Depravity – TGN

Inspite Of Me

Ebenezer Foster-Nyarko — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 21:27:55 +0000

Consider my first parents, Adam and Eve.
Created perfect, and in the image of God.
God’s communion to enjoy in the eve;
In perfect peace and accord.

Along comes the Tempter
Foolishly, the fall.
They hide from their maker:
But He draws near, in spite, He provided a way out of it all.

I was in Adam.
I fell!
My head rebelled, a rebel I am!
But in spite, God draws near, I hear His call.

Tis mercy all, immense and free!
I deserved nothing but hell and death.
Instead He loved me!
He sent Jesus, to atone for His wrath.

What do I have to glory?
None, but to appeal to the blood that was shed for me!
How can I boast?
He first loved me, in spite of me!

All we are like sheep.
We fell, we rebelled, and we hide for shame.
Herein we know His love was deep,
In spite of us, He calls us by name

As in Adam, so in Christ;
All my guilt and shame, nailed to the tree.
No more in Adam, now in Christ
All In spite of me!

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Healed And Restored

Enoch Anti — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 09:09:23 +0000

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1 Peter 2:24KJV).

Many have twisted this text to preach a health and wealth gospel. But that is a great error. We are no where in this text promised physical healing. It is only a wrong reading that leads to that interpretation. Our greatest predicament as human beings is not poverty or sickness. Therefore the offering of health and wealth as the solution to all our problems is false and no gospel at all.

Our greatest predicament as humans is sin, hence our greatest need is the forgiveness of sin.

Death: The Wages Of Sin

Romans 3:23 condemns all human beings under sin separated from the glory of God. To be separated from the glory of God is man’s greatest problem and no amount of money or good health can make up for that void. Sin is a sickness that plagues all humankind. And the wages of this sin is death the Bible says (Rom 6:23). We are not only sick of sin. We are dead in sin! “We are dead in sin” That is terrible. Looking at our ourselves we can identify the havoc sin causes in our lives and the lives of people we know. Sin is not only of earthly consequences. It has eternal consequences. Sin separates from God.

The prophet Isaiah wrote this of God’s people – a description that is characteristic of all fallen man:

Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil (Isaiah 1:4-6 ESV)

This is the state of our sickness and our sin; which the prophet graphically likens to sores and bruises that have covered the whole body from head to toe. This is the sickness of sin Christ died to heal us of that we might live to righteousness! How tragic that 1Peter 2:24 which deals with the grave situation of the life estranged from God by sin; and the glorious promise of redemption through the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus will be cheapened to one of material significance!

Healed Of Our Sins And Restored Unto Rigtheousness

“by whose stripes ye were healed“. Peter quotes Isaiah 53:5 to tell us how we were healed. How? by Christ’s stripe. Healed of what? Sin. And how are we healed of this? Christ bore our sins in his body. That is good news. God has made a way to reconcile us unto Himself by putting our sins on Christ: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree”. This is what theologians call double imputation. Our Sin is imputed to Christ and His righteousness imputed to us. Oh, what good news. Our sins are all forgiven when we trust in Christ.

The result of this imputation is that we “should live unto righteousness“.

Righteousness simply is right standing with God as if we have never sinned. In Christ we who previously were sick and dead in sin are healed and made alive and reconciled to God: “And you hath he quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1KJV). “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”(2Corinthians 5:21KJV).

Have you experienced this exchange; your sin for Christ’s forgiveness? If not seek His forgiveness. On the other hand, if you have, you can break forth into doxology and sing:

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

Praise him for his grace and favor to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever, slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!

Fatherlike he tends and spares us; well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!

Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!

~ Henry F. Lyte, 1834

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The Dangers Of Sin

Enoch Anti — Thu, 26 May 2016 19:28:53 +0000

Take care , brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end (Hebrews 3:12-14).The book of Hebrews contains some of the stern warnings in Scriptures against sin, drawing lessons from the Israelites who were saved from Egypt and later perished in the wilderness for disobedience towards God. These warnings are to ensure believers don’t presume on the grace of God. Believers are not to play trifle with the salvation they have received from the Lord, hence these numerous warnings.

The believer, purchased and redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice is eternally secured never to be separated from Christ. Sadly, this truth is wrongly taken by some as a license to live their lives licentiously, disregarding the commands and laws of God. Anyone who thus lives, we may conclude has not truly known the Lord. The warnings in Hebrews are instructive for the believer to live victoriously and not under the bondage and slavery of sin.

Perhaps one of the least spoken about subject in our generation is the doctrine of sin–want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.¹ Sin is the breaking of God’s law and the Bible affirms that all humans are guilty of sin and without Christ, are separated from God (Romans 3:23). The believer who has come to saving faith in Christ is indeed saved, sanctified and set apart for “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”(Eph 2:10). However, there still remains in him residues of the fallen old Adamic nature which needs to be subdued and brought under control of the Spirit’s ongoing progressive sanctification. John Owen, in his book Indwelling Sin In Believers aptly captured the dangers of sin in a believer. He wrote:

Wherever you are, whatever you are about, this law of sin is always in you; in the best that You do, and in the worst. Men little consider what a dangerous companion is always at home with them. When they are in company, when alone, by night or by day, all is one , sin is with them. There is a living coal continually in their houses; which, if it be not looked unto, will fire them, and it may be consume them. Oh, the woful security of poor souls! How little do the most of men think of this inbred enemy that is never from home! How little, for the most part , doth the watchfulness of any professors answer the danger of their state and condition! ²

Sin is dangerous and not to be toyed with in its slightest appearance. Paul writes that “Abstain from all appearances of evil (1Thes 5:22 KJV). Peter admonishes that we should “gird up the loins of [our] mind, be sober… [and ] as obedient children, not fashioning [ourselves] according to the former lust…”(1Peter 1:13-14 KJV).

“Take care brothers…”(v.1a) the Hebrews writer admonishes. This is a warning to believers against the potency and power of sin not dealt with by submission to the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Sin kills faith. It produces unbelief. Sin deceives. Sin hardens and kills our conscience. Like a sniper, sin, if not dealt with can take us out and lead to apostasy: “lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (v.1b). The battle against sin is both individual and communal. The author further tells us; “But exhort one another every day … that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin”(v.13). Sin is deceitful. Its pleasure is temporal and cannot be compared to the eternal glory and reward that awaits us (Hebrews 11:23-28).

Unlike Cain who asked “Am I my brother’s keeper?”(Genesis 4:9), we as believers are each other’s keeper and must be engaged in watching over each other to ensure we finish this race together living victoriously over sin by the power available in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Our union with Christ is only true when we are actively engaged in resisting sin in cooperation with the Spirit’s work of progressive sanctification:

For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end (Hebrews 3:14).

Notes

1: Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 14

2: John Owen, Indwelling Sin in Believers, Vintage Puritan Series GLH Publishing Louisville, KY

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The King Is Risen

Kwesi Sena — Sun, 27 Mar 2016 08:43:19 +0000

1 Corinthians 15:19-22

Today, Christians worldwide are gathered to celebrate our hope in Christ — Easter Sunday. It is the day our hope in Christ was secured. The grave could not hold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, he defeated death and therein is our hope.

In Luke 24, there is a story about two disciples on their way to Emmaus when Jesus joined them. They were lamenting over their dashed hope of the deliverance of Israel. They longed for deliverance from Roman rule through Christ. However, Christ their deliverer a few days ago was brutally murdered on a cross–the most humiliating way to die. With His death, went their hopes. But as the narrative progresses, we see a hope that is higher than deliverance from Roman oppression. They encountered the Resurrected Christ. He is alive! The grave couldn’t hold Him.

The believer’s hope is tied to the resurrection of Christ. It is a hope that is beyond the grave. Hope that makes us endure suffering because we know the glory that awaits us. The hope that made Paul count all his achievements as garbage.

What is this hope?

Paul gives us a hint in 1 Corinthians 15:19-22: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

In this passage Paul was responding to those who deny the resurrection of the dead. He started by saying if there is no resurrection of the dead, then among all people we are the most to be pitied as Christians. He points to Christ’s resurrection as the basis for his certainty. Christ is the firstfruit, and once you have the firstfruit it signifies that the rest of the harvest is going to come in.

This is the Christian’s hope, it is the hope that our present life is not the end of the story. The hope that our mortal bodies will be changed to the same glorious body of Christ. The hope that God is going to wipe away every tear from our eyes — there will be no more death, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. In Revelations 22:4, we are told we will see the face of God and we will be with him forever. That has always fascinated me, because I know most of us are looking for something great, many of us are on a wild goose chase for something that will blow us away. We are always looking for that experience that will take our breath away. This is it, to see the face of God and still be alive.

But sadly, this hope is not for everybody. In 1 Corinthians 15:21 & 22 we are told that sin entered the world through one man and with this came death as well. In Genesis the bible tells us that God created the world, and he said everything he created was beautiful. There was no death, there was no pain, there was no chaos. He then created man in his own image to have dominion and authority over everything he has created. Just as he gave authority to man to rule, he also wanted man to know that he did so under authority and so he gave a command not to eat from a particular tree. God told man that the day he ate from the tree he will die.

This was not only a physical death, it was spiritual death first and foremost. A life lived in separation from God in pain and torment forever. Man disobeyed God and sided with the devil, believing the lie over the loving and gracious care of God. Through Adam’s disobedience sin entered the world, and with sin came death. Man became an enemy of God.

There are some who vehemently protest why Adam’s sin should become their sin. But my answers to that is, really? Every personal sin we commit is actually rebellion against God. We sin because that’s who we are.

We are sinners, not because we sin. Rather, we sin because we are sinners.¹

But that is not the end of the story, John 3:16 tells us God looked at the depravity of man, and his loving heart was moved with compassion. He sent his Son into the world to reconcile the run away man to Himself. There are two things Jesus accomplished. He lived a perfect life as a man. He obeyed perfectly all the commands of God. The one we could not obey. Then he also went on to pay the penalty that was hanging over our heads as enemies of God.

So here we have two things, the perfect life of Jesus, and the payment for sin. And God has said anyone who will come, Jesus’ payment will be credited to them and His perfect record will be theirs as well. What an awesome invitation! However, this invitation is not open ended, because God has appointed a time when everyone will give an account of all that they have done with their lives. We will all appear before the judgment seat of God, and at that time Jesus will not be a saviour, he will be a judge (John 3:36).

Christ has risen and it is the reason for our hope. To those who have come to know Him as their Saviour, He will return not to die again but to receive us to Himself and we will be with Him in all eternity. To those who don’t know Him, that day will be a day of terror and gnashing of teeth. He will come as a judge. Are you ready to meet Him?

1: R.C. Sproul, Essential Truths of The Christian Faith

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Who Is A Christian?

Kwesi Sena — Fri, 27 Nov 2015 17:35:29 +0000

This might be a simple question. But the answers, if we are to undertake a poll will reveal many erroneous ideas about who a Christian is. According to the 2010 population and housing census, 71%¹ of Ghanaians identify themselves as Christians. Across the world approximately 2.2 billion² people call themselves Christians. The history of the world is studded with stories of people who abandoned family ties, fled their countries and even others who have paid the ultimate price by giving up their lives in the name of Christianity. In the face of such staggering statistics and sacrifice, the natural question to ask is who is a Christian?

Societal versus Biblical Definition

For many, a Christian is an individual born in a Christian home. For others, a Christian is one who is punctual with church attendance. A Christian to others is a morally good person who loves their neighbour as themselves. The answers you get to this question might often depend on the culture the respondent has grown up in. With these differing notions and cultural undertones about who a Christian is, one wonders if there is indeed an accurate definition for who a Christian really is. Fortunately, we are not left in a limbo to figure out who a Christian is. There is a place to turn to−the Bible. Christianity is a faith built on the Bible as the anchor of its knowledge. Christians of all centuries hold to the Bible as its fundamental document of faith. It is therefore essential we turn to the Bible to answer the question, ‘who is a Christian?’
The word Christian is derived from the word Christ. It was first used in Antioch, an ancient city in modern day Turkey, describe followers of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26). In the Bible, we are told of the origins of the world, human life and the entrance of sin. God created man in his image and gave him authority to rule over everything that he had made.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”(Genesis 1:26)

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16 & 17)

When God created Adam, He gave him a command to keep. However Adam and Eve chose to believe a lie about God’s intent for them. They doubted God’s word and chose the path of independence and autonomy from God. They disobeyed by eating from the tree God had forbidden them, because the devil promised them a lie of equality with God (Genesis 3:1-6). Ever since that first rebellion, all of us who have descended from Adam have inherited a sinful nature which seeks to rebel against a loving God. Theologians call it Original Sin.

Original sin is the doctrine which holds that human nature has been morally and ethically corrupted due to the disobedience of mankind’s first parents to the revealed will of God. In the Bible, the first human transgression of God’s command is described as the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden resulting in what theology calls the Fall of mankind. The doctrine of original sin holds that every person born into the world is tainted by the Fall such that all of humanity is ethically debilitated, and people are powerless to rehabilitate themselves, unless rescued by God³.

Sin and Repentance

Sin is in our DNA. Whether it is the crying baby who wants his way, or the toddler throwing tantrums or the teenager banging doors because they did not get their way or the proud self-centered adult, we all like Adam and Eve, have chosen the side of sin against God. We are separated from God by our sin (Rom 3:23). But God didn’t leave humankind to their fate, despite the rebellion. God stepped in. He issued a verdict and promised to send a deliverer who would deliver his people from bondage (Gen 3:15, Jer. 23:5). That promise was fulfilled in Jesus. He was the anointed one, of whom all the prophets had spoken about. For many Jews he did not foot the bill of the person they were looking forward to. They were awaiting a political figure who would redeem them from Roman domination. However, Jesus came primarily to reconcile humankind to God. His ministry, death and resurrection confirmed Him to be the Son of the living God prophesied about in the Old Testament. If Jesus indeed is the Christ−the anointed one and Messiah−then we must understand Christianity and a Christian in the context of what he did and taught. At the beginning of his earthly ministry, He laid out clearly the purpose of his coming as recorded in the book of Mark chapter 1:14 & 15

… Jesus came into Galilee … and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

There are three important points to note in this announcement: The first one is that Jesus came to usher in a kingdom. The other two deals with how to become part of this kingdom: to repent and believe the gospel. The question is what are we to repent from? Jesus’ message was and is that we repent and make a spiritual U-turn, to turn back to God. It is important to note that Jesus did not only call for repentance, but also to believe the gospel, because it is very easy to feel sorry without the resultant fruit. Repenting and believing the gospel means we take the side of God against our sin. In Genesis 2:17, God told man that the day he would eat from the tree he shall die. Death hangs over all of us, because like Adam and Eve we have all rebelled and disobeyed God. This death is not only a physical one, but also a spiritual one, a life lived in separation from God for all eternity. This is the state of all humanity, we are en route to hell and rightly deserving God’s wrath. Therefore our need is not a need from poverty or hunger. Our need is primarily spiritual, an abject need to be saved from the wrath of God. Though we have disobeyed and rebelled against God, in His grace and loving kindness, He made a way for us to be reconciled back to him at the cost of his own Son.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)

He who has been wronged paid the ultimate price by giving up his only Son that, whoever believes in him might not die, but be saved from the wrath that is to come. What an amazing love! Jesus came into the world and lived a perfect life, unlike us he never sinned but obeyed the Father perfectly. Although he was the only one who lived a perfect life, he was crucified on the cross. This is the mystery of salvation, that the sinless prefect Son of God should also be crucified. This is the gospel my friends! Jesus lived the perfect life we were supposed to live and couldn’t. He then was crucified for the punishment we justly deserve. This is the good news.

Believe the Gospel and Live

This is the gospel Jesus was calling his hearers to repent and believe. He said the time is fulfilled and the kingdom is at hand repent and believe the gospel. The question is, have you believed this gospel? It is possible to agree with all that I have said and still not believe. For many people this proposition makes sense, but in reality they have not believe it. Apostle Paul who himself repented and believed the gospel, tells us what it means to believe the gospel. He said in Romans 10:9-10

…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

You must first of all acknowledge that you have indeed rebelled against a holy God. The bible tells us that there is no one that does right, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. You don’t need anyone to convince you you are a sinner, just look back on your day and you will have enough evidence of how depraved⁴ you are, from our thoughts to our actions. Once we see our need, we must then come to the cross believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth that Jesus is the only solution to our sin problem and we will be saved. A Christian is someone who has repented of his/her sin and believed the good news of Christ, he or she from then becomes a part of God’s kingdom. You might have been born in a Christian home or attended church all your life or perhaps been doing a lot of good stuff. One thing is clear, none of these things have saving power. Salvation is found only in repenting and believing in Christ Jesus. There is a warning for not believing in Christ;

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (John 3:18)

There are two final questions which you have to answer; “Are you a Christian?” “What makes you think that you are?”

To be continued…

Notes

1:http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/2010phc/Census2010_Summary_report_of_final_results.pdf

2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_populations

3: http://www.theopedia.com/original-sin

4: http://www.theopedia.com/total-depravity

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