Steps to peace with God.

 

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

I grew up in a Baptist church.  Our denomination was very evangelical--not Evangelical as in the political subgroup of Christians that pollsters target today, but we were taught to share our faith to everyone we met.  There were little booklets, called tracts, that were given out to help us in our witnessing endeavors.  They went under various titles: The Four Spiritual Laws, Steps to Peace with God, and others.   They all had the same basic message: God is holy, but He loves us; sin separates us from God; we need a Savior; and life with God is possible through our faith in Jesus Christ.

In my walk through the book of Psalms this past month, I have discovered that these four principles are not new.  The Old Testament points to the Gospel, and many of the Psalms are labeled "Messianic", for they look forward to a Savior.  However, when I read Psalm 36 this week, I was reminded of those little evangelistic tracts we used to carry with us everywhere.

Man is inherently sinful

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.  For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.  The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good.  He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.  --Psalm 36:1-4

Anywhere you go you can see that the world is going to hell.  People no longer hide their sin or expect us to turn a blind eye to it; sin is now celebrated and exalted.  It seems the media is doing a better job of proselytizing sinners to go deeper in sin than the Church is doing in gaining converts to heaven.

It has been so since the Fall described in Genesis.  God gave Adam, Eve, and their family a paradise on earth.  They had no need for anything--all good things were theirs for the asking.  However, Satan came in the form of a Serpent and tempted them, promising they could have more than what God was offering.  Ever since, we have been separated from God.  As David wrote in our text today, where there is no fear of God, transgression speaks to us in our innermost being.

The Hebrew word for "transgression" is sometimes translated "rebellion".   If we rebel against God, it is not God who condemns, for as Jesus said in John 3:17-18, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.  Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God."  We stand condemned by our own actions, but the consequences are dire: eternal separation from a Holy God.  Psalm 5:10 says, "Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, because they have rebelled against you."  This is right and just; God will not welcome an enemy combatant or a spiritual rebel into His holy presence.

God's love is greater than our sin.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.  Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord.  --Psalm 36:5-6

The World loves to take this spiritual truth out of context: God is Love.  Unfortunately, they equate love with agreement with their wicked hearts and acceptance of their sinful works.  God does love us, but He cannot abide sin.  In the Old Testament He set up a system of blood sacrifices for sin, because sin leads to death.  

Did you know the word "scapegoat" is from the Bible?  Leviticus 16 says that the priests were to select a goat, and that he would lay his hands on the goat's head as a symbol of transferring all the sins of Israel onto the head of the goat.  The goat was then set outside the camp, to fend for itself in the desert.  This was probably a death sentence, since in the desert there is no water, and a kid goat would be a great meal for birds of prey.

Psalm 51:3 says, "For I acknowledge my transgressions; my sin is ever before me."  This is the first step in getting right with God: confessing that you are a sinner, and realizing that only God can save you from the penalty of sin.  Psalm 89:32 says, "Then I will punish their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes."  Thank God that Isaiah 53:5 shows that God has a remedy for us, to deal with our sin.  It says, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."  Jesus became our "scapegoat", and bore the punishment for our sin.  

We must believe in Him, and trust Him fully for our salvation

How precious is Your steadfast love, O God!  The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.  They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights.  For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light.  --Psalm 36:7-9

If we truly believe in God's deliverance from sin, then we will repent of it all.  Psalm 25:7 says, "Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of Your goodness, O Lord!"  This verse implies that "the sin of our youth" is the folly we followed before we placed our faith in Him, and that now, as a more mature person, we are no longer controlled by sin but rather provoked by the steadfast love of God to good works.

A prayer of repentance will look something like Psalm 51:1-2, which says, " Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleans me from my sin."  Romans 6:13-14 says, "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.  For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Sin leaves us in darkness; God's mercy brings us into the Light.  Jesus is the Light (John 8:12).  Sin brings death; God's mercy gives Life.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  Our faith is in Jesus alone, because He is the atonement for our sin.

Once we place our trust in Him, we are secure

Oh, continue Your steadfast love to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.  There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.  --Psalm 36:10-12

God is faithful.  He has provided the perfect sacrifice for our sin.  Psalm 103:11-12 says, "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us."  Think about that for a minute.  The sin which placed us in darkness, separated us from God's presence, and guaranteed certain death, was taken away from us by the blood of Jesus.  It was not removed a few yards, or a few miles, or a few lightyears.  The earth has a north pole and a south pole; if He had said our sin was removed as far as the north is from the south, it would be a finite distance.  On the other hand, east and west are an infinite distance apart.  On the earth, no matter how far west you go, you can go still farther.  The same with east--you can go east forever, and there is still more east of your position. 

We still have that sinful nature, and as long as we are alive on this earth we will fall.  1 John 2:1-2 says, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."  He is our righteousness.  We do not have to fear falling out of His favor.

Thus we find that the Psalms held the Gospel of Salvation in four easy steps.  The concept is more fully developed the further you read in the Scripture.  That is why we are commanded in Matthew 28 to go into all the world and make disciples, not just converts.  The more we know of Jesus, the better prepared we are for life's uncertainties, and the more prepared we are for the next life.  If you have not trusted Him as your Savior, I would encourage you to do so right now, at this very moment.