March 17, 2007
Newsletter Archives

After repeatedly stressing the grace of God, the writer to the Hebrews warns his readers to “have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire” Hebrews 12: 28, 29. He warned that playing around with God was playing with fire.
I state this because we live in a world where the majority feel they can live as they please, modify God’s will, interpret it according to their preferences, or just plain ignore it and think that God is a pussy cat who will just purr away under all circumstances. This is simply false.
In fact, the death of the Lord Jesus is the most striking example of how God views sin. God loved the world but could not ignore the violation of His law. Hence sin must be paid for even if it was at the cost of sending His own Son. God could not ignore sin even at personal cost to Himself.
If we acknowledge our sin and take God’s provision in Christ, God is willing to forgive. In the book of Job, Elihu reminded Job how God forgives, saying, “He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not. He will deliver his soul from going down to the pit, and his life shall see the light” Job 33: 27, 28.
If we do not acknowledge it, however, we will bear the cost. The Lord Jesus warned that “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” Luke 13:3. Accordingly, the only safe course is for us to face our sinful condition before God and turn to the Lord Jesus for salvation.

Russ Nesbit