Institutionalized

An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given human community. Institutions are identified with a social purpose and permanence, transcending individual human lives and intentions, and with the making and enforcing of rules governing cooperative human behavior.^[1] (Wikipedia)

Aspects of Institutions

Although individual, formal organizations, commonly identified as "institutions," may be deliberately and intentionally created by people, the development and functioning of institutions in society in general may be regarded as an instance of emergence; that is, institutions arise, develop and function in a pattern of social self-organization, which goes beyond the conscious intentions of the individual humans involved. (Wikipedia)

We humans tend to have a club mentality. We love to be apart of a group, whether it be a street gang, motorcycle gang, "save the trees" club, "Save the baby seal" club, political affiliation or religious denomination... We long to be apart of something that gives us identity and security. So we attach ourselves to an institution. When we cast ourselves at the mercy and furtherance of an institution, and we find our identity and security in it, we become institutionalized. You might say, "So what?". There are two main reasons.

Before I get into that, Jesus Christ did not come to start an institution. His followers did that. The true Church, is meant to be relational and spontaneous, not surrounded by barriers that are always prevalent inside institutions. Does God work inside those walls? Absolutely. There are many godly men that are used powerfully by God to preach His truth inside the walls, but the people having their lives changed are almost always the younger generation who have not yet given themselves over to the establishment.

The first evil of the institutional church is that people find their identity and security in IT, instead of in Jesus. Scores of guilt-ridden people, find relief and security in an institution. With all reliance on the "learned" clergy, the rules that govern the "church" members, the ordinances and the overall structure, many people falsely believe in their salvation, right up until the day they slip into hell. For what? For a club that they chose to be their saviour. For an institution that became their identity, security, hope and often times, the provider. If the institution were to go, so does everything. This is especially true of those in leadership. In this state, the leader's faith is reduced to fighting for and promoting the institution.

So many people have this false security. It doesn't matter what institution's banner you fly under. Whether your identity and security are found under the banner of a particular denomination, a home school, a house church, a mega church, a Calvinist, or an Arminian, it doesn't matter. If that's where your identity lies and where you find your security, then you might as well be an atheist. John Calvin did not die for your sins. The Methodists and Baptist's did not die for your sins. Pastors, priests, worship leaders, youth ministers did not die for you. No group, club, no ordinance, no denomination, local or otherwise, died for you! Jesus Christ died for you! Jesus Christ is the true Church and if our identity and security aren't in Him, then what have we got? Nothing! Without our faith being fully in Him, everything else is merely fluff and meaningless. All the institutions in the world won't save us from the wrath of God and eternal torment in the lake of fire. No institution in the world will pay the massive debt our sin has incurred before a holy God. No institution was crucified and rose from the dead. No institution made a sacrifice sufficient to make peace between God and man.

The second evil of the institutional church is that it limits God's working to inside its walls as if it were His only instrument on earth. If we view, what is called "church", to be God's only means of working on this earth, and of divine importance, then anything opposing it or existing outside of it is resisting and existing outside of God Himself. It would seem then, that if you further the cause of the institution, you further the cause of God, or if you resist the institution or question it, then you are resisting and questioning God Himself. If you are not a friend of the institution, then you are not a child of God. The worth of people is determined by the worth they have to the institution. This is how people are controlled and manipulated by this system. The institutional church, has become god.

Both of these evils are idolatry. Anything that takes the place of Jesus Christ, is worshiping a false god. Anything that a person trusts in, whether it be personal goodness, water baptism, church membership, humility, instead of the Lord Jesus Christ whom God made to be sin for us, is idol worship.

God's Kingdom is bigger then any church, institution, denomination, or club. God does work in the institutional church, but most assuredly He works outside of it too. Christ's Church is His body in which we, that have His Spirit in us, are members. We have our identity fully in Him and no church, institution can steal that from a true child of God. What is a cause to worry though, is that millions of people have bought into an institution and are a million miles from finding peace with God. They are in bondage to an invisible stifling institution that governs their behavior thereby making them feel good, but they are without light and without truth. There is no truth without Jesus Christ. He is the way and the truth. He is the only One worthy to receive our faith, thanksgiving and praise.

To The Lost Sinner

If you are a human, then you are a sinner. All of us have at one point in our lives done things that we knew was wrong and violated our own moral standard. We tend to use the fact that all are sinners as an excuse for our own sin, but it is no excuse at all. Why? For the reason that our universal sinfulness does not diminish the strict requirements that God has, because He is holy. His character is such that he cannot tolerate anything that is unclean and completely blameless and pure. Sin is so contrary to God's character, that as the moral ruler of the universe, He must reveal wrath on that person, or being, who perpetrated the sin. The penalty for sin is death, and ultimately eternal torment in a literal lake of fire which is in the heart of the earth.

We hear a lot about the love of God, and it is true, He is loving. Foremost though, He is the Judge and Supreme Lawgiver of the universe, and as such, He is and must be completely just in all His dealings. Transgression of the law cannot go unpunished. Each individual sin, stores up more of God's wrath upon the sinner.

So what is sin? Sin is the transgression of the law. What law is that? The law of our minds (ex. The law of the jungle), or our personal knowledge of right and wrong. When we do something that violates our own moral standard, then we have sinned. To go further; when we don't do something we know we ought to do, then we have also sinned. Sin goes even deeper then that though. Sin is basically rooted in the intentions. Selfishness is the root of all sin. Anything done for personal gratification while ignoring the needs of others, against the law of our minds, is sin. Something that seems to be a righteous act, but if it is rooted purely in selfish motives, then it is a transgression and must ultimately be punished. Furthermore, we get a perfect image of our own moral standard, from the very measurement we use to judge others. In simpler terms, it is easy to cast blame and judge others, but to judge ourselves and be honest with ourselves about who we are, we find extremely difficult. That's why our conscious or subconscious measurement of others is a perfect image of our own moral standard. Ultimately God will use each individual's own personal standard, to judge and condemn them.

So what is the big picture? Here is God's perspective...

Every person capable of rational thought since the beginning of time, has an innate knowledge that there is a God. Every person has at some point looked up at a starry night in awe at the perfection that makes up our universe. Perhaps you have at some point laid outside and gazed up at the sky and thought about how earth simply a big ball floating around in the middle of a big dark universe. Maybe you have seen pictures of the earth from outer space and marveled at the beauty of it. Perhaps you have at some point thought about how the earth and all the planets have a set course and never run into each other. Maybe how the sun is a burning ball of gas and never runs out of fuel. Have you ever seen a rainbow? Or a sunset? We don't need to have religion or a book to tell us that there is a Creator to all that we see from nature. All a rational person has to do is sit down and think, to know that Someone created all this. This universe practically shouts of the glory of God.

We also know that God requires us to do right. We know that because He has given every normal person knowledge of right and wrong. We don't need a bible to tell us that. We know that we shouldn't steal, commit adultery, murder, or rape our fellow human beings. Everyone knows that and doesn't have to be taught it by religion. We also have knowledge that if we see someone that needs help, then we should help them. When we violate this knowledge or moral standard that we hold, we experience guilt and enter into a state the bible calls, “Dead in trespasses and sins”. This guilt we experience is universal throughout the human race. Whether priest, pope, pastor, president, or prime minister, all people experience guilt when they violate their own moral standard of right and wrong, and all are “dead in trespasses and sins”. People who have sinned even once, have come up short and are sinners in a damnable blameworthy state, already condemned by their own conscience in full view of a just God who must bring His wrath to bear.

What despair the human race is in! All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God looks down at the people He created and sees that there is not one righteous one among them. The whole human race has become unprofitable, depraved, and given over to fulfilling the lusts of their own bodies. They have degenerated to little more than animals, basically living to breed and eat. All have succumb to the natural drives of their bodies, which have run away with them against the better knowledge of their minds. None prefer to retain God in their knowledge. They love their sins and wallow in them apparently unashamed... Adultery, fornication, covetousness, idolatry, lasciviousness, extortion, murder, full of envy, without understanding, backbiters, haters of God, proud, boasters, disobedient to parents (Rom 1). They all live only for the purpose of fulfilling their next selfish desires. All these having known the judgement of God, and that people who do such things are worthy of death, are without excuse will suffer eternal torment in the lake of fire without mercy and without excuse.

Furthermore, God's wrath is revealed from heaven against all people that hold truth in unrighteousness. His wrath is on people who knew through nature, that there is a God, knew what He required, and of the judgment to come. His righteous indignation and wrath are on those that go through their lives ignoring, and living as though He didn't exist despite all the evidence to the contrary. His wrath is against all those that do not glory in Him, who is glorious, and against those who are not thankful despite all the good they have. While taking full advantage of all of God's goodness, they fail to be thankful but live as though they deserve more!

Opposing False Doctrine and Stating The Truth (Overview)

There are many commonly held truths that are held by the majority of Christians that I oppose, but none, I believe, that leads more people from Christ then this one.

Before I get around to doing that, I would ask that you not believe me but instead turn to the word of God (found in the Authorized KJV), and search for yourself. If you use a modern bible translation, you will not find the truth in this respect. Also, in the pursuit of truth we must not let anything, including preconceived doctrines of men, get in the way. The holy bible must be our final authority, or else we are easy prey to those who would deceive us.

What this note concerns is living the Christian life, and overcoming sin. I would begin by stating that psychology has crept into large portions of Christian doctrine and has no basis in the word of God. This concept that I will confront is found in many of the eastern religions and is merely repackaged and retooled for the Christian faith.

It states that man is a multifaceted human being and that we are made up of a dual nature. It says that we have two men in one body, an old man and a new man, a good nature and bad nature, or if you will, a black dog and a white dog. One nature can do nothing but sin, and the other, can do nothing but good. It says that these opposing forces, dual natures or alter egos are at war with one another and that in order to be victorious over sin, we must feed the one and starve the other. This encompasses a life of brokeness and emptiness, dying to our self will, and overcoming our sinful nature through prayer, fasting, and meditation, and bible reading. What it boils down to, is that the answer to a successful overcoming life is found inside each one of us instead of in Jesus. This method is nothing more then modern psychology, and will work as good for a Buddhist or an atheist as it will for a Christian. If God's method of living an overcoming life, is not a miracle and does not rise higher then our will can take us, then what good is it? The main essence of this heresy if you'll notice, is that Jesus has no part in it. The whole process is one, that never rises higher then your own self will and is no more the word of God, then is witchcraft.

To most professing believers, salvation is merely theological. Most professing Christians believe that there is really no difference in the experience between a believer and an unbeliever and that Romans 7 is the nominal Christian experience. That the Christian life is one of struggling and striving to fight against the world, the flesh and the devil with no resources other then self effort. I would add that the whole point to all false doctrine, is to lead men to trust in themselves rather then Christ. It is NOT of faith. If I thought that this was all the Christian life was, one of struggling to overcome sin, dying to self and being broken and empty enough so that God could fill me, I would just throw away my bible. If God's method of living an overcoming life did not rise higher then what my self effort could produce, then it would cease to be of God. God's workings are miracles. They are outside of all human capability.

Where the world does a "clean up, fix up" job on the old car (the Adam self, the old man), God's method is destruction. He simply takes the old car out back and destroys it. Then Jesus's limo pulls up and you climb in the back seat and ride with Him from that moment on. You don't ride in the old car anymore. You are a brand new creature in Christ Jesus. The "old self" is dead. You are no longer you, and I am no longer me. We are no longer Jew, Gentile, male or female, bond or free, but ONE new man in Christ Jesus.

This is NOT a second work of grace. This happens the moment a sinner gets saved, and is not even dependent on the believers holding the correct doctrine. God's truths don't rely on our understanding to make them true or effectual. God's methods ride higher then our understanding and even our reality. He gives us an alternative reality that we don't see, and challenges us to believe it simply because He said it.

Now that I've stated my views on what biblical sanctification is not, I will state what God's method is. It will seem just as foolish to most professing believers, as salvation through faith in Christ does, but here goes... Justification and sanctification are ONE work of Christ on the cross. One in which Christ died for our sins, and one in which we died with Him, too our sins.

If we see ourselves apart from Jesus, we have nothing. Our whole identity is found in Him. We have ceased to be "us" and are now ONE body, which is the body of Jesus Christ (literally). His history is our history. God now states that us living an overcoming life free from sin, is now entirely based on this fact. He basis our freedom from sin, on the fact that we were baptized into Christ and therefore crucified with Him. This co-crucifixion delivered us from the flesh (is our material self) wherein sin dwelt.

Here is my main point... In God's reality he no longer sees 'us' as 'us'. He sees Jesus. Jesus is no longer subject to the law of sin. Sin has no dominion or power over Him. He is not even tempted by it. Why? Because He was crucified and put to death. That body that was subject to the lusts and affections of his flesh are dead. It was nailed to the cross. Now, seated at the right hand of God; the world, the flesh and the devil are of no consequence to Him. They don't worry him in the least. You think Jesus is worried about falling to temptation or the snares of the devil?! Then why would we? Our life is hid with Christ in God! We are crucified, buried and risen with Him through the operation of God, and seated at His right hand! Jesus is our life! Why in the world would we continue in sin when we have been freed from it! We HAVE overcome. We have no confidence in ourselves (our flesh), but our rejoicing is in CHRIST JESUS!

This is the gospel of sanctification. It is NOT one of striving and struggling to attain victory over sin through self effort, but one of living in the present, having already overcome, believing God's reality over our own. It is not one of working it out in our experience, but rather accepting that our overcoming life has already been accomplished for us, IN CHRIST. This is living by faith. Not having faith that we, through our inner resources can somehow manage, but having faith that it's already done in Christ. This way we can't take credit for anything. Jesus get's all the credit and all the glory which is the way it should be.

(As this is merely an overview, I will be doing another note in the future using scripture to prove what I've written is the truth)

Concerning Final Authority and Truth

You know what I love? Truth. Just the plain, raw truth. Personally, I don't need big words and lots of adjectives. Just give me truth. So where do I go to find truth and what is my final authority? The word of God found in the King James Bible (AV) is where I go, and I have complete confidence in my bible, that it is the truth of God... Exactly... Every single word and letter, breathed by God Himself to the English speaking people.

2Timothy 3:16 All scripture IS given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Much of modern Christianity is filled with feigned spiritualism, tradition, someone's opinion, will worship, rudiments of the world, and "allegorizing". When did this probably start? About A. D. 250, when Origen, one of the Church Fathers, conceived the idea that the words of scripture were but the "husk" in which was hid the "kernel" of scripture truth. At once he began to "Allegorize" and "Spiritualize" the Scriptures, and thus founded that school of "Allegorizing" and "Spiritualizing" interpreters of Scripture, from which the institutional church and the Bible have suffered so much. This is the primary cause of so much heretical teachings that have invaded the institutional church.

Instead of asking what does the Holy Bible say, and letting that be our guide, the common view is not to believe what it says but rather, what does the author really mean. The modern concept now is don't read what it says and believe it, but rather find the hidden "gem" in the "husk" of the text. This modern method elevates those that are "learned" (the clergy) and displays their wisdom (sarcasm intended) in scripture knowledge. The idea is that the common man is not able to grasp the doctrines of the bible without help. I am glad that God chooses to reveal his word to those that simply read and believe what The Book says. I am glad that I have a perfect Book that leads "dumb" people to truth. It is the wise... The "Allegorizors" and "Spiritualizers" and those that believe them, over the word of God, who are at the end of the day, left in the dark.

That being said, I love good bible teachers. When I say "good bible teachers", I mean those that read and believe the bible exactly as it is written. If they say, "What the author really meant here...", (inferring that the author apparently didn't mean what he said) then I have no use for them. I don't want someone's opinion. I don't want to know how they feel. When I am in pursuit of truth I don't care how you feel or how I feel. Feelings have nothing to do with truth. That is effeminate. I want the raw truth and that comes only from the true word of God.

Conclusion... Throw away your feelings and your preconceived opinions and doctrines of men when in pursuit of truth! Let the Holy Bible be your final authority every time. Test everything you know, think you know, or what the preacher says, against what the Book says. Don't believe someone because of who they are or what they have achieved. Be a Berean!

Acts 17:10 ¶ And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, IN THAT THEY RECEIVED THE WORD WITH ALL READINESS OF MIND, SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY, WHETHER THOSE THINGS WERE SO.

The people at Berea did not even believe the Apostles! Where was their final authority? The SCRIPTURES.

A Man, Guilt, Religion, and Christ

A man experiences guilt when he breaks his own standard of right and wrong. He feels guilt when he goes against the truth that he possesses about what he should and should not do. Throughout his life he becomes increasingly depressed and attempts to mask it by increasing his carnal activities (taking drugs, alcohol, partying, dating women, music, outdoor activities etc). By these constant activities he creates distractions that drown out his conscience. Listening to music, video games, internet and phone take up any "down time" that might allow the conscience to bring the guilt to the surface. So as time goes by, the conscience is quieted somewhat, but the loneliness and emptiness never go away. The guilt that is always just below the surface, bubbles up now and then but is quickly brought back down by another drunk or high. The biggest threat to his lifestyle is boredom. Boredom is time that is not being spent doing something and therefore is a time that the mind could possibly wander.

His mind sometimes wanders into dangerous territory. Things like, his duty to do righteousness, death, and the judgment to come. He knows that there is right and wrong. His sense of judgment concerning others speaks volumes to him that evil acts and the people that do them must be held accountable. He knows that there must be day where people that do bad things must and will be judged, and therefore there must be a supreme Judge. All this he knows without a bible. He knows this without any outside religious influence. It is inherent in all men. This creates an uncertainty and fear in him about dying and how he will fair in the judgment. This doubt and fear create an unstable platform for the mind. His soul is in a constant state of unease. There is a nagging feeling of something not being right. Constant effort to justify his actions and himself is tiresome. All the self justification he can do, never satisfies his soul.

The guilt and depression mounts. He is now fully addicted to drugs, alcohol, pornography... He is a slave to his body. He knows that he should clean himself up and do what's right, but he can't. He is completely enslaved. His will is overcome by a stronger force, (his bodily desires) and what he wants to do (what's right), he can't.

Someone from the local denomination comes and invites him to "church". His guilt drives him to listen to them and as a last resort he goes. The well meaning people surround him with good will and cheerfulness. He hears a message about how to live a "Christian life" and how to follow the law of God. He makes a decision, confesses his sin, and prays a prayer with a councilor and goes away feeling great. He is highly motivated to try his best. He stops drinking, drugs and starts to get his life in order. He reads the books that the denomination members give him about how to live the deeper Christian life, a life of joy and happiness right now. He studies hard on how to overcome his addictions and live a life pleasing to God. He hears sermon after sermon on how bad sin is and the principles on how to overcome the overpowering desires of his flesh. He feels better and his guilt is lessened by his religious activity but the lust in his body still have control. All the while he is trying to live a good life, his greatest desire is to feed his carnal desires. He knows he shouldn't but the urge to partake is very great. His addiction to pornography is still alive and well and sometimes he still dabbles in drugs, but his guilt drives him back to trying to do what's right. He is trying to do what God wants out of guilt but his true desire is for his sin and the world from hence he came.

This man is what the bible calls "Dead in trespasses and sins". If this man dies, he goes to hell. He had a heart problem that never got addressed. His guilt drove him to Dr. Religion. Dr. Religion gave him a shot to make him feel better and failed to tell him that he was terminally ill. Dr. Religion told him to "just do the right thing and God will have to accept that". The man was already in a condemned state and Dr. Religion didn't fix him. He needed a new heart and Dr. Religion stepped in and offered him a cheap, worthless substitute. The man had a fatal disease since the first time he deliberately broke his own standard of right and wrong. Religion failed to address the sin issue.

Our sin incurs debt with God. Sin must be punished or God would be unjust. The penalty for sin is eternal death. So to get rid of the guilt, somehow our sin must be paid for. We MUST die or someone must die in our place! Being good and being religious from now on won't settle this issue! Dr. Religion is a liar! He claims that by ignoring your past sin and just live life by doing the best you can, God will not send you to hell and will let you into heaven. That is the farthest thing from the truth. Justice must be done and the payment has to be made. The wrath and justice of a holy God must be satisfied! The payment God requires is blood! Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. So what are the options? We burn in hell as guilty sinners, or somebody completely righteous that is worth more then all the souls on earth, sheds his blood and dies in our place. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY. SIN MUST BE PAID FOR SO GOD CAN JUSTLY FORGIVE SINNERS.

Seeing that there is no way for us to be justified then and our sins to be forgiven by our own effort and merit, God who is rich in mercy, shows his love by sending his ONLY BEGOTTEN SON JESUS CHRIST to die horribly on a cross. The blood that the perfectly righteous Son shed, is sufficient to satisfy the wrath and justice of God for our sin. So through Jesus and that ONE OFFERING and payment for all sin, we have peace with God through faith. That is completely apart from all effort or religion. God made Jesus to be sin for us so we could be made His righteousness. God can now JUSTLY forgive all sinners who will turn to him and believe that what Jesus did is enough to get them into heaven. It is a FREE GIFT and can not be bought with any filthy religious acts. The sinner must come to God with all his sin, realizing that there is nothing he can do to remove that sin and without the shed blood of Christ, it is a hopeless situation. There is only two options... You die, face the judgment and be damned to the fires of hell... Or Christ died, went to hell so you could go to heaven. That's it... Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

Guilty!

Most of us know the story about David and Bathsheba. King David saw a woman that was obviously pleasing to his eyes and he desired her. After inquiring about her and finding out she was married to Uriah, one of his soldiers, he slept with her. Then he had Uriah killed and took Bathsheba as his wife. David had many wives already and Uriah only had the one. Nathan the prophet came to David and told him a story.

2Samuel 12:1 ¶ And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
12:2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
12:3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
12:4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
12:5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
12:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
12:7 And Nathan said to David, THOU ART THE MAN.

Nathan points his finger at David and says,"You are the man! You had many wives and this poor man had only one, and you took her and killed him. You're the man". GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY! By David's own admission he is guilty. Nathan's story brought out emotions in David that said that the guilty man must pay. It brought out feelings of righteous anger and justice that the guilty man is deserving of death. This is the same method that the apostle Paul uses in Romans to convict the whole world of sin. Paul uses half of chapter 1 describing the heathen sinner and then in chapter 2, he points his finger at us and says...

Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Paul's method inspired by the Holy Spirit is pure genius. He first describes the ungodly sinner and we look on them in judgment. We look at all the horrible sins they have committed with feelings of "that horrible person must pay"...

Romans 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

We look on people that do those things and feelings of justice rise up in us and we condemn them. We know that doing those things are not right. Yet we have all done things in that list! Paul points his finger at us and says, "You're the man! You just looked on those heathen and judged them and you've done the same thing! How do you think you'll escape the righteous judgment of God?" Do you still think you are a good person? You think of all the times you've judged someone and then gone on and done the same things. Do you think you're above God's judgment? Are you ignorant of the fact that you are a guilty sinner worthy of death? Are you ignoring the longsuffering and goodness of God in that he has allowed you to live as long as He has? Are you ignoring the fact that you are breathing His good clean air and He hasn't damned your soul to hell? Do you not know that you are storing up the wrath of Almighty God because of your sin and like a dam it will one day burst and come pouring out on you?

So by our own judgment we have condemned ourselves. We stand guilty, with our mouths shut before God without a shred of an excuse. We deserve death and eternal punishment in the lake of fire. The whole world stands guilty and condemned deserving of death. No religion, no belief system can save us. No amount of effort and "church going" can save us. No pope, no priest, no pastor, no denomination can save us. Our only hope is Jesus. Thank God he died in our place. Thank God that He took our punishment so we wouldn't have to. He is the truth and the life.

Resident Judges and Guilt

We all have a judge residing inside us. We usually call it a conscience. He is beyond our control, a bit like our emotions... Just like we don't control what we feel, only how we react to that feeling, the same it is with our conscience. For example, when something bad happens, we can't decide to feel good about it. That would be insanity. If I had a dog and someone killed that dog, I couldn't decide to feel happy or glad that my dog was dead. So we see that emotions are beyond are control and separate from our will. We call that physical law. The same it is with our resident judge. Every time we act in opposition to that inner judge or the law of our mind (our standard of right and wrong, or the truth that we hold), that resident judge screams, "Guilty!" He constantly accuses us and we try to drown out his voice or to soften it, but we cannot.

When we were little children, we were alive without that judge once, because our knowledge of right and wrong and our knowledge of God, was extremely limited. We didn't feel guilt like we do now. We were innocent. As we grew older, the truth that we held also grew. We developed the knowledge that we should always do what is right, we should never be selfish, and we should always care for our fellow man before our own needs. There was and is always a struggle though... To obey that knowledge that we held, or to disobey it and follow after the natural desires of our bodies. Our bodies do have a desire to eat, sleep, copulate etc. There is nothing wrong with those natural drives, except when we follow those drives past their natural course and go against the law of our minds.

James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

As you see, the lust wasn't the sin. The "drawing away of his own lust" and "when lust has concieved" is the sin. For instance, we know that sex is for marriage and between a man and a woman. It is when we go against that knowledge and against better judgment, that we sin.

So what am I getting at? The end product of our life of continuously going against this truth that we hold, is guilt. All our lives we have been storing up guilt, and trying to hide it. The problem is, nothing we do, can permanently remove this constant feeling of guilt. We go through our lives attempting to bury it, and try to justify ourselves through many different means. One of the means would be, comparing ourselves against those around us and trying to ignore that resident judge, through temporal pleasures.

Another would be religion. Religion temporarily brings relief from guilt through some ordinance or activity. All the "man made" means of diminishing that feeling of guilt, are empty and vain. They may make a person feel better for a short while, but they don't work in the long run. They are nothing but shallow attempts at removing that feeling of guilt that just won't go away. They are nothing but a progression of an empty, meaningless life of holding truth, aggressively going against that truth by following after selfish and carnal desires, all the while trying in vain to justify oneself. You know where this leads besides eternal punishment?... Depression, loneliness, in some cases mental illness, and always a life of misery.

There is only one way to remove this feeling of guilt permanently. No religion can do it. No church, no denomination, no pastor, no priest can do it. Why? The sin issue must be dealt with. Someone must pay! Only then can we be free from this guilt and condemnation!

As our sin grows, so does God's wrath. God has emotions just like we do and he is angry, he hates and his wrath burns not only against sin, but against sinners. The wrath of God is revealed from the supreme court of the universe (in Heaven) against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth and deliberately chose to disobey it. God's wrath had to fall and it did. On His own Son Jesus, who took the wrath of God for us. It actually pleased the Father to bruise His Son and make His soul an offering for sin, because He placed all our sin on Jesus. He made Jesus to be sin for us... He who had never sinned. The flood gates of God's wrath, that was kindled because of our transgression, fell on His only begotten Son and He died on a cruel cross, where his blood was shed, and He went to hell for us! The perfect righteous blood of God was shed so that He could justly forgive sinners freely without any effort! That's not all though. God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at His right hand to signify that Jesus was who he said he was and that the payment had been made in full. That's not all though... God now calls all who believe this gospel, perfectly righteous and justifies them as a free gift! This way, God gets all the glory. Jesus did all the work, and all He now requires from us is that our faith not be in ourselves but in Him, in order to be saved and have our sins forgiven. This belief that I speak of is not with the head but with the whole heart.

When a person turns to God and believes this message, he knows his sins are forgiven and his eternity is assured. The guilt is gone because the sin has been paid for and God remembers them no more. Not only that, all future sin is also paid for. The wonderful thing is, this message when it is truly believed from the heart also produces an obedience and a righteousness that far supersedes anything that religion ever could. This gospel produces a new creature out of that miserable, sinful, lonely old creature that then was and transforms a him to a person filled with love, joy and peace. All this through a relationship and a salvation that is entered into by faith. Not faith in oneself but in the Son of God who died and rose again. It's a beautiful thing.