Saved by Chad Hudson
The Power of the Gospel
Many times, if not most times, the sin we commit is a punishment for sin. When we sin, we are actually working out God’s punishment for our sin. God gives us over to our sinful impulses. We become slaves to the things that we want to do.
R.C. Sproul • The Power of the Gospel
This is a different perspective I haven’t considered previously. When we sin, yes we sin against God, but against nature also. Sinning is also the punishment of sin. When we sin or act outside of the will of God, there are always consequences and they are never good. Think, for example, of going out partying. It is such a good time in the moment, but over indulgence leads to a following tough day, if not more severe immediate outcomes like results of drunk driving. This is one of many possible examples. We live in a broken world as a result of the original sin, the result is sinning which is a punishment from the original sin because of existing in the broken reality. I hadn’t considered sin as the punishment for sin before, but it makes so much sense. We cannot live perfect, sin-free lives which is why we need Jesus - the reversal and redemption of sin.
Obviously, Freud was not on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves (see Mark 4:35–41). Instead of experiencing the same calm that overcame the sea, the disciples experienced an escalation of fear because the holiness of Christ was made manifest. But it’s precisely the holiness of Christ that we need to stand before a holy God
... See moreR.C. Sproul • The Power of the Gospel
Sigmund Freud asked why it is that people are so incurably religious. He claimed that we have invented God to deal with things in nature that we find frightening. This is where Freud missed the point. If people are going to invent religion to protect them from the fear of nature, why would they invent a god who is more terrifying than nature itself
... See moreR.C. Sproul • The Power of the Gospel
They call it science when actually it is foolishness—foolishness that betrays a heart of darkness. They do not become atheists, generally. They become idolaters. They become religious.
R.C. Sproul • The Power of the Gospel
What truth is being suppressed? Paul tells us: because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them (v. 19). The truth that every human being suppresses is the truth of God, what God reveals of Himself in nature to the whole human race.
R.C. Sproul • The Power of the Gospel
Before Paul develops the theme of the gospel, he says that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (v. 18a). It is perfectly appropriate for a holy and righteous God to be moved to anger against evil. A judge with no distaste for evil would not be a good judge. God is angry with two distinct thing
... See moreR.C. Sproul • The Power of the Gospel
This is a helpful quote for my Psalms 79 and 109 teaching for the imprecatory Psalms.
As you pray today, praise God for His holy and righteous wrath against evil and for His goodness in delivering you from His wrath. Believing on Christ, you can know that He died on the cross as an acceptable sacrifice for your sins. In our justification, He has given us His righteousness—even we who once suppressed the truth in unrighteousness. Let
... See moreR.C. Sproul • The Power of the Gospel
Salvation is by faith alone. But even our faith isn’t ground for boasting. Our faith is in someone else’s righteousness: Christ’s righteousness. His righteousness is given to us as a gift, and our entire salvation rests on it from first to last. If you are trusting in Christ and in Christ alone, you stand, right now and forever, justified before Go
... See moreR.C. Sproul • The Power of the Gospel
Luther was an expert in the law of God, and every day he was in terror as he looked in the mirror of the law and examined his life against God’s righteousness. We are not in terror, because we have blocked out the view of God’s righteousness. We judge ourselves on a curve, measuring ourselves against others. We never judge ourselves according to th
... See more