Do you trust God…I mean do you really trust Him?

Do you get irritated when things don’t happen when you think they should happen? My wife has a magnet on our fridge that says, “Lord give me patience, NOW!”

I don’t know if there is a clearer example of not only being impatient, but also, the exact wrong reaction to impatience than is shown in Exodus 32.

In Exodus 32 Moses is on the mountain in fellowship with God. As it turns out, Moses was going to be bringing down the Tablets that were written by the Hand of God. But, apparently Moses was up on the mountain for longer than the Israelites thought he should be:

Exodus 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

So, let me get this straight….God has already shown all of these amazing signs and wonders to free them, to feed them, and to assure them that He shall be their God, and they shall be His people and the moment the timing of things isn’t what they expect, they are prepared to worship a false god…and not only that, Aaron (who has already experienced some amazing things by the Hand of God) is willing to go along.

They don’t know what happened to Moses, but they know that, as far as their concerned, he’s been away too long…so….

Exodus 32:2-8 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ “

Not only do they worship this golden calf, but they even say, “this god, this golden calf, is what brought them out of Egypt.”

Is that the most bizarre thing you have ever heard?

Hold that thought. Before we are too quick to condemn the Israelites, let’s consider this one more time and see if it doesn’t sound familiar:

God didn’t respond in a way they wanted and/or expected, so they turned aside to an idol of their own choosing. Has God ever “delayed” in something you wanted Him to help with and you turned instead to manipulating a situation, or turning to the wisdom of man instead of waiting and trusting in Him?  As for me….GUILTY!

Throughout Scripture we see God testing His people. Testing their faith. Who will they turn to in this time of testing?….their riches?…their own wisdom?…or will they wait on God?…will they trust God?

Our finances are a great example of this. As a society we have bought in to the idea that we are to store up for ourselves so one day we can retire and play golf. I don’t know how else to say this, so I’ll just say it…that is unbiblical. God has told us about the sparrows being cared for, yet we are worth much more; so why don’t we trust that He will provide for us?  I think I know why, because we want the security that the world offers, we want abundance(not just enough)…and it all comes down to the fact that we don’t fully trust God’s promises:

Luke 12:16-34 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ‘ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” 22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? 29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. 32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Believe me, I am preaching to myself on this; not only that (being married) affords its own battle with trying to convince your spouse that we need to quit “storing up” for ourselves and trust God.  There will, no doubt, be people reading this thinking, “Cullman, you post a few decent things but on this one, you have lost your mind.” Let me be so bold as to say, that is the influence of the world talking…take a look and see if it matches up with Scripture:

2Corinthians 8:1 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: 2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. 3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, 4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. 6 So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. 7 But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. 8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 10 And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; 11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. 12 For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “HE WHO GATHERED MUCH HAD NOTHING LEFT OVER, AND HE WHO GATHERED LITTLE HAD NO LACK.”

Is God going to tell us to sell ALL we have…maybe?….maybe not? The better question is, if He does, are you willing? If He asks you to rid your life of other things that are getting in the way of serving Him, are you willing to give it up? What if He said, golf has to go?…TV has to go?….motorcycles have to go?…(fill in the blank)?  Are you willing?  Take a look at a man who wasn’t willing?  Take a look at a man that trusted and loved his wealth and wasn’t willing to give it up to follow Jesus.

Matthew 19:16-26  Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, ” ‘YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,’ ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,’ ‘YOU SHALL NOT STEAL,’ ‘YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,’ 19 ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER,’ and, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ ” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

12 inches from being saved

A friend of mine emailed a comment from yesterday’s post. I posted our exchange below. I am hoping that with the new blog service (which makes it easier to comment on posts) we will all be able to have these exchanges in the comment section of the blogs…this would be great “e-fellowship”…we are called to encourage one another, as iron sharpens iron.

Good stuff Cullman.

Could talk forever on this.

Many people really go through the motions and do not truly hear the message. The same can be said for the ones bringing the message….they can often be heard going through the motions without passion and conviction.

It seems either position can be held in an academic sense without involving the heart.

Not sure if you can understand what I’m getting at. It’s getting late and I’m tired.

Thanks for the post.

-Mark.

I am totally tracking with you Ferris….There was an amazing preacher back in the day…I think it was John Wesley(not positive)….he was traveling back to England after he had come over here to preach for a while (I don’t know how many years) but on the boat back there was a huge storm and it looked like they were all going to die and there was a group of people singing and praising God saying they are ready to go home….Wesley said they had this peace(that he didn’t have) that was beyond understanding (just like the Bible speaks of)….he got saved that day. They all lived. But that was the day that Wesley realized his faith was all lip service. This man that was traveling the world preaching the Gospel was not born again….he had head knowledge of the Gospel but had not surrendered his life to Christ. I think that is case in point with what you are saying?

God Bless!

Cullman

Exactly what I was saying.

-Mark

Jesus said, “you are not willing”

Yesterday the blog post was called, He is willing, He is waiting.

It is interesting that after I completed that post, part of my reading was John 5. In John 5 notice how Jesus says, “you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal Life.” Jesus is addressing very religious people, they were not casual in their desire and zeal to have eternal Life. They searched the Scriptures; they didn’t just casually read the Scripture.

Jesus goes on to point out to them, even though He knew they wouldn’t receive it, that the Scriptures are pointing to Him.  Jesus makes it clear to them that He is the Way to Eternal Life, yet, they cannot see the forest through the trees because they are so wrapped up in their “religiosity”.

But, what makes this exchange more interesting to me, today, is what Jesus says after He tells them that the Scriptures are about Him…He says, “But you are NOT WILLING to come to Me that you may have Life.”

John 5:39-40 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Now compare the seemingly most religious of the day, the same ones that condemned Him for healing on the Sabbath and making Himself equal to God,….compare this to the sinful women at the well who leaves a prized procession behind to immediately tell others about this Man that is offering Living Water, Eternal Life, to all who are willing to come and drink freely.

John 4:7-29 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” 27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?” 28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

Jesus tells the Truth to the religious, yet they refuse to come to Him. Jesus also tells the Truth to those that are not under an illusion that they are not sinful. Jesus meets both the religious and the wretch right where they were at in life, both presented with the simple Truth of who He is and what is necessary for them to inherit Eternal Life. Don’t both groups have the same opportunity to drink freely from the Living Water? Aren’t both equally condemned if they refuse to repent?…one from trying to earn their way to Heaven by ritual and religion; and the other from a life spent feeding the lusts of the flesh.

This reminds me what I learned early on in prison ministry….the average person on the street needs to be convinced that they are sinful, they cannot earn their way to Heaven,  and they are in need of the Savior; the average inmate needs to be convinced that the Savior is willing to forgive them if they will surrender their life to Him.

He is willing, He is waiting

Psalm 86:5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Psalm 86:5 is one of those verses (like most of God’s Word) that has an amazing amount of information packed in very few words. Take a close look:

1) God is good. I have heard so many people say, “I would never serve a God that would send someone to hell.” God is good, Holy and Righteous. How good would He be if He let sin go unpunished?

Would you consider an earthly judge good if he gave a wink and a nod to a child rapist and murderer and let him go free without restitution or consequence for his crimes? No?…then why do you expect the Judge of the Universe to give a wink and a nod to your sin? You might say, “that’s a little dramatic comparing my ‘little bitty’ sin to a child rapist; after all, I am not even close to that wicked!” To which I would say, “by the world’s standards, neither am I”; however, God’s standard is perfection, sinless perfection….are you sinless?

He is good, that is why He cannot let sin go unpunished. But, He is also love, that is why He sent His Son, who willingly took the burden of our sin upon Himself. Someone might say, why did God the Father send His Son, why did His Son have to do it? I was thinking about this the other day, not in a “questioning God” sense; but in a curious sense; and it hit me. As an earthly father I would rather take on the pain and hurt of my kids. I would rather suffer than see them suffer, and I do not believe I am alone; I think most parents feel the same way. So for God the Father to pour His Wrath out on His Son, for us, and His Son to willingly receive it, is the most amazing act of Love imaginable.

So, yes God is good!

2) God is ready to forgive. You and I deserve no Mercy, we deserve no Grace, we do not deserve forgiveness; yet God is ready to forgive.

Who is He ready to forgive? All that call on Him. When we call out to Him with a broken and contrite heart:

“Lord, be merciful to me a sinner”

He hears us, He forgives us, and He gives us a new heart with new desires.

When we use the Name of the Lord, we are saying that He is our King, we are His slave, and we will lay down our selfish desires and ambitions, and instead say, “no longer my will, Lord, but Yours be done in my life.”

Are you ready to call out to Him today, because, He is ready to forgive. He is ready to wash you clean in His Blood. When we put our faith in Jesus and repent, it is not that our sin went unpunished; it was punished and paid in full on the Cross by Jesus. When we surrender our life to Him, we are accredited with His righteousness so we are no longer seen for who we are, but instead, we are seen as having the perfect, sinless, righteousness of Christ. This all happens through Jesus Christ; and not only is He willing, He is waiting.

Bible in a nutshell

What’s the problem?

Romans 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(There is no confusion that we are all sinful and have no righteousness of our own as far as God is concerned)

Ephesians 2:1-5  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience– 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved—

(We are by nature children of Wrath, not children of God. We either WERE spiritually dead or we ARE spiritually dead. If you ARE spiritually dead the Wrath of God will be poured out on you for all eternity; you must be made spiritually alive; you must be born again)

John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

(By Grace you have been saved through Faith; there is nothing you can do to earn it or deserve it. Yes, you will do good works after you are born again; however, good works and religious activity will not earn you favor with God if you are not born again. When we are born again we are a new creation, we will desire the things of God and we will desire to please our Daddy)

2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

(When we are born again we will be obedient to God.  Our desire to please God; to live, talk, and think in a manner pleasing to Him, will be as much a part of us as breathing in and out. This is not sinless perfection; but it is not willful disobedience either. God has some very strong language for the willfully disobedient)

1Johnn 1:6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

John 3:36 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.

Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

The Message as Never Changed

(The message of repentance has never changed; God is the same yesterday, today and forever)

Matthew 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Luke 24:44-49  Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

(Jesus began His ministry with the message of repentance and before He ascended back to Heaven He instructed His disciples that this is what they are to preach as well)

Acts 3:17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,

(God’s Word makes it clear; before you heard the message of repentance; before you were presented the true Gospel you sinned out of ignorance; but now that you know the Truth you are faced with a decision: turn from your sins and ask God to forgive you, surrender your life to Him and live for Him OR be willfully disobedient)

Acts 2:37Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

(Our response when we hear the bad news; which is, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and there is nothing you can do to earn or deserve redemption and eternal life; should be the same as their response in Acts 2:37: “What shall we do”. Can you hear the panic in their voice? Can God hear the panic in your voice?)

Ephesians 5:-1-8 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

1Peter 4:1-5 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

(Friends and family will not act favorably when you start living for God instead of living for the world….will that stop you from living for Him? Do you love the world more than God? Do you love acceptance from the world more than eternal life?)

1Corinthians 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

(Yes, we are all wicked! But when we surrender our life to Jesus Christ He cleans us up with His Blood and we no longer live for the passions of our flesh, we no longer practice sin. Notice how His Word says, we are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God; we are not justified by a priest, a prayer, being a good person, mission trips, or doing good works)

So, what happens after we die?

Hebrews 9:27-28 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

(NO PURGOTORY! Die-Judgment; nothing in between. Notice He says “bear the sins of MANY”, not ALL…not all will receive Him and repent.)

(Paul didn’t just say “he wasn’t ashamed of the Gospel”, he walked it out until they killed him for it. This is the same Paul (used to be Saul) that had all the power and influence a person could want, he killed Christians, people looked up to him, he had the best “worldly” education; yet he gave it all up when Jesus saved him)

Romans 1:16-32 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32  hough they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

(All this should leave you first feeling helpless; but then hopeful when you give your life to Jesus. If it all sounds like foolishness; that is not surprising either; the Gospel is foolishness to those that are headed to hell)

1Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

(On the other hand; if you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you have come to the end of yourself and instead want the redemption that comes only through the Blood of Christ; not from religion or works of your own; repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ. When you flee to the Cross of Christ you will not only find Him waiting, you will find Him willing to make you a child of God)

1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Ephesians 1:5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

John 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

(Just because you were born in to a certain religion or blood line does not condemn or save you; your sin condemns you and your faith in Jesus Christ saves you; that is what it means “not of blood” – There is nothing you can do to earn it or deserve it; that is what it means “not of flesh” – Salvation is entirely a work of God; we can do nothing, He does it all, He gets all the glory; that is what it means “nor of the will of man”. Today if you hear His voice; if you feel Him calling you home; do not harden your heart, we are not guaranteed tomorrow)

Hebrews 4:6-7 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

“This is OVERWHELMING!”

All of this is very overwhelming when you first hear it; many would prefer to walk away from it; this response is no different when Jesus taught these things when He walked the earth:

John 6:60-68 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 66 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,

(“many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him”; when we consider that the non-believers are not saved, and those that are counting on their religion will not be saved, and those that might claim Jesus as their Lord, yet practice sin are not saved; it is not hard to see where Jesus is coming from when He says what He did in Matthew 7)

Matthew 7:13-29 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 21 “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. 22 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?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.‘ 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.