Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The natural thinking of men leads
them to justify their own actions and blame God for his. The conscience
of men, unless seared with a hot iron, ever testifies to them
of their sin and shortcomings. But in that same natural mind,
they seek out many inventions to excuse the actions produced
by their proclivity to evil. Their very first invention is
to deny that they are indeed innately evil. They are all gone
out of the way. They altogether become unprofitable.
There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Though the Scripture
plainly testifies of their complete depravity, the natural man rebels
at such a concept and rather entertains the notion that there
is a spark of good in all men, especially themselves, which
can be fanned into a flame with the right sort of coercion upon
their free will. To this end, man has invented
religion, which is the primary tool used to fan those flames.
Most are convinced that they can influence God's favor towards
them by engaging in religious activities of one sort or another.
These activities include but are not limited to Bible reading,
soul winning, praying, doing good deeds, going to church,
tithing, et cetera. None of these activities is in
itself a bad thing, but any of them which are engaged in for
the wrong reason are but a substitute for righteousness and therefore
a stench in the nostrils of God. The Lord looks not on the outward
deeds of man's religion, but rather searches the heart. He
has no regard to those things which man intends to offer to
him by way of sacrifice. For all those things hath mine
hand made, and all those things have men, saith the Lord. But
to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a
chondrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. The religion which
man has invented is not interested in truth at all, except that
it might serve unto its own profit. Men pursue religion for the benefit
which they suppose it will grant them. Multitudes have made decisions
for Christ simply to escape the fires of hell, which they have
been stirred up to fear by the persuasive rhetoric of the preachers
of doom. In fact, many speak of their
religion as fire insurance and are convinced that their decision
to get saved is indeed a true salvation. They are encouraged
in this delusion by the preachers of freewillism who continue to
stir them up to a life of religious works on the premise that they
might gain even greater blessings for themselves from the Lord.
This is the error of the Judaizers. So likewise ye, when ye shall
have done all those things which are commanded you say, we are
unprofitable servants, we have done that which was our duty
to do. Man's quest for religious satisfaction motivates him to
seek out all manner of religious experiences, many of which cannot
be distinguished from emotional releases brought on by psychological
pressures ministered by men skilled in the art of deception, who
are often themselves deceived. And no marvel, for Satan himself
is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no
great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers
of righteousness. Yet that man to whom the Lord
has regard is compelled by his spirit to bow down before the
footstool of God, confessing his sin with nothing at all to
bring unto him. He is made aware of his utter
and complete wickedness and inability to do anything to influence the
favor of God towards himself. He knows himself to be utterly
dependent on the mercy of God and completely worthy of destruction.
He has no bargains to make nor anything to barter with. He is
shut up to the mercy of God. Such a mindset can only come
by revelation, which is the work of the Spirit of God in the appointed
heirs of salvation as he quickens them. It is as a result of this
work that the gospel of the finished work of Christ appears to them
as a sweet savor and a most desired haven of rest. It is the height
of folly for men to seek to accuse the Lord of glory of any sort
of wrongdoing. Yet these accusations are at the heart of man's rebellion
against the preaching of the cross, which is foolishness to
them. Religious men hate the notion that the work of Christ
alone is that upon which all of the blessings of God to mankind
is based. They feel that there has to be
something that they can perform which will cause them to gain
His favor. They are adamant that such a notion would be grossly
unfair to those who put in great time and effort to perform religious
deeds only to see the publicans and harlots welcomed into the
kingdom without this same expenditure. They accuse God of unrighteousness
and disregard the sweet sound of grace, refusing to bow down
to him who alone can save them. The men of this world hate the
cross of Christ because they find a great imposition in being
compelled to fall down and worship Christ as the one true God. This
is much too narrow-minded to suit them, and they rail against
Him who would declare that He is the way, the truth, and the
life. But there are those from all
cultures, walks of life, and backgrounds who are the objects
of God's mercy. They are taught of their own
wickedness and drawn with cords of love to worship at the feet
of Him who shed His precious blood on Calvary's cross to purchase
their eternal redemption. Are you one of those?