GOSPEL NUGGET #612

God's Perfect Standard

Mt 22:37 Jesus said to him," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'

Ga 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them."

Jas 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

God demands total and entire devotion to Him (Mt. 22:37), everyone who does not continue to abide in all the things which are written in the law shall be cursed with judgment (Gal. 3:10), the law is a unit like a chair with its four legs is a unit; break a single leg and you have rendered the chair as practically useless; break a single commandment in the law and you are guilty of all (James 2:10). 

Adam and Eve on the demerit of a single sin were driven out of Paradise. In our society, you only have to commit a single lonely crime in order for you to be viewed as a criminal. It's the same way with God's standard.

God demands perfection.

This is bad news for us sinners. We could not measure up. We are utterly in dire need of a Savior. My friend, come to Christ, the perfect righteousness which you could not give is freely imputed to anyone who trusts in Him for it.

GOSPEL NUGGET #611

Truly, after a long study of human nature during years and years of ministry, it is repentance that prepares a sinner to appreciate and accept the Gospel by faith. Repentance is the heart implementing a No-Sin At All policy. It is this pulsating and throbbing desire to be right with God in every area of one's life. It is this heart-attitude that is willing to be inconvenienced and disrupted in whatever way possible in order to attain its goal of being right with God. * It is marked by diligence. Every effort is made to attain the goal.

* It is characterized by indignation. It is indignant at sin.

* It exhibits fear --- the fear of displeasing God and committing a sin, even a single sin in the mind.

* It palpitates with desire --- the desire to have a right standing with God.

* It is passionate with zeal --- it is intense in obtaining its goal.

* It will eventually realize it bankruptcy, powerlessness, and helplessness in obtaining its goal. It is the humbling realization of one's sinner-hood. Try as he might, he just could not attain the very thing it desires. Desperate, helpless, powerless, yet longing and yearning. You can just imagine what this type of sinner will do when it hears the Gospel offering a right standing with God as a gift through faith in Christ!

GOSPEL NUGGET #610

The reason why many people today are not attracted to the perfect righteousness offered by God in Christ through the Gospel is that they are not thirsting and hungering after righteousness. They are not after righteousness like a basic need. They could live without it.

But those who really hunger and thirst after righteousness are different. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness show it in the way they live. They are so concerned to be perfectly righteous in God's sight. They take stock of themselves and examine themselves to see if there's anything to be righted. Every nook and cranny of their heart attitudes, the motions of their hearts, their desires, actions, and words are aspired to be made right perfectly, if possible.

They are willing to let go of everything and adjust anything that gets in the way of attaining perfect righteousness. But alas! they fail and fail over and over again. They are brought to despair in themselves that they cannot attain what they hunger and thirst for so badly.

The opportune moment is reached. God has got them where He wants them. At this point, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with its free offer of perfect righteousness to be imputed to anyone who desires for it is then sounded in their ears.

Then, for the first time, they hear it as Good News indeed. They jump to it. They embrace the free offer of perfect righteousness offered by Christ for dear life. A real experiential spiritual transaction has taken place. Others, who are not genuinely longing for perfect righteousness, could only hear of it coldly and intellectually. They hear with the outer ear but their hearts have no genuine interest in really accepting and receiving it. But they think they are genuine Christians.

Which are you?