The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Unhappy In Heaven"
If God allowed one person to enter Heaven by the his own merits and works - which cannot happen - the person would immediately ask to leave. He would be offended by Heaven's complete devotion to the merits and works of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sole basis for which all saints of God "have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).
Sin runs deep in the hearts of all until we trust the Lord Jesus. It will eternally run deep in the hearts of those who never trust Him, so deep that the lost could never be content in Heaven. The emphasis there directs all glory and attention to the Lord of all. No one in Heaven will be infected by the "ye shall be as gods" deception embraced by Adam in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:5). "Thou art God alone" will rather echo through the eternal ages from the redeemed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Psalm 86:10). Those never redeemed by grace through faith would miserably chafe at the devoted focus on the glory of God. "And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day" (Isaiah 2:17).
This truth speaks to our sharing the Gospel in this day. Whatever the outward characteristics we see in unbelievers regarding attitude, word, and deed, their lostness stems from a heart that desires personal independence. The thought of Another governing their lives stands as a bridge too far to cross, despite the Gospel's plain declaration of freely given grace in the Lord Jesus. Deeply within, the lost know that the salvation provided as the freest gift ever given means that their independence and autonomy would dissolve in the moment of the new birth. The rich young ruler, whose life involved people following him as their sovereign, turned away from the Savior when He called him to "Follow Me" (Matthew 19:16-24). The ruler loved his delusion of personal authority too much to receive a free gift that would have ended life as he knew and loved it.
Every unbeliever is that ruler, as we were before we responded to the Holy Spirit's working to lead us to faith in the Lord Jesus. We therefore emphasize His person and work in our witness, knowing that such a message gets to the heart of the matter of salvation. The strident atheist thinks what he thinks because of the "ye shall be as gods" deception that governs his heart. The unbeliever who has been in church all his life and gives mental assent to the Gospel does not truly believe because of the same deception. Such ones would never be content in Heaven, where the anthem continually rings and sings, "There is one God… There is no other" (I Timothy 2:5; Daniel 3:29).
No one will enter Heaven by anything other than the person and work of the Lord Jesus. The redeemed rejoice forevermore in such grace. Tragically, the unredeemed could never join in this grace of the freest gift, received only by those who affirm in the words of the beloved hymn, "Nothing in my hands I bring, only to Thy cross I cling!"
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit."
(Titus 3:5)
Weekly Memory Verse
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit."
(Titus 3:5)
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