“And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” Genesis 4:6-7
Cain’s problem with God was that he wanted to be accepted as he was, by making an offering that was his own pride and joy. And when God respected not, and accepted not his offering, he was wroth and took his anger out on Abel, whom God had accepted.
“Accept me as I am”, has always been the sinner’s demand. This is the pride and rebellion of sin’s passion. It is the power of sin’s refusal to submit to God. It is Satan’s defiance of God’s authority, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” John 8:44.
Many will accept the invite to be a soul winner’s convert, if the terms of the agreement are that the sinner can be accepted as he is, with his preferred way of life being made a non-issue. He will accept positions of service in the church, providing they are an outlet for him to do that which makes him feel good about himself as he is. It is a sinner’s delight to be honored as a saint, promised heaven, all the while being overlooked as he does as he pleases.
Many church members who no longer endure sound doctrine and have tired of the self denial involved to live according to God’s commandments, are drawn to these neutral zones, where, due to their knowledge and experience, they can step into the top ranks of the church’s positions, while suffering no disqualification for their compromised way of living. So it becomes a trade off: “Give me a church that accepts me as I am, and makes me feel good about myself, and I will support that church.” Plus, other church members whose lives have run afoul with God’s will and way in those churches that reprove the transgression of God’s laws as being sin, can pick up and run to these neutral zones, to find a warm reception in religious asylum.
So the move is on, the momentum strong, and the response is positive to the religious organizations that have revolutionized their religious positions to afford the sinner the honor of saying “Lord, Lord,” while relieving him of the responsibility of living according to the will of God, by having made it a non-issue. While men rejoice in having made this quest, God still declares: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
God’s grace doesn’t make sin a non-issue. Rather, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” Titus 2:11-12
SHARING
