“I know that if I just ask God for forgiveness, He will forgive me.” This is one of the most common responses I get when sharing the gospel with unbelievers. Shockingly, the response above is most often given by those who claim to be believers. Sadly, this demonstrates a very sad state of the American church. It would be different if I lived in an area of the United States that was more liberal and not as churched, but I live in the heart of the south – in the Bible belt where there is literally a church on every corner. (In some places there are several churches on a single corner!) We’ve become a church culture so gospel-less that the average person who attends church cannot articulate the gospel.

What alarms me is that the average church-goer believes that they are heaven-bound because 1) they attend church and have been baptized or 2) they have asked God to forgive them. I want to focus on the second response since this is one that I hear most often.

One way I like to share the gospel is to turn it around and get people to share it with me. I’ll tell them that I have lived a horrible life and I have three minutes to live and desire to go to heaven. I’ll ask them to tell me how I can be forgiven and go to heaven. What I most often get is a simple, “just ask God to forgive you and He will.” I’ll ask, “is that all I have to do?” They respond, “yep!”

This is where there is an inadequate understanding of God and how he is revealed in Scripture. God is a forgiving God. The Bible tells us He is. But the Bible also clearly tells us that God is also just and He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. He is a just Judge and must deal with sin. If he just forgave us of our sins without dealing with our sins then He would be unjust and frankly would not be good. He would be a bad judge. One of the greatest questions that fallen humanity must ask is, “how can God be just and the justifier of the wicked?” This truly is the ultimate question. I believe it was Horatius Bonar in his excellent work The Everlasting Righteousness who began his treatise on justification by asking that very question.

So, this causes a dilemma. If we really begin to delve into God forgiving sinners we really must ask how can He justly forgive sinners without there being a penalty paid for the sin? How can God be just and justify guilty sinners? In fact, I believe it was Paul Washer in one of his excellent sermons on the gospel who used Proverbs 17:15 to setup “the gospel dilemma”. This verse teaches us that it is an abomination to God if the wicked are justified and the righteous are condemned. So then, based on this verse if an unbeliever were to simply ask God to forgive him and God did, then He would be going against His own word and would be an abomination in His own eyes.

Here is where the gospel shines with all its glorious splendor. God can and does forgive sinners but only if our sin is dealt with and His justice is satisfied. It is impossible for us to do anything to satisfy that debt since we are already sinners and even our most contrite and heartfelt sorrow is in itself tainted with sin. The only solution is for someone who is without sin to stand in our place. What we need is a great transaction. This is exactly what Christ did for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 is in my opinion one of the most glorious verses in all of Scripture. It tells us that God made Christ who was perfect and sinless to become our sin so that we would have the righteousness of God in Him. Christ is the answer to how God can be just and the justifier of sinners. God imputed all the sins of the elect on Christ on the cross (allowing Christ Himself to remain perfectly sinless) and poured out all the wrath on Christ in our stead. This way, God is just and has dealt with our sin. No created thing will ever be able to point the finger at God and accuse Him of being unjust in saving His elect. The other side of this amazing transaction is that through repentance and faith, Christ’s perfect righteousness is imputed to us. When God looks on believers He sees the perfect, spotless righteousness of His Son.

So, God does forgive sin but only through the vicarious, penal, substitutionary death of His Son. No amount of tears or begging for forgiveness will work outside of faith in Christ. Think about it this way. If God just forgave everyone who asked, then Christ died needlessly. If God could just sweep our sin under the “celestial rug” and not deal with it taking only our plea for forgiveness then Christ’s death was pointless. The cross demonstrates to us not only the love of God but also His justice.

One last point. It’s is inevitable that when sharing the gospel that unbelievers will quote 1 John 1:8-9. They will use this verse to “prove” that all they have to do is ask God for forgiveness and He will forgive. There is a problem though. This verse is not written to unbelievers. It applies only to believers in Christ Jesus. There is a very important little four letter word in this verse that is essential to our understanding of the gospel. That little word is “just”. John tells us that if believers will confess their sins to God as Father that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. He can only be just in forgiving us our sins because Christ has stood in our place and bore the wrath. So this verse is speaking of the constant need for believers to confess their sins to God as Father so that fellowship with Him is unhindered. An unbeliever cannot claim the promises of this verse since he is not covered under the atoning work of Christ.

I hope that as you’ve read through this that you will marvel with me at the wisdom of God in the gospel. Marvel at His grace and mercy but be aware that His grace and mercy are made available only through the cross-work and merit of Christ Jesus. Our prayers as believers should go out to the church in America that it will return to proclaiming the full and true gospel of Jesus Christ and repent from the gospel of moralism and legalism. I see first hand week after week when evangelizing to people who are active church members who know absolutely nothing of the true gospel. They believe they are saved and going to heaven for every reason imaginable except for the one and only way through Christ.

I pray also that if you’re reading this and you have been trusting in your own act of asking for forgiveness for your salvation, turn in repentance and faith to the only One who can save you – Jesus Christ. Cry out to God to open your eyes to the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6) that you may embrace Christ as your Lord and Savior. Today is the day of salvation!

Soli Deo Gloria

Related posts:

1. Preaching the Gospel to Yourself Daily
2. He Saved Me
3. Sharing the Gospel

I firmly believe that one of the least discussed Biblical truths in the church today is sin. We are inundated with feel good sermons that tend to focus on your best life now and how to be successful while overlooking what true progress in the Christ life exemplifies: an ever increasing war with sin.

As a street evangelist, one of the most common things I hear is that God is all forgiving and while He may not be too happy about sin He seems to have the magical ability to overlook it. Now let me make an important point – God is forgiving, but God is not unjust. There is a big difference.

The problem today is that the majority of professing believers I run into have created a god in their own image. Instead of allowing Scripture to be their rule and guide to properly understanding and worshiping God, they have allowed the culture and their own minds and hearts to construct a god of their own liking. For example, it is all too common to hear those I witness to tell me that they believe that God is all loving and all forgiving and He will forgive their sins if they simply ask Him. Before I respond to that statement let me first take us back to how the Bible describes God’s view of sin. Sadly, many today even in the church have a very loose view of sin and an even looser view of how God views sin. Our culture and media are bombarding us with so much sinful activity painted as the common life that our minds can become callous to the heinousness of sin. This is where we need to heed the call of the Scriptures to constantly be renewing our minds in the mighty truths of God’s Word.

So, let’s go all the way back to the beginning. In the book of Genesis we learn that God created all things and said that it was good. God created man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and then gave to him his wife, Eve. All of this takes place in the first two chapters of the first book of our Bible. However, in the very next chapter we read of what is called The Fall. It is in this chapter that Satan tempts Eve to disobey the one rule God had put in place. Now here is where we really need to stand back and see the full picture of the sinfulness of sin. Adam and Eve commit one sin. That’s right – one sin. Because of one sin, God places a curse on mankind. Because of that one sin all die. The simple fact that everyone to this day continues to die is proof positive that the covenant God made with Adam is still in force. Not only did mankind receive the curse of death and God’s wrath but we also read in Genesis that creation also became cursed as well. Paul elaborates on this truth in Romans that all creation groans as it eagerly waits for Christ to return since it too has been affected by the one sin of Adam and Eve. Now this should really help us to see the utter sinfulness of sin. If one single sin against God Almighty brought about the curse from God that affects all of creation why is it that the majority of folks today believe that as long as their good works outweigh their bad that God will simply overlook their sin? It’s because we have an incorrect and often blasphemous view of sin.

The Biblical truth is that every single sin demands an eternal punishment. We sin against a Holy, eternal and just God and thus our sin demands an eternal and just punishment. This now gets us back to that statement that many hold fast to concerning God and His forgiveness. You’ll recall that many today believe that they can just ask God for forgiveness and He will just overlook their sin and excuse it. My friend, if you really believe that then you are flat out saying that God is unjust. Let me put it this way. If God were to just overlook your sin and forgive it without His justice being met He would not be holy and He would not be just. He would actually be unjust – which is the absolute opposite of His character. This is why we must be ever careful to worship God rightly. We must worship Him as He has revealed Himself through His Word and through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Scripture proclaims to us that it is an abomination in the eyes of God to justify the wicked. (Prov. 17:15) This sets up the great dilemma – how can God be just and justify sinners? It’s only through the glorious cross of Jesus Christ that we see this question answered. In fact, to ask how God can be just and justify sinners should be the greatest question we can ask.

When we gaze at the cross of Christ we see the very wisdom, justice, love, mercy and grace of God. The cross of Christ demonstrates to us that God hates sin. The cross demonstrates to us God’s love. The cross of Christ demonstrates God’s wrath. It truly is the lens to view nearly all of the glorious attributes of God at one time. The Lord Jesus Christ came to become sin on our behalf so that we may have the righteousness of God in Him. God is just in forgiving a wicked sinner such as I because God took my sin and imputed it to His perfect, sinless Son and doled out all the eternal wrath and condemnation that I deserve on His Son. Through repentance and faith I am justified and sanctified (and am being sanctified) all because of the finished work of Christ on the cross. It’s also in Christ that death no longer has its sting. This, my friends is the wonder of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So we learn from the gospel that the only way God can forgive us is through Christ. There are not multiple ways to God and all roads do not lead to heaven. To come to God not trusting in Christ and expecting Him to forgive you because you ask Him is futile. Think about it, if I could simply ask God for forgiveness and He would forgive me then why would Christ need to die at all? What would have been the point of His crucifixion? What would have been the point of the very animal sacrifices all through the Old Testament that pointed to Christ and His sacrifice since the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin.

We must get the gospel right! If you have been trusting in your own goodness or even if you have believed that God is going to overlook your sin and simply excuse it since you’ve asked Him for forgiveness I urge you to look deeply at the cross of Christ and repent of your idolatry and turn to Christ. Put your faith and trust in Him and Him alone and understand that only through Christ can forgiveness be found. Allow the cross of Christ to demonstrate to you not only the love of God but also His perfect justice and His absolute hatred for sin.

If you are a believer, never look away from the cross. Believers truly can only live a gospel and cross-centered life. It’s by looking at the cross that we are reminded not only of God’s love to us but also His hatred for sin. Allow the cross of Christ to remind you constantly of the wickedness of sin and then remember that it is only by knowing the grand truth that you have died with Christ, you have been raised with Him and you are seated with Him in the heavenly places that you have died to sin. The gospel not only saves us from the penalty of sin which is God’s wrath in hell but also from it’s grip and power. Paul reminds us how shall we who have died to sin continue to live in it. We must remember that we’ve died to sin because we have died with Christ. We are now alive as a new creation in Christ and through walking by the Spirit we are able to put to death the deeds of the flesh.

This is the grand and wonderful truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sadly, the American church today has watered down or forgotten these great truths. May we cry out to God Almighty for forgiveness and return to a gospel-centered and cross-centered life and proclaim the full and wonderful good news of Jesus Christ. May we also see sin the way that God sees it as He has taught us in His living Word. In the words of the great Puritan theologian John Owen, “be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”

Soli Deo Gloria.

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“The practice of leading someone in a sinner’s prayer for their salvation has produced many tares or false converts in churches over the last 100 years (Matt. 13:25-40). This “evangelical tradition” cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. Those who desire to evangelize God’s way will follow the instructions given by the Lord of the Harvest. He commissioned us to go and make disciples, not decisions (Matt. 28:18).” - Mike Gendron

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As a false convert for over 20 years of my life I know the dangers first hand of the “sinner’s prayer” and the hellish teachings of “carnal Christianity” and the unBiblical phrases like “ask Jesus into your heart”. I too was told by many that since I repeated a prayer and was “in the club” that no matter how I lived my life I was still heaven bound. Salvation is not only from the penalty of sin but from the power of sin! Salvation is the product of being born again – being a new creation with a new heart and new desires and a God-given hatred for sin.

Friends of this blog, if you don’t watch a single video I have posted I urge you to watch this video. This man’s testimony is spot on. This will cause many to shudder and my prayer is that if you have trusted in a prayer, walking an isle and profess to be a Christian yet live a life of sin and love the world you need to examine yourself and cast yourself on the Savior Jesus Christ. If you are a pastor, teacher of evangelist who has watered down the gospel and holds to the hellish teaching of carnal Christianity I urge you to examine the Scriptures and repent.

Saved from the Sinner’s Prayer from I’ll Be Honest on Vimeo.

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“One reason why people with holy affections are given to holy practice is because what they seek is God Himself, solely for the excellency of who He is, and not whatever good uses or ends the knowledge of God might bring them. If a person seeks God only for the benefits He brings us, once those benefits disappear or fail to materialize, one’s hunger for God likewise diminishes. This is why gracious affections will enable men to persevere in the pursuit of godliness even when it is painful to do so. If the pursuit of godliness comes at great cost to a person’s comfort and private interests, the unregenerate will abandon the former for the sake of the latter. But he who loves God for God’s own sake will be so impelled by the beauty and excellency of His divine nature that no degree of trial or loss will impede him.”

- Signs of the Spirit, An Interpretation of Edward’s Religious Affections by Sam Storms

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Are you trusting in yourself, in going to church, in good deeds or in giving to charity as a means to merit salvation before God?  If you are, did you know that Scripture says that these deeds are like filthy rags to God? (Isa. 64:6) God requires absolute perfection to enter heaven and only His righteousness will do. Do you have His righteousness? Please take a moment to listen to this outstanding video testimony of a young woman who was lost in the Roman Catholic teachings and then was saved by God through the full Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Soli Deo Gloria!

He Saved Me from I’ll Be Honest.

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Romans 9:26
“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ’sons of the living God.’”

Philippians 3:3
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

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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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Please watch…  this is so true, and so heartbreaking knowing that this is the problem of American Christianity today….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_xadsMVwbg

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Churches divide over carpet color, building additions and budgets.  In the meantime, our fellow church members are going to hell by the boat load.

A.W. Tozer said, “It is my opinion that tens of thousands of people, if not millions, have been brought into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ, and they have not been saved.”

D. James Kennedy said, “The vast majority of people who are members of churches in America today are not Christians.  I say that without the slightest contradiction.  I base it on empirical evidence of twenty-four years of examining thousands of people.”

Friend, we argue over so many petty things.  May I suggest we have lost sight of the most important debate of all, “What is salvation?”  My theology teaches that salvation happens when a man repents and places his trust in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

I would like to present thirteen ways that we have re-defined how a person becomes a true convert.  Have we done this intentionally?  Certainly not.  We have simply created lingo that has a grain of truth in Scripture, but it is so open to interpretation that the un-converted understand it in ways that lead to false conversions.

1.  “Make Jesus your Lord and Savior.”  We cannot make Jesus our Lord and Savior, He is our Lord and Savior.  We are living in rebellion to Him and He commands us to repent and trust Him.

2.  “Ask Jesus into your heart.”  Does Jesus come into our hearts?  Yes He does.  The question is, “How does He get in there?”  It is not by simply asking Him in; it is by repentance and faith.

3.  “Just believe in Jesus.”  The demons believe and they tremble.  We must repent and trust.

4.  “You have a God-shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it.”  We have far more than a hole that needs to be filled so we can feel complete; we have a wretched, deceitful, sinful heart that needs cleansing.  Repentance and faith applies the blood of the lamb for that cleansing.

5.  “Accept Jesus.”  Whoa.  We need to accept Jesus?  This is entirely backward.  We need Jesus to accept us–and He will, if we repent and trust.

6.  “Make a decision for Jesus.”  Decisional regeneration puts man in the driver’s seat of salvation.  When we repent and trust, Jesus decides to save us.  That puts Him in the driver’s seat…where He demands.

7.  “It is easy to believe.”  While the formula of repentance and faith sounds simple, a complete surrendering of self in repentance is anything but easy.  It’s hard.

8.  “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”  The only promises for the convert are trials, temptation and persecution.  If that is how you define a wonderful life, fine.  Otherwise we must command all men everywhere to repent and trust.

9.  “Come to Jesus just as you are.”  We should come to Jesus just as the sinners we are, but He also expects a broken heart and contrite spirit demonstrated in repentance and faith.

10.  “Come to Jesus and you will receive forgiveness of sins and ________________ (fill in the blank with money, health, a healed marriage).”  Jesus didn’t promise healed marriages; in fact He promised broken homes because we would divide when one member repents and trusts.

11.  “Come to Jesus and experience love, joy, peace.”  Do we get the fruit of the Spirit upon conversion?  Yes.  But if we come seeking the gifts and not the giver, we will receive neither. Instead, we must repent and trust.

12.  “Jesus is the missing piece.”  Um, no, the God of the universe is not the missing piece, He demands that He is the center of our lives when we repent and trust.

13.  “Jesus is better than fame and fortune.”  That is an understatement, and frankly, it is insulting.  Saying Jesus is better than money is like saying that a steak dinner is better than eating a dung hill.  He defies comparison and we trivialize the Son of God.  Instead, we should be pleading with all men everywhere to repent and trust.

If I showed up at your door with a can of grapefruit juice and a roll of paper towels and offered to change your oil, you would say, “No thanks.”  If we wouldn’t let someone mess with our car using the wrong method, why do we allow the Gospel to be presented so ambiguously?

Would you let a doctor operate on your child who was “sort of” accurate?  The salvation of men is far more important than an appendix.

I beg you to consider how you share the Gospel.  You and I know what we are talking about when we use these phrases, but do the unregenerate?  Is it possible that we have so many backsliders today because they never slid forward in the first place?  Is it because they were never told that they must repent and trust?

If we are willing to debate shag verse plush in the fellowship hall, shouldn’t we be more concerned about an issue that has eternal consequences?

Author:  Todd Friel

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