless he falls into the unfortunate first category. Those in the s

The reason for the title is in regards to the atonement of Christ. It is indeed sufficient for all; meaning His death on the cross was so efficacious, that it is powerful enough to save everyone who will ever live in human history. Jesus atonement was a complete and a propitiatory sacrifice for sins.  God the Father was fully satisfied with Jesus substitutionary act. Here is the compelling question, was this the intended purpose of our Lord; to die for every last human being that will ever live or to die for some? Automatically if we say Jesus died for only some and not all God’s fairness comes into question does it not? We need to always look at the atonement from two views – biblically and logically. In the writer’s opinion these ideas are one and the same. The Bible is logical, and true logic is biblical in this area of the atonement. My endeavor is to weave these two ideas together so they present a harmonious truth. If one believes that Jesus died for those w

Crucifixion was practiced by several ancient nations as their form of capital punishment. The nations that probably practiced it the earliest may have been the Persians, Greeks and Romans. Crucifixion was a slow tortuous death by asphyxiation. This form of punishment was reserved for the worst of criminals. Prior to the actual crucifixion the accused was tied to a post and flogged with a leather whip called a Flagrum. At the end of the leather thongs are lead balls that contain nails, glass and bones. When the criminal was whipped the lead balls with the glass, nails and bone would tear off the outer flesh exposing the criminal’s bones and tissue. Some would die as a result of this beating before they were even crucified. In Psalm 22:16-17 David by inspiration of the Holy Spirit says, “For dogs have surrounded me. A band of evildoers have encompassed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones.” What is going on here is that David was predicting the cr

We have all heard this phrase, but what does it mean? Does it mean we are to let someone beat us up, become like sheep headed for slaughter? The only time this phrase is mentioned is when Jesus is teaching on the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:38 we read, “You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. But I say to you do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:38-42). When Jesus mentions the phrase eye for an eye and tooth for tooth, He is making reference to the Law of Moses (Exodus 21:23-25). This law was set forth not so that someone could injure someone personally for injuring them; it was put in motion as a system of checks and balances. In other words, the law was saying the p

In the Bible we are given numerous commands to obey. If we are honest, we disobey most of what God commands us to do. God being omniscient knows what we will do or think before it happens. So that being the case, why does God command us to do something He already knows we are incapable of doing? Is God somehow playing with our fragile emotions because He is infinitely more powerful than we are and wants to see us fall into sin? Is God some type of Cosmic-killjoy who delights in frustrating His creation with overbearing commands? These are rhetorical questions of course, but to those of us who are struggling to remain on the narrow road of life often feel like God’s commands are too much to bear. When we read God’s word and understand what it says, and look at our lives, we often want to give up because we are not meeting God’s standard. Why can we not do what God has commanded us? We should all know the answer. Simply because we are sinners, and our natural tendency

We have all heard the term “sin is sin” right? In other words, whether one is telling a lie, or someone is committing murder it is all punished the same. Is that reasoning true? I would say generally yes. But, the Bible actually declares that some sins are worse than others and based on the offense will determine a person’s degree of punishment in hell. In Matthew 11:20-24 we read the following: He (Jesus) began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say

                                                  The reader may be asking, “why such a morbid title to an article?” Well I believe I can justify the title biblically. In a few words hopefully I can express why the title makes sense. The Bible tells us in two passages in particular that we were (prior to salvation) dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). What that means is that as a result of original sin, the human race was born dead and separated from God.  What? That small phrase is an oxymoron most readers are saying.  You would be correct. That phrase on the surface does not make any sense. How can we be dead and alive at the same time? Well actually it is simple. We are alive physically, but prior to conversion, we are dead spiritually. Every human being that has or will be born is born with this terminal spiritual disease!              We need to be healed immediately. Well, what’s the cure? Before I answer that question, let us expl