It is a curiosity to me that if you go through the Old Testament you're not going to find demon-possessed people with the exception of the very unique situation in the 6th chapter of Genesis… Interestingly enough that after the four gospels you only have two occasions, Acts 16 and Acts 19, where you have a demon-possessed situation. And it's never even referred to in the epistles of the New Testament... It wasn't an issue in the churches to which the apostle Paul wrote, or John wrote, or Jude wrote, or Peter wrote or James wrote. But in the life of Christ and in the three years of His ministry there is a manifestation of demon possessions that is unlike anything in all of human history, to be exceeded only by the manifestation of demonic power in the time yet to come called the Great Tribulation, just prior to Christ's Second Coming. And God Himself will aide that manifestation by opening up the pit of hell and the place of bound demons called the pit, the bottomless pit, the abussos, the abyss and letting it belch out some demons who have been bound there so that there is a greater force of demons in the time of the tribulation than ever before and they are allowed to run rampant over the earth in ways prior to which they have been restrained.
John MacArthur

You have Sinned!

You have Sinned!

You have Sinned!

by William MacDonald

It is a serious charge, but it is absolutely true.

YOU HAVE SINNED.

Forget your excuses and alibis, and face up to this solemn fact.

You say that you have not sinned like some other people you know. You have not committed murder. You have never had to go to jail. That is not the point. If you are honest, you will have to admit that you are a sinner.

You say that you are not a very bad sinner. But who are you to judge? You have been at it so long that you are accustomed to it. Just remember that “a single sin is more horrible in God’s sight than a million sins are in yours.”

You have sinned in deed. More than once you have been faced with temptation. At first you hesitated. You knew it was wrong. Then you compromised. You reasoned that it wasn’t too bad. You promised yourself that you would do it just this once. Then you embraced the sin. The foul act was committed. You blush now to think of it, but the stain of sin is there, and you cannot erase it. You somehow hope that this incident in your life will remain a locked closed forever. You avoid the scene of unholy memories, but the record has been written.

You have sinned in word. You have not told the truth, or, to put it bluntly, you have lied. You have deliberately silenced the voice of your conscience. You flew in the face of honesty in conscience.

You have sinned in thought. The secrets of your heart have been impure. You have entertained the monster of envy. You have coveted things that did not belong to you. Great swelling waves of pride have surged through your mind. Yes, you have even been guilty of lust.

Then there have been sins of omission. You have failed to do what you knew you should do. “Oh, is that sin, too?” you ask. Yes, that is sin, too.

“TO HIM THAT KNOWETH TO DO GOOD, AND DOETH IT NOT, TO HIM IT IS SIN” (James 4:17).

You might think no one knows about your sins. You have maintained a reputation for respectability. You have fooled you relatives, your neighbors, your friends in the church, but you cannot fool God. No matter how secret your sins are, they will someday find you out.

And listen! Any one of the sins mentioned above is sufficient to condemn you. One sin proves you to be a sinner. And the penalty of sin is death – not just physical death, but eternal death in a place of conscious punishment.

Not all the cleansing agents in the world can wash away your sins. Neither can you do anything by your own strength to clear the record. Past sins cannot be amended or atoned for by future observance.

But there is a way – and only one – by which you can escape the penalty of your sins. While it is true that God’s holiness demands the death of the sinner, it is equally true that His love has provided a Substitute. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, died to pay the penalty of sin, so that you might never have to pay it. His blood was shed to wash away your sins.

Now God makes this astonishing offer to you. If you sincerely confess your sins, and trust Jesus Christ as your only hope of salvation, He will save you from the penalty and power of sin right now.

“If thou shalt confess with they mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9)

No matter how few your sins, you need to be saved. The risen, living Saviour is “able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him” (Hebrews 7:25). His promise to you is, “Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37)

Admitting that you are a sinner, and believing that Christ died to save you from sin, will you receive Him by faith and own Him as Lord of your life?

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

You are a sinner, and therefore lost. But you need not remain lost. Turn from you sins to Christ, and become a sinner saved by grace.

William MacDonald