George Whitfield, the
eighteenth century evangelist, was correct when he
said, “If the unregenerate man could enter heaven,
he would be so unhappy in heaven, that he would ask
God to let him run down to hell for shelter.”
How could the enemies of God
sit down at the banquet of the Lamb of God?
Universalism wants us to bury
our heads in the sand.
The carnal mind is enmity
against God all the time.So why
would such a person ever want to be in God’s holy
presence?It is against
everything God is for in His universe.It sets the world system and all it teaches
in opposition to the LORD God.
The carnal mind is a “depraved
spirit that is set on those things which are not
proper” (Romans 1:28).How would
you know one if you saw it?Romans 1:29-32 says, “Being filled with all
unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of
envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are
gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent,
arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient
to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy,
unloving, unmerciful; 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."
It is a dreadful picture of
human depravity.The apostle then
declared, "Therefore you have no excuse, every one
of you who passes judgment, for in that which you
judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who
judge practice the same things. And we know that the
judgment of God rightly falls upon those who
practice such things" (Romans 2:1-2).
There is a day coming when “God
will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus”
(v. 16).It is not because we do
not deserve it.The Bible
testifies that we are all guilty.
“But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant
heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the
day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God, who will render to each person
according to his deeds” (Romans 2:5-6).
After a detailed presentation
of our sins against us in Romans chapter three, the
apostle Paul concludes, "But glory and honor and
peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality
with God" (Romans 2:10-11)."You
who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law,
do you dishonor God?" (Romans 2:23).
How many of us have not wished
in the depths of our hearts, “Would to God these
sins were not forbidden!”
Spurgeon asked, “Who among us has not been so
foolish as to desire that there were no God?”
But neither solution makes the
problem go away.We still stand
guilty before God.“Every carnal
mind in the world is at enmity against God.”
The carnal mind declares that
by our very nature we are the child of evil.What part of man was affected by the fall?The entire man, every part of him – every
power, every passion is at enmity with God.You may say, “Oh, Wil, I am not really that
bad.”God says, “The heart is
deceitful above all things.”It
is desperately wicked.
Why would any carnal person
want to be in the holy presence of a righteous God?
It would mean to be guilty and condemned twenty-four
hours a day. We would never be able to escape His
holy, hot wrath.Our sense of
guilt would always be a state of awareness.
The only solution to the
desperate plight of man is to have a new mind and a
new heart.If we have not
experienced a change of heart, our carnal mind will
always be at enmity against God.
Our thoughts, our decisions,
our behaviors all testify that we deserve God’s holy
wrath.Every person born into
this world deserves God’s wrath and damnation.
Because we are guilty sinners,
God must provide the solution.
Since the carnal mind is at enmity with God,
salvation cannot be by any merit on our part.It must be by God’s grace through faith in
the finished work of Jesus Christ.If we are at enmity with God, what merit can
we have?How can we deserve
anything from the person we hate?
Therefore, God must step in and rescue us by His
grace.
The Spirit of God must lay His
hand on you and renew your heart or there is no
chance of your entering into heaven.
Jesus Christ can make peace
through His blood.If the Spirit
of God has convinced you of your sin as you read
this, you can become a new creature, a new person,
with a new heart if you will ask Jesus Christ to be
your Savior.
By our physical birth we are at
enmity with God, but by the new birth we are made
His friend.Our nature must be
changed if we are to enter into God’s holy presence.
Here is the most precious promise for
every sinner to believe."As
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever
believes will in Him have eternal life" (John
3:14-15).
Wil is a graduate of William
Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific
University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador
and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as
missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily
expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100
countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek
opportunities to be personally involved in world
missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown
daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor
and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
Bible
word studies for sermon preparation, messages,
devotions and personal Bible studies with abiding
principles and practical applications.
Reports on what God is doing through Bible
believing evangelical Christians in
Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru,
India
and Ecuador. Jesus said, "If you abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever
you wish, and it shall be done for you"
(John 15:7).