SPIRITUAL DEATH ROW:
A PORTRAIT OF THE UNSAVED
STEPHEN AND BONITA ANN (LOGSDON) RICHIE
In the United States we find prisons in many states that have within their walls a "special security" unit. In these units one finds those on death row.....sentenced to death for their crimes against the law of the United States of America. These men and women on death row have been tried in court, found guilty and final sentenced to death by a judge. These condemned men and women have, by United States law, the right to appeal their death sentences. When all appeals are exhausted and rejected by the high courts, they are faced with the order from the governor demanding their execution. The death sentence is then carried out.
Many citizens find pleasure in seeing the death sentence given to those who have done crimes that carry the death sentence as a sentencing option. Some of these citizens even claim to speak as though for God when they state gleefully that a person that has been executed has indeed gone to hell (falsely stating this indeed if the person executed has been saved by Jesus!!!). Interesting indeed... many condemned condemning the condemned.
LET US NOW TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT HOW GOD LOOKS AT US AND OUR SINS AGAINST HIS LAWS!!! LET'S LOOK AT OUR OWN PORTRAIT AS SEEN BY A HOLY GOD AS WE SIT ON SPIRITUAL DEATH ROW!!!
We are ALL born in sin with a sinful nature. We are all born under condemnation....lost and undone without God or His Son. There is a time in our young lives that God Himself lets us know we are sinners and that we sin. We then know right from wrong. We are then held accountable for our sins for He has revealed unto us the truth about our sinful condition.
We are ALL on SPIRITUAL DEATH ROW from the time we take our first breath in this world. We have no hope. We are ALL condemned by our sin and sentenced by The Judge God Almighty to the eternally burning flames of a devil's burning hell. We ALL have broken God's laws. There is NOTHING good in our flesh. WE ARE ALL CAPABLE OF ANY AND ALL SINS AND ARE FOUND GUILTY BY GOD FOR ALL OF THEM. We cannot ask God for justice because the righteous justice of God DEMANDS that we be sentenced to an eternity in hell. We are ALL born UNSAVED AND CONDEMNED TO HELL FOR ALL OF ETERNITY. It is only by God's Mercy that babies and little children can enter Heaven before the age of accountability. "The age of accountability" is when God reveals to us that we are sinners. Many young children repent and ask Jesus into their hearts and ask Him to eternally save them as a result of receiving this knowledge of sin. Jesus said we are not to stop a child from going to Him. It would be, just as Jesus said, "better that a millstone were hanged about our neck and we were drowned in the sea than to offend one of these little ones". (Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2)
Satan stands in the background laughing at all of us. He delights in our spiritual death sentence for our sins against God Almighty. He WANTS us to go to hell.
"BUT GOD...........
God, because of His great love for us, HAS provided us ONE SINGLE APPEAL that will nullify our spiritual death sentence.
"FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE." John 3:16
JESUS IS OUR APPEAL. JESUS IS OUR ATTORNEY. THE BIBLE CALLS HIM OUR "WONDERFUL COUNSELOR". IT IS BECAUSE OF JESUS AND JESUS ALONE THAT WE CAN BE GIVEN ETERNAL SALVATION FROM GOD ALMIGHTY. IT IS BECAUSE OF JESUS AND JESUS ALONE THAT WE CAN BE TAKEN OFF OF SPIRITUAL DEATH ROW AND HAVE OUR NAMES WRITTEN IN GOD'S BOOK OF LIFE WHICH IS THE BOOK THAT CONTAINS THE NAMES OF GOD'S ETERNALLY SAVED CHILDREN.
"YET IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM (JESUS); HE HATH PUT HIM (JESUS) TO GRIEF: WHEN THOU SHALT MAKE HIS SOUL (JESUS' SOUL) AN OFFERING FOR SIN, HE SHALL SEE HIS SEED, HE SHALL PROLONG HIS DAYS, AND THE PLEASURE OF THE LORD SHALL PROSPER IN HIS HAND. HE SHALL SEE OF THE TRAVAIL OF HIS SOUL (JESUS' SOUL), AND SHALL BE SATISFIED: BY HIS KNOWLEDGE SHALL MY RIGHTEOUS SERVANT (JESUS) JUSTIFY MANY; FOR HE (JESUS) SHALL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES." Isaiah 53: verses 10-11
God Almighty has done all He can ever do in order to provide us a way to Heaven. He veiled Himself in flesh as Jesus Christ and lived on earth and taught us and died for us as a sacrifice for our sins. He then raised Himself up from the grave three days after dying for us while nailed to an old rugged cross on Calvary's hill. He has offered us His Son Jesus as our eternal LORD and Savior. We must make our choice. That is something God will not do for us. He will not place a spiritual gun to our heads and force us to love and obey Him and accept His Son as our LORD and Savior. He won't force us to repent of our sins. WE will either choose to repent for our sins and believe in The LORD Jesus and live for Him OR we will choose to reject Jesus completely.
WHAT'S YOUR CHOICE???
IT'S HEAVEN OR HELL. YOU CHOOSE.
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