John 3:18-21
3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of
the only begotten Son of God.
3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil.
3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither
cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his
deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
John 15:18-25
15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before
it hated you.
15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own:
but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you.
15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is
not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute
you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my
name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not
had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.
15:23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
15:24 If I had not done among them the works which none
other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both
me and my Father.
15:25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be
fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
Both passages reveal one thing, hatred. But why such hatred?
Simply, Christ revealed man’s sin guilt, and in so doing, removed all excuses
that man offers for his own sin. If one were to put this to the test in a one
on one witnessing encounter, then Christ’s words would immediately be revealed
as truth experientially. A lost man always offers an excuse for his sin, and
when it is pointed out to him that he sins because he chose to sin, the
conversation turns on a knife’s edge. Agitation sets in, and what may have been
a pleasant discussion up to that point often descends into anger. Man simply
does not like to be at fault. It is a grave error that LOST MEN have done to
churches, schools, and professing Christians in that they created a “doctrine”
that ultimately wipes away sin-guilt. It is an even more serious error than
most imagine, because if someone else is to be blamed for why we sin, then how
can we properly repent? How does one view God? How does one view Christ’s
sacrifice properly? All of this and more must be brought into proper context,
or the sad consequences of multitudes going to Hell is a serious truth, not
because either Tim or I have said so, but because God’s revealed standard and
punishment for breaking that standard is certain.
Many disagree with us, actually, the majority disagree with
us, as the “doctrine” of sin nature, original sin, or total depravity (all the
same doctrine, just different names) has been taught by “great men” of the
faith for centuries. We hope that, if you do disagree with us, do so based upon
a serious Bible study, one that is absent of biased tendencies, one in which
you’re open to the realization that you may have been wrong. Tim and I both
taught that we sin because of Adam for years, after all that’s what we were
taught. But upon a deeper understanding of sin, and further understanding of
God, the sin nature issue is inherently wicked, that has to be the only
conclusion, a conclusion that we hope to back up over the course of our next
posts.
One final note from my point of view. Please, refer back to
John 3 and 15 often. If you find yourself upset that we’re using scripture to
remove the cloak, as Christ did, we beg of you, search your heart. Search it
seriously, humbly, and contritely. Only guilty, lost people make excuses for
sin.
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