I AM LOOKING FOR SINNERS by Curtis Pugh If you are reading this and you feel that you are a good person, this is not for you. You may as well cease reading this paper and put it down. At this point in your life, at least, you have no part in these things. "How dare I write such a thing about a good person such as you are," you ask? It is because Jesus said the same thing that I dare to write as I do. He said, "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mark 2:17). Of course there are none who are truly righteous, but the point is this: if you feel that you are righteous, if you feel that you are a good person, you have no interest in the work of Christ. He came to call sinners to repentance, not good people. This is not for you.
It is an incontrovertible fact that every religion in the world except Biblical Christianity teaches that a person is saved because of his good works - especially by his religious observances. One group says you must abstain from certain foods, observe prayers five times a day and make pilgrimages to certain holy sites. Another says you must bathe in a certain sacred river. Even some "Christian" groups teach the same basic thing. One group says you must be baptized, faithfully attend church services, take the Lord's Supper every Sunday, and continue in good works. Others say live by your conscience, observe the "golden rule," and be sincere and that these works will get you into Heaven at last. All these religions teach essentially the same thing whether pagan or "Christian:" they all teach that good works will earn you favor with God. But the Bible, God's Word, still says that salvation is
"not of works," and that is the truth. Neither does the Bible say that salvation is partly of good works and partly of grace for this is an impossibility. Works and grace cannot be mixed as Paul so strongly stated regarding election in Romans 11:6:
"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." This is a principle that you must understand. Grace is unmerited favor. If you work for something it is not given to you by unmerited favor: rather you earned it. So it is with salvation. It is either by works or by grace. Salvation cannot come by a mixture of the two for the two cannot be mixed without destroying the intrinsic nature of both works and grace. During the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, most of the religious leaders in Israel were known as Pharisees. Those who specialized in studying and copying the Old Testament were known as scribes. These religious zealots went to excess in their ritualistic observances of the Old Testament law. None were more strict and faithful in their religious exercises. Outwardly they were correct and righteous in their observances. About these people the Lord said, "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). Outward observance is not enough! Inward purity and genuine love for the Lord is required as well as unselfish love for your neighbors. Would you compare yourself to the Pharisees? Are you as zealous for your religion as they were for theirs? Are you as zealous about keeping all the commandments as they were? If you are trying to get to Heaven by your religious zeal and good works, your righteousness must exceed that of these ancient devoted people. Jesus said so!
But I am still looking for sinners! As I preach and visit with people I find it is the same everywhere I go. Everywhere it is the same. Human beings are "good enough" in their own eyes. They are ignorant of the Word of God and thus are often satisfied with themselves: convinced that they are "good enough" to meet God. They think that their good deeds will somehow cause God to overlook their base sins and wicked hearts. I am looking for sinners: the kind of sinners who feel their sin. I am looking for sinners who ashamedly admit to being sinners. I am looking for sinners who dare not compare themselves with others. I am looking for sinners who know the emptiness of religion without Christ and who are in despair over their sins. I am looking for sinners who are helpless and hopeless to do anything about their sin and know it. I am looking for sinners. I am looking for sinners who, like the wicked thief, see that whatever happens to them in this life and the next is the "due reward" of their deeds (Luke 23:41). I am looking for sinners who expect God to be just and know in that justice they will receive eternal punishment for their sins in the Lake of Fire. I am looking for sinners who know that whatever good they might do henceforth, they can never erase or cover their past sins. I am looking for sinners who know they are powerless to cease from sinning. I am looking for sinners who see themselves in a hopeless and helpless condition. Where shall I find such sinners? Such sinners as these are sinners in whom God has begun a good work (Philippians 1:5). Such an understanding of self and an honest view of self is not natural to any person: it is a result of the work of God through the Word of God in the heart of the individual. And say! I have Good News for such sinners as these! I can tell them that Christ suffered the "due reward" for their deeds. I can tell them that Christ bore the payment for their sins! I can tell them that Christ met the just demands of a holy God and his holy law! I can tell them that salvation is not of works that could never un-do their past sins, but is of the free grace of God. I can tell them that while they are indeed helpless to do anything about their condition, they are not hopeless for there is hope in Christ for all to whom God makes known in a feeling way their sin. I can tell them that Christ is the Savior, the Redeemer, the Justifier, the Sanctifier, and the Glorious Shepherd of His people!
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Grace Bible Baptist Church
26080 Wax Road
Denham Springs, LA 70726