“A disease much Worse than Cancer” Author and Writer, Ronald Nelson
BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8
ENCOURAGING WORD:
Are you l taking sin too lightly?
If you are like most Christians, the answer is most likely “Yes”. You understand Jesus’ death on the Cross of Calvary freed you from the punishment for sin. You correctly rejoice in this and in the grace and mercy of God in your life. These are indeed wonderful aspects of God’s character displayed through your Savior. Yet, God’s nature is more complex than what is demonstrated in love, mercy, grace. These are wonderful but they are not all who God is. He is also perfectly holy. He is a consuming fire according to Hebrews. His purity is like a flame of white-hot intensity. He burns away anything that is not perfectly holy. God says He despises things that are evil. The entire story of the Bible concludes with righteous judgment of sin. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom says Proverbs for just this reason.
Isaiah was a prophet when God spoke to him in Isaiah 6. He was a man of God working in ministry. This put Isaiah among the most holy of men on the entire earth. Yet, when Isaiah saw God, this holiness relative to other men was nowhere to be found. Only his own ugliness was apparent. “I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips…” Isaiah sees the blinding white perfection of the Lord and his own sinfulness is obvious. This is the same man who writes, your good deeds are like filthy rags before the Holy One. Isaiah is in awe and filled with reverence for the amazing holiness of God. Isaiah’s own moral uprightness was nothing when contrasted with God. He was undone, every pretension to goodness fell away and Isaiah was left standing before the Lord as a filthy sinner.
Not only is God holy, but you are told to be holy also…like God is holy. You are to have the same heart towards evil as God does. “Abhor evil and hold fast what is good.” says Paul. Do you live out this immensely important calling on your life?
What helps is seeking to understand all of God’s nature. He is patient, kind, loving and gentle. He also hates sin and will judge those who reject His Son, Jesus.
Here are a few Bible Verses on God’s Heart on Sin to emphasize this point. God loved the world so much that He sent His Son to die for you. He also despises sin.
Romans 3:23; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
This statement here is short and to the point: Everyone sins. Everyone has sinned. There is no one who does not sin;
Romans 3:10; “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;
This verse should slam the door on all of you who are being taught that good works can save you. This further emphasizes the point Paul drew from Old Testament Scriptures earlier in this chapter. There is no escape from sin. Paul does not offer any category besides "sinner," and everyone is quilty of it. The most moral of humans—relatively speaking—and the most perverse of humans are all in the same container: "sinner." Worse, knowing the difference between right and wrong, even the law given by God, doesn't make us moral. The Greek word translated as "fall short" here is in the present tense. In reality, we continue to fall short. In other words, even knowing the consequences of our sinfulness is not enough to keep us from sinning;
Romans 1:18–20; “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”
This is saying that if you don’t believe in God, which is a lie in and of itself, you will still be quilty of sin because of His attributes that are clearly seen. If you think you will have an excuse of unbelief because you haven’t heard the gospel, you will still be quilty of unbelief because of creation itself. Creation in and of itself is evidences of a creator. Those who say that they do not believe are just supressing the truth in unrighteousness becauise they don't want to be held accountable to anybody or anything. If you believe in evolution, it would be like believing a tornado could sweep through a junk yard and bring out a 747 jet on the other side. Common sense plays a big role in believing the truth.
Romans 6:23; “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ultimately, they have only themselves to blame for sinning against God.
Paul sums up this section of his letter, and the entire gospel, in this one famous verse. He compares the two types of lives he has been describing. Those without Christ are slaves to sin. Their work of sinfulness earns a paycheck of death. In other words, they earn eternal death, eternal separation from God. No matter how good a person may think they are, their good deeds can never be good enough to earn salvation.
Isaiah 64:6; “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness’s are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”
Paul describes that we can become servants of righteousness by trusting in Christ. This is not something we can do on our own. He wrote in Romans 3:23, that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. Eternal life can only be given; it cannot be earned by human beings.
Ephesians 2:8–9; “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Why, may I ask, would you believe that you can earn salvation? These two verses are the true and inherent Word of God. If you believe anything thing else, then you are calling God a liar. Be careful whose name you blaspheme. For example, when you stand before Jesus Christ at the white throne judgment and you tell Him you deserve heaven because you have been a good person, Jesus will say to you, “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7: 23; Paul describes eternal life as God's free gift in Christ Jesus our Lord. When we trust in Christ, God gives us credit for Christ's perfect, sinless life and accepts the payment of Christ's death for our sin. The result, eternal life with Him, sharing in His glory, is given to us as a free gift. Paul seems to be asking, "Which life do you want?"
Romans 12:9; “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.”
We all know that we should love each other, but Paul's instruction is that our love must be genuine or sincere. In other words, Christians are not called to fake an attitude of love for each other, but to find ways to express God's love meaningfully, as an extension of God's love for us and ours for Him.
Proverbs 6:16–19; describes seven things God hates, using the equivalent Hebrew term. These six things the Lord hates, “Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, (Abortion) A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.”
There is not one human being that is not quilty of one or more of these sins. Many of these sins come right from the alter of most of our churches. The two that stand out to me are, “A lying tongue,” and “A false witness who speaks lies.” Unless you read the Bible for yourself, you will not know what is truth and what are lies. I can promise if you follow any organized religion, you are being lied to and deceived. God’s Word says that deception will play a huge roll in the end times scenario. Look around, We are being deceived in every area of life. If you listen to any of the social media outlets, stop right now. Everything you hear is about 80% lies. Even the commercials that we are forced to watch lie about everything that they are proclaiming to be truth. I would like to say that this is just my opinion, but it is all truth of what is taking place in our world.
Many Christians learn to hate what is evil, meaning sin. This is especially true of sin that brings harm to the innocent. This is one of the ways we need to be transformed to think like God.
Romans 12:2; “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
It can sometimes be hard to know what is truly good. We must learn to see the world through God's perspective, to deeply invest our time and energy in securing and keeping what is truly "good." Hating evil, especially the sins that intrigue us, does not always come naturally.
Ephesians 5:5; “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
This is the sin that is going to show where your heart really is. I would have to say that most people are quilty of this sin. Here is the difference of how this will affect your salvation. Are you living in one of these lifestyles, or do you just slip up once in a while. If this is your lifestyle, which means shacking up with someone that you are not married to, and you do this continually, it is a lifestyle that needs to be repented of and discontinued. This is not an easy sin to overcome because most everybody has a desire to have an intimate encounter with a member of the opposite sex. I hate to admit this, but I was in this lifestyle for much of my life. Defeating this desire was the hardest thing that I had to overcome. Even though the desire still finds a place in my life, I have been able to defeat this action. This is where people have to make a choice, God or pleasure for a season. This is the sin that separates the faithful Christian from the Christian in name only. When the Bible says that “few will be that find the way to salvation,” adultery and fornication are two sins that will carry a lot of people to hell. Don’t take this lightly, God means what He says and says what He means. He is a Holy God and He will not allow anyone who dies in their sins to enter heaven. Therefore, we all need to repent of our sins, turn away from our sins and give our lives over to Jesus Christ. There is no other way to be saved. Paul summarizes that those who live like this are not true believers.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10; “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, (anal or oral copulation with another person or copulation {sexual union} with an animal) nor thieves, nor covetous, (desire for wealth or possessions or for another's possessions) nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”
I believe the most obvious example of covetousness is (Desiring another man’s wife). If you are quilty of any of the lifestyles mentioned in the verse above, you will not inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t shoot the messenger, these are Gods Words, not mans. Remember, if you choose to live one of these lifestyle, you may enjoy sin for a season, but you will spend eternity in the Lake of Burning Fire for all eternity. Since the Bible says life is a vapor, this life is a vapor of what eternity will be. In other words, pay me know or pay me later. Ignore the pleasures of this life and suffer for all eternity or serve Jesus Christ in this life and live in paradise forever. When you pass from this world to the next, regardless of what you are being taught, it is for all eternity. The punishment of the damned is not a temporary measure. The smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Without hope of acquittal, they pay the eternal price of having chosen evil over righteousness. Side Note: Those of you that are being taught that purgatory is a real place, you are being lied to. The word "purgatory" is never used in the Bible or even hinted at. There are many verses that dispute the existence of purgatory, but one specific one comes from;
Hebrews 9:27; “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,”
This verse states that you face judgment immediately after death. There is no second chance and no mention of a "middle place" to fix your sins. When you take your last breath here on earth, your next breath will be either in heaven or hell. There are no other options. Purgatory was a devised way of deceiving people into believing they had a second chance which is a very dangerous doctrine. They also believe if they paid enough money they could pay for family members to enter into heaven. If we could pay our way into heaven, then why did Jesus die such a horrific death if He didn’t have to. This lie from the pit of hell angers me very much. People will go to hell because they believe this heresy. If you teach this heresy, you will be held accountable for those that believe this lie and your punishment will be more severe than those that accepted this as truth. People that are a part of this sect of Christianity are being deceived in many ways because they won’t read the Bible for themselves. They are trusting what religion is teaching, not what the Bible teaches. And if this offends you, I don’t care. I’m not going to sugar coat the truth of the Bible to pacify someone’s desire to hear lies.
Revelation 14:11; “And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
Some modern religious teachers “recoil” (Fall Back Under Pressure) at the thought of eternal punishment. However, the Bible clearly teaches that all who do not believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will experience eternal punishment. This verse declares that the smoke of the unbelievers' torment ascends forever and ever. The implication is that these condemned souls never see relief from their punishment, whether during the day or at night. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He offers life and full forgiveness if a wicked person turns away from his sins and does what is right in God's sight. There are two very different choices and the results of those choices: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."
1 John 1:9; “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Pretty simple, but if you ask me, very few will submit to this truth.
Now let me ask you a question. If you know that you have cancer, what would you do? You would most likely seek some kind of treatment to help remove that cancer. If you choose to ignore it, the chances of death are most likely certain. If you choose to ignore it and you die because of it, you can’t blame someone else for the decision that you made. In the same way, if you choose to deny what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross and you choose to be an unbeliever, you will spend eternity in hell. God will not send anybody to hell. He went as far as to pay for all your sins so you could spend eternity with Him. He did what He had to do to reconcile man back to himself. Your sins are paid in full the moment you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and become born again into the Holy Spirit. So, next time you hear someone say, “If God is so good, why would He send anybody to hell”. Next time someone tells you that, remind him that the choice is there’s. In the same way you will die without seeking a cure for cancer in the same way you will die for not accepting the cure for sin. If you don’t remove cancer, you will most certainly die, if you don’t have your sins removed, you will die the second death that is described in Revelation 20:14-15; It defines the second death as the lake of fire, where Death, Hades (the grave), and anyone not found in the Book of Life are cast into the Lake of Fire. This judgment will take place at the “White Throne Judgement” right after the one-thousand-year millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth. Until then, all who die not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, will remain in hades, the abode of the dead which was the first death. By the way, this is not purgatory.
What were the last words that Jesus spoke from the cross? In the Bible, Jesus' final words on the cross are "It is finished!" John 19:30;
Pronounced right before his death, it translates from the Greek word tetelestai, an ancient accounting and business term meaning "paid in full." Rather than a cry of defeat, it was a triumphant declaration that his earthly mission was complete and humanity's penalty for sin had been fully settled.
The question that many ponder is this (What is paid in full?) Obviously, there are different thoughts as to what this means. When Jesus said "It is finished" in John 19:30, He was triumphantly declaring that His earthly mission to redeem humanity was complete. The Greek word used is tetelestai, which translates to "paid in full".
The Sin Debt was Paid: In the ancient world, tetelestai was an accounting and legal term used to signify that a debt had been completely satisfied. Jesus was declaring that the penalty for the sins of humanity was fully and permanently paid. In other words, once you receive Jesus Christ and His propitiation for your sins, there is nothing more than you can do…(If is Finished) No works on this earth can save you. Jesus paid it all! If we feel that we have to add to what Jesus accomplished on the cross, you are saying that He wasn’t a big enough God to Pay for it all. If you believe that, then once again, you will suffer the consequences of disbelief.
Now, if you choose to reject Gods provision for your sins, then you are choosing eternal damnation. Don’t take this lightly, life is short and we all have a destination of death. It could be tomorrow and it could be years from now. But once you take your last breath in this life, your eternal destination will have been decided. So, will you choose the curer for your sins, or will you choose the path to destruction.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Amen!
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