By Timothy Johnson
Preacher’s Point
We interact with people all the time. Some are acquaintances, others are good friends, some are relatives, and others are work colleagues. There are people we love, like, dislike, and maybe even hate. Some people may fall into more than one category; that cousin you do not know well and only see at weddings and funerals is a relative but more of an acquaintance than a good friend.
When we look at relationships, we view them from our perspective. How often do we socialize with someone? Do we like being around them, or do we roll our eyes when we see them and try to think of excuses not to engage in conversation?
Our relationship with God is no different; we tend to think of it from our vantage point.
Someone who says, “I don’t believe God exists,” believes his relationship ends there because there is no one to have a relationship with.
Others know that God is out there but rarely, if ever, give God a thought. For example, someone might think of how hard mother nature has hit Florida and the American Southeast recently without considering that God is in control of the weather.
Still, others see themselves as having a close relationship with God. Yet, their relationship with Him is not much better than with that cousin they only see at weddings and funerals.
Some people have a very close relationship with God, where the Holy Spirit lives inside them and influences their thoughts, motives, actions, and beliefs.
Then some believe they live for God but will discover otherwise at the final judgment. Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
In light of that last group, maybe the best thing to do is to look at our relationship with God from God’s perspective, not ours.
God does not pace anyone’s value higher than another, but there are criteria that determine our standing with Him.
John 3:16 is the most famous Bible verse. It speaks of God’s love for the human race and the gift that God gave to the world. Yet, twenty verses later, we are told of God’s wrath and the severe consequences coming to those with whom God is upset. Compare the two verses.
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Talk about contrast. Talk about being on one side of the fence or the other.
How can God love someone and His wrath be upon them simultaneously? If you have ever loved anyone, you have experienced anger toward them. Spouses, parents, and children, in every relationship where love is a factor, anger will also come into play at one point or another.
It is very clear from the two verses that faith (believeth) is the determining factor.
Why does this upset God so much? It upsets Him because He loves us.
Put yourself in God’s shoes.
God creates the world in perfection. The first two humans move God’s creation from perfection to dark sinfulness. God, being holy and perfect, cannot stand in the presence of sin, but He loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him. Sin can only be forgiven and washed away by a sinless blood sacrifice (Hebrews 9:22). God, because He loves us, sends His holy, sinless Son to be that sacrifice. It takes faith to have the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, applied to you. Once applied, your sins are forgiven and washed away forevermore. You now have eternal life. It is God’s way to accomplish what He wants: you spending eternity with Him.
Looking from their own perspective, most people think that we are on the road to eternal life until we do something horrible. But the truth is that we do not obtain eternal life until the blood of Christ is applied by God’s grace through faith.
Another verse from John 3.
John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Can God make it any more straightforward that there must come a point when we must move from a point of condemnation to a point of salvation, not vice versa?
We also read earlier (Matthew 7:22-23 above) that doing God’s work is not the determining factor either. Another passage to back that up. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, least any man should boast.”
It must be pointed out here that saving faith isn’t a faith that only acknowledges the facts. Obviously, those in Matthew 7 believed in the existence of God, or they would not have done all that stuff in His name. Saving faith changes the heart and brings one to repentance (Matthew 3:8; Luke 5:32; Acts 11:18; Acts 20:21; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 2 Peter 3:9).
How is your relationship with God? Are you under His grace because of the blood of Christ, or are you under His wrath because of unbelief?
Preacher Johnson is the Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County Indiana. Website: www.preachers-point.com; Email: [email protected]; Mail: 25 W 1200 N; Kingman IN 47952. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Timothy-Preacher-Johnson-101171088326638. All Scripture KJV.Reach
