Sin
of Unbelief
We live in a day of tolerance.
But our problem is we tolerate the wrong things. The last
virtue of the ungodly is tolerance. When the ungodly have abandoned all other
moral standards, the cry of the ungodly is for more tolerance of their
immorality and ungodliness.
One pastor remarked recently, “People do not want anybody
to pass judgment while they are engaged in the most vile perversions and immoral
ungodliness imaginable.”
One recent study in the United States demonstrated that
almost all high school graduates are convinced there are no absolutes.
The truth still stands; there is one sin for which Christ
never made atonement. The person who dies in unbelief can never be saved, no
matter how religious he may be. There is no atonement for the person who does
not believe on Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Yes, there is an atonement made for the unbelief of the
Christian, because it is temporary. However, the unbelief with which men die
never was atoned for by Christ. There is no atonement for the person who died in
unbelief. If he had been guilty of every other sin, if he had but believed, he
would have been pardoned. The one exception is to die without Christ. The Bible
clearly says, “He that believes not shall be damned.”
If you hear the good news in Jesus Christ and believe on
Him, that is enough. If you perish, and go to hell in your quest for tolerance,
it is only because you have refused to call upon the name of Jesus to be saved.
“There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that
has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
There are really only three
views of salvation in the world. (1) Modern pagan man thinks he can save himself and he is
his own savior by his own good works. Most pagans believe this. (2) There are
people who believe Christ and man saves the man. “Jesus did His part, and I must
do my part.” The religious cults teach this view of faith plus works in order to
be saved. You must work together with Christ in order to be saved, but synergism
will only send you to an eternal hell. (3) The Bible teaches salvation by grace
through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross to save us, and when He
said, “It is finished,” our salvation was completed by Christ. Our debt to sin
is paid in full by Jesus Christ, and God is now free to forgive us and save us
for all eternity. We receive the gift of eternal life by faith because Jesus
purchased it by His own blood.
God in His infinite grace offers us eternal life freely as
a gift. It is not something we can earn or merit. He saves us in spite of what
we are. He does not save us because of our good works or self-righteousness, but
in spite of what we have done.
Eternal life with God in heaven is absolutely a free gift,
paid for in full by Jesus Christ. It is not earned, deserved, merited, or worked
for, but is absolutely free. All you need to do is receive it by faith.
No matter how hard you work, you will never please God. God
does not deal with you on the basis of your goodness or your badness. He deals
with you on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
“You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver
or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with
precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these
last days for the sake of you who through Him are the believers in God, who
raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in
God” (1 Peter 1:18-21).
Yes, we are saved by the grace of God alone, through faith
alone in Christ alone, for His glory alone. God’s grace is liberating!
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
Click for printer friendly page
SELAH INDEX
CLICK to E-mail SELAH! to a friend.
|
![[Valid RSS]](../gra/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=small}
