You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! (Romans 5:6-10)

Pride Is The Fuel Igniting The Spread Of This Rapidly Accelerating Apostasy

In The Falling Away Of The Evangelical Church I covered the subject of self-esteem in quite some depth. For those who may have seen that article it should now be much more evident to you why the wrong idea of mankind’s true condition before God is so eternally fatal. Years ago a grossly misguided “theology” was injected as a spiritual poison into the evangelical community through heretical teachers like the twin saints of sappy sentimentality, so-called “positive thinkers,” Norman Vincent Peale and his placid protégé Robert Schuller.

Men and women, here we find a rotten root concerning just how Satan was able to penetrate his current crop of puppet pulpiteers into the evangelical camp of our Lord’s Church in the first place. For the enemy of men’s souls himself has held such men as Peale and Schuller as his very syringes. Sadly, the evangelical community is now continuing to fill with sallow preachers of weak-kneed stature who are all too willing to defend the so-called honor and “dignity” of man in order to win favor with the world.

And whether they themselves realize this is absolutely irrelevant. The question those who would call themselves Christians must today begin asking themselves is: Why aren’t these so-called “ministers” of Jesus Christ as ready to defend God’s honor and to protect the glory that is due to Him and His Christ alone? Now we note that verse 10 of our text above from the Bible does say — For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!

In this verse of Holy Scripture, from the Apostle Paul’s letter originally written to the churches in Rome (there was not only one church there), we learn the incredible truth as to why there is a growing absence of the fear of our Lord-even in His Church. Unregenerate mankind in very basic sinful human nature believes the loving Creator God to be an enemy! Jonathan Edwards put it well while teaching why it is Men Naturally Are God’s Enemies:

1. THEIR enmity appears in their judgments, their natural relish, their wills, affections, and practice. They have a very mean esteem of God. Men are ready to entertain a good esteem of those with whom they are friends. They are apt to think highly of their qualities, to give them their due praises; and if there be defects, to cover them. But of those to whom they are enemies, they are disposed to have mean thoughts. They are apt to entertain a dishonorable opinion of them. They will be ready to look contemptibly upon anything that is praiseworthy in them.

So it is with natural men towards God. They entertain very low and contemptible thoughts of God. Whatever honor and respect they may pretend, and make a show of towards God, if their practice be examined, it will show, that they certainly look upon him as a Being that is but little to be regarded. (Online source)

As a matter of fact the verses prior to the one I quoted from our opening text couldn’t be any clearer as to why a proper view the fear of God, which is so glaringly missing in our evangelical and so-called postmodern churches, is proving to be such a tragic  misunderstanding is this gelatinous generation. I draw your attention again to verse 6 — You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. It readily becomes obvious to everyone with eyes to see that mankind didn’t do anything for this to happen.

And, if the truth be told, as His creatures i.e. mankind we actually did everything we could in our power to give our loving God every reason not to come in the Person of Christ to die for sinners. But you’ll also notice in the b part of verse 6 — [that] Christ died for the — what; “preservation of the dignity of mankind—who actually have many ‘redeeming’ qualities.” No! — Christ died for the ungodly. Truthfully, how could God the Holy Spirit possibly have made this point any more lucid?

The late Dr. Walter Wessel—who taught New Testament at Bethel Seminary—puts it very well when he says about this verse of Romans 5 — “God’s free grace…is not the result of any inherent worthiness found in [mankind]. In fact, it is lavished on us in spite of our undesirable character” (NIV Study Bible, 1985 ed., 1712). And do you know why it is that so many people just don’t like this type of teaching? I’m afraid I need but a single word to gives us our very telling answer: P-R-I-D-E!

Well, just listen to the father of pride—Satan himself. Did you know that he’s quoted in the Bible? He is; a few times. Now listen to his pride — “I will ascend…I will raise my throne…I will sit enthroned…I will make my-self like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). So perhaps now, the next time you hear the following from too many people professing to be Christians today, you’ll recognize where it is that this type of self-ishness actually originated: “I have my own free will, and therefore, I have the right to make my own decisions my–self.”

The delicious irony is; when I receive the emails telling me that I don’t know what I’m talking about, they’ll no doubt end with the obligatory—Soli Deo Gloria…