Children of Wrath (Ephesians 2 part 3).

     .....And were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

                                                 Ephesians 2:3b NASB

     Often you will hear someone say something to this effect, "Well, I'm only human." This is used as an excuse for our sinful behavior. If we can blame it on our weakness; on our humanity, we then feel better about ourselves. "After all,"  we might think, "God understands that I am only human. I can't help my actions." 

     This however, is not true. We have seen that by nature we are rebels against God. Our human nature is in reality opposed to God and His law. We are selfish beings, and we choose to gratify our selfish desires, rather than submit to God, and live selflessly, loving God and those around us.

     The Bible is filled with warnings. someday we will all stand before God and give account for what we have done. All of our deeds will be judged, and we will receive what is due us (2 Cor 5:10). Read what Paul has to say about God's wrath and judgment,

     But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds. Romans 2:5-6 NASB

     Notice once again, by our stubborn persistence in sin, we are storing up God's wrath. Our refusal to repent of our sin and rebellion will get us in the end.
     There is coming a day when men, both great and small, will hide themselves from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb (Rev 6:15-17). The day of judgment will be a terrifying day for those who have lived this life in pursuit of self. All of our deeds will stand as evidence against us on that day. Every word spoken (Matt 12:36-37), and every thought we have entertained is known and remembered by God. Nothing that man has ever gone through in this life can compare to facing God's wrath on the day of judgment. Our minds may find it hard to conceive the idea of eternal punishment, but the word of God paints a terrible picture of the final doom of the unrepentant. 

     And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged according to their deeds. And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
                                                    Revelation 20:13-15 NASB

     

     

     

The Nature of Man (Ephesians 2 part 2).

     Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
                                                            Ephesians 2:3 NASB

     Many individuals like to look at their sinful actions as something that they cannot help. They feel as if they would like to do what is right, but they just can't. There is some truth to this. The Apostle Paul paints a picture of a lost individual who is in bondage to sin (Romans 7:14-25). He speaks of an individual who knows what is right, and wants to do what is right, but in the end sins. The bible indeed presents the circumstance of the sinner as being in bondage or slavery to sin (2 Peter 2:19; John 8:34). 
     It is also a biblical truth that we enter into this bondage through our own lusts. It is much more than a case of being unable to do right, like someone who is programmed to only act in a certain way against their will. Many individuals feel this way, and even begin to justify themselves in the fact that they can't help their actions, they are "only human" and deserve pity, not wrath. 
     The above verse tells us that mankind lives out his days pursuing the lusts of his flesh and mind. He indulges in selfish desires. This is not something that he is doing against his will, no, he willingly indulges himself in sinful pleasures! This is the nature of fallen man; selfishness! James tells us that man is drawn away and tempted by his desires, and when he gives in to his selfish desires, he sins (James 1:14-15). The fact that man is a willing participant in his sin makes him responsible. How could he be responsible for something he has no control over? He falls into bondage when he allows his selfish desires to control his choices. He may desire to do what is right, but his selfish lusts rise up and he gives into them instead. This is what Paul is saying in Romans 7:17. He is not saying that he is no longer responsible for his actions, or that something outside of him is making him sin, but that he is in bondage to his own wicked and selfish nature. He is ultimately selfish, and therefore fully responsible for his sin. 
     This is what lies at the heart of the sin nature. It is rebellion against God and His ways. The mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. It will not submit to God, and cannot (Romans 8:7-8; James 4:4). Pride gets in the way. The fallen nature of man has set itself up against God, and until the proud heart is broken, God will oppose it (James 4:6)

Dead in Sin. (Ephesians 2 part 1).

     And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
                                                       Ephesians 2:1-4 NASB

     This is the state of fallen mankind; spiritually dead in trespasses and sin. Look at the evil that is so prevalent in the world around us. Everywhere you look you see people walking in the ways of this world, indulging in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). There is a spirit behind this disobedience, a mystery of lawlessness that is at work in this world (2 Thess 2:7). It boils down to the fact that as sinful human beings, we are selfish, giving in to our selfish desires. Casting off restraint, we cave in to the temptations around us, with no regard for how our actions affect others, or God.
     We read in Romans, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:10-18 NASB)
     This is the picture of spiritual darkness. We see today a complete lack of spiritual understanding. We are witnesses of the fact that no one seeks after God. To the contrary, it is every man for himself. People choose to live and believe in a way that allows them to pursue moral filth without fear or shame. Our speech, lying, gossip, backbiting, cursing and bitterness, are all indicators of a lack of spiritual life. We live in a violent world with wars and killings all around us. It is summed up with the fact, "There is no fear of God before there eyes." People do not fear God!
     This is the diagnosis, as given us by God. Man, apart from God, is wicked at heart, and deserving of His wrath.
                                                                 

God's Purpose.

     From sin, then, in every sense and aspect, God is calling us. As exceeding sinful, the abominable thing which He hates and will avenge, He warns us against it. He speaks to us as "shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin," carrying evil about with us, nay, filled with it and steeped in it; not merely as diseased and requiring medicine, or unfortunate and requiring pity, but as guilty, under law, under sentence, dead in trespasses and sins, with inevitable judgment before us. He neither palliates nor aggravates our case, but calmly tells us the worst; showing us what we are, before calling us to be what He has purposed to make us. From all unholiness, from all uncleanness, from all unrighteousness, from all corruption, from all crooked ways, from all disobedience, from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, He is calling us, in Christ Jesus His Son.

Horatius Bonar (2010-04-14). God's Way of Holiness (Kindle Locations 231-237).  . Kindle Edition. 

     The Bible tells us that it is God's purpose for us to be holy, blameless, and irreproachable before Him. (Eph 1:4, 5:26-27; Col 1:22-23). Holiness is separation. As sinful humanity, we are filled with wickedness. Evil dwells within our hearts, and we act upon it. Jesus tells us that it is out of the heart that evil actions proceed (Mark 7:21-23). As stated above, this sin is an abomination to God, and instead of being poor unfortunate sinners deserving pity, we are vile guilty offenders of God's law, and deserve His wrath. Harsh words indeed, but it is the painful truth that we need to know if we are ever to be delivered from ourselves. As stated, God's ideal for us is to be holy, separated out of evil, and dedicated to the service of God. He calls on us to "Come out and be separate." (2 Cor 6:17). This is the call of God to renounce sin and self, to give it all up; to make a clean break, and to offer ourselves up into the service of God. We are called to follow Christ; to walk as Jesus walked, in holiness, love, and compassion. This is only made possible to us through Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that we might be forgiven our sins, and set free to walk in the purity He has called us to.  He is able to keep us from stumbling, and to make us stand in the presence of His glory,blameless, with great joy (Jude 1:24).
     
     

A Cry For Revival: Broken Cistern Christianity.

A Cry For Revival: Broken Cistern Christianity.:      "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, bro...

Your Can't is Your Won't.

        Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

     Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

     and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

     For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

                                                            Romans 6:11-14 NASB

     There are many individuals who look at the sinful habits they are enslaved to, and long to be free. They convince themselves that they hate their sin, that they want to be free from it, that they are willing to be saved, but their sin has them bound. They may pray and ask for God's help, they tell God they want to be free, they want to quit, they want to repent, but they can't. Many of these individuals find comfort in the fact that they are so bound. They feel that the responsibility for their sin is not theirs; God sees their heart, knows of their willingness to repent, knows of their desire to be saved, and now it is up to God to act on their behalf. They somehow believe that since God allows them to remain bound up in sin, they are safe, the responsibility is now on God. 

     In dealing with the "inability" of sinners to repent, Charles Finney told them, "Your can't is your won't." In other words they were making excuses. They perhaps felt bad about sin, maybe they wanted some assurance of heaven, and were hoping that God would somehow, in a sovereign way, make them quit sinning. The truth is, many people do not actually want to give up sin, They say they want to repent, but they can't, it is too hard. It is an excuse; they really love their sin too much to actually part from it. 

     We just read from Romans chapter six where Paul speaks of making a complete break from sin. He tells us to consider that we are dead to sin. It is impossible for dead men to have plans and purposes, to make choices, and to act upon those choices. Likewise, if we are dead to sin, we are done with it; we have made a complete break with it. 

     It is true that sin has men bound, but it is just as true that God commands us to repent. If God has called us to repentance, He expects us to repent. He does not command it just to watch us struggle with the "inability" to repent. If you truly desire freedom from the sin that has you bound you can find that freedom in Christ Jesus. If the Son sets you free you are free indeed (John 8:34-36). He asks us to repent, that is give up our sin and self, and surrender our lives to Him by faith. It is not a matter of waiting God's time, for now is the day of salvation, and if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart further, by clinging to your sin. If you mean business, if you are serious, God will then meet you where you are, and set you free.