I'm A Good Person

Satan is not opposed to good morals.

He’s opposed to Jesus Christ.

Read that again because most Christians miss this completely.

Satan doesn’t care if you’re a “good person.” He doesn’t care if you volunteer at the food bank, recycle your trash, and help old ladies cross the street. He doesn’t care if you’re kind, generous, and well-liked by everyone in your community.

He cares that you don’t bow the knee to Jesus.

Here’s the deception that’s damning millions:

Satan has convinced people that morality equals spirituality. That being a “good person” is the same as being a Christian. That if you just live right, treat people well, and avoid the “big sins,” you’re acceptable to God.

This is a lie straight from the pit of hell.

James 2:10- For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

The Pharisees had impeccable morals. They followed the law meticulously. They were respected, disciplined, and religiously devoted.

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Jesus called them children of the devil.

John 8:44- Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Why? Not because their morals were bad, but because their morals replaced Christ.
Satan’s greatest trick isn’t making bad people worse. It’s making good people think they don’t need a Savior.

Think about it:

The atheist who feeds the homeless thinks he’s good enough without God.

The Buddhist who meditates and practices compassion thinks she’s enlightened without Christ.

The Muslim who prays five times daily thinks he’s righteous without Jesus.

The morally person who goes to church, pays his tithe, and avoids scandal thinks he’s saved without surrender.

All of them are headed to the same place: eternal separation from God.

Because morality doesn’t save. Jesus saves.

Ephesians 2:8-9- For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Satan loves moral people who reject Jesus. They’re his best advertisement for the lie that you can earn your way to heaven.

They’re living proof that you can:

• Be kind without Christ
• Be generous without God
• Be disciplined without the Holy Spirit
• Be religious without redemption

And still be LOST.

John 14:6- Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The most disappointed people in hell won’t be the murderers and rapists. They’ll be the moral, upstanding citizens who thought their goodness was good enough.

Their morals became their idol. Their goodness became their god.

And Satan smiled because he’d accomplished his goal: Keep them from Jesus.

Titus 3:5a- Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us

Here’s what most Christians don’t understand:

Satan doesn’t need to make you do bad things. He just needs to keep you from doing the ONE thing that matters: surrendering to Christ.

If he can get you to:

• Trust your morals instead of Christ’s sacrifice
• Rely on YOUR goodness instead of GOD’s grace
• Believe in your works instead of Jesus’ finished work

He’s won.

You can live a moral life and still die lost. You can be a good person and still face judgment. You can avoid all the “big sins” and still end up separated from God forever. Because the ONLY SIN THAT DAMNS YOU ETERNALLY is rejecting Jesus Christ.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36

The murderer who repents and believes in Christ is NOT damned.

The thief who turns to Jesus on the cross is NOT damned.

The prostitute who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears is NOT damned.

The moral, religious person who rejects Christ IS damned.

That’s why Satan loves morality without Jesus. It sends people to hell with a smile on their face, convinced they were good enough.

Stop trusting your morals. Start trusting Jesus.

John 10:9- I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Your goodness won’t save you. Your works won’t redeem you. Your morality won’t justify you.

Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away your sin and make you acceptable to a holy God.

Colossians 1:14- In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Everything else is just Satan’s distraction from the one thing that actually matters.

Luke 13:27- But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

Romans 10:13- For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Lying In A Manger (song)

Who Is Jesus?

He is found in every book of the Bible. Throughout the Old Testament there are types, forms, and mentions of Him.

Genesis- He's the substitute ram caught in the thicket sacrificed in place of Isaac

Exodus- He's the lamb slain whose blood on the door post spared the firstborn

Leviticus- He's the faithful High Priest who presents the sacrifices for our sins

Numbers- He's the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness 

Deuteronomy- He's the prophet like unto Moses that was prophesied to come

Joshua- He's the captain of the Lord's army 

Judges- He's the Savior sent to rescue the enslaved people

Ruth- He's the kinsman redeemer

I & II Samuel- He's the faithful prophet

I & II Kings- He's the rightful king of Israel

I & II Chronicles- He's the Most High dwells in the temple and listens to their prayers

Ezra- Heworks to help them rebuild the temple

Nehemiah- He provides to help them rebuild Jerusalem

Esther- He's the one who advocates to save His people from a holocaust decree

Job- He's the God who hears our complaints during our trials

Psalms- He's the reason for song

Proverbs- He's the Good man full of wisdom

Ecclesiastes- He's the reason we should live righteously

Song of Solomon- He's the beloved who seeks us

Isaiah- He's the Prince of Peace who sends prophets to warn of coming judgement

Jeremiah- He's the Branch that's grieved by Israel's idolatry

Lamentations- He is the weeping prophet that weeps over the judgment that He's had to unleash

Ezekiel- He's the hope for Israel's restoration

Daniel- He's the fourth man in the fire who protects His servants and judges kings

Hosea- He's the faithful husband

Joel - He's the divine judge but also the promised future

Amos - He's the watchman giving warning to the wayward

Obadiah- He's the One who will bring judgment against the wicked heathen

Jonah- He's the God who pleads with all mankind

Micah- He's the God of justice and mercy

Nahum- He's the One who executes judgment on His enemies

Habakkuk- He's the longsuffering God who gives mankind time to repent

Zephaniah- He's the God of reckoning

Haggai- He's the God who calls His people to come home

Zachariah- He's the Restorer, the fountain open to the house of David

Malachi- He's the one who is foretold to come rescue His people

He is the Creator of all things, the Word of the Lord made flesh,

He is the first and the last, the alpha and the omega,

The bright and morning star that shines as a light in the darkness.

Unmovable, unchangeable, He always was, always is, and always will be.

He was despised and rejected so that we could be accepted.

He was acquainted with grief to offer us peace.

He tasted God's wrath to allow sinners to become saints.

He's the author of Salvation, the Lamb of God, and the promised Messiah.

The King of kings, and the Lord of lords are His titles.

The great "I AM" is His name, the Almighty God, Emmanuel,

The good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep,

And the coming King who will rule in righteousness.

He is all this and so much more, but most important of all-

He is my Savior!

Noel (poem)

 Grim was the world and grey last night:
The moon and stars were fled,
The hall was dark without song or light,
The fires were fallen dead. 

The wind in the trees was like to the sea,
And over the mountains’ teeth
It whistled bitter-cold and free,
As a sword leapt from its sheath. 

The lord of snows upreared his head;
His mantle long and pale
Upon the bitter blast was spread
And hung o’er hill and dale. 

The world was blind, the boughs were bent,
All ways and paths were wild:
Then the veil of cloud apart was rent,
And here was born a Child. 

The ancient dome of heaven sheer
Was pricked with distant light;
A star came shining white and clear
Alone above the night. 

In the dale of dark in that hour of birth
One voice on a sudden sang:
Then all the bells in Heaven and Earth
Together at midnight rang. 

Mary sang in this world below:
They heard her song arise
O’er mist and over mountain snow
To the walls of Paradise, 

And the tongue of many bells was stirred
In Heaven’s towers to ring
When the voice of mortal maid was he​ard,
That was mother of Heaven’s King. 

Glad is the world and fair this night
With stars about its head,
And the hall is filled with laughter and light,
And fires are burning red. 

The bells of Paradise now ring
With bells of Christendom,
And Gloria, Gloria we will sing
That God on earth is come.

-J. R. R. Tolkien

Of Him, Through Him, And To Him (video sermon)

Offences Will Come

 “Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.” (Matthew 13:21)

Among the many things that continually surprise me in modern Christianity is the inability of so many professing Christians to withstand those who object to their words and actions. It seems as though many have the idea that the world loves them for following Christ and will commend them for it. When the opposite happens, they become discouraged and begin rethinking their position.

The best mode for a Christian to be in is the offensive mode, always realizing that when you run the ball you’re going to get hit. We are running the gospel ball for the Lord Jesus, and Satan’s defenders are out there in attack mode. This should never surprise us or upset us.

Since my teenage years, my favorite football team has been the Pittsburgh Steelers. Several years ago they had a receiver named Hines Ward, and his game attitude is a fine example of what a Christian ought to be. I’ve seen Ward make catches and then nearly get his brains knocked out, yet he would always get up smiling, even laughing. He was happy that he made the catch, not bothered that he got hit.

Friend, if God opens a door for you to get in a witness for Him, then rejoice in that and take for granted that someone will object. That’s the attitude to have.

Shortly after I began writing for the Lord, I placed some tracts in a tract rack at the church I attended at the time, and one of the members complained because one tract had one small paragraph that spoke against the doctrines of the Mormons and the Charismatics. The preacher (independent, Baptist, KJV, etc) agreed with me that the tract was a good one, yet he asked me to remove the tract from the church because of that one objector. That’s where we are today: in a society where one person can object to something and everyone gets all scared and tense.

Why would a Christian be moved from the will of God by an objector? I think I know the answer. I think it has to do with convictions and preferences. If I call your wife an ugly witch, you’ll probably go into immediate fight mode. If I slap her, you’ll punch me out. Why don’t you just overlook it? The answer is CONVICTION. You will not overlook it because I have attacked someone very dear to your heart. That’s conviction. I suspect that most professing Christians do not have much real godly conviction—not much that they really believe in strongly—so they lack the will to keep fighting when the objections come. They have preferences, not convictions. They prefer this church, that Bible, this preacher, that gospel group, etc. They really BELIEVE very little, so the smallest objections, like a door slammed in their face or a tract thrown down, will knock them out of the fight.

The objectors will only increase as the politically correct and ultra-sensitive days of Laodicea continue, so may God grant us some deep rooted convictions, based on the word of God, that we might not be moved. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (I Corinthians 15:58)

-James L Melton