Grace Audio Treasures

Habakkuk 1:13, "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil; You cannot look on wickedness." Psalm 5:4–5, "You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with You the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all who do wrong." If we would know how God views sin, we must not measure it by how lightheartedly man treats it, nor by how common it appears in the world, nor even by how it wounds our own conscience. No. We must measure sin by the cross. Sin is not merely a mistake, a weakness, or an unfortunate choice. It is a direct offense against the holiness of the eternal God. Sin is a daring defiance of His Word, a trampling upon His glory, and a mockery of His authority. But if we would truly understand the infinite evil of sin, we must look to Calvary. There, on the accursed tree, God unveiled His view of sin. He did not even spare His own beloved Son, when He stood in the sinner's place. What horror must belong to sin, when its payment required the abandonment of the sinless One by His own Father? What dreadful weight must sin carry, that it could crush the eternal Son of God into the dust of death? What must God think of sin, when He would lay upon Jesus the iniquity of His people, and exact from Him every drop of wrath which our guilt deserved? Behold the bloodied brow, the pierced hands, the parched lips, the darkened sky, the cry of dereliction: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me!" These are God's thunderous declarations that sin is no trifle. Sin is not something He can simply overlook. Sin is a monster so vile, that it demanded nothing less than the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Here is a sight too deep for words: the infinit

Romans 5:20, "Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more." Sin is not merely the breaking of a rule--it is rebellion against the infinite majesty and holiness of God. It is treason against the sovereign King of Heaven. It is a monstrous defilement of the soul, a willful choosing of darkness over light, a loathing of God's commandments, and a love for what He hates. Sin pollutes every part of our being--our minds are blinded, our hearts are deceitful, our wills are enslaved. Sin makes us loathsome in God's sight, and fit only for eternal judgment. Scripture does not soften the description: we are "dead in transgressions and sins," "children of wrath," "slaves to sin," and "enemies of God." The horror of our sin is not measured by how we see it, but by how God sees it--as that which nailed His beloved Son to the cross! And yet, into that blackness shines a light so glorious that no mind could have imagined it, and no heart could have hoped for it--the grace of God! His grace is unearned, undeserved, and unrepayable. It is His free favor poured out on the utterly un-deserving, ill-deserving and Hell-deserving. Grace finds us filthy, and makes us pure. Grace finds us guilty, and declares us righteous. Grace finds us enemies of God, and makes us His sons and daughters. Nowhere are sin and grace manifested as clearly, than at Golgotha. There, the horror of our sin is exposed in full; for only the blood of the sinless Son of God could make atonement for it! His groans, His wounds, His forsakenness--all cry out against our guilt. At Golgotha also, the wonder of grace shines brightest. Jesus bore our sin, that we might bear His righteousness. He was cursed, that we mig

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ews 3:13, " . . . that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Sin is the greatest evil in the universe. It is the parent of all other evils. All evils draw their bitterness from this fountain of wormwood and gall. If a man had every possession a mortal could desire, sin could turn every blessing into a curse. And on the other hand, if a man had nothing but suffering, but stood clear from all sin--then his afflictions, his losses, his deprivations, might each one be a gain to him. We ought not to pray so much against sickness, or trial, or even against death itself--as against sin. Satan himself cannot hurt us, except as he is armed with the poisoned arrows of sin. Alas! We are sadly prone to sin, and evil has great influence over us. Sin never presents itself in its true colors. Like a skilled deceiver, it comes as an angel of light, promising freedom, but delivering bondage; offering pleasure, but producing pain. Sin's most deadly weapon is its power to delude the soul. It is not the roaring lion--but the subtle serpent, that we have most cause to fear! Sin deceives in many ways: Sin softens its name--what God calls rebellion, sin calls mistake or infirmity. Sin minimizes consequences, whispering, "You shall not die." Sin appeals to the affections, drawing the heart toward what seems desirable; but is in truth, destructive. Sin first fascinates--and then slays. Sin . . . blinds the judgment, hardens the heart, and ultimately damns the soul. One of sin's deadliest lies is that it is harmless in small doses. The point of the sword is small, and for that reason the more deadly! We permit "little sins," imagining them to be harmless. But little si

Hebrews 7:24-25, "Because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely, those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them." The priesthood of Jesus is unlike anything this world has ever known. Earthly priests came and went, bound by mortality and sin. But Jesus, the sinless Son of God, lives forever. His priesthood is permanent, unchanging, and perfect. And because He lives forever, He is able to save completely. Not partially. Not temporarily. Completely. From the deepest guilt; from the power of sin to the punishment it deserves--He is mighty to save. No believer is ever beyond His reach. No sin is too dark for His cleansing blood. No soul is too entangled in sin for His delivering hand. This complete salvation flows from a wondrous truth: He always lives to intercede for His chosen and redeemed people. Even now--in this very moment--Jesus is interceding for US His redeemed people. He is not pleading for mercy as one who is uncertain of the outcome. Rather, as the crucified and risen Savior, He presents His perfect sin-atoning sacrifice before the Father. His nail-scarred hands are the eternal evidence that . . . the price has been paid in full, the wrath of God has been satisfied, justice has been upheld, and His mercy flows freely. We are not kept by our own power, but by the power of God. If we had to keep ourselves, we would be like the spider's web--swept away by the first rough wind of temptation or persecution. The saints shall never perish. They are not only saved, but safe. They are not only pardoned, but preserved. The same grace that chose them and redeemed them, also secures them

The devil's chessboard! (Charles Spurgeon, "Flowers from a Puritan's Garden" 1883) "So that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes!" 2 Corinthians 2:11 "Be watchful; the world is the devil's chessboard! You can hardly move backward or forward, but he is ready to attack you with some temptation!" Those who play at the game of chess know that great caution is needed. Your opponent is working toward a design of which you know nothing; and while you imagine that you are doing exceedingly well, he is entrapping you! The game of life, as against Satan, is one in which . . . his maneuvers and artifice, his long practice and stratagems, his superior skill and deceptiveness, and his unscrupulous schemes, give him an immense advantage over our poor self-conceited folly! Lord, help us! You know our adversary; be pleased to deliver us out of his hand. "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes!" Ephesians 6:11

The Christian's hope does not rest in his own strength or steadfastness, but in the mighty, preserving power of God. Jude 24-25, "To Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." Jude closes his epistle with this soaring doxology, lifting our gaze to the triumphant and unshakable glory of our great God and Savior, "To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy!" What comfort is found in those words! Left to ourselves, we would surely fall. Our flesh is weak, the world is alluring, and the devil is deceitful. If we had to keep ourselves, we would be like the spider's web--swept away by the first rough wind of trial or temptation. Yet God assuredly upholds His people, because He is faithful. The believer is kept, not barely, but perfectly. God does not merely preserve us in a state of struggle and guilt, limping into Heaven bruised and soiled. No, He will present us "without fault"--blameless in His sight, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, and cleansed from every stain. And this will be done "with great joy". Not only our joy, but His! He who began a good work in us, will carry it on to completion. The Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep, promises that He will give them eternal life, and that none of them shall ever perish. Jude reminds us that all glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to God--not only in eternity past, not only in the present age,

The heart is the chief source of defilement and impurity in God's sight. Our original sinfulness and natural inclination to evil are seldom sufficiently considered. The wickedness of people is often attributed to . . . bad examples, bad company, peculiar temptations, or the snares of the devil. It seems forgotten that everyone carries within him a fountain of wickedness. We need no bad company to teach us, and no devil to tempt us, in order to run into sin. We have within us the beginning of every sin under Heaven. We ought to remember this in the training and education of children. In all our management we must never forget that the seeds of all mischief and wickedness are in their hearts. It is not enough to keep boys and girls at home, and shut out every outward temptation. They carry within them a heart ready for any sin, and until that heart is changed they are not 'safe', whatever we do. When children do wrong, it is a common practice to lay all the blame on bad companions. But it is mere ignorance, blindness, and foolishness to do so. Bad companions are a great evil no doubt, and an evil to be avoided as much as possible. But no bad companion teaches a boy or girl half as much sin as their own hearts will suggest to them! The beginning of all wickedness is within! If parents were half as diligent in praying for their children's conversion as they are in keeping them from bad company, their children would turn out far better than they do.

The apostle Paul opens the book of Ephesians by lifting our eyes to the heavenly places, that we can view our every spiritual blessing. Verses 3 through 7 of chapter one, unfold a golden chain of divine blessings, granted before time began, and stretching into everlasting glory! BLESSED (verse 3) "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms, with every spiritual blessing in Christ." God Himself is the source of all blessing, and in Christ, He has already granted us every spiritual blessing. These are not temporal or material gifts--but eternal treasures belonging to all who are savingly "in Christ". If you want to see the 'heavenly realms' while still on earth, meditate often on your election, adoption, redemption, and forgiveness. CHOSEN (verse 4) "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight." This sovereign act of divine love was done in eternity past. God did not choose us because we were in any way better than others--for we were all equally lost and on our way to perdition. His aim in election was that we should stand before Him, holy and blameless, clothed in the righteousness of His beloved Son. PREDESTINED (verse 5) "In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will" Predestination is God's gracious purpose, carried out with certainty. It is not cold fate, but loving design. We were marked out beforehand to be part of His eternal family--not as servants, but as sons! Predestination is not a hard word for the believer--it is full of comfort. The Father chose us lovingly, freely, and eternally

Psalm 16:11, "You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." This is the language of one who knows his God, who has walked with Him, and who has learned that there is no joy like that which comes from the conscious nearness of God. How great is the mercy of our God, that He has not left us to grope in darkness or stumble blindly through a world cursed by sin. Earthly joys always disappoint, decay, and die. But in His infinite grace, He has made known to us the path of life--a path not known by the wisdom of man, nor paved by human merit, but graciously revealed through His Word and perfectly embodied in Jesus. He is the only path of life--the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Outside of Him, there is no life at all--only despair, death, and damnation. The world offers many paths--broad paths of avarice, pleasure, and pride--but these all lead to eternal destruction. The path of life is narrow. It is marked by humility, faith, repentance, and obedience. It leads upward, against the sinful customs of the age, and can only be walked by those whose eyes have been opened by the sovereign working of the Spirit. For those who walk this path, even though it is steep and narrow, it ends in the presence of God, where there is fullness of joy. Not the hollow joys of earthly gain, or temporary relief; but deep, abiding, soul-satisfying joy--in the presence of Jesus, our precious Savior. In Heaven, sin will be gone, sorrow will vanish, and every holy longing will be satisfied. The pleasures that await are not fleeting or shallow--they are everlasting delights; pure, perfect, and ever-increasing--