God Loves… Himself

One of the most obvious ways (from Romans 1:18-32) that God hardens hearts and turns men over to sin is when He hardens their hearts toward Himself and turns them over to various forms of humanism. The core aspect of sin is always in relation to God.

1. Men suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them.
2. Men exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man
3. Men exchange the truth of God for a lie, and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator
4. Men do not see fit to acknowledge God any longer
5. Men are haters of God
6. Men approve the sinful practices of others even though God hates those practices

While the list just above sets out the major issues of God turning men over to sin in Romans 1, the most used aspect of this is regarding homosexuality. Now without denying that is clearly part of the text, I am beginning to wonder if it should apply to those in the ministry and those who are preaching as well. It seems that those who are to be preaching the Word of God are suppressing the truth of God as much as anyone else. It is hard to find a pulpit where the wonders and glories of God are set forth with energy and as if the man believes it and means it. We can ask the question, “where is God in the preaching of today” and we would have to answer that He is virtually absent. The god that is preached today is simply one who is here to meet the needs of men if they will but ask.

It appears to me that modern preaching has been for a long time (and is certainly doing it now) suppressing the truth of God in unrighteousness. It is true that a form of morality is being taught and in a few places the old doctrines are being taught, but where is God in this? Theology can be studied as an academic discipline instead of as a God-centered approach. True theology will always have God at the center and God as the subject, but it is possible to study theology as virtually a philosophy rather than as worship. True preaching has to do with God first and foremost. It has to do with the living God at all points and in all ways. True preaching is when a man of God that has been set apart by God, has been taught of God, is possessed of God and stands and declares the truths of God and His present reality. God is not just some historical fact; He is the most real of all reality.

While it is a terrible thing for men and women to suppress the truth of God in their daily lives and in their pursuits of sin, it is even more terrible for ministers in the pulpits and denominational leaders to suppress the truth of God in their ministries (so-called). Ministers are to preach about the glory of the Gospel of God and they can do nothing but suppress that truth when they do not teach and preach the true Gospel. The Gospel is all about the glory of God in the face of Christ and when men are suppressing the truth of God in the pulpits and in the teaching ministries of the churches; they are not preaching and teaching the true Gospel of the glory of God. How can one preach the Gospel of God when one is suppressing the truth of God?

It appears to be a rather common practice for men to skip over chapter 9 of Romans when they preach through that book. Why is that a common practice? True enough it may be a hard chapter. True enough it may be one that offends people. I would argue, however, that it is primarily because they want to suppress the truth of God found in that chapter. One could also argue that the God of Romans 9 makes them highly uncomfortable as well. Nevertheless, when one refuses to preach Romans 9 and the truth of God that is there one is suppressing the truth of God in unrighteousness.

There are many other places in Scripture that men suppress as well. There are many other truths that men suppress in the Bible and not just the ones about the sovereignty of God. The teaching of the nature of free-grace is also suppressed and the freeness of the Gospel of grace alone is suppressed. Men want to be in control of their own salvation and ministers want to be in control of the morality and the money of other men. In order to do those things, the truth of God must be suppressed. It is not just ministers; however, this has to do with all men. The average attendee of a local church wants to “share” his or her faith, but that seems to entail a lot of hiding and a lot of painting a rosy picture. We must not suppress the truth of God whether from the pulpit or in the average discussion about Him. It is nothing but self and self-love that keeps us from telling the truth of God. What an arrogant and proud thing it is for us to love ourselves more than the true God and the true good of others.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them…22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of 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 over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts & receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

One of the most obvious ways (from the text) that God hardens hearts and turns men over to sin is when He hardens their hearts toward Himself and turns them over to various forms of humanism. The core aspect of sin is always in relation to God.
1. Men suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them.
2. Men exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man
3. Men exchange the truth of God for a lie, and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator
4. Men do not see fit to acknowledge God any longer
5. Men are haters of God
6. Men approve the sinful practices of others even though God hates them

What is so interesting to note, is that as men continue in their downward slide as they suppress the truth of God, men become more man-centered the greater distance they stray from the truth of God. But perhaps even more interesting (so to speak), is to note that man begins to think of God as a humanist and as man-centered. In other words, not only does man suppress the truth of God and become man-centered, but in his thinking he begins to think of God as man-centered as well. This is to say that as man suppresses the truth of God and of man as being in the image of God, man begins to make a god in his own image. It can also be said that as men suppress the truth of God they take His rightful place at the center of all things and become their own arbiter and standard.

The slide of men into sin takes a horrible toll on man and his submission to God. This slide into sin also takes a terrible toll on worship as men think that they are worshipping God but are really worshipping an image of themselves that they now call “God.” This wicked slide away from God lands man in a very, very distorted worldview and theology. Man thinks of God as being almost dependent on man and of God as also being very focused and centered upon man as if God loved man more than Himself. This is truly a frightening way of looking at things, yet this is the truth of the matter. Not all who use the word “God” mean even close to the same thing.

What we now see is a nation who has such a distorted view of God that it appears that the vast majority of churches that have the name of Christian are far from the true God. The so-called services are not about the wonders and glories of God, but instead about the greatness of man and the duties of man that he should do for God. What is missing is the true glory of God in that He saves by grace alone. The true God loves Himself and His glory and He must save men by grace alone and bring them to share in His love for Himself. God does not exist in heaven weeping and hoping that men will love Him, but instead it is His free gift of grace that He gives some men to love Him. God is sovereign over all men rather than men being sovereign over God in their choosing Him to be saved and in their praying to Him to get Him to do things for them. Even orthodox groups have suppressed the truth of God and so they think of God as being man-centered. Those who love the true God must be broken and pray. Those who love the true God should seek Him to open the eyes of blinded men so that His glory would shine in and through men as He deserves.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them…22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of 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 over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts & receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

If the text of Romans 1:18-32 is correct, and as the Word of God it is, then the United States of America is in deep, deep trouble in a spiritual sense and in the sense of remaining a nation. If we think of the nation reflecting the theological and spiritual condition of the “Church” in our day, then this makes a great statement about the “Church” in our nation. The “Church” is to be salt and light in our society, but instead it has been the exact opposite. The “Church” has been in decline for at least two centuries and this has been seen with some clarity since the middle of the 1800’s and with even more clarity starting with the 20th century.

In the days of John Owen (died 1683) he lamented Arminianism and thought of the teaching of free-will as an idol. He also lamented the fact that he was seeing the preaching of the Gospel as being with far less power in his day than in previous days. Not only did Owen write strongly against Arminianism, but others wrote against it as well. In the days of Jonathan Edwards (died 1758) the unconverted members of his congregation were quite frightened when they heard that Arminianism was gaining power in New England. They were frightened because they thought of Arminianism as a judgment of God and so they thought of their day of salvation as over.

It has been stated that there is no logical stopping point between Calvinism and atheism. Others have stated that there is only a small difference between Pelagianism and Arminianism. If the Gospel is indeed a Gospel of grace alone and Christ alone, then Arminianism cannot preach the true Gospel. The Arminian position, of necessity, believes in the free-will and a free-will is free of depravity enough to make a decision, but also has to be free of grace in order to be free. This leaves us, though they will argue with words to the contrary, with a gospel that is not grace alone and Christ alone in reality. By virtue of sheer definition it is a gospel of grace alone in name alone rather than one that is truly by grace alone.

Charles G. Finney was licensed to preach in 1823 and in 1825 he had a “successful” period of preaching in Utica, New York. Both his message and his methods were different than Jonathan Edwards and Asahel Nettleton. Not only did he not believe in the total depravity of man, he also denied original sin (men are born sinners). Men were not thought to have to wait on God for a new heart, but they could decide “right now” to be saved. Finney had great results for a while and many pastors followed his methods. America has not been the same since. Finney is now thought to have been a giant in the land and he was been the great champion looked to for modern evangelists. Interestingly enough, Finney was a heretic and his methods were based on his heresy. His theology and his methods opened the “Church” to unbelievers and in fact many church buildings were filled with unbelievers by his theology and methods, both in his day and in the days since.

When we look at things from a theological angle, we see how we have arrived at our present state in America. Theology has been abandoned for visible results. Methodology has been changed for visible results. However, the visible results are far different from a biblical point of view. Many have been deceived and the local churches have been taken over by unbelief and humanism. Secularism has crept in and humanism has swept away large numbers of “churches.” Arminianism and Pelagianism (at times virtually without distinction) have taken over in name and in practice. The Reformed groups offer barely a peep at the erosion of the Gospel and our nation as a result of Arminian and Pelagian thinking. After all, it is hard to be in the same denomination if one is speaking out about how false a theology is. After all, it is not thought to be gracious or winsome if one speaks against another theology. However, if Owen and Edwards (and others) were right, it just could be that descent of the “churches” and our nation is to be set at the feet of Arminianism and Pelagianism. It is something we must ponder.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them…22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of 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 over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts & receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

The very essence of sin is seen in v. 19 in that human beings suppress the truth of God that is within them. They suppress this truth of God in order that they may do what they want, and in this mad pursuit they become fools. God turns them over to in the lusts of their hearts to even more sin and their bodies are dishonored among them, yet we are told that they did his because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and in this worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. Here is the very essence and heart of sin. It is man who in the worship and love of self fails to worship and love God, but not only that but also suppresses the truth of God and out of self-love in reality hates God.

People who hate the true God will profess to love God, but what they do is love the god that they have come up with in their own imaginations. The love an idea of a god and they love that god because they think that god loves them, but if one pierces through the reality of it all and sees through the darkness there is nothing but hatred for the true God. Those people suppress the truth of God when they come up with their idea of a false god. These people bow in worship of self and the false god they think loves them and they love that god, but the reality is that they are doing nothing but suppressing the truth of the true God. The very act of coming up with a god of their own imaginations is an act of suppressing the truth of God and as such is idolatry.

The text is quite clear that when men exchange the truth of God for a lie, and that is after they were given over to lusts of the heart; God gives them over to degrading passions. This is set out for us in the text of Scripture by saying that women changed the natural function for that which is unnatural and men abandoned the natural function of the women and burned with desire for one another, which had them committing indecent acts. When we see the text setting out things like this, it is quite obvious that Paul meant. It is not that homosexual acts will be punished in the future, though indeed they will, but it is punishment itself. When people commit those types of acts that is demonstrative evidence that God has turned them over to a depraved mind. That depraved mind leads to many other sins as well.

The brutal fact of the matter is that is that Americans think that these acts are now okay but the Bible says those acts are themselves a judgment of God upon them. The Scripture tells us that these things are worthy of death, but there are many in our day who are involved in these acts and not only involved but applaud and give hearty approval to those who commit them. This is a sign of a nation that is rapidly descending into lower and lower levels of judgment. This is a sign of a nation that has rejected (virtually as a whole nation) the true God and now stands against Him and His truth in the approval of what God calls indecent acts. This nation is so wicked that it seemed to burst out in applause in the media and parades across the land in celebration of decision by a so-called Supreme Court that violated the will of the real Supreme God. This nation is gasping for air and is in death throes in our day. However, what boggles the mind is that perhaps for centuries (since the early 1800’s) theology has been rapidly descending as well. In fact, I would argue that as theology has descended the secular thinking and godlessness has ascended in terms of power over the minds of the people. We are a “Church” that needs to be granted repentance and to seek the face of the Lord. It is only a repentant “Church” seeking the face of the Lord that can possible be used of God to bring the true Gospel to a dying nation.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them…22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of 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 over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts & receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Men prefer a God who is under their control, whether they confess His sovereignty or not. Men like having a God who is sovereign over the things around them as long as they can pray in a way which controls Him. Men strongly desire a God to control things outside of them, but they strongly rebel and fight against a God who is sovereign in them. Men, despite the theology that they hold to, do not want God to be sovereign over their hearts. They do not want a God who can do with them as He pleases in accordance with His sovereign pleasure. However, that is the biblical God and there is none other. Ro 9:18 is clear on this matter and in reality it takes a lot of effort to misunderstand it: “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”

Men, regardless of creed and profession, love the word or some idea of grace, but unless a person is truly converted a person will not love true grace which is sovereign grace. This brings us to the next and corresponding idea and that is that God hardens hearts as He pleases as well. For grace to be true grace it must also be sovereign. For grace to be grace God has no obligation on His part to show grace, which also means that He is just in hardening the soul He shows grace to. “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious” is a powerful verse and we should humble bow before the living God as we seek grace based on Him rather than ourselves.

Since no one deserves grace and all deserve judicial punishment for sin, no one has a real basis for complaining when God judges them with a hardened heart. In a sense He is turning them over to what they desire, though they are deceived about what they desire and what it will bring. When Romans 1:24 tells us that “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity,” we are also told why He does this. He does it “so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.” Now those committing the sin have no desire to be dishonored, but instead they are just seeking the fulfillment of their bodily lusts. This shows us that God punishes sinners in giving them what their heart desires, though their heart does not desire what the sin will bring with it.

Romans 1:25 teaches us what is at the heart of every sin: “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.” Sinners may not have the theology of what they are doing, yet their hearts desire the sin and in seeking the fulfillment of the desires of their hearts they are suppressing the truth of God in unrighteousness. When sinners exchange the truth of who God is and His moral character by suppressing that truth and instead settling for a lie, they worship themselves and serve themselves (the creature) rather than God.

This is precisely what we see in parades and large parties in support of the recent Supreme Court decision. We see people who have exchanged the truth of God for a lie and they now worship themselves and serve themselves rather than God. It is a just punishment for God to harden their hearts in their sin and give them over to more sin as punishment. The sin itself is the wrath of God as sin is the worst thing that a soul can do. It leads to misery in this life and eternal misery in the next life. It is a terrible and awful judgment to be turned over to a reprobate heart, to a hard heart, and to be turned over to sin and then more sin. It is to be turned over in such a way that the person lives in accordance with the wisdom of an absolute fool. That fool is self without the wisdom of Christ.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them…22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of 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 over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 & in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman & burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts & receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 & just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

In light of recent events, those with hope that God was not going to send a great judgment upon us have revised that hope. It is not that judgment will not come, but it has already arrived, though assuredly things will get worse. Despite the gibberish put out by liberal theologians and those who lean hard to the left in politics, God is a God of wrath. Romans 1:18 is about as clear as one can be. “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” The text is really indisputable in that God reveals His wrath, but what is not so obvious is how He shows His wrath.

Romans 1:18-32 is a classic text on the fact that God shows wrath, but it seems to be forgotten in our day just how God shows His wrath. While people expect the wrath of God to come in lightening or in famine or in dramatic ways, there are actually far worse judgments that He sends. The judgments that God sends in Romans 1 are spiritual judgments and are simply not thought of as judgments. Men think of being punished in a physical way for their sin, that is, that bad things will happen to them if God judges. What they don’t understand is that the severe judgments of God happen immediately and yet they are not recognized because part of the judgment is being turned over to pride and a hardened heart and so they are blinded to the judgment.

We must look with some care at Romans 1 or we will miss the teaching of the awful judgments and wrath of God. We see in v. 24 that it is a judgment when God gives people over to “the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.” Now men don’t understand that being given over to their lusts is a judgment, but instead they think of it as being free to exercise the lusts of their hearts. They don’t understand that when God hardens them and gives them over to their sin, they are in bondage to sin and an even greater bondage to that sin. As they slide deeper into the slavery of sin, their misery will increase though they will not recognize that either. As they slide deeper into the life of being controlled by their lusts, their bodies are dishonored and yet they are blind to that as well.

Another thing that sinners are blind to as they slide deeper and deeper into sin is that they are treasuring wrath up for the day of wrath (Romans 2:4-5). These poor, deceived sinners think that they are free from the wrath of God and yet at the same time they are being given over to their sins and they are treasuring up wrath for the day of wrath. In other words, when God turns a person over to sin that is a severe judgment on that person. It is a present judgment for sin in that it will bring more and more sin and more and more hardening to sin. It will bring more and more eternal judgment as well. When we think of the text of Scripture (Matthew 18:6) that it is better for a person to have a large stone hung around his neck and dropped into the depth of sea than it is for that person to be a stumbling block for a true believer, it should give some idea of the hideous nature of sin. When God turns a person over to sin by means of a hardened heart, though the person may not recognize this as a judgment, yet it is as severe a judgment that can be given in this life. The Supreme Court’s decision this past week is evidence of the wrath of God having been poured out upon us perhaps years ago. The wrath of God was intensified this week as seen in this judgment of turning a people over to sin.

Mat 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

When we die, the worms will scramble for our bodies, our friends and family for our possessions, and the devils for our souls. What will matter then? (Thomas Shepard)

The most real of realities is that each human soul will spend eternity in one of two places. This is not some game and it is not some religious deception in order to dupe people out of their money, it is a simple to understand truth that Jesus taught while on earth and then after His resurrection He taught the same thing through His apostles. Our lives on earth have more meaning than we can imagine because they have meaning for eternity. While eternity is not something we think about much in the modern day, it is at the forefront of the biblical teaching and thought.

Thomas Shepard gets to the heart of the matter. Those who live for the moment may not hear what he is saying, but it is a powerful message. When we die and enter eternity, will we really care for the body that we pampered and fed and spent so much time on during our time on earth? It is nothing but food for worms at that point. What of all the possessions we spent so much time, money, and love on? Will we care about all those things we used our valuable time on? As our friends and family scramble to get the things we spent our time on rather than focusing on eternity, at that moment we will be very focused on eternity. When the devils are scrambling for our souls, what will our wish have been? Will we wish that we had pampered our bodies more, or perhaps obtained more possessions, or will we wish that we had sought Christ and His glory more? In other words, will we wish that we had lived for and thought more on eternity?

It is easily seen from the text above the vital importance of the church. But of course the Church is the body of Christ and as such it has to do with true believers. How we treat believers has a lot to do with our eternal dwellings and our level of torment or joy there. No, this does not teach a Gospel that depends on how we treat believers, but instead how we treat believers shows us our hearts. While it is true that Jesus taught that a cup of cold water given to one of those who believe in Him would not lose its reward, that is far from teaching salvation by works. What it does teach, however, is the importance of how we live now because of its relation to eternity. Church is vital to us because it is a place that is supposed to focus on eternity, though it must be admitted that in the modern day it is focused on the here and now.

While we do not go around thinking about it in our day, how we treat or don’t treat true believers is very important. The text above is not teaching us to go and start prison ministries, but instead it is teaching us how God views His children and how human beings are judged on how they treat them. We will be judged on how we treat Christ, but we are judged on how we treat Christ by how we treat His children. Indeed sinners are saved by the grace of God alone, but let us not grab that truth and flee from the great truths in this text. Jesus also taught us that the sign of being a true disciple was to have love one for another (John 13:35). The issue, then, is not so much of how hard we work, but of whether we have true love for believers or not. John 4:7-8 tells us that only true believers have true love at all, and that is because they have been born of God and know God.

True believers, then, are those who love God and as such they love others who are born of God. A person who truly loves true believers is a believer, though it is also true that sinners love those who love themselves and as such many of those attend false churches. But if a man or woman truly loves God and our hearts go out to them and we want to help them and do for them, this shows that a person has eternity in mind and Christ in his or her heart. Eternal life in Christ consists of a great love and as such when a person enters eternity with Christ that person has love for eternity. Oh the weightiness of eternity, but oh the dullness toward eternity we have in our day.

Mat 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

When we die, the worms will scramble for our bodies, our friends and family for our possessions, and the devils for our souls. What will matter then? (Thomas Shepard)

Eternity should be at the foremost of our thinking during our lives. But who really believes that eternity matters more than the present life now? Has the whole concept of eternity been virtually lost in our day? We are consumed with the present life. We are consumed with things of the world. Why are we not consumed with the things of eternity? Why are we not driven by eternal life and eternal damnation?

Matthew 16:26 tells us this: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Therefore, if there is no profit in having the entire world, then what profit can there be in what you are selling your soul for? If the whole world is a loss rather than a profit as compared to our soul, then people are selling their souls for sex, food, money, and many other things. How cheaply they are valuing their souls and giving them to sin.

Do we really believe the following these days: “all the curses written in the book of God, the curses of God, the curses of Christ, the curses of the Law, the curses of time and eternity, shall be upon unrepentant sinners, not only light on him to terrify him, but abide on him, to sink him into the Lake of Fire, to launch his wretched soul, grip and gnaw his guilty conscience, and prey on his damned body throughout endless ages.” If we really believed that, and more than just the intellectual information, surely our churches would be different.

Do we really believe that our soul and the souls of all others will spend eternity in one of two places? In light of eternity, being nice is not enough. Being orthodox is not enough. Being religious is not enough. Being externally moral is not enough. Most professing believers know those things in the head, but do they have those truths in the depths of their very hearts? Do they believe those things with every fiber of their being? Do those things really and truly grip us enough so that we live in light of them? Do we really think that only Christ and Christ alone is enough for us? Do we live as if Christ is our treasure?

When people are faced with the reality and finality of death, what type of person will they want to be around? It is true that it is nice to be around nice people, but hell is full of nice people. It is much better to be around those who are moral rather than the immoral, but hell will be full of people who are moral as well as the immoral. It is a good thing to be around talented people, but once again hell will be full of talented people. Is it a good thing to be around smart people? Perhaps if a doctor was smart one would want a smart doctor, but then again hell will be full of smart people and most likely have a lot of smart doctors. What kind of preacher or friends would one want to hang around? Do we want people to comfort us and encourage us as we slip into hell? Perhaps it would be better to find awakening preachers who will tell us the truth about our sinful natures and sinful practices before we reach our death beds. Perhaps it would be better to find people to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ before we reach our death beds. Perhaps it is vital that we turn from the fluff and niceness found in professing churches today and ask for God to give us men after His heart who will tell us the truth without fear of men.

While this may not be politically correct, the real issue is whether it is theologically correct. Much of what is politically correct is theologically incorrect and being theologically correct is infinitely more important than what is politically correct. The issues surrounding the recent shootings in Charleston, South Carolina should be dealt with theologically and not just pass judgment on things in accordance with the news reports.

First, the most serious crime that the young man committed in murdering the nine people was his attack upon the image of God. The seriousness of the crime should not be measured by the color of the people’s skin, but the One that they were made in the image of. The seriousness of the crime is not better or worse because of the skin color of the person, but instead because he shot people who were made in the image of God. Regardless of the skin color of a person, all human beings are made in the image of God and an attack on a human being is in some way an attack upon God Himself. God does not have a body like men and as such He has no skin color.

Second, the seriousness of the crime is also not to be judged because the people were in a building that is termed a church. Indeed it may have been a historical building, but it is a building that is made of wood, metal, and perhaps some concrete. One cannot attack people in a church because in the Bible the Church consists of believers and Christ dwells in believers. A church building is where the church (the people of God) meets. While the media speaks of the murderers being carried out in a church, it was not. It might have been carried out against the church, that is, some being real believers, but it was not carried out in a church. Buildings are not the dwelling place of Christ, but instead He dwells in His people.

Third, we should not assume that all nine of the people murdered were Christians. While this little piece of writing is not judgment upon the salvation of those who were murdered, it is to say that the words of those speaking on the situation are not to be trusted in. People are not saved because they are black or white. They are saved because God elects to show grace to them. People are not saved because they are murdered by a man with terrible intentions, but instead they are saved if God saves them by grace alone. People are not saved because they were church members or because they were faithful at church for years, but instead they are only saved by grace alone. People are not saved because they go to Wednesday night Bible study, but instead they are only saved by the blood of Christ alone. People are not saved because they are murdered by a true racist because salvation is only by the blood of Christ alone and by grace alone.

Fourth, we should be careful about the deductions and statements people are making about God in this situation. God ordained this event to happen from all eternity and He did so for His own glory. God can show wrath when religious people murdered and yet He can show love when they are murdered. People who are religious on the outside may be quite wicked when away from the religious building and they can also be puffed up and proud. People who are very religious can also trust in their self-righteousness for salvation. But God is declaring His righteousness in this situation regardless of the people involved. God can still be a God of love while His wrath is being poured out on one person or many at any point.

Theologically speaking, there has been a lot of ignorance and heresy pouring out from Charleston, South Carolina. Not once have I heard anything that sounded remotely close to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of grace alone. While this was a sad event in many ways, it has become even sadder to hear the ways it is spoken of. God was attacked by the murderer, but now the true God is being ignored and the shallow, humanistic god is being exalted in His place. No, I don’t think that I am a true racist and I don’t think that what I am saying is even remotely close to racism. I am not writing against or for any race as such, but instead I want to stand up and declare that God is still on the throne. He was and is sovereign over the young man who murdered the nine human beings in Charleston. He was and is sovereign over the nine human beings who were made in His image and then murdered. The focus should be on God and His mind. If not even a sparrow can fall from the sky without His permission, then what does that say about Charleston? The issue should wake us all up is not race, the flag, or gun control. What should wake us up is that God is turning us over to hardened hearts. Even when He is screaming to us in cases of mass murder, our thoughts and words do not turn to Him in order to seek Him. Instead, we look to what we think of as societal ills as being the root evil. That is a great evil in itself.

Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.

Colossians 1:18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

We go to church in our day thinking it is a building rather than the building being a gathering place of the church. The ramifications of that single error in thought are enormous. When we think of Christ coming to His church, once again it seems to mean that Christ comes to the building as well rather than Christ coming in power and grace to His people. When we think of Christ turning from His people we think of Him as turning from the building, but in reality Christ turns from His people (in terms of presence, favor, and power) and leaves them to their own devices regardless of where they are.

It is of enormous importance how one views the church and what one thinks the church is. The view one has of what the church is has a great influence on how we view the Gospel, church membership, preaching; conversion, and evangelism. For example, a person should not be considered a Christian because that person attends a local church, but one should only be considered a Christian when one has biblical evidence that one is united to Christ and as such is part of the body of Christ. Membership in a local church is focused on a person taking vows and joining the congregation by covenant or by baptism. However, biblical church membership is focused on the person being a member of Christ and as such how one loves and treats the body of Christ. In this the body loves Christ and then itself as it grows in love.

The Gospel is confused by how we view the church when we think of a person coming to church and then making a commitment to a church by vows and baptism. This is partly seen by the vast number of times people answer the question as to if they are a Christian by their reply that they belong to a church. The modern view of the Gospel is whether a person makes a vow or not and belongs to a church or not, but the Bible thinks of a Christian as one who is born again (regenerated) and is joined to Christ. As a result of being born from above and knowing God (requires unity with Christ), a person loves God and others. Jesus taught us that His disciples would be known by their love for each other. That is true because true love can only come to those who are born of God and know God.

Gospel preaching (true preaching) focuses on the true Gospel and the things that relate to becoming people who are regenerated and united to Christ. Preaching with a wrong view of the church will focus on people making decisions and becoming faithful members, which is translated to being busy around the building or doing things for the organization. When the church members are faithful to Christ they are faithful to the people of the church and they are faithful to Christ in their daily lives. Preaching with a view to Christ and love for Christ and His people is a vastly different view than preaching which looks for people to be faithful to an organization.

A biblical view of the church leads to a different view of conversion as well. A person is converted when a person is not following self but is truly following Christ. A person is not necessarily converted when a person is faithful to come to the church building and becomes more moral. A person is not necessarily converted when a person tithes, teaches Sunday School, and helps build a new building. Building the church is a far different thing than building a building. True conversion is when a person has truly repented of self-love and pride and now Christ is his or her love and his or her boasting is in Christ.

Closely connected to that is the way evangelism is practiced. True evangelism is practiced when out of love for Christ His glory is proclaimed, but also looks to people and wants them to be united to Christ and for them to seek grace to be saved. Modern evangelism looks for the person to make a decision and then to be joined to an organization that is called the church. People can be conservative and Reformed and many other things and yet be pulled in a wrong direction because of their view of the church. The Church and the local church must be taught that the vital unity of what it truly is must be spiritual life from Christ or it will without fail go in the wrong direction.