October 2024

Happy Columbus Day! It seems that many of you don't think you need the forgiveness that God offers for sin. You say, "What sin?", when in fact the Law of God was given to reveal sin and your need for Jesus, the Messiah. And the Holy Spirit was given to convict you of the sin of unbelief, accordingly to Jesus, Who said:

" Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:7-8, NKJV).

Wake Up To Righteousness . . .

I am going to give you one of the most hard-to-swallow Scriptures of this day and age. 

"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work; saving everyone who believes -- the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, 'It is through faith that the righteous will live by faith.'

"But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who, by their wickedness, prevent the truth from being known. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and the sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities -- His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

"Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshipping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

"So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their heart desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, Who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to there shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done" (Romans 1:16-28, NLT).

Are You In Denial?

I hear you say, "Charles, I've never had that problem!" Or, maybe you have? I was in denial of my sins for a long time. I was diagnosed as "aproblematic" by the Psychs early in my prison life. I had never read Romans, chapter 1 for conviction, but I was still without excuse, even more so, when I found myself in the following list of sins the apostle Paul shares:

"Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know that God's justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too" (Romans 1:29-32, NLT).

Paul continues in Romans, chapter 2 & 3, saying when we judge people for such things, we are just as bad, doing the same thing, projecting our sin on others and are without excuse as well, deserving God's judgment (2:1-3). "As the Scriptures say, 'No one is righteous -- not even one'" (3:10). "For everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standard" (3:23, NLT). But also, Paul asked: "Don't you see how wonderfully, kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?" (Romans 2:4, NLT).

The Righteous Shall Live By Faith . . .

I found many sins on the list that were evident in my life as a result of Adam's disobedience in the Garden. We can't blame him for our choices, but as a result of this one man's sin, ". . . death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned" (Romans 5:12, NLT). Regardless, on that night in 1975, when the Lord sparked faith in my heart, it wasn't condemnation I experienced, but it was God's unconditional love that convinced me of my unbelief in Him. "God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:8, NLT).

I went to the chapel altar that night and confessed Christ and returned to my cell with my face glowing. I looked into the mirror, laughed at myself and said, "This is ten times better than drugs!" Later I found in the book of Daniel where it was written about the Hebrew children, saying, ". . . in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm" (1:20, NKJV).

Believe me, if God can save me, there is hope for you too. The LORD said to the leaders of Sodom and Gomorrah, "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land, but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword"; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken" (Isaiah 1:18-20, NKJV).

Christ Took Our Punishment . . .

Though I looked good on the outside, I was rebellious in my heart toward God and my parents growing up. Being separated from God, it was pride on my part, but it was my desire for love and acceptance outside of Christ that got the best of me, "Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death" (James 1:14-15, NLT). The apostle Paul calls it the power of sin that leads to death, but by faith in Christ's blood and resurrection, the power of the life-giving Spirit frees us from death (Romans 8:2).

In other words, ". . . God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus" (Romans 3:24-26, NLT).

Otherwise, unbelievers will take their own judgment for sin at the Second Coming of Christ, as the apostle John wrote: "Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for He judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on His head were many crowns. A name was written upon Him that no one understood except Himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and His title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed Him on white horses. From His mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On His robe and thigh was written this title: King of kings and Lord of all lords" (Revelation 19:11-16, NLT).

Receive God's Abounding Love Today . . .

Jesus said: "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

"There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see God at work in what he is doing" (John 3:16-21, NLT).

Jesus continues: "I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life" (John 5:24, NLT).

Listen to the apostle John, writing: "God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love -- not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1 John 4:9, 10, NLT).

John continues: "All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them" (1 John 4:15-16, NLT). As believers, we have the assurance that God lives in us!

Assurance Of Salvation . . .

This Abounding Love episode #216 shares how we need assurance in our eternal salvation by grace through faith in the effectiveness of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is, knowing our victory through the cross. "Assurance" means "to be entirely confident in." We need confidence in the finished work of Christ!

The Apostle Paul prayed: "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints . . ." (Ephesians 1:15-18, NKJV).

You have an inheritance! Paul prays that you'll have confidence that Jesus is above all things; and equally so is the church [that would be us]. Paul goes on to state: " But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7, NKJV).

We become all that Jesus is in God. We can be confident in what we've inherited in Christ. This includes power to do what He requires us to do. Paul states: " . . . that I may know Him [Jesus] and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10-11, NKJV). Paul admits he hasn't gotten there yet, but presses on in faith to know Jesus. Join me as we explore these truths and become assured of all our salvation gives us. Selah! [Click here for the Abounding Love podcast #216 Assurance Of Salvation"].

A Prayer For You . . .

Heavenly Father, I thank You for this divine appointment to open my heart to the Good News of Jesus Christ; that there is salvation for me. I give You my life wholeheartedly. If You can save Charles, You can save me too! I repent of my doubts and narrow-mindedness and turn to You in faith that Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead to free me from the bondage of sin and to give me eternal life. I receive Your righteousness through the finished work of the cross, where Your Son took all my pain, guilt, shame, and condemnation. Jesus, You have washed and cleansed me with Your blood and now I am white as snow. I commit my all to living for Your plan and purpose for my life, which is to serve You in all that I do. Holy Spirit, light Your fire in my heart and overflow in my life to enable me to share the testimony of Jesus with my friends, family and even the world. In the name of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

"Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints" (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, NKJV).

The Christian Toolbox -- Outreach/Gospel/The Christian Toolbox

Josh: Note Part 1 "Lyle's graphic", Part 7 " Click here" & "The Christian Toolbox".