“Heaven would be hell to me without Christ.” – Thomas Goodwin

This beautiful quote from the Puritan Thomas Goodwin also reminds me of a question John Piper asks in his book God is the Gospel: would you be happy in heaven if Christ were not there? Before the Lord saved me I was a professing believer and my desire for heavenly things was strictly carnal. I wanted the everlasting life and of course to escape hell. I wanted the golden streets and the pearly gates but I did not want God. I wanted to go to heaven, I just didn’t want God to be there. I was ashamed of Christ and I never spoke of Him to others. I’m so thankful that the Lord in His sovereign grace turned my heart of stone to a heart of flesh and granted me the gift of repentance and faith in His Son. He saved a man who for most of his life professed faith but possessed it not and was ashamed of the gospel and it’s Author. It’s only through being born from above by His power and grace that I can echo the words of Goodwin that heaven would truly be hell without Christ.

I know there are many people who believe they are seeking God. Through church attendance, morality, activities and even a head-knowledge of who Christ is (James 2:19), they believe they are heaven-bound. But Scripture speaks otherwise. Not a single person outside of Christ seeks God. Period. Paul tells us in Romans that people don’t seek God. (Romans 3:11) The reality is that people seek the things of God but they don’t seek Him. They want heaven and all God’s benefits but they simply don’t want Him. They truly could be happy in heaven if Christ were not there. This is why I laugh at so-called “seeker sensitive” churches that model their worship after and for unbelievers. Unbelievers and nominal Christians aren’t seeking God. They are seeking health, happiness and the American dream and in their minds God is often a way to get those things. Seeker sensitive churches simply feed this devilish lie. This is why false teachers like Joel Osteen pack their seats service after service with people who want everything God (and the world) has to offer except true salvation and the ultimate result of that salvation: God Himself. Salvation truly is a means to an end. And that end is unhindered communion for all eternity with God in Christ. John sums up heaven for us in five beautiful words: “we will see His face.” (Revelation 22:4)

The grand reality is that God must seek us before we will seek Him. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) God causes our dead souls to be born from above and then and only then do we come to Him in repentance and faith. Paul describes regeneration as a miracle greater than that of the creation account. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Do you love Christ or do you love His benefits? One affection is the result of a transformed heart. The other is a natural desire of the fallen nature. If you do love Christ above all things, rejoice in His sovereign grace and be humbled that nothing inherently in you caused this regenerative miracle. (John 1:13) If you honestly can say that you’d be happy in heaven without Christ, cry out to the Lord Almighty to open your eyes to His glory in the face of Jesus Christ and embrace Him in repentance and faith. All who come to Him He will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)

Soli Deo Gloria

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1. Christ’s Ascension to Heaven
2. Whom Have I In Heaven But You?
3. Few Make it to Heaven

This is an excellent snippet from a very passionate sermon by Paul Washer. It’s going to offend many – especially most behind the pulpit today who refuse to proclaim the gospel or rely on the erroneous “decisional regeneration” so prevalent in most churches.

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1. The Idolatry of “Decisional” Evangelism and the American Church
2. True Revival
3. True Discipleship

Related posts:

1. Paul Washer – Truth About Man
2. The Fruit of Regeneration
3. God’s Great Mercies

“Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Saviour will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.”

- Charles Spurgeon

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2. Christ is Who Saves…
3. The Cross Saves Completely

In an age where the evangelical church today focuses more on humanism than the true Gospel, Paul Washer’s brief message below is a stark warning to all professing believers.  May we truly come to an understanding of just what “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” truly means.  (Rom. 3:23)

[audio:http://www.jaywingard.com/files/awarning.mp3]

To learn more about Paul Washer and his ministry, visit Heartcry Missionary Society

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2. All or Nothing…
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It’s time the Christian evangelical churches get back to the doctrine of regeneration as it is clearly outlined in Scripture. Most evangelicals today continue to preach that regeneration is a mutual act of man and God working together in a synergistic manner. However, we clearly see in Scripture that regeneration is a monergistic act completely dependent on God alone. Brian Schwertley of Westminster Presbyterian Church has written an excellent paper on the new birth. Here’s a quick excerpt:

“A proper understanding of the new birth is crucial to the Christian faith. An unbiblical view of the new birth will compromise and pervert many other important doctrines (e.g., the doctrines about God, original sin, human ability, predestination, perseverance of the saints, etc.). It is remarkable that most fundamentalists and evangelicals who champion the new birth have completely perverted the doctrine. They have made it dependent on man’s choice rather than God’s choice. There is no excuse for anyone to misunderstand this doctrine; the Bible is very clear in this area, as we have seen. If you do not believe what the Bible teaches regarding the new birth, then you must repent and submit to Christ’s teaching. If you have changed your view of the new birth and yet find yourself in a church that rejects the Bible’s teaching in this area, it’s time for you to find a new church. Jesus Christ clearly implied that men who did not understand this doctrine where not fit to be teachers of His people (cf. John. 3:10).”

I could not agree more with his statement. Head on over to ReformedOnline.com and read the entire paper.

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