Today you are unlikely to hear popular preachers use the word sin and make any attempt to call anyone to repentance from sin into eternal life in Christ Jesus. They will cry and speak of wanting to improve peoples lives or make them better, but never mention sin.
If we think heart disease or cancer or aids is bad we have not even began to understand the curse and horror of sin. Sin is what will be judged by God on the great day of His wrath.
Eternal life and eternal damnation are real! Hell and Heaven are not just fairy tale stories that are designed to stir up fear or pleasant thoughts.
The most revered message ever preached in American history was the one delivered by Jonathan Edwards in early American history. What was his title?
Sinners in the hands of an angry God. There’s a book title for you.
This man was so moved by the plight of sinners should they die in their sin without Christ that he would rather risk unpopularity than have their blood on his hands.
So powerful was this pure gospel message that it is recorded that people screamed out as they experienced visions of hell and even claimed to feel the flames of hell reaching up to snatch them.
What was the fruit? Hundreds repented with the fruits of a changed life to follow.
Habits and issues are nothing to repent of. They may or may not be bad for you, and have little or nothing to do with your separation from God.
It is our sin that has separated us and every man that has yet to put his faith in Christ for deliverance from sin is under the very curse of sin from birth.
We are sinners by nature, from birth. There are no alternative cures for this condition, there are no natural remedies for the spiritual death that resides in all mankind apart from Christ.
People all around us are under the very wrath of God. You may walk by someone in the mall this week who is passing you with the invisible cloud of God’s wrath on their shoulders.
Jesus was aware of this, How aware are we?
John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Hell rejoices over the numbing effect of business and ignorance so rampant in churches today.
Every time a popular preacher stands and speaks of anything but the curse of sin and the remedy of Christ it is the demons of hell who rejoice, not the angels of heaven.
Modern Christianity thinks it takes hundreds at an altar call for ambiguity before heaven can rejoice, but the Scripture still teaches us that the angels of heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents and turns to Jesus Christ!
Why?
They know for certain that one sinner could not have come unless the Father was at work and they ever live to glorify the work of the Father and of Christ!
Hope for a better life has never been the message of the gospel. Hope for a better end in eternity has. Jesus invites sinners to come to Him with no guarantee that doing so will iron out all the wrinkles of difficulty and hardship in this life.
He does promise though to lift the wrath of God from them, to give them eternal life, and to release them from the just punishment of hell and grant them that they might forever be with the Father in heaven when this life is over.
All are under sin, the Father does the drawing, the truth does the seeding, the Spirit waters and Christ gives life. Have you come to Him for life?
Have your sins been blotted out?
About The Author
- Tim Atchley
- Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- I currently serve as Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Knoxville, Tn. I was sent out from Trinity Chapel of Knoxville in 1993 accompanied by my wife Sheila our four children Sarah, Hannah, Josiah & Isaac and a handful of bold, brave and committed believers determined to plant our first church. Pioneering is hard work but well worth the journey. That is why we desire to make disciples of Christ who will, like us, also embrace the call to plant churches.
