Sunday, October 14, 2012

UNBELIEVERS NEED THE SHIELD OF FAITH


"Is there anyway to have Christ except by faith? There is a generation of men in the world who would almost make one think so. Their corrupt, profane life-styles have been decorated with flowers of morality, leaving a sweet reputation among their neighbors. Yet why do they continually ignore the Gospel of Christ? Surely it is not because they are more willing to go to hell than other people, but because they think their "morality" will get them into heaven. They are deceived.
Did Christ come to help only the sensual, defiled sinners such as drunkards, liars, and prostitutes find heaven? And are civil, moral men left to walk there the best way they can? God's Word opens only one way to heaven. There is but "one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" 1 Timothy 2:5.And since Christ is the only bridge over the gulf between earth and heaven, judge what will happen to the self-righteous man and his sweet-scented life if he misses this one bridge.
The man who thinks he does not need faith to accept Christ's offer of salvation as much as the bloodiest murderer or filthiest Sodomite in the world is treading in hopeless deception. If a group of men and children were to wade through a brook no deeper than a man's head, the men would have a definite advantage over the children. But if they tried to cross the ocean, the men as well as the children would need a ship to carry them. And only the insane would try to wade through without the help of a ship just because they are a little taller than the rest.
Nothing deserves precedency before faith in your thoughts. David resolved, "I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob" Psalm 132:4-5. The habitation which pleases God most is your heart; but it must be a believing heart, "that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" Ephesians 3:17.”

Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

No comments: