SECTION 1 - Our Only Hope

 
      GREGG had a best friend named Sam who lived just two houses up the road from his house. Now these two boys did all most everything together--they went to school together, they played ball together, they went fishing together, and they probably would have lived together if their parents would have allowed them that option. Now this episode began with the recent death of Sam's grandfather. Ever since the funeral, Gregg and Sam had spent a great deal of time together just talking, mostly about Sam's grandfather's dying--talking about things that most adults still struggle with: They were wondering about dying and what happens to us after that.

      After all of the talking that he and Sam had done, Gregg had come to the conclusion that he had many more questions and few real answers. So he thought that he would ask his own grandfather about dying--why, he was sure that he could talk to his grandfather about almost anything. Maybe his grandfather could help him understand; He might even have some of the answers that he and Sam had been searching for.

      Then one evening when he and his grandfather were just sitting around and talking, Gregg's questioning began something like this--"Grandpa, are you afraid of dying?" Well, his grandfather's first response was "You’re a little bit young to be worrying about things like that!" Gregg persisted with his question and asked his grandfather again, "Aren't you scared of dying?" His grandfather leaned back for a long moment, just thinking about this young man’s question--then he remembered that Sam's grandfather had died just a few weeks earlier. So after a long pause, which to Gregg seemed like an eternity, his grandfather began like this--"Gregg, the short answer to this difficult question is ‘no’, I am not afraid of dying. But now slow your mind down for just a second! I also think you should understand exactly why I have no fear of dying. Well, now--lets see--where to begin? When I was a young man--why, I could not have been much older than you are right now, my grandfather--who would have been your great-great-grandfather--taught me some very important principles that every one should understand about life. And I also believe you will enjoy hearing them too, because they came mostly in the form of questions.

      But now before we go on any further in our talk, it is important for you to understand some absolute facts concerning these difficult things we are about to consider.
      The first of these is the fact that God is an absolute reality. The God that we speak about here is in fact the God of creation.
      Second, that Jesus is factually the absolute One True Son of God.
      Third, we must understand that Heaven is absolutely real and that Hell is absolutely real: And that every person that has ever lived upon this planet earth will ultimately find their eternal residence in one of these two places.
      Then finally, the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments together, is the absolute true Word of God. Though many people throughout the ages have been fooled into denouncing these things concerning our creation, that deception does not alter at all the absolute truth of these facts.

      So now as we continue on, we see that the first principle deals with the very question you have asked: ‘What is our only comfort in life and in death?'
      The very first thing that Grandpa told me about this principle, was `That he was not his own.' Gregg, I think that this is what he was saying--that in life as well as in death, we belong, body and soul, to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ. And I want you to know that that bit of information is really comforting to me. He told me that Jesus had fully paid for all of our sins and mistakes with His precious blood. That by paying this debt for sin Jesus has also set us free from the cruelty of the devil.
      The important thing for us to understand here is how much Jesus really loves us. Jesus willingly gave up His own life for us all! Gregg, by willingly giving up His own life, Jesus has made a new and living way for all peoples to come to God. Remember well what Jesus has told us in the Scriptures--"I am the way, the truth, and the life."

      I know how difficult these things must seem to you right now. But Gregg, you need to know this absolute certainty: That Jesus watches over us in such a way that not a hair can fall from our heads without the will of our Father who is in Heaven. I would consider that as the ultimate in protection. We must also remember that our Father God loves all of us too. As a matter of fact, all things must work together for our salvation.

      Now here is the very reason why I have no fear of dying: It is because we belong, body and soul, to Him--Christ. And it is by His Holy Spirit that He assures each of us within our hearts of that promised eternal life with God. Then having that promise of eternal life secure in our hearts should being us to willing serve Him to the best of our ability. We should be ready every day to try to live our lives for Him and His glory.

      You must come to see that our dying is not the end for us, but the beginning of something new and wonderful. Gregg, I promise you this: That at the very moment that we die, our spirits will leave our bodies and go immediately into the presence of our Lord Jesus. I hope you remember reading what the Apostle Paul wrote about this--"We are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord." Then Paul wrote this as well, "I am hard pressed between the two; having a desire to depart and be with Christ, for it is very much better." Even the thief on the cross received this same promise from Jesus Himself. Do you remember what Jesus said? "Today you will be with Me in Paradise." Gregg, I hope you are beginning to catch a small glimpse of these wonderful promises that God has given us to look forward to.

      Then my grandfather asked me this question: `What must we know to live and die in this joy and comfort?'
      You see it is not just the dying that we need to be comforted in, we need to be comforted in this life as well! Grandpa told me that there were three very important things that we all must come to understand, which will surly help each of us to enter into this joy and comfort:
      First, how great our own sin and misery are;
      Second, how we are set free from all our sins and misery (judgment);
      Then third, how we are to thank God for such a deliverance.
      This is not talking about the physical misery that we might have from time to time: Like when you are sick, or you are hungry--you know what I mean. This misery spoken of here is talking about our miserable existence without God: Because without God, although we may not always understand it, we are spiritually miser-able. We are miserable down deep within our hearts--like, there is a part of us that is missing something.     Actually, the Word of God tells us all of these things--we find it all right here in the Bible.

      Grandpa, I don't know--these things seem almost impossible--they seem out of reach! Just take it slow Gregg. I promise you this--if you really try hard, you will get the special help that you need to understand.

      Now look at this next question: `What does God's law want from us anyway?
      Well first, Christ teaches each of us to `Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength. He teaches us that this is the first and the greatest commandment.
      Gregg, I want you to remember that the things that Jesus is asking for here, are much easier said than done. We must also fully understand how extremely important this first command is for our own Christian life and walk. So now with this fact in view, we must always keep this very important command constantly before our minds eye--using it to gage our own daily walk with God.

      The day will come Gregg, when you will come to fully understand this need: That day when you come to understand that your own nature, which is your very own flesh, ultimately stands between you and God. Remember well what the Apostle Paul wrote in the book of Galatians: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these two are opposite the one to the other; that you may not do the things that you are naturally proned to do." Can you see the ongoing battle? The apostle Paul is showing us the battle forces that are present within each and every individual person: These forces, which are the flesh and the spirit, are age-old enemies indeed.
      Paul also wrote this in the book of Romans: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: and they that are in the flesh can never please God."
      We can certainly see by these passages, that there is an ongoing battle within all of us that must be fought with every fiber of our being. The apostle Paul has also given us another important insight here--which is the location of this battle. Gregg, this battlefield is actually located inside of our heads--where the mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit are in a constant struggle. You must come to understand that this is a battle of thoughts. A literal battle for the control of our very lives.

      Now this important command that we have placed here before us, is to love our Father God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But the obvious problem that we see here, is that the character of our nature; that is, our very own flesh is the exact opposite. Gregg, you must understand and believe every detail concerning these things. That what your own nature will always want, is to love only itself with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
      To examine our own spiritual health, we must measure ourselves often by this first command. Ask this simple question--do I love God more than I love myself? Honestly now, are we concerned with the things that pertain to ourselves, or are we concerned with the things that pertain to God? Do we really give our best effort to God?

      Jesus then goes on to say that the second commandment is just as important as the first one: That we are to love our neighbors just as much as we love our-selves.
      What our Lord is teaching us here, is that for our own assured perseverance, all of the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in God's eyes when we keep these two commandments.

      You might ask, is there any chance that `we will ever be able to live up to God's law perfectly?' And the answer to this question is, no way--not in a million years!
      Gregg, somehow you must come to understand this truth concerning our natural and our spiritual selves. We all must contend with the part of us that we live and move in. Which is that part that we call our natural body. You can know this absolute certainty—that our nature has a natural tendency that it reserves within each of us, that refuses to love God and refuses to love our neighbors as well. This is much more than a bit troubling. To think, that there is actually a part within each and every one of us that wants to alienate us from God. That is exactly the way it is Gregg. There is a part within each and every person that, if given the opportunity, will absolutely refuse to serve God. I know that there must be a simpler way to describe this situation. It is as if there are two real forces or entities present within each of us. That is, the physical Gregg and the spiritual Gregg coexist together in one body. Being ex-act opposites, these two forces, or entities, are in a constant struggle for the control of you.
      Here are some examples that will help us to recognize this problem: This obvious contradiction that exists within all of us. It is that part of us that refuses to go to Church on the Lord's day. That exact same part that refuses to take the time to read His Holy Word. You can also recognize it as that same part of us that does not always tell the truth. Gregg, when it comes to God, that rebellious part that lives within each and every one of us, will always try to run the other way--away from God. It is that same corrupt part within all of us that wants only to satisfy its own needs and desires.
      We must identify it as that part within us that pulls us toward the destructive excesses of life. Those dangerous excesses that so many of us are proned to do: The drugs, the alcohol, the tobacco, the promiscuity, to name just a few of those physical activities that are literally killing many of us. If we are ever to have a healthy Christian walk, we must see this natural part that lives within all of us for what it really is. It is only that selfish corrupt part of us that is always looking out just for itself.
Understand this as well Gregg: that this corrupt nature that we are discussing here, actually works off from our own needs and desires--whether they are real or imagined. And by this deception, I kid you not, we are all without exception being constantly manipulated in one way or another. The sad part here, is the fact that we don’t even know when it is happening.

      Grandpa, `Did God actually create people so wicked and so corrupt as this?'

      Not really. God created people good and in His very own image. That is, be-cause God Himself is Righteous and Holy, He also created them in true righteousness and holiness. That they might truly come to know their Creator God, love Him with all their heart, and live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and His glory.

      We ask, `Then where does our corrupt human nature come from?' Some would say that it primarily comes from the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise. They would say that this fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners--corrupt from our conception on. But Romans 8:20 also tells us something more about God’s design: “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected the same in hope.” These qualities of our natural character--like pride or vanity, which may be properly identified as a part of our basic human tendencies, are really necessary characteristics in our physical make-up and a part of our original design. Because we discover that these designed physical characteristics contribute greatly to our own individual motivational skills. Can you imagine going through life without a proper measure of pride? Without our self-pride, there could be no individual success at all. (Control: There is an additional factor to be examined when we considered our own pride or vanity. As Christians, we are supposed to maintain control over all of our faculties. Which would surely include our pride or vanity. We might look at our pride or vanity as absolutely necessary in our individual life experience, but also requiring extensive individual oversight on the part of all of us.)

****Q.8

      The main question to be examined is, `Are we really so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good: And that everything that our nature desires is completely opposed to God?' Sadly, the answer to this last question is also yes. But this is not necessarily the last word to be said here. We are under the dominion of our corrupt nature only until we are born again, born from above by the Spirit of God. Gregg, I know that you remember the story about Nicodemus from John chapter three: The religious leader of the Jews, who, in the middle of the night, went to visit with Jesus. Remember how Nicodemus asked Jesus about being born again. He asked, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" Then do you remember what Jesus told him? "Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." Gregg, we are born again when God's Spirit enters into us and gives us a new heart and a new mind. Jesus went on to say, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Marvelously, even here in this passage, we can see Jesus Himself making reference to these same two opposing forces (the flesh and the spirit) that we talked about earlier.

      Grandpa, it seems like God is being just a little unfair. He wants us to keep His law, and I'm not sure that I can! Gregg, I want you to know that God created people with the ability to keep the law--matter of fact, God Himself puts that ability inside all of us. And I know that God, through His Spirit, will also give you this same ability to keep His law and to walk in His ways. It is just like the Scriptures tell us: "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do, for His good pleasure." Phil.2:13
      Adam and Eve, however, because they were tempted by the devil, in reckless disobedience robbed themselves and all their descendants of these gifts. Gregg, this is the precise evidence of our need to be born again: Because both you and I are direct descendants of Adam and Eve. If we are not born again; if we are not born of the Spirit, than there is absolutely no way that we can ever really come into God’s inner circle: Into God’s invisible priestly line: Into God’s Kingdom.

      Gregg, I also want you to clearly see and under-stand this very important point. If we know in our hearts that God is real, or that we even so much as think that God is real, then we must also know that God’s Holy Spirit is actively working within us right now--actively calling us to Himself. Gregg, do you think that God is real? Gregg, do you know that God is real?

      We must now ask, `Will God allow all this disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished?' Certainly not!
      You must know that God is terribly angry about the sin we are born with as well as the sins we person-ally commit every day. And as a just Judge, He punishes them now and in eternity. For God has declared this: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do every-thing written down in the Book of the Law."
      `But Grandpa, I thought you said that God was also merciful?' Your right, God is certainly merciful. If He were not merciful, we would all be lost forever. But remember He is a just God too. God's justice demands that sin, committed against His Supreme Majesty, be punished with the supreme penalty--eternal punishment of body and soul.

      You know something else Gregg? That mercy and justice seem to go hand in hand with God. We cannot completely understand God's mercy without also under-standing God's justice. According to God's righteous judgment, we all deserve punishment both in this world and forever after.
      So with this severe judgment in mind, we now ask this question: How then can we escape this punishment and return to God's favor?
Grandpa, you’re not asking me this question--are you? No, not really. But I want you to know that `God requires that His justice be fully satisfied.     Therefore the claims of His justice must be paid in full, either by each of us or by another.'
      Grandpa, `can we pay this debt for ourselves?' `Certainly not!’ `Actually, our contribution only in-creases our guilt more and more every day.'
      But there are some that would ask, `Can another creature--any at all--pay this debt for us?' The answer to that question would be absolutely no! To begin with, God will no longer punish another creature for what we are guilty of. Besides, no mere creature can bear the weight of God's eternal anger against sin and release others from it.'
      Gregg, it is because of our sin that we all find ourselves in this hopeless place. For if we were to look within ourselves, we will plainly see that there is no real hope at all to be found.
      To find a real answer here, we must now ask an-other very difficult question: Since it is impossible for us to pay our own debit for sin, `what kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for?'
Gregg, the answer to this question is difficult and complex: `One who is truly human and truly righteous, yet more powerful than all creatures: That is, one who is also truly Divine.
      Grandpa, what are you saying?
      I said, that the kind of mediator (or go-between) and deliverer (or liberator) that we should look for is--`One who is truly human and truly righteous, yet more powerful than all creatures. That is, the one Mediator and Deliverer that we are to look for must also be truly Divine.
Now we should try to answer this part first: `why must He be truly human and truly righteous?'
      Gregg, `God's justice demands that our human nature, which has sinned, must pay for its sin; but that a sinner could never pay for others.'
We must then ask, `Why must He also be truly Divine.
      This is a very difficult part. `So that, by the power of His divinity He might bear the weight of God's anger in His humanity and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life.' That is, though He had a completely human existence here on earth, yet at the same time He was always completely Divine.
      Now just a second Gregg. Then my grandfather said this to me: `And who is this mediator--truly Divine and at the same time truly human and truly righteous?'
      Grandpa's answer was this; it was `Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was given us to set us completely free and to make us right with God.' Wow! I still get goose bumps every time this awesome truth rubs up against me.

      Grandpa, `How do you come to know all this stuff?' Gregg, it is by the Holy Spirit's power that `the Holy Bible tells me all of this stuff:
      First, God Himself began to reveal the gospel al-ready in Paradise.
      Second, He proclaimed it by the holy patriarchs and prophets of old.
      Third, He portrayed it by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law.
      Finally, He fulfilled it through His own dear Son'--our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus, through His eternal sacrifice, truly validated all of those things that preceded Him.

      My grandfather then asked me this, `Are all saved through Christ just as all were lost through Adam?'
      Gregg, his answer to this question was surprisingly `No'. He said that `only those are saved who, by true faith, are grafted into Christ and accept all His blessings. But my Granddad was unwittingly referring to just God’s royal priestly line that secretly abides amongst God’s corporate peoples. Then additionally, we can-not ever forget the complete propitiatory work of Jesus on the cross. This same propitiation that allows God’s grace to flow throughout creation wherever God wills.
****Q.21
      True faith! Grandpa, `what is this--true faith?'
      First, `true faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in His Word is true, it is also that deep-rooted assurance, created in both you and in me by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.
      Secondly, it was out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, that not only others, but we too--
      1) Have had our sins forgiven by God.
      2) Have been made forever right with God.
      3) Have been granted eternal salvation from God.'
      Whenever we begin to see and believe these truths for ourselves, we then begin to understand that we have become Christians and that we now belong to Christ.

      We must now answer this next question, `what then must a Christian believe?' And the answer is this--they must believe `everything that God has promised to us in the Gospel.