A STAND BY
GARY RAY BRANSCOME
Although many Christians assume that God will just overlook
their sins and shortcomings, nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible
makes it clear that every last sin must be paid for! Those who are under God's
Law must account to Him for every idle word that they utter (Matthew
And,
if that is the case, then the demands of God's Law are not going to be
satisfied by works that men dream up, as they vainly attempt to gain God's
favor. On the contrary, all such works are contemptible in His sight (Isaiah
64:6). God is not going to be pleased by those who only do their best (James
Christians need to insist that the law be taught in its full strictness,
because whenever it is watered down, people are given a false hope that can
only hinder them in coming to Christ. Those who are lost must know that they
are sinners and that the Law not only cannot save them, but judges them,
condemns them, and sentences them to hell (Romans 3:19). Until they realize
that fact, and look to Christ for pardon, they cannot be saved (Acts
In
fact, that is why Satan continually raises up false prophets that water down
God's Law. Some show open contempt for God’s Law, by excusing
homosexuality, abortion, and adultery. Others put up a false pretense of
righteousness, hiding their sin with a legalistic devotion to man-made works
(such as worship on Saturday, dressing in black, and using no makeup). However,
they are all defying God, by refusing to admit that His law condemns them.
Therefore, in order to reach such people the Law must be proclaimed in its full
sternness. Those who excuse sin need to know that the Law condemns them. At the
same time, those who make their boast in the Law, claiming to be more righteous
than others, need to know that they are watering God’s law down. And,
they are watering it down, otherwise they would not think that they could keep
it (Romans
Many people blind themselves to their own sin, because they
want to be motivated by the law, and would lose that motivation if they
admitted that they deserve God’s condemnation and wrath. Even if they
make some concession to the fact that they are sinners, they want to think of
themselves as righteous, and are not about to admit that they are “guilty
of all” (James
While
all who trust in Christ should walk in a clean conscience, conducting
themselves in a way that is in accord with righteousness, our motivation does
not lie in the threats of the law. On the contrary, we are not even trying to
make ourselves righteous. Instead we trust in Christ’s righteousness, and
love being free from the condemnation of the law. On one hand, we know that our
works are so imperfect that we will never be free of sin as long as we are in
this world. On the other hand, we have God’s own assurance that as long
as we do not sin willfully (as David did in the matter of Uriah) no sin shall
ever be imputed to us (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 4:8, 1Kings 15:5).
The
idea that we can be partly righteous is a dangerous delusion that destroys many
souls. In fact, that is what James was trying to get through our thick skulls
when he said, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one
point, he is guilty of all” (James
Although those who water down God's law think that what I have just said is
unreasonably strict, their argument is with God, not me. They may want to pass
off what I have said as my interpretation, but that is just smoke and mirrors.
It was God who said “guilty of all,” not me. The truth is that they
want God to agree with their own carnal way of thinking, and are not honest
enough to admit that they are rejecting what He said.
The words, “For not the hearers of the law are just
before God, but the doers of the Law shall be justified,” are directed at
those who delude themselves into thinking that God will overlook their sins as
long as they agree with [i.e. hear] the Law (Romans 2:13). The fact is, that
God is not going to just overlook our sins because we try, because we are sincere,
or for any other reason. Simply trying to do what the Law requires is not good
enough. The only way anyone can be justified by the Law is to do all it
requires — and the Bible tells us that that is impossible (Romans
Another common delusion is the idea that a person will be
saved if he does more good than bad. Sadly, that delusion would be comical if
it wasn't so tragic. What would you think of a thief, who thought that he could
make up for robbing some banks by not robbing other banks? What about a
murderer, who believed that helping little old ladies across the street would
keep him out of jail? I hope that you can see that that sort of reasoning is
ridiculous, yet millions of people rest their entire hope for salvation on
it.
What
they do not understand is that everyone under the Law is guilty in the sight of
God. The Bible tells us that “there is none righteous,” and since
“the unrighteous shall not inherit the
On the day of judgement, those who trust in their own works
are in for a big surprise, for NO SIN IS GOING TO BE OVERLOOKED. Every nasty
word, hateful thought, off color joke, or evil deed will be accounted for. And,
every man, woman, or child who has never looked to Christ for forgiveness, will
spend eternity in hell. [John 5:28,29, Revelation 21:27, Romans 6:23.]
Furthermore, because we all deserve to spend eternity in hell, ONLY A DIVINE
PARDON CAN SAVE US! And, Christ had to take our sin upon Himself, and die in
our place to secure that pardon for us (Joshua 24:19, Isaiah 53:6). By His
death, He blotted out the condemnation of the Law that was against you,
“and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross” (Colossians