TEXT: ISAIAH 53:4-11; JOHN 3:16-21
TITLE: GOD LOVES THE LOST, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO OVERLOOK THEIR UNBELIEF
INTRODUCTION:
For many today who are still willing to admit that there is a God, about all they are willing to believe about Him is, that He is a God of Unconditional Love. They are not willing to acknowledge that the God of their imagination has any other attributes other than Love, and the messages of many Preachers only seem to confirm this foolishness. It is the Blind leading the Blind straight to the Gates of H-E-L-L.
That this belief is so popular with the masses of unbelievers and Liberal Preachers ought to call its truthfulness into question. No criminal on the run finds comfort in the Law they have transgressed, nor the Authorities that are duty bound to bring them to justice. They first must be assured that law has been satisfied, its penalty no longer hangs over their guilty head, and the Authorities have no broken law for which they are duty bound to bring the offender to justice. Neither can a guilty sinner find comfort in the Love of God, nor the God of Love unless he is assured that the penalty for his guilt has been satisfied and the Wrath of God has been pacified.
To tell the unrepentant unbeliever that God is Love and that He Loves them, without also telling them that they are a Condemned Sinner, Under the Wrath of a Holy God (John 3:18;36) only deadens their conscience, gives them confirmation for their state of rebellion, and assures that H-E-L-L is their destiny.
The True Gospel makes it clear that:
1. "FOR ALL HAVE SINNED, and COME SHORT of the GLORY of GOD." (Romans 3:23)
2. "FOR the WAGES of SIN IS DEATH" (ROMANS 6:23a)
3. "BUT GOD COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARD US IN THAT, WHILE WE WERE YET
SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US." (Romans 5:8)
4. "...the GIFT of GOD is ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD."
(Romans 6:23b)
5. "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT
WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE."
(John 3:16)
6. "FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON the NAME of the LORD SHALL BE SAVED."
(Romans 10:13)
God does love the lost, Calvary proves that, but Calvary also proves the He doesn’t love them enough to compromise His Holiness and Justice. Trusting in Jesus and His shed blood at Calvary for the atonement for ones sins is the only way that God’s Holiness and Justice can be satisfied and at the same time, the Lord can forgive and save the guilty sinner.
"He paid a debt He did not owe,
I owed a debt I could not pay,
I needed someone to wash my sin away,
And now I sing a brand new song:
AMAZING GRACE all day long;
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay."
My friend you cannot Receive what Jesus Gives and at the same time Refuse who Jesus Is!!
He has the Gift of Salvation to give, but He only gives it to those who are willing to acknowledge that He is a Holy and Just God that demands Repentance and Faith in Jesus and Jesus alone for Salvation.
~Jack Woodard
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Jack Woodard lives in the Jackson, MS area and is available for Revivals and Conferences. He may be reached through EMAIL at:
jackwoodard@bellsouth.net
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Pastor Woodard is also a Sermon Contributor to PASTOR LIFE:
http://www.pastorlife.com
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http://jackwoodard.wordpress.com
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