God Loves… Himself

Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

I wonder how many people hear or read through these words and pass on by them in a thoughtless manner. I wonder how many people have heard or read through these words and since they have prayed a prayer or walked an aisle they never even gave these passages a serious thought. How many people have been told that if you pray this prayer you should never doubt your salvation and as such they blow off passages like Matthew 7? There are perhaps multitudes that have been inoculated against the truth of Christ because of a false teaching of the gospel and of assurance. Yes, it is true, wrong theology can inoculate people against the truth of Christ and the Gospel.

Do people really believe that they must enter through the narrow gate and the narrow way? No, they are simply told that they must believe or walk the aisle. The idea that they must enter through a narrow gate and walk a narrow way is unheard and would be unwelcome. Yet the Lord Jesus tells us without equivocation that the gate is wide and the way is broad to destruction. In other words, it is easy to be on the way to destruction and think that you are on the way to life. Yet Jesus tells us that many are on that road to destruction. On the other hand, we are told that the way to life has a small gate and a narrow way. There are few who find it.

The text goes on to tell us to beware of false prophets. Part of what a false prophet does is to tell people that they are on the way to life when in fact they are on the way to destruction. One of the major reasons that there are so many people on the way to destruction is because of the many false prophets we have had and still have. False prophets are selfish and greedy men. They want the honor of being followed so they are not going to tell people that they must go through a narrow gate and follow a way that is narrow. The false prophet, though indeed some may be strict in their external practices of religion, is one that follows the way of self rather than the way of Christ. The false prophet speaks smooth things and does not want to disturb people who are on the way to destruction as they might stop their tithing or their honoring him.

The Sermon on the Mount has been honored as a system of morality and good teaching, but it appears that the passage quoted above is ignored. It does not easily fall into a system of morality and it is not easy teaching. In fact, it obliterates it. Those who go through the motions of an easy religion should be shaken. Those who go through an extreme form of external religion should also be frightened. This passage is speaking to religious people who are aware of eternal things to some degree and it is telling us that the vast majority of religious people are on the way to destruction. The text is not telling us about the careless or the indifferent, it is telling us about those who are in the way of true religion in some way.

What is the problem? Can it be true? Is it still true in our day? Can it possibly be the case that the vast majority of professing Christians are lost and on the way to destruction in our day? What does this say of the prophets or preachers who have such easy ways of salvation? What does this say of those who have such easy and popular messages? What does this say of those who are unwilling to issue a warning to people about what a false profession is? Can we really believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and not take to heart His strong words in this passage? Does it shake us up just a little? Will we just go on in our easy lives with an easy religion? If so, then it sure appears that we are on the broad road.

Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB ‘? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Romans 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. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 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. 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. 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.

If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. (Augustine)

Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

The Bible starts off with “In the beginning, God.” It ends with “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.” Virtually the whole time in between is God shining forth His glory in and through sinful men. It is not like we can surprise God with our sins and with the depths of our sinfulness. He has seen it all and from all eternity He has known about the sin of man and in some way He has ordained it. Man hates God and continues to try to hide sin from God and from himself. Sin is truly an abominable thing, yet man makes it worse with his denial and attempt to change God rather than strive against sin.

Man wants to be righteous in and of himself and that is a terrible sin in and of itself. Man was not created to be righteous by his own standards and he was not created to live off of his own strength and wisdom. Holiness will not come by the strength of man and it will not come by the wisdom and power of man. It will only come in utter dependence upon God and His grace. Man not only sins, but in his struggle to be thought of as righteous he goes deeper and deeper into sin.

The proud and selfish heart of man struggles against the thought that he is a sinner and cannot help himself. The proud and selfish heart of man wants to think highly of himself regardless of how low sin has brought him. The proud heart of man will turn to religion in order to better himself, but without realizing it he has just found a way to deceive himself and to feed his own pride. True Christianity is not a way that man can save himself and become righteous by his own works, but instead true Christianity is a way of the grace of God in saving sinners for His own glory. True Christianity is a way where God works in man to make him holy. In other words, the Bible rings with the glory of the grace of God toward sinners rather than ways man can make himself better.

When men are sincere in their belief system and moral system that is either a little off or a long way off, they are sincere but sincerely wrong. Their sincerity can be evident and that will convince others, but when others are convinced they are assuredly worse off than before. False religion is in some ways a hardening of the heart into a false belief system about God. This is why so many modern versions of Christianity are so dangerous. They provide ways for the proud heart of man to be deceived and the proud heart of man does not need more ways. The Joel Olsteens and those of his ilk are obviously teaching error, but it gets worse. There are many who have more truth than Olsteen and yet being closer to the truth is more deceptive in many ways. We live in a day where imposters wear the cloak of truth in many ways and each may be sincere. However, if it does not start with the true God, be filled with the true Christ in all places, and end with His true grace in Christ; then it is nothing more than what deceived people love. People who are deceived love to be deceived in order to keep their sin. They will also give a lot of money (in some cases) to the preachers of deception in order to remain deceived.

Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB ‘? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Romans 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. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 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. 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. 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.

If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. (Augustine)

Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

I am confident that I (and many others) do not feel the weight of Matthew 23:15 as I should. If a person becomes a convert of a person or a system rather than a true convert of Christ, that person is deceived. The weight of this is quite enormous and perhaps there are things hidden in the thought here. Preaching a gospel is not the same thing as preaching THE Gospel. Evangelizing in name is not the same thing as true and biblical evangelism, of which THE Gospel is central and not a gospel. One cannot truly evangelize without the true Gospel.

The weight of the thought that the true Gospel is absolutely necessary to true evangelism should make us pause. When the religious elite were so deceived in the time of Jesus, then that should make us wonder if the religious elite of our day are deceived. When the scholars of the time of Jesus (the Scribes) were deceived, that should make us wonder if the scholars in our day are deceived as well. Speaking and writing with great learning is a far different thing than speaking and writing by the power and grace of God.

The weight of the biblical fact that sinners (whether religious or not) are constantly suppressing the truth of God in unrighteousness and that includes some or many who are ministers and teachers, then this should awaken our hearts to something important. The Gospel is the Gospel of God, yet all unconverted people are at enmity with Him. That enmity and their love of self drive them to twist and contort the biblical teaching of God who is the same God who is in their conscience and has revealed Himself to them. These are the people who reject what they don’t like in the true Gospel and accept what they like. In other words, they reject what is there of the true God and they only accept what is fitting with their selfish hearts that love themselves. Wherever the true God is set forth, the natural man will reject that true God.

When a natural man is a minister or a person who is preaching or evangelizing, that natural man will say what he says and do what he does out of self-love and interests rather than setting forth the true God. The natural man will water down the true Gospel so far that it is all about man and has almost nothing of God in it other than what the natural man can love. When Matthew teaches us that sinners love those who love themselves, we should learn from that. Sinners only love a god who loves them according to their own natural desires and will do what they want. Evangelists (professional or not) and ministers “feel” that and adjust their teaching to something where the sinner will love them and the so-called “god” that they present.

In our day ministers (not absolutely all) and evangelists have “exchanged the truth of God for a lie.” When the true God is taken out or hidden from the Gospel of God, you now have a false god and as such another god and another gospel. This is perhaps the main way that ministers and evangelists make converts of themselves rather than converts of Christ. After all, they are not preaching and evangelizing with the Gospel of the true God, but instead they are preaching and evangelizing with the gospel of the god that self loves. The buildings that people call “churches” are then filled with those who hate God and the true Gospel and the only worship that occurs is the worship of self. Each Sunday people gather to worship a false god and yet that false god is self. Is there any wonder that the professing Church is in such a mess in our day?

Oh, some say, but I am Reformed or I am this or I am that. A person can be a convert to Reformed theology instead of Christ. A person can be a convert to the historical writings out of love for self rather than love for Christ. One can be given over to a life that adores the writings of men who wrote the truth of Christianity and yet love the learning rather than love Christ Himself. It is possible and even easy to love the logic of Christianity as set forth in the historical creeds and not love the true Christ. It is possible to be devoted to the false god of self and be a conservative and Reformed person in creed. We can love the words of Christ to Nicodemus about being born from above and yet not be born from above. We are not converted by hearing words about these things and we are not converted by knowing in our heads these things, but we are only converted if God changes our hearts by His Divine power. It is much easier to make converts if we leave the true God out of it. That is what selfish hearts have done and as such when men make converts (rather than God) they make converts of themselves and those people are twice the sons of hell.

Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB ‘? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Romans 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. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 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. 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. 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.

If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. (Augustine)

Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

When we think of the nature of evangelism, it may be that we don’t think of the truth of who God is and the truth of who man is. We simply think of going out, and at times taking a great degree of trouble to do so, and getting people to say a prayer. However, the scribes and the Pharisees went to a lot of trouble and effort in their evangelism as well. The results were striking: “when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” The evangelism of the scribes and the Pharisees might have been quite effective and certainly they had positive results at times. If we look behind the scenes with the lenses that Jesus gave us, we will see things differently. The evangelism of the scribes and the Pharisees ended with them making the proselytes twice as much a son of hell as themselves.

Could it be that the same thing is true in our day, though I am not thinking of the scribes and the Pharisees at the moment? Could it be true that the great efforts at evangelism and missions in our day are quite successful in making people twice the sons of hell as those putting forth that great effort? Could it be that many people who are involved in preaching, evangelizing, and in missions have the same intents and motives as the scribes and the Pharisees? We know that Jesus taught us that the Pharisees did their works of righteousness for themselves. Could it be that our efforts at evangelism and missions are really efforts after self-righteousness?

Could it be that much of our church starting efforts are really ways and forms of self-righteousness as well? Could it be that our efforts at gaining converts and filling the buildings we rent and build are nothing more then filling the buildings with the children of the devil who are more so because of our false evangelistic practices? Could it be that our so-called personal successes, church successes, and denominational successes are really nothing more than making others twice the children of hell as ourselves?

Of course these things are not popular thoughts in the modern professing Church, but that is not the same thing as these things being false. Charles Finney was not a converted man and yet he had much success in his methods of evangelism and preaching. Most of what people think of as evangelism in our day has his methodology in the background, so is it really a far stretch to think that most of the evangelism in our day is simply false? In the days after Finney there was what was called a “burned over district” which was the area where he practiced his false evangelism. People were hardened by what he did even if they make professions while he was there.

A false evangelism leads to false conversions and the results of that are manifold. Some are locked into their false conversion and are deceived the rest of their lives and go to hell deceived when they die. Others are simply hardened by the false evangelism and are harder to reach with the truth. Could it be that in our day the vast number of conversions that happen are really false conversions and lead people to a great deception or harden them to the truth of the Gospel? Is that so hard to believe when the orthodox religion in the days of Jesus did that? Could it be that the United States of America is really a large burned over district because of the false evangelism that has gone on for so long? Could it be that the greatest number of missionaries we are sending out actually are carrying a false gospel and after a while they will have (if not already) burned over districts of their own?

Yes, the thoughts listed above sound like something a crazy person would write. But again, that is not an argument against the truth of them. A person with zeal is no evidence that a person is telling the truth. A person with a lot of religion is no evidence that the person is telling others the truth. A person with great religious activity is also no evidence that the person is telling the truth to others. Having degrees from religious institutions is no evidence that a person is proclaiming the true Gospel. So, if history can be repeated, why is it not possible that history is being repeated in our day? Is it worth examining your own heart? Is it worth falling on our faces to plead with God to show us the truth? Could it be that the root of the whole issue is that men continue to suppress the truth of God in the things of religion in our day?

Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB ‘? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Romans 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. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 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. 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. 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.

If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. (Augustine)

Part of the problem in our nation regarding the professing Church and the absence of the true Gospel of free-grace is that people feel free to pick and choose what they believe. They will believe what they want and reject what they don’t want. As Augustine pointed out, that is to simply believe in self. It is a belief in self and it is a trust in self. It is the soul trusting itself rather than Scripture to determine what is true and then trusting in self to commit to that. It is to be self-absorbed as the center of the universe and an ignoring of the truth of God.

In one sense Romans 1:18-32 is a passage of Scripture describing people who trust in self. The people in that passage do not like God or something about Him and so they deny it. In doing that they are suppressing the truth of God and they are exalting themselves in His place. They are doing what Adam and Eve did in choosing what is good and evil for themselves rather than bowing to the truths of Scripture. They are doing a great evil in that they are determining what is true and right for themselves, which is to say that they are playing God to self. But again, playing God is to self is to suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness.

Jesus said that He came to save sinners and not those who are healthy. Well, we will admit that we are not perfect, but we don’t want to admit the depths of our depravity and enmity to God. The dark curtain that is the background of the Gospel is the sinfulness and inability of human beings, but when people change that they will change the Gospel into another gospel as well. If men are really not that bad, then Christ did not do all that much in life and on the cross either. If men are not really all that bad, then Christ came to save those who are a little sick but not dead. In other words, they need a little help but they are still mostly healthy. This is an instance of what Augustine said. Men don’t like this and so they reject it and find something else they like better. It is faith in self.

One reason that men hate the Gospel is that they don’t want to be helpless and in the hands of God to do with as He pleases. What they seem to be blind to is that they cannot change the reality of this situation. They are dead in sins and trespasses and they have no ability in the spiritual realm. They are utterly dependent upon God and can do nothing spiritual in their spiritual death. If God does not raise them from the spiritual dead by His grace alone, they cannot be raised. Self cannot raise self from the dead (clearly), but man will change this thought to where he can control it and do something to get God to raise him.

All of this is simply man trying to be sovereign over himself rather than bow to the living God. This is man suppressing the truth of God as sovereign and trying to take that place himself. This is man trying to yank grace from the hand of God in order that man may show grace to himself as he pleases rather than be utterly dependent upon God to show grace as He pleases. This is man ascending to the throne of God (in his own mind) and yanking God down in order that man may take the throne. This is man refusing to bow to the true God and yet bowing to the desires of self. The true Gospel of free-grace is the Gospel of God. Man hates that God and that Gospel and as such suppresses the truth of it and exalts self. This is nothing less than a refusal to worship the Creator as one bows in worship of self.

Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB ‘? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Romans 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. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 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. 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. 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.

Amos 8:11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. 12 “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.

Recently, while visiting out of state, I want to a place with the word “church” on the sign. I must admit that I was not attending with high expectations, but that is because I rarely find a place where Christ and free-grace are preached. My expectations were met and perhaps exceeded. The man behind the pulpit had attended seminary years ago and appeared to think that his knowledge of Greek allowed him to abuse Scripture and the character of God. He gave a fair amount of historical background to the text and spoke of things that might have happened in the area. He spoke of a lot of things, but he seemed rather averse to the truth of who God was and His free-grace. It seemed as if the Gospel of Jesus Christ was of far less importance than the historical background. There was not a hint of the Gospel and not a hint of the work of Christ. He did, however, speak of being a Bible-believing preacher.

When I left that Sunday morning I was irritated that this was thought to be something even remotely thought of as a worship service and how anyone thought that the speaker actually preached a Christian sermon. I entered the door thirsty and hungry and went away with nothing that fed me or quenched my thirst. I was also irritated (bothered) that there was nothing said about sin in a way where people would be convicted of sin and so see their need of a Savior. The offering plate was passed so that the people could give back to God, or at least that was what was said, but while the sermon was from the hand of God it was more of a hiding of who God is than a revealing.

I cannot believe that the professing Church is anywhere but under the judgment of God. When those who speak in His name and do nothing but hide the character of God and the truth of the Gospel, that is nothing but judgment upon the people. Even sadder, the people did not appear thirsty or hungry. They just sat there and laughed at the jokes and nodded when he said something religious. It was a sad state of affairs in that place and yet that is precisely what is going on across the nation. The people are quite mistaken and they do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God. The preachers are in the same boat and what they dispense is not knowledge of God but ignorance of the Scriptures and the power of God.

When those behind the pulpits are blind, it is the blind leading the blind. When those behind the pulpits would rather tell jokes and set out historical backgrounds more than setting out the Gospel, we are under the judgment of God. It is so sad to enter wanting to hear of Christ and leave with a bitter taste in the mouth of not hearing of the sweetness of grace and the Gospel. If it is the case that the professing churches in our day are more interested in about anything than the truth of Christ, then we are under a severe judgment. How sad it was to look upon a people that appeared satisfied with what they heard, which is to say that they were satisfied with not hearing the truth of the Gospel. Perhaps they have been blinded to the Gospel as well.

The professing Church is in a desperate state and simply does not know a thing about it. The professing Church hears a false Gospel Sunday after Sunday and has been lulled to sleep by that. The professing Church has no real life because it has no Gospel of life and no life of Christ. The professing Church is simply doing rituals Sunday after Sunday and is deaf to the fact that God has turned it over to its own desires. There is nothing in our abilities that we can do, though some seem to think so. We must seek the Lord for grace in order that we may truly seek His face and plead with Him to come down and revive us again.

Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB ‘? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Romans 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. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 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. 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. 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.

Amos 8:11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. 12 “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.

Spiritual judgments are severe because a person that is spiritually dead cannot understand a spiritual judgment. Spiritual judgments are severe because a person that is proud has spiritual blinders on. Spiritual judgments are severe because they deal with eternal things. Spiritual judgments are severe because a person can prosper in outward things and it can appear that all is well. Spiritual judgments are severe because a professing church can be growing in numbers and have a large building and have all sorts of outward religious things that appear successful and yet those things can be a spiritual judgment.

We also know that it is in Christ where all spiritual blessings are located (Ephesians 1). A spiritual judgment and spiritual blessings are opposite of each other. If all spiritual blessings are in Christ, then we can at least understand that all religious people who do not have Christ will have no access to spiritual blessings and all they do is outward religion. Interestingly enough, it is Christ who is the One who is the shining forth of the glory of God. It is Christ where God has revealed Himself in the clearest way. It is Christ alone who can reveal the Father by the Spirit. Spiritual judgment, then, includes blindness to the truth of God as revealed in Christ.

A group of people who do not have Christ will have no spiritual blessings regardless of how religious they are. A professing church can be given to evangelism and bus ministries and so many things and yet all they do is apart from a spiritual blessing. However, what we must see is that these people are also suppressing the truth of God in unrighteousness. These people will also be turned over to a darkened heart and mind. These people’s very religious activity is a judgment upon them. When God sends a judgment of spiritual judgment, people may indeed increase their religious activity, but that activity itself is a result of their spiritual judgment. When the passage in Amos 8 tells us that “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it,” we can see that religious activity may increase during times of judgment.

It may appear that people do what they do out of pride, and indeed that is the truth, but they may also have the spiritual judgment of God upon them and so they give themselves to external religion which will never truly satisfy. We can also know that those given over to a spiritual judgment do not have a true knowledge of God and so their religion will not be based on the truth of who God is. When people do not have Christ and as such a true spiritual blessing, those people are being hardened and are under various degrees of spiritual judgment. There is no middle ground. A person is spiritually blessed or a person is spiritually judged.

The issue in Amos, however, was that of a national judgment. The issue in the USA that is of the greatest concern is an issue of a judgment upon the professing Church. As the nation of Israel was the people of God in the Old Testament, so now the Church is the people of God. When God sends a famine upon His people now, it will be upon the Church or the professing Church. The Israelites were judged harder because they had greater outward blessings. Will the professing Church also be judged harder because of its great blessings of having the Bible and the teachings of Christ? Where is God in all that is being done in His name?

Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB ‘? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Romans 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. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 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. 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. 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.

Amos 8:11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. 12 “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.

The Bible is quite clear from the Old to the New Testaments. Spiritual judgments are severe and are the most severe judgments that God pours out on people. A spiritual famine is worse than a famine for bread or a thirst for water. In one sense hell is an eternal judgment where the body cannot find water or food and yet the soul cannot have what it craves either. When God withholds a hearing of the words of the Lord, no one can hear the word of the Lord. When the Lord does not show grace to sinners by opening their ears and eyes to understand the Scriptures, then there is no way for people to understand them.

Proud hearts may think that understanding comes by commentaries or extensive and extended study, but it does not. True and spiritual understanding comes as a gift of God and it comes by grace. God is under no obligation to open the eyes and ears of people in order to give them a spiritual understanding, but instead He does that as He pleases and He only does that by grace. But again, it is so hard for proud hearts to bow in submission to the Lord and look to His sovereign hand for all things and for all to come to them by grace alone. It goes against our proud hearts to think that we are so dependent upon God that we cannot obtain any spiritual understanding apart from His sovereign grace. It is far easier to spend time in study than it is to seek the Lord for a humble heart that He alone can give and for true understanding that is beyond our natural powers and abilities.

We can see from the words of Jesus that judgment was brought upon Israel and spiritual understanding was hidden from them as judgment:

Matthew 13:13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

What will happen to the professing Church if God sent this great judgment of holding back spiritual hearing upon it? The people will not know God. The people will not know Jesus. The people will not have spiritual food or spiritual drink and will not hear spiritual words because all of those things are Christ Himself. This means that the professing “Church” will follow the ways of the world in scholarship, in preaching or public speaking, and in how to get people in the buildings. This is precisely what is being done. There are programs galore and there are building programs followed by building programs. We are given over to all the things of the flesh that religious people follow. We will hear of sin as long as it is external and in our own power. We will hear of a god as long as that god is not sovereign and we can control that god. God has given the professing “Church” over and it is going on without God in this world and is blind to what it is doing. As long as people are coming and money is coming in and the building programs continue, we think things are okay. As long as people walk the aisle and make a profession followed by baptism, we think things are okay.

Could it be that all of the outward successes of the professing “Church” is really nothing but the judgment of God in blinding us? Could it be that these nice and glittering building that costs millions of dollars are nothing but a spiritual judgment of God upon us? Could it be that our programs and our evangelism programs that are bringing people in and filling our coffers are really signs of God’s judgment? Could it be that our prayer meetings and our “Christian” discipline are really signs of spiritual judgment? Could it be that all of our fancy conferences with professional speakers are signs of spiritual judgment? Until God sends men and women a spirit of brokenness and of a great humility we will not have the presence of God in truth. Until He brings us to a point were we are broken and we give up on our programs and on the things we can do in our own strength, we will go on in spiritual judgment. Until He brings us to a point where we mourn for all the glitter of modern religion, we will not see Him in His glory. People can fight over morals and the things of religion and culture but until God breaks them and brings them low, they are nothing but the externals of Christianity.

Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB ‘? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Romans 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. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 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. 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. 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.

It is true that Jesus was speaking to the Sadducees regarding the resurrection of the dead, but the same words could have been spoken regarding the true Gospel of God. The Gospel is set out with all the clarity that God intended and it is also true that He has left it up to Himself to reveal it to the inward man as He pleases. However, without the true Gospel it can be said of all that they “are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.” These are hard words since those who do not understand the Gospel with the light that God gives are condemned. It is not just an intellectual error that people make when they misunderstand the Gospel and the power of God, but it is a great moral error since they have twisted the truth of God and the Scriptures to arrive at their position. They have twisted the truth of God and arrived at a position that they approve of and like. This is to say that people want a gospel that is in accordance with their own desires.

Mistaking the Gospel is to be a mistaken person regarding the Gospel and of God. The wrath of God has been poured out on these people and has hidden Himself and the Gospel from them, or one could say that they have been turned over to a great darkness of heart and mind and they are blinded to the Gospel and the truth of God. The truth of God was evident within them but they did not like that truth and so they worked to suppress that truth. Their refusal to acknowledge God (and the Gospel of God) leads them to be given over to a depraved mind. Again, when we think of how much professing “churches” are without the true Gospel it is a judgment upon them. Professing “churches” without the true Gospel are under the judgment of God and He is giving them up to darkness and a reprobate mind rather than show them Himself and His glory.

When God hides Himself from a people, a nation, or professing “churches” He is also hiding the Gospel of God from them. It is not a minor thing or even a somewhat major thing; it is something that is a judgment regarding the most important issue. If eternal life is to know God, then when God hides Himself from a person or people He is judging them with a great judgment. If the greatest good is God Himself, then the greatest “evil” or the greatest opposite of good is to have the goodness and greatness of God hidden from us. It is true that we think of hell as the absence of God, but that is wrong. Hell is the presence of God. Hell is when a person is in the presence of the thrice holy God that s/he hated and now that God manifests Himself in wrath toward that person. What we must conclude is that to His people God manifests His true grace and love and yet hides those things from some and when they enter eternity they suffer the manifestation of His wrath and perfect justice upon them.

What we must understand and grasp is that we are utterly dependent upon the sovereign God for all things. We should seek Him and pray for Him to show us Himself and to remove our enmity and our blindness toward Him. We should seek the Lord with prayer seeking for a humble heart that receives grace and receives the true knowledge of God rather than being hardened toward God. It is up to God (the Divine Potter) to make us (the clay) and form us as He pleases. If He hardens us, He is just in doing so. He does not owe us the Gospel and He does not owe us anything but wrath. When we reject the Gospel of God we are rejecting God and the Gospel. This shows us with great clarity that we deserve a great hardening from Him who blinds us to Himself and the Gospel. We have nothing to complain of, we don’t deserve to hear the Gospel and we don’t deserve to believe the Gospel. It is all of grace.

Matthew 22: 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB ‘? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Romans 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. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 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. 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. 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,

The Gospel has seemingly been lost in our day as men have been turned over to hardened hearts as they have suppressed the truth of God in unrighteousness. The Gospel has seemingly been lost because we are under the judgment of God. The Gospel is a great blessing and the removal of it is a great curse. A nation that is turning to sin is a nation that has been turned over to that sin. For example, as we look at Romans 1:18-32, what we see is that the sin itself is a judgment. It is not that homosexuals will be judged, though indeed they will, but their homosexuality is itself a sin and their blindness and hard hearts to call it for what it is (sin) is itself a judgment.

We can see what happens when those who espouse a bold homosexual way of life encounter the Gospel. They hate it and they fight against it. This is part of their judgment in that they are turned away from the Gospel and the truth of God more and more. But lest we point our fingers at one group, this is true of those who are legalists and all sorts of things that oppose the Gospel. I argue that Arminians that hate the sovereignty of God are opposing the true Gospel of grace alone as well. A strong opposition to sovereignty is really a strong opposition to the Gospel of grace alone and a strong opposition to the true God. The Arminian wants to leave man an island of independence and an island of “free-will” so that man can be in charge and simply make a decision. However, this is turning from the Gospel of grace alone and total dependence upon God to save as He pleases and when He pleases. It leaves all things in the hands of man who can dispense grace to himself when he pleases.

In the Reformation there was a turning back to the sovereignty of God and His grace rather than the man-centered theology and ways of Roman Catholicism. There was a great amount of darkness surrounding the truth of the character of God and of the Gospel of grace alone in that time. Men had been at work twisting and twisting at the Gospel until it was not a Gospel at all. They twisted at the Gospel until it fit their own desires and left salvation in the hands of men rather than of God. The wrath of God was revealed before the Reformation in hiding the truth from men as they suppressed the truth of God and His Gospel in unrighteousness.

What did it take for a Reformation to take place? It took God working at His mere pleasure and for His own glory to do so. He raised up men before Luther and then sent Luther into the world. He revealed the Gospel to Luther and Luther was then ready to die for it. Luther preached the Gospel and the whole world was changed, though indeed it was God and His Gospel that changed the world and not Luther. God used Luther as a mouthpiece. As long as men look to men and their wills to do what needs to be done, we will be in bondage and under the judgment of the Gospel being hidden to us. As long as we preach and teach men that it is up to their so-called choice to be saved, the Gospel will be hidden and we will be under judgment. It is not good news to those who see and feel their own inability that it is all up to them, but instead it is good news that God can save sinners despite themselves and their inability. God saves by His own will, power, and for His own glory.