CHAPTER 1: Evil All the Time (Genesis 6:5)
CHAPTER 2: Desperately Wicked (Jeremiah 17:9)
CHAPTER 3: No One Is Righteous (Romans 3:10)
CHAPTER 4: No One Understands Nor Seeks God (Romans 3:11)
CHAPTER 5: All Have Turned Aside (Romans 3:12)
CHAPTER 6: They Have Become Worthless (Romans 3:12)
CHAPTER 7: No One Is Good Not Even One (Romans 3:12)
CHAPTER 8: Open Graves
(Romans 3:13)
CHAPTER 9: Tongues Which Practice Deceit (Romans 3:13)
CHAPTER 10: The Poison of Asps Is Under Their Lips
(Romans 3:13)
CHAPTER 11: Full of Cursing and Bitterness (Romans 3:13)
CHAPTER 12: Swift To Shed Blood (Romans 3:15)
CHAPTER 13: Ruin and Misery Mark Their Ways (Romans 3:16)
CHAPTER 14: They Do Not Know the Way of Peace (Romans 3:17)
CHAPTER 15: No Fear of God Before Their Eyes (Romans 3:18)
CHAPTER 16: Nothing Good Dwells in my Flesh (Romans 7:18)
CHAPTER 17: The Flesh Cannot Please God (Romans 8:8)
CHAPTER 18: The Ten Commandments: God Showing Us Our Sin
(Exodus 20:1-17)
CHAPTER 19: Apart From Christ You Have No Covering
(Philippians 3:9)
CHAPTER 20: The Christ-Call of Christ-Appointed
Repentance (Mark 1:15)
CHAPTER 1: Evil All the Time (Genesis 6:5)
The state of an unregenerate person
is a state of the abiding of spiritual evil.
Most people do not view themselves as evil, but if we approach God’s
throne in light of His immaculate goodness we will tremble at the thought of
our “sin-tainted” righteousness. It
fails to meet the standard of ultimate perfection.
We are evilly corrupt, because we have Adam’s
nature. It is true that all men are not
as even as they could be, but the bare assertion of our nature understands our
radical corruption. Spiritual corruption affects all of life, and every
dimension of our being is tainted with sin.
Most people have a cavalier understanding of what sin is, and how God
views it. Let us behold the least of
sins: what do you suppose God’s reaction
is? It is a reaction of judgment
against sin, because we are evil all the time: even our best works have the
tainting of evil, and so it is insufficient for us to merit heaven. In the days of Noah, people engaged in the
corruptions of unrighteousness, and such are the days we live in.
The evil of man will end in eternal hell. There is a price to pray for evil, and we
must understand that evil came from the fall of Adam.
Are your thoughts tainted with sin? Do you regard the least of sin as having the
greatest judgment of God? Do you
understand that sin is an eternal offense against the only true eternal
God?
If you have an improper view of the gravity of
sin, you will have an improper view of what it takes to save you. If man is evil all the time, he is need of a
righteousness that comes from outside of him as extra nos.
I suppose this final question: What do
you do with the evil in your heart, and how will you obtain the divine
righteousness of Christ to cloth yourself?
CHAPTER 2: Desperately Wicked (Jeremiah 17:9)
Do you regard yourself as
desperately wicked in light of God’s perfect standard that is Himself? How do you view the smallest sin in your
life? Do you understand it as “It is not
that bad?” Do you make excuses fro
yourself in the least of sins?
It is true that all sin is sin, but
it is also true that there are different degrees of sin. Some are great, and others are small. In the world, there are great sinners and
small sinners. The Lord is Lord of both believing sinners.
As we grant the great sinners and
small sinners as different degrees, we recognize the profound truth of God as
immaculately and superlatively holy.
The thought of adultery is sin, but
the action of adultery is a greater sin.
However, all is sin nonetheless, but do you say that the thought of
adultery is not profoundly heinous in God’s sight? Do you find yourself arguing for it?
What if God understands your
smallest sin as a cosmic transgression?
What if He comprehends it in light of an ever-perfect standard as
sinlessly holy? Would you argue against
God if He said “Your smallest sins are an infinite offense?” If God does not permit Himself to engage in
those “smallest sins,” why would He approve of your commission or omission of
sin?
CHAPTER 3: No One Is Righteous (Romans 3:10)
Do you argue that good works of helping the
poor and oppressed is enough to gain God’s cosmic approval? Do you see it as a way of righteousness
before God?
Can the unrighteous have spiritual
righteousness as an enemy of God? Can
the unrighteous from within themselves gain righteousness?
The unrighteous man breaks the Law
of God. He commits sin by commission and
omission, and what is his eternal solution?
Can I gain eternal life by a bare obedience to a display of “outward
goodness” or an infusion of “excess” merit?
Does it matter if God approves or disapproves of how I view eternal
life? Does it matter that I disobey a
law here and there?
If we look at Jesus’ heart, do you
see a “venial” sin as you would argue it?
You do not see a “venial” sin, but yet you argue for dedication to
Christ’s heart. If you would argue
against a venial-sinning Christ, why do you argue for yourself? Would you worship a Christ of “venial”
sin? If not, we can take Christ’s
example to live in light of ultimate perfection, because the Bible says no one
is righteous. In light of this, you
realize you fall short, and miss the mark of eternal perfection.
How will you make it? Is your righteousness equal with the divine
merit of the Son? By no means! You are one who
is included in “no one is righteous” but we know God is, but do you suppose
your scheme will avail at the Final Judgment?
Will the unrighteous inherit God’s kingdom? By all
means you know!
CHAPTER 4: No One Understands Nor Seeks God (Romans 3:11)
Do you by nature understand the
spiritual matters of Christ? Do you by
nature seek after God? The Bible says we
cannot understand and that we do not seek after Him. Can you contemplate the super-abundant mercy
of God? Can you understand the awesome
mercy of Christ?
The natural man does not understand
the things of God. Yes, it is true that
the unconverted can be religiously oriented.
The natural man does not seek God.
Yes, it is true that people investigate religions, and make their fallible choice.
The natural man is without spiritual
understanding: he has not been awakened
to his spiritual problem of cosmic sin before God. By nature, no man can have authentic understanding that leads to true repentance. However, it is possible to speak accurate
words of theology and not have a heart of life.
No one seeks after God: he cannot believe in and of himself because
he does not have the spiritual initiative to apprehend God by faith. No unregenerate man can seek God because
we lack the moral capacity by nature.
Today many like to put emphasis on
people seeking God as an enemy of God, but I would simply say: maybe it’s not you seeking God but God
seeking you. If you flee to the
divine Christ, you have been found by God!
Why do you lack the knowledge of the
teaching of God the Father? Why do you
not flee to Christ as your divine Savior?
Do you reply “because I have not been found by Christ?” Surely you know: He has given all a command to repent: the responsibility to believe is now, but
has the Almighty Christ found you? O
that corrupt nature!
CHAPTER 5: All Have Turned Aside (Romans 3:12)
All have gone their own way: they have followed the ways of a depraved
heart; a sinful heart; a heart of wickedness. No one was born a Christian, and because
of original sin we are fallen creatures in Adam. Turning
aside is not walking in line with God and His gospel, but a walk that is
contrary to His ultimate perfection.
Let us not walk to the right or the
left, but in God’s straight way. Because
by nature we turn aside, we have offended God.
We have caused sin as a serious offense against God.
Do you say that you were born a
Christian? Do you suppose having turned aside is meant for
others? When we sin we turn to sin as
our highest obedience to Satan in rebellion against God. If you
want to turn, turn to God not sin this day!
CHAPTER 6: They Have Become Worthless (Romans 3:12)
We have become worthless because we
have sinned. It does not mean we disregard
our dignity as created in God’s image.
It means we have a moral incapacity to be spiritually acceptable before God.
Something that is worthless is
devoid of acceptability. It is devoid of
spiritual value in terms of saving ourselves in anyway. Do you
understand that you are worthless in this sense?
God is the all-source of
all-righteousness, and spiritual acceptability.
When we understand worthlessness we comprehend our complete lack of
saving ourselves or being a co-savior with Christ, because He alone is our true
Savior and Lord who alone is the source of all meritorious benefits. Christ
is filled with spiritual worth, and from Him comes a worth that is the
foundation of all acceptability. It
was the One who has the all-meritorious value in Himself, and not those who are
worthless.
CHAPTER 7: No One Is Good Not Even One (Romans 3:12)
No one is spiritually good before
God. No one. That is, by nature we have a complete lack of
goodness before God. We are unable to be
good in light of His divine perfection.
We do not truly do good deeds
in light of His ever-immaculateness. That
is, by nature we have completely failed.
The grace of goodness is through the
Lord Jesus Christ in His imputed righteousness by faith alone. The grace of His good righteousness is alien
or foreign to us, but by the favor of Him we believe by faith alone.
We do not have actual goodness to enter the pearly gates. We have the appearance of goodness, but it is
tainted with stinky sin. Unregenerate
men can perform “good” acts, and still be outside of Christ. But in the truest sense, those “good” acts do
not constitute true goodness because
we have sinned.
However, this does not mean we should not be
thankful for civil righteousness. That is, “good” acts by mere sinners, but
there is an ultimate basis, and it is only Christ’s reckoned righteousness by
the grace of faith alone.
CHAPTER 8: Open Graves
(Romans 3:13)
The heart speaks by the mouth: the heart of man by nature is not right
before God, and without God no one can control man’s mouth.
What comes from an open grave? Deadness does not provide a way of life, but
has gloom, and doom; and the indication of sin.
There is death of people in the world because of sin. Where there is death there is no life.
We are open graves before God. That is, we are spiritually dead, and we
could suffer eternal death as the second death if He does not intervene. The graves are known to God and are manifest
to Him.
We do not have the ability to rise
ourselves to spiritual life. We are dead
in sin and iniquity, because we have sinned.
The spiritual grave is the unregenerate being of man. We would sink lower than the grave if He did
not lend His redemptive hand and save
us!
We desperately need the work of the
Spirit of God and His Word. We do not
make the Word come alive by our programs, because the Word is power, and is
already alive, active and sharper than any two-edged sword.
Is your heart an open grave where
there is nothing but spiritual death? Do
you sense that you are dead in sins and cannot save yourself?
God accepts those who come by the
empty hands of faith, because in it is the meaning of God’s sheer grace.
CHAPTER 9: Tongues Which Practice Deceit (Romans 3:13)
The tongue is a weapon, and by
nature the sons of men do not know how to control their tongues. If the tongue is about deceit, it is from a
heart of deceit. The Bible says all men
are liars, because God is holy, righteous and good. Fallen humanity is not acceptable before God
in His holy terms.
Jesus never practiced deceit,
because His will was unchangeably fixed to sinlessness, immaculateness and
perfection in all ways. We can trust
Jesus’ words but we cannot trust man’s words with the same level of divine
acceptability. God’s Word was inspired
by God the Spirit, but man’s hearts are inspired by sin.
CHAPTER 10: The Poison of Asps Is Under Their Lips
(Romans 3:13)
The mouth of man is poison, because man is
sinful. Sin not only affects our mouths
but every facet of our being. Sometimes
the mouth of man is all about the poisoning of God’s truth by the obedience to
sinfulness in however it is manifested.
Jesus never spoke words of poison
because He was truly the standard of goodness.
The lips of men are like a cobra, because he not only speaks like a
devil but he is one who comes with poison.
Therefore, the slightest sinful foolishness (apart from silliness) is
under the judgment of God: the washing of the mouth can only be done by the
spiritual cleansing power of Christ alone.
CHAPTER 11: Full of Cursing and Bitterness (Romans 3:14)
The mouth is a lethal instrument of
the natural man. The Bible says the
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
We ought not to bless man and curse man.
We ought to use our mouths for the aim of God’s glory alone, and the
pursuit of all manner of righteousness.
We have no reason to curse God or
man, and anger should be quenched by the understanding of God having His way in
this world. Only him, who curses, is he
who is born in the captivity of sin, and we surely hate God by nature (though
we would not like to imagine it), because He is opposite us: He is holy and we
are unholy; He is righteous and we are unrighteous; He is pure and we are
impure.
There is real angry against God by
nature. We get frustrated with His ways
because His ways are not our ways, and our ways are not His ways.
CHAPTER 12: Swift To Shed Blood (Romans 3:15)
Every murderer first hated him whom
shed his blood. Hatred of a brother is
understood by Christ and His apostles as murder. Those who preach a false gospel engage in
spiritual murder, because that which does not save condemns.
The spiritual state of man before
rebirth is spiritual deadness. In a
sense, Satan through His temptation murdered us through the transgression of
sin. Those who imitate Satan have a
great condemnation.
All murder is unacceptable and we must not be
instruments of death. Are you someone
who hates his brother? Have you taken
life, even abortion?
Do not follow the example of Satan, but the
example of Christ. Satan is about all
kinds of murder, but Christ is all about all kinds of righteousness and life.
CHAPTER 13: Ruin and Misery Mark Their Ways (Romans 3:16)
The identification of the fallen in
Adam is ruin and misery. As sinners all
of us are ruined and miserable. It is
what consumes their ways. It is about
the consequences of sin.
The righteous have their ways marked
by goodness, but the wicked live in ruin and misery. Does it mean we ought to think we are not
ruined and miserable? All sinners are
ruined by the holiness of Almighty God, and are wretchedly miserable. The happiness of the unconverted is devoid of
the true happiness of God, because no Christian can be fundamentally unhappy
(unless a mental illness).
We suffer disintegration before a
holy God. This happened before Isaiah
the prophet in the Old Testament. When
we view our sinfulness in light of God’s pervasive immaculateness we fail at
every level.
CHAPTER 14: They Do Not Know the Way of Peace (Romans 3:17)
The essence of the unconverted man
is a way of war with God. They simply
do not understand peace, because by nature we are at enmity to God.
The way of spiritual peace is
through the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone
provides peace beyond understanding through Himself alone.
CHAPTER 15: No Fear of God Before Their Eyes (Romans 3:18)
The unregenerate do not have
reverential respect before God. All sinners have a kind of dread for the
immediate presence of the Almighty. The
unbelieving do not regard God as One to fear by respect, because their hearts
are contrary to Him. What does the fear
of God look like? It looks like this: it
is all about daily repentance; it is all about repenting by yielding to the
Holy Christ. It is all about obeying His
commands, because by this we show we love Him.
It is all about living rightly before
God in Christ in all holy obedience and faithfulness to His awesome name.
CHAPTER 16: Nothing Good Dwells in my Flesh (Romans 7:18)
If nothing good dwells in my flesh,
why do you say “I cooperated with God to believe?” If nothing good dwells in my flesh, why do
you say “I am good?” If nothing good dwells
in my flesh, why do you say “I rely on the excess merit of sinners?” If nothing good dwells in my flesh, why do
you say “I prefer the free will of man over the freedom of God?” If nothing good dwells in my flesh, why do
you say “Obedience to the law will save me?”
If nothing good wells in my flesh, why do you say “Obedience to the sacraments
will save me?”
This verse teaches us that no one
can cooperate with God in believing.
This verse teaches that no one is good.
This verse teaches that no excess merit of saints will ever avail before
God. This verse teaches that God’s free
will begins where free will ends. This
verse teaches that no one can acceptably obey
God’s law except first by God’s intervention in making an elect sinner born
from above! This verse teaches that the
sacraments cannot save because the instruments of men are devoid of heavenly
goodness.
To whom do we go for actual
goodness? Who has this treasure of
goodness in Himself? Who is full of the
all-merit of God that we need so terribly?
CHAPTER 17: The Flesh Cannot Please God (Romans 8:8)
If the flesh is not good, it cannot
please God. If the flesh cannot please
God, it cannot avail to divine righteousness, goodness and purity by itself, or
with the help of other devices of men.
Who has the divine righteousness in
Himself? Whose righteousness alone is pleasing
to God? How do we know what is pleasing
to Him but by His Word (Philippians 3:9)?
How can we stand in what is not pleasing to
God? That is, anything but His divine
Son. He alone is your raft.
You, my friend, are like a totally disabled
child who cannot run to Christ. Is
Christ a Savior that does not think of
your condition? No, the Christ of
the Scripture is the Sinner-Seeker of His fallen ones, because Christ runs to
you, my beloved.
If you cannot please God, and you become aware
of it, believe in the light of His righteousness by belief alone, and live a
life in the Spirit. Only then will God
be pleased with His work in you.
If we cannot please God, do you
suppose we can add to His all-completed work?
Surely the Only Begotten One is
the Only Acceptable One.
CHAPTER 18: The Ten Commandments: God Showing Us Our Sin
(Exodus 20:1-17)
Have you read the Ten Commandments
recently? Have you studied the
Westminster Larger Catechism on what is forbidden according to the Law of God?
The Law of God shows us the Law of
Sin, because by the righteousness of the Law we can understand our depths of
depravity. God uses the Law to show us
our sin, because He is righteous. We
cannot obey the Law of God perfectly, because when it says “Thou shalt not
commit adultery” it refers to the thought as well as the action. The whole concept of the Law of God is
essential for obedience. We can come to
obedience by the Spirit’s work in us by applying the grace to our hearts.
If you really understand the law you
will really understand your nature. If
you doubt that you are a sinner, the honest reading of the Law teaches us an
in-depth presentation of sensible righteousness. In-depth studies or meditations of the Law of
God by the Spirit are what are needed in the process of holiness.
I want to say something out of place
here. I realize that there are people
who deny they are sinners. Bare with me
a word: my friend, Satan has dealt with
you in super-cruelty because you are under his will. Those who deny sinfulness of themselves
are a great casualty of Satan. There is
not a greater cruelty on earth. However,
you can rebel against Satan by recognition of your nature under the
God-approved way of remission of sin by His Spirit in rebellious repentance.
The in-depth truth of the Ten
Commandments about what is forbidden is an in-depth look into the soul. Have
you rebelliously obeyed His commands because of the deep love you have of the
Lord Jesus Christ?
CHAPTER 19: Apart From Christ You Have No Robes
(Philippians 3:9)
Have you seen your sin? Have you seen your spiritual nakedness? Without Christ or apart from Christ you can
do nothing of spiritual righteousness, because in Him is the true treasure of matchless holy
goodness: a full treasury of light-bearing immaculateness.
You need His unified
righteousness. These will fit you well
as the ultimate spiritual robes of the Lord Righteous. You cannot make it in the spiritual robes of
man’s religion, because it is devoid of the Spirit of the apostle Peter.
Have
you looked at your spiritual cloths? Why
are you wearing filthy rages?
CHAPTER 20: The Christ-Call of Christ-Appointed
Repentance (Mark 1:15)
The Bible calls us to
repentance. Have you been convicted of
sin here and there but afterwards it leads to no daily conviction? The daily
conviction I speak of is centered on the in-depth view of the Ten
Commandments.
You have infinitely offended God,
because sin is an eternal offence against Him.
That does not mean you should beat yourself or embrace suicide, but it
means you must submit to His command of redemptive
love for His people.
Every time you repent, Christ
wins. Every time you repent, Satan
loses. Do you wish to know smash Satan
by holy ways? Repentance is the way you
should go, because God is pleased with the obedience of that command.
Learn from these men: Esau tried to repent after selling birthright
or soul but God denied him repentance because it was not of God. Judas threw back the money he gained from
betraying Christ, but his repentance was not of Christ.
Do
not be discouraged by these men, but I provide them so you may fear and tremble
before God. He is only One who can really forgive you.
Do you have sincerity devoid of
malice? Do you have a hatred for doing
good that good may come? Do you want to
please God by second-by-second ort minute-by-minute repentance and commitment
to Christian honesty in His presence? Do
you repent in the understanding of knowing your sin offends God? Do you repent over bad, sinful feelings? Measure you’re standing by this: if you stood
before Christ or if someone saw your thought-life in your mind, how would you
look? Take steps to amend your life in
light of the Divine Word apart from unnecessary extremes.
Peace
be with you as you devote yourself to His matchless Word in all blamelessness
by His power and avoidance of yielding to Satan. Amen.
