The Evangelism Team

“Heaven would be hell to me without Christ.” – Thomas Goodwin

This beautiful quote from the Puritan Thomas Goodwin also reminds me of a question John Piper asks in his book God is the Gospel: would you be happy in heaven if Christ were not there? Before the Lord saved me I was a professing believer and my desire for heavenly things was strictly carnal. I wanted the everlasting life and of course to escape hell. I wanted the golden streets and the pearly gates but I did not want God. I wanted to go to heaven, I just didn’t want God to be there. I was ashamed of Christ and I never spoke of Him to others. I’m so thankful that the Lord in His sovereign grace turned my heart of stone to a heart of flesh and granted me the gift of repentance and faith in His Son. He saved a man who for most of his life professed faith but possessed it not and was ashamed of the gospel and it’s Author. It’s only through being born from above by His power and grace that I can echo the words of Goodwin that heaven would truly be hell without Christ.

I know there are many people who believe they are seeking God. Through church attendance, morality, activities and even a head-knowledge of who Christ is (James 2:19), they believe they are heaven-bound. But Scripture speaks otherwise. Not a single person outside of Christ seeks God. Period. Paul tells us in Romans that people don’t seek God. (Romans 3:11) The reality is that people seek the things of God but they don’t seek Him. They want heaven and all God’s benefits but they simply don’t want Him. They truly could be happy in heaven if Christ were not there. This is why I laugh at so-called “seeker sensitive” churches that model their worship after and for unbelievers. Unbelievers and nominal Christians aren’t seeking God. They are seeking health, happiness and the American dream and in their minds God is often a way to get those things. Seeker sensitive churches simply feed this devilish lie. This is why false teachers like Joel Osteen pack their seats service after service with people who want everything God (and the world) has to offer except true salvation and the ultimate result of that salvation: God Himself. Salvation truly is a means to an end. And that end is unhindered communion for all eternity with God in Christ. John sums up heaven for us in five beautiful words: “we will see His face.” (Revelation 22:4)

The grand reality is that God must seek us before we will seek Him. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) God causes our dead souls to be born from above and then and only then do we come to Him in repentance and faith. Paul describes regeneration as a miracle greater than that of the creation account. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Do you love Christ or do you love His benefits? One affection is the result of a transformed heart. The other is a natural desire of the fallen nature. If you do love Christ above all things, rejoice in His sovereign grace and be humbled that nothing inherently in you caused this regenerative miracle. (John 1:13) If you honestly can say that you’d be happy in heaven without Christ, cry out to the Lord Almighty to open your eyes to His glory in the face of Jesus Christ and embrace Him in repentance and faith. All who come to Him He will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)

Soli Deo Gloria

“I know that if I just ask God for forgiveness, He will forgive me.” This is one of the most common responses I get when sharing the gospel with unbelievers. Shockingly, the response above is most often given by those who claim to be believers. Sadly, this demonstrates a very sad state of the American church. It would be different if I lived in an area of the United States that was more liberal and not as churched, but I live in the heart of the south – in the Bible belt where there is literally a church on every corner. (In some places there are several churches on a single corner!) We’ve become a church culture so gospel-less that the average person who attends church cannot articulate the gospel.

What alarms me is that the average church-goer believes that they are heaven-bound because 1) they attend church and have been baptized or 2) they have asked God to forgive them. I want to focus on the second response since this is one that I hear most often.

One way I like to share the gospel is to turn it around and get people to share it with me. I’ll tell them that I have lived a horrible life and I have three minutes to live and desire to go to heaven. I’ll ask them to tell me how I can be forgiven and go to heaven. What I most often get is a simple, “just ask God to forgive you and He will.” I’ll ask, “is that all I have to do?” They respond, “yep!”

This is where there is an inadequate understanding of God and how he is revealed in Scripture. God is a forgiving God. The Bible tells us He is. But the Bible also clearly tells us that God is also just and He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. He is a just Judge and must deal with sin. If he just forgave us of our sins without dealing with our sins then He would be unjust and frankly would not be good. He would be a bad judge. One of the greatest questions that fallen humanity must ask is, “how can God be just and the justifier of the wicked?” This truly is the ultimate question. I believe it was Horatius Bonar in his excellent work The Everlasting Righteousness who began his treatise on justification by asking that very question.

So, this causes a dilemma. If we really begin to delve into God forgiving sinners we really must ask how can He justly forgive sinners without there being a penalty paid for the sin? How can God be just and justify guilty sinners? In fact, I believe it was Paul Washer in one of his excellent sermons on the gospel who used Proverbs 17:15 to setup “the gospel dilemma”. This verse teaches us that it is an abomination to God if the wicked are justified and the righteous are condemned. So then, based on this verse if an unbeliever were to simply ask God to forgive him and God did, then He would be going against His own word and would be an abomination in His own eyes.

Here is where the gospel shines with all its glorious splendor. God can and does forgive sinners but only if our sin is dealt with and His justice is satisfied. It is impossible for us to do anything to satisfy that debt since we are already sinners and even our most contrite and heartfelt sorrow is in itself tainted with sin. The only solution is for someone who is without sin to stand in our place. What we need is a great transaction. This is exactly what Christ did for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 is in my opinion one of the most glorious verses in all of Scripture. It tells us that God made Christ who was perfect and sinless to become our sin so that we would have the righteousness of God in Him. Christ is the answer to how God can be just and the justifier of sinners. God imputed all the sins of the elect on Christ on the cross (allowing Christ Himself to remain perfectly sinless) and poured out all the wrath on Christ in our stead. This way, God is just and has dealt with our sin. No created thing will ever be able to point the finger at God and accuse Him of being unjust in saving His elect. The other side of this amazing transaction is that through repentance and faith, Christ’s perfect righteousness is imputed to us. When God looks on believers He sees the perfect, spotless righteousness of His Son.

So, God does forgive sin but only through the vicarious, penal, substitutionary death of His Son. No amount of tears or begging for forgiveness will work outside of faith in Christ. Think about it this way. If God just forgave everyone who asked, then Christ died needlessly. If God could just sweep our sin under the “celestial rug” and not deal with it taking only our plea for forgiveness then Christ’s death was pointless. The cross demonstrates to us not only the love of God but also His justice.

One last point. It’s is inevitable that when sharing the gospel that unbelievers will quote 1 John 1:8-9. They will use this verse to “prove” that all they have to do is ask God for forgiveness and He will forgive. There is a problem though. This verse is not written to unbelievers. It applies only to believers in Christ Jesus. There is a very important little four letter word in this verse that is essential to our understanding of the gospel. That little word is “just”. John tells us that if believers will confess their sins to God as Father that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. He can only be just in forgiving us our sins because Christ has stood in our place and bore the wrath. So this verse is speaking of the constant need for believers to confess their sins to God as Father so that fellowship with Him is unhindered. An unbeliever cannot claim the promises of this verse since he is not covered under the atoning work of Christ.

I hope that as you’ve read through this that you will marvel with me at the wisdom of God in the gospel. Marvel at His grace and mercy but be aware that His grace and mercy are made available only through the cross-work and merit of Christ Jesus. Our prayers as believers should go out to the church in America that it will return to proclaiming the full and true gospel of Jesus Christ and repent from the gospel of moralism and legalism. I see first hand week after week when evangelizing to people who are active church members who know absolutely nothing of the true gospel. They believe they are saved and going to heaven for every reason imaginable except for the one and only way through Christ.

I pray also that if you’re reading this and you have been trusting in your own act of asking for forgiveness for your salvation, turn in repentance and faith to the only One who can save you – Jesus Christ. Cry out to God to open your eyes to the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6) that you may embrace Christ as your Lord and Savior. Today is the day of salvation!

Soli Deo Gloria

“To preach the gospel is to exalt Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is the best answer that I could give. I am very sorry to see very often how little the gospel is understood even by some of the best Christians.Some time ago there was a young woman under great distress of soul; she came to a very pious Christian man, who said “My dear girl, you must go home and pray.” Well I thought within myself, that is not the Bible way at all. It never says, “Go home and pray.” The poor girl went home; she did pray, and she still continued in distress. Said he, “You must wait, you must read the Scriptures and study them.” That is not the Bible way; that is not exalting Christ; find a great many preachers are preaching that kind of doctrine. They tell a poor convinced sinner, “You must go home and pray, and read the Scriptures; you must attend the ministry;” and so on. Works, works, works—instead of “By grace are ye saved through faith,” If a penitent should come and ask me, “What must I do to be saved?” I would say, “Christ must save you—believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” I would neither direct to prayer, nor reading of the Scriptures nor attending God’s house; but simply direct to faith, naked faith on God’s gospel. Not that I despise prayer—that must come after faith. Not that I speak a word against the searching of the Scriptures—that is an infallible mark of God’s children. Not that I find fault with attendance on God’s word—God forbid! I love to see people there. But none of those things are the way of salvation. It is nowhere written—”He that attendeth chapel shall be saved,” or, “He that readeth the Bible shall be saved.” Nor do I read—”He that prayeth and is baptised shall be saved;” but, “He that believeth,”—he that has a naked faith on the “Man Christ Jesus,”—on his Godhead, on his manhood, is delivered from sin.” ~Charles Spurgeon

As we approach Easter, Christ’s resurrection is on the minds of many. But what makes Christ’s resurrection so important?

This week’s Bible Minute focuses on the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. We’ll discuss why it’s vitally important and what the implications are to those who have put their faith and trust in Christ.  The Scripture reference is 1 Corinthians 15.

Click here to listen to this week’s episode.

As I was in the grocery store yesterday, a Chinese couple walked passed me speaking in their native tongue. It’s not unusual in America to be surrounded by so many different cultures and languages. However, one thing a Christian should get into the habit of doing is seeing everything in the world through the pages of Scripture. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson puts it so well saying, “we should see the world through our ears.” What he means by this is that everything we see in this world should be seen in light of the truths of Scripture.

I had a “see the world through your ears” moment in that store. I was taken back to the early account in Genesis chapter 11 where the fallen world sought to come together and rebel against God’s command to spread out on the earth. They also attempt to build a great tower seeking to reach heaven on their own strength. God had told them to spread out across the globe and multiply. Instead, they came together under the leadership of Nimrod to build a tower that they hoped would reach into the heavens. This is a prime description of the condition of man. We are born haters of God. We are born at enmity with Him. We not only seek to disobey Him in every way but we also seek to find our own way to heaven. Just like the people at Babel, we seek to create our own form of religion to get to heaven on our own terms, not on the terms of the One True God.

We read that God scatters the people at Babel and confuses their languages so they could not work together. All of this was not only a form of judgement on these rebellious people but also a form of mercy and grace. God would have been perfectly just to wipe every single one of them out because of their sin, but shows them their fallenness through their inability to communicate with one another. This taught them the futility of rebellion against God and also the futility of trying to get to heaven on their own terms.

Hearing that Chinese couple at the store reminded me of that amazing scene in Genesis. It also reminded me that we are all fallen and lost outside of Christ. Like the people at Babel, we work so hard to create our own tower to heaven. Everyone is born with some form of religion – thinking that they have some ability to get to heaven or that they can join forces with some community to work their way to God.

This is why salvation is all of God. We cannot do anything to work our way to heaven. We’re too far gone. I’ve once heard it said that unbelievers are like people out in the ocean drowning and they only need someone to throw a life preserver to them. That is very unbiblical. The Bible nowhere says that we are born spiritually sick and just need someone to throw a little help our way. No, Scripture is clear that we are born spiritually dead. We have absolutely no ability on our own at all to come to God. The truth is we are spiritually at war with God. He must first come to us. And what is gloriously amazing is that while we were yet sinners and at enmity with God, Christ died for us.

Babel should remind us of the fallenness of mankind. And like Babel, as we look out over the landscape of this world, all the different languages should remind us that all of us who are outside of Christ are fallen, spiritually dead and under God’s wrath. The unregenerate are like those at Babel rebelling at God and building their own way to what they believe is heaven.

Understanding our fallenness makes grace all the more amazing. Despite our sinfulness and our willful rebellion, God came to us. The cross of Christ gloriously demonstrates God’s love and mercy while at the same time demonstrating His justice and wrath. The cross answers the all important question, “how can God be just and the justifier of sinners?”

If you do not know Christ, cry out to God and ask Him to transform your heart of stone to a heart of flesh. Cry out to Him and ask Him to grant you true faith – a faith that trusts in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Ask Him to give you a new heart. Our Lord Jesus tells us that all who come to Him will in no wise be cast out. Isaiah reminds us that God looks to those who are contrite and broken-hearted over their sin and who tremble at His word (Isa. 66:2).

And if you are in Christ, allow the story of Babel to draw you closer and closer to Christ Jesus. Marvel at His wonderful grace and love towards His Bride, the Church. Live for Christ and all for Christ by His strength and power. Make much of Him and long for the grande day when every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

You can also listen to this article on the Bible Minute.

Soli Deo Gloria

The Bible Minute is a short audio program featuring a Bible topic each week.

This week’s topic focuses on an amazing passage in the book of Exodus that marvelously teaches the gospel of Christ. We’ll see the glorious teaching early in Scripture that God will stand in the place of guilty sinners!  The Scripture reference is Exodus 17:1-7.

Listen to this week’s episode.

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:30

“Has Christ perfected and completely finished all His work for us? How sweet a relief is this to them that believe in Him against the defects and imperfections of all our services. There is nothing finished that we do: all our duties are imperfect. Oh there is much sin and vanity in the best of our duties; but here is the grand relief, and that which answers to all our doubts and fears upon that account: Jesus Christ has finished all His work, though we can finish none of ours; and so, though we be defective, poor, imperfect creatures in ourselves, yet we are complete in Him. (Col. 2:9-10) Though we cannot perfectly obey, or fulfill one command of the law, yet is “the righteousness of the law fulfilled in us that believe.” (Rom. 8:4) Christ’s complete obedience makes us complete, and without fault before God. It is true, we ought to be humbled for our defects, and troubled for every failing in obedience; but we should not be discouraged, though multitudes of weaknesses be upon us, and many infirmities compass us about in every duty: though we have no righteousness of our own, yet, of God, Christ “is made unto us righteousness;” and that righteousness is infinitely better than ours: instead of our own, we have His. Oh, blessed be God for Christ’s perfect righteousness!” – John Flavel (from the Fountain of Life, pg. 429)

I must admit that I am a fan of the Lord of the Rings movies. There is a scene in the first of the trilogy where Gandalf is on a narrow bridge about to fight a large underground demon. Gandalf stands right in the middle of the bridge and yells out, “you shall not pass!” to the creature. Every time I watch that scene I am reminded of an important Biblical truth.

In the book of Genesis we learn that God created absolutely everything ex nihilo, out of absolutely nothing. He created everything and said that is was good. It was not long after that mankind chose to rebel and commit as R.C. Sproul puts it “cosmic treason” against God. We need to remember that God would have been perfectly just if He had chosen to annihilate Adam and Eve right then and there but instead what we read of is God’s great mercy in giving Adam and Eve the very first gospel in Genesis 3:15.

Mankind has hope in the One who would crush the head of Satan. However, there is still a problem. Man has sinned and therefore cannot be in the presence of God. God’s perfect holiness demands separation from sinful humanity and this is precisely why the great hope of the Savior hinted at in that first gospel is so important. That being said, we then read in the Genesis account that God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden along with the curse of the Fall. While there is great horror in being separated from God and the results of the Fall, there is amazing hope in the One who would make all things right.

One of the things I find so amazing about the progressive revelation of Scripture is that absolutely everything in the Bible is about Jesus Christ. It all points to Him. Let me draw your attention to what God puts in place after Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden (which represented close communion with God). Recall that God placed cherubim at the entrance of the Garden holding flaming swords. (Gen. 3:24) Like in the movie The Lord of the Rings, these cherubim were a reminder that “you shall not pass”! Because of the Fall and the sin of man we cannot come near God because of His holiness and our sinfulness. Access to God has been blocked.

Now flash forward to the tabernacle. Moses was given explicit instructions on how to construct the tabernacle while he was on Mount Sinai receiving the Law. I’ve talked with many people who are excited about reading through the Bible and they make it through Genesis and then hit Exodus and halfway through Exodus they slow down because they become overwhelmed by all the detail in the tabernacle’s specifications. One thing that always helps is to realize that God is spending so much time on the intricacies of the tabernacle because of who it all points to – Jesus Christ.

As we read through the details of how the tabernacle is to be constructed, don’t miss the fact that cherubim show back up. In fact, God instructs that the thick curtain that separates the holy place from the holy of holies (where the ark of the covenant is kept) is to have cherubim embroidered all over it. In addition, the outer curtain that actually made up the entire tabernacle was also to have cherubim all over it. To those drawing near it was a constant reminder that there is a barrier between man and God and that barrier is a result of our sin. It would instantly remind all those who gazed on the tabernacle of the Genesis account of those cherubim holding the flaming swords blocking the way to the very place where intimate fellowship with God was a reality.

Likewise, once a year on the day of atonement only the High Priest was able to pass through the curtain into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for his own sins and the sins of the people. Immediately the High Priest was confronted with the ark of the covenant and as he sprinkled the blood on the propitiatory seat there would be two angels carved out of gold facing the seat. This was a constant reminder that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin. The fact that daily sacrifices and a constant yearly sacrifice was needed was clear evidence that these sacrifices were insufficient and that they pointed to the only sacrifice that would be sufficient and perfectly efficient – the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

So in essence, what we see being presented over and over again through the Genesis account and also in the tabernacle is the announcement, “you shall not pass”. These cherubim were there as a reminder that the way is blocked. There is only one way to stand before God. Many today believe there are multiple ways to God but there is only one. Jesus Christ plainly stated that He is the way, the truth and the life. He did not say He is a way but the way. This is beautifully shown to us in the ending of the gospels.

All along the angels were there as a reminder that the way is blocked. It’s as if they constantly had their hands up with a resounding “no!”. But let us now witness a scene in Scripture where the angels are no longer blocking the way. Three days after the Lamb of God was nailed to the cross as the substitutionary, penal sacrifice we find several women coming to the tomb to anoint His body with oils and spices. They find the tomb with the large stone rolled out of the way and two angels appear to them. The glorious part of this scene is that the angels are no longer saying “you shall not pass”, they are now heralding that the way is now wide open through the risen Savior. The One that the women were seeking is not dead but alive! He has conquered death and sin and has rose victoriously for our justification! We can now come to God through the new and living way – through the veil of Christ’s flesh. (Heb. 10:19-20)

Let us marvel at the glorious truths of Scripture. May our hearts and minds be drawn upward where Christ is in the heavenly places. There is no greater news that can fall on human ears than the great gospel of Jesus Christ. The grace and love of God is shown most magnificently and fully at the cross. God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:8) If you have put your trust in Christ alone for your salvation then spend time thanking Him and meditating on these great truths.

If you are outside of Christ cry out to Him and ask Him to grant you true repentance and faith to escape the wrath to come. May the cherubim be a visual lesson to you that the way is blocked because of our sin and God’s wrath on our sin. There is only one way to be forgiven and have the righteousness required to stand before God and that is through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Rest on Him alone in faith! All who come to Him with a contrite heart and a broken spirit will not be cast out! In Christ it is always “you shall pass!”

Soli Deo Gloria!