By David J. Stewart |
February 2014
John 8:36
and Acts 26:18, “If the Son
therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed...
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from
the power of Satan unto God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them
which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
Thank God for the blood of Jesus that cleanses the vilest sinner. I've
noticed that Christians in church who've never gone into what we call “DEEP
SIN” (adultery, rape, whoredom, murder, bank robbery, et cetera) tend to
have a Pharisaical attitude toward others, especially those who do sin.
You
show me a professed Christian who condemns someone else when they openly sin
(or get caught and it goes public) and I'll show you a big time hypocrite(s)
who has never really messed-up, has never spent time in prison, has never
spent years being dragged through a criminal court system, has never been
bilked by greedy lawyers and judges for tens-of-thousands of dollars, has
never been through an ugly divorce that they didn't want, doesn't know what
community rejection feels like (including by local churches), doesn't know
what it's like to live the rest of your days with a stigma over your name,
and doesn't fully understand the grace of God that makes complete
forgiveness possible (justified as if you'd never sinned at all in God's
eyes) on the basis of Jesus' blood sacrifice. You'll never truly comprehend
the grace of God until you've lost it all because of your own sins, and the
only friend that you have left in the world is the Lord Jesus Christ (Who
paid the full price for ALL your sins, no matter how disgusting, repulsive
and horrible they may be).
May I
say to you, “WE HAVE SINNED!”
Did you know that most of the Psalms were written by David in the Old
Testament? Did you know that the word “enemy” and “enemies” are mentioned
104 times throughout the Psalms? David's enemies took advantage of his moral
failures, demonizing him, casting stones and dust upon him (2nd Samuel
16:13), cursing his name as the king of Israel. David repented, but his
enemies continued to attack him relentlessly. David's neighbours were afraid
to associate with him anymore and avoided him. Psalms 31:11, “I was a
reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a
fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without
fled from me.” Have you ever had your neighbours shun and
avoid you because of rumors going around about your sins? David came to the
place where he knew that his enemies would never leave him alone, condemning
him even after he was dead and gone. Even after 2,000 years people are still
calling Jesus a bastard, liar and adulterer.
We
learn a great truth from David in Psalms 51:4, “Against
thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight:
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou
judgest.” David realized that GOD was his only Judge. No one else's
opinion matters. My friend, whatever sins you have done are between you and
God alone, for only God has the power to forgive or not forgive. And He has
promised TO FORGIVE anyone who comes for forgiveness by way of faith in the
name of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Anyone who receives Christ's death, burial
and resurrection as full-payment for their sins is saved.
Romans
2:1 indicts all mankind for committing THE SAME SINS. No one is more or less
righteous than anyone else, except those who are washed in the blood of the
Lamb and those who are not. That is the only distinction that God sees!
Everyone
is a sinner. Even the best Christians still commit sin at times (Romans
3:10,23). We shouldn't sin (Romans 3:31) and we don't have God's permission
to sin, and God will chastise His children who deliberately live in sin
(Hebrews 12:6-8). Albeit, as long as we are in the flesh we will sin (Romans
7:14-25). One of the traits of a truly mature Christian is the realization
that I am as much a sinner as the next guy. James 2:10 teaches that to break
even one law of God makes us guilty of breaking ALL the laws. The reason is
because even one sin is enough to damn a person to Hellfire forever and
ever.
1st John 3:8, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil
sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,
that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Jesus Came To SAVE SINNERS!
David Turned To Prayer
When People Hurt Him
“For
my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my
love.” —Psalms
109:4-5
The most beautiful part of the
above verse is when David says “BUT I GIVE MYSELF UNTO PRAYER.” Luke
6:27, “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them
which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you.” It is a Biblical principle that we ought
to pray for those who despiteful use us. “Spite” is feeling the need to see
someone suffer. There are a lot of spiteful individuals in today's world,
who enjoy hurting others just because they can. Spite is showing malicious
ill will and a desire to hurt others. So many people are spiteful toward
others. Spite is malevolence by virtue of
being malicious or nasty. Some people just like to be mean and rotten.
The apostle Paul makes a
remarkable statement in 2nd Corinthians 12:15, “And I will very gladly
spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the
less I be loved.” The more that Paul loved, the less he was
loved. In other words, the greater Paul's capacity became to love OTHERS,
the less capacity others had to reciprocate (return) Paul's love. If I'm
growing closer to the Lord day-by-day, walking with Jesus in prayer, fasting
and searching the Scriptures; but you're not, then you're not going to be
able to love me unconditionally the way I love you. The Bible teaches for
Christians to set their affections on things above (Colossians 3:1-2),
instead of minding earthly things (Philippians 3:19).
Psalms 35:11-13, “False
witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. They
rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. But as for me, when
they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting;
and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.”
The Christian life is a life of
prayer, which mostly includes praying for OTHERS. The idea of selfish prayer
is worldly, not Biblical. God already KNOWS what we have need of.
Matthew 6:7-8, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen
do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not
ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have
need of, before ye ask him.” Yet we are taught in Luke 11:5-9
and Luke 18:1-8 the wonderful truth of IMPORTUNITY in prayer, that is,
insistently begging God for the needs of OTHERS. Job 16:21, “O that
one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!”
Philippians 2:4-5 teach us to have THE MINDSET OF CHRIST and reveals
what that mindset is... “Look not every man on his own things, but
every man also on the things of OTHERS. Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus.” The Lord lived His earthly life
thinking about the needs of OTHERS. This is our example to emulate.
Christ Liveth In Me
Remember, we don't live the
Christian life; but rather, Jesus through His Spirit (Romans 8:9) lives the
Christian life through us day-by-day as we yield to the Spirit's leading in
the Words of God. Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
The Lord promises to avenge
(recompense) all men for their evil deeds (Romans 12:19; Ecclesiastes
12:13-14; Acts 17:32; Romans 2:1; James 4:12).
I know that the Lord is doing a
great work through me on the internet. It's the Lord's Spirit working in me,
both to will and to do of His good pleasures (Philippians 2:13). As such I
have made many enemies, but it is Jesus Who they really hate. John
7:7, “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it,
that the works thereof are evil.”
God has given to humanity so many GOOD blessings, but men
have sought out evil inventions (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Psalms 145:9,
“The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.“
Psalms 38:20, “They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries;
because I follow the thing that good is.” Proverbs 17:13, “Whoso rewardeth
evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.”
“For
my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my
love.” —Psalms
109:4-5
Luke 17:26-27, “And as it was in
the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They
did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage,
until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and
destroyed them all.”
