RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-10-02	The Gospel Is The Most Terrifying and the Sweetest Truth of Scripture
		The gospel begins with God. The whole problem of mankind goes back to the nature of God. God is just and holy (Is.5:16). He cannot violate His own attributes. He cannot do something that contradicts Himself. Isa 5:16  But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness. God is a righteous God. That is a good thing. How scary it would be to believe that this universe was created by an evil God. So if God was omnipotent and evil that would be terrifying. It is good that God is just, but this presents another problem. If God is just what does He do with us? You see that the most terrifying truth of Scripture is that God is good (Lk.18:19). At first this does not sound terrifying at all. Initially it sounds good. Why is it terrifying that God is good? It is terrifying to know that God is good because we are not (Ro.3:12) Rom 3:12  THEY HAVE ALL TURNED ASIDE; THEY HAVE TOGETHER BECOME UNPROFITABLE; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, NO, NOT ONE." What does a good God do with people like us? We are sinners who sin against God who is good (Ro.3:23). Rom 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. If a just God simply pardons the wicked, He would no longer be just. If a holy God calls the wicked to Himself to have fellowship with Him, He would not be holy. So how does a just God pardon wicked men and still be just? How does He call wicked men to have fellowship with Him? The answer is found in the cross of Jesus Christ. In the cross of Jesus we see the revelation of God's attributes. God is just, He must condemn our sin. God is love and so He becomes a man in His Son. He lived a perfect life as a man. He goes to the cross where the sins of His people are cast upon Him (Ro.3:26). And so all the justice and wrath of God that we deserve, is placed upon Jesus. The exact measure that was required in order to fully satisfy the justice of God was placed on Christ. After suffering, Jesus said, “It is finished” (Jn.19:30), meaning He did what was required to satisfy God's justice. Jesus paid the price in full. Our sins were atoned for because on the cross He bore our sin and it please God the Father (Is.53:10). The wrath of God, that should have fallen on me and you, was placed on the Father's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And on the third day He rose again from the dead. Now He is seated on the right hand of God in heaven (1Tm.2:5). Act 4:12  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." No one is saved by any other name, but Jesus. It is through His name alone that anyone can be saved. Joh 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. In order to be saved God asks us to repent of our sin and believe on Jesus Christ (Ac.17:30; 20:21). Act 20:21  testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. What is repentance? At a very base level it means 'to change one's mind'. The mind in the Bible refers to the heart which is the control center of a human being. It controls our will, our emotions, our intellect, and our decision making process. If you have changed your mind, everything else will change along with it. To repent is to realize that all your thinking, your entire view of reality was wrong. Then we see and submit to God's truth concerning who He is and who you are. And about who Jesus is, and what He has done for you. So has your mind changed concerning God and yourself? Has there been a change of mind where your intellect and will are now different? The sins that you once loved, do you now hate? The Christ that you had no part with, do you now esteem Him? Have you believed on Jesus Christ (Mk.1:15)? This involves recognizing that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves (Ep.2:8-9). Eph 2:8  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Eph 2:9  not of works, lest anyone should boast. It is a recognition that you have only one hope. All that hope is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

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