Two Sides

Introduction

A gentleman was driving in his car through a town in Renfrew-shire, Scotland, the town of Kilmacolm, and stopped to hail a roadmender and ask him please to tell him the way to Glasgow. After giving him explicit directions, the roadmender asked, 'Excuse me, sir, but do you know the way to Heaven?' 'No, I don't,' replied the gentleman in the car. 'Jesus said, "I am the Way",' said the roadmender. Thanking him, the man drove on to Glasgow, turning over in his mind the roadmender's words. On his return to London, the same man was involved in a fatal road accident, and taken to hospital where, after arranging his affairs, he died. Ten days later two young men wearing black ties, and in deep mourning, arrived in the town of Kilmacolm, enquiring for a roadmender who, as a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ, had told their father the way to Heaven. He had commissioned them to take the journey after the funeral service was over, and to thank the Christian roadmender for pointing out the way to Heaven when he showed their father the way to Glasgow: 'and,' they added, 'he understood and is now in Heaven.'

“Now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him” — God has shown us the way. Mankind didn’t discover it. Being right with God doesn’t come from psychology, politicians, schools, seminaries, philosophy, science, nor the fantasies or imagination of mankind…God Himself has shown us the way to be made right with Him.

The Way — Early Christians were called followers of the way…this way to right relationship with God which Paul talks about here. This way is explained meticulously in our passage. The way is faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is faith…belief and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.

Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins…He shed His blood for us…and for everyone who came before us. The sins of Old Testament saints was not held to their account because God looked forward to what was to be done on their behalf in Christ. Their faith in a coming savior was their salvation.

Everyone must believe that Jesus paid the price for our personal sins…that He received in His body the curse due us and died an agonizing death in our place so we would not be required to suffer for our sins…and then give their life to Him.

Right — To have a right relationship with God. To be justified, made righteous...It is the one and only way to heaven…to be judiciously declared innocent of all wrong doing against God…to be declared holy and perfect…free from the consequences of all wrongdoing. The slate is clean.

Mankind has tried to find the way to be made right with God on their own since the fall of mankind in the garden of eden. People try to be good people...thinking their good will outweigh their bad and earn them a right relationship with God.

God gave us the law of Moses to demonstrate the futility of such thinking. He made clear His standard of right and wrong so we could see our inability to do everything His way. His standard is perfection and the law of Moses showed us that we can’t act perfect enough.

All have sinned — There is not a single person who has lived the standard of God for salvation on their own.

So what? We know this…what’s new???

The Explanation

Did you miss the explanation? Did you miss the answer to the question that so many are asking today? Why is our world spinning out of control? Why is there racism? Why are there violent people? Why are there people who want anarchy? Why do so many want to hurt others? Why are there those who champion sexual immorality and godlessness.

Everyone has sinned. Everyone is born a sinner and sins. Everyone has fallen short of God’s glory…His purpose, plans and perfection.

We live in a broken world. Man is not good by nature. We are not born innocent. Mankind is born in rebellion against God and at odds with one another.

Ephesians 2:1-3

Ephesians 2:1–3 NLT

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

We were once like those living in the wickedness we see around us everyday. We were once living in disobedience to God and didn’t care. We once reveled in our sin and enjoyed it.

We, like the rest of the world, once lived in obedience to the devil and the spiritual forces of darkness in the unseen world.

All of us once followed our passionate desires and every inclination of our sinful nature.

There are only two groups of people on earth today. Those who have placed faith in Jesus for their salvation and right relationship with God....and...Everyone else…those who follow demonic entities and the inclination of their sin nature.

We love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. We love our neighbor as ourself. That is what we are meant to do. We may not always be perfect in doing so but we are capable of doing so because of our relationship with Christ.

The world loves sin, darkness and their rebellion against God. They are incapable of being pleasing to God and don’t even desire to do so.

The world is drawn up into two sides…it is black and white…and the results of this division are all around us.

Two Sides

Thank God we were freed when we placed our faith in Jesus for our salvation from sin, death and the powers of the unseen world. We are not who we used to be. We have a new nature. We are new people. We are truly born again.

We are no longer slaves to the power of sin at work within us. We are no longer a slave to the sin nature with which we were born. We have been given a new nature. We no longer serve the spiritual forces of darkness around us because we have been set free to serve Christ. We are changed!

Did you catch that? Changed and different.

How can a politician, so called pastor or person on the street support abortion, gay marriage, the destruction of the rule of law and the destruction of the nuclear family? The answer is easy…people who support such things are living in bondage to the rulers and commanders of the unseen world…they are following demon doctrines…they are following demons.

There is a spiritual war going on in the heavenlies all around us. At the fall in the garden we ceased to have eyes to see this spiritual war going on around us. But…it is still being waged everyday. We are in the middle of it.

We serve the Lord of Heavens Armies and the lost serve Satan and his armies. The life of every human being reflects the lord of their life. We are simply seeing the earthly manifestation of a spiritual reality.

This allows us to see people in a different light. Those in the other camp are prisoners in need of the salvation and deliverance we ourselves have enjoyed in Christ. They are not our enemy…our enemy is their enemy too. All human beings have a common enemy in this war…Sin and Satan. Those on the other side need deliverance from both…just as we once did.

Paul is clear…we were once in their camp. We were once just like them. We were once in bondage and subject to God’s anger like everyone else. But we are changed…and they need to be so…desperately so…before it is too late.

What Now...

We see the battle before us clearly. We see clearly the enemy of mankind and the bondage of our fellow human beings who have yet to receive the salvation and deliverance of Christ by faith. God has opened our eyes when He saved us…so what now...

Repent — We must get serious about this war and repent of any and all sin in our life.

Gary Richmond, a former zoo keeper, had this to say: Raccoons go through a glandular change at about 24 months. After that they often attack their owners. Since a 30-pound raccoon can be equal to a 100-pound dog in a scrap, I felt compelled to mention the change coming to a pet raccoon owned by a young friend of mine, Julie. She listened politely as I explained the coming danger. I'll never forget her answer. "It will be different for me. . ." And she smiled as she added, "Bandit wouldn't hurt me. He just wouldn't." Three months later Julie underwent plastic surgery for facial lacerations sustained when her adult raccoon attacked her for no apparent reason. Bandit was released into the wild. Sin, too, often comes dressed in an adorable guise, and as we play with it, how easy it is to say, "It will be different for me." The results are predictable.

If you have been riding the fence by nursing pet sins it is time to turn to God and ask His forgiveness…give them up and get right with Him. Your sin and compromise is keeping you on the sidelines of a spiritual war in which you were meant to be a combatant. It is time to get into the fight. Stop the life of a POW and get right!

Pray — We must pray as never before…prayers of faith for God to revive us and save the lost. For God to defeat the plans of the enemy and change the world. we must pray against the strongholds the enemy has built up in our life, churches, nation and world.

Although the apathy of some Christians and the wickedness of society are discouraging, we should pray and remain confident. William Wilberforce was a great Christian philanthropist and vigorous opponent of the slave trade in England during the early 1800s. As he surveyed the terrible moral and spiritual climate of his day, he did not lose hope. He wrote, "My own solid hopes for the well-being of my country depend, not so much on her navies or armies, nor on the wisdom of her rulers, nor on the spirit of her people, as on the persuasion that she still contains many who love and obey the gospel of Christ. I believe that their prayers may yet prevail." Within a few years after he made this statement, the country he loved experienced one of the greatest revivals in modern times, bringing salvation to thousands and producing widespread social changes. 

We must pray against the strongholds the enemy has built up in our life, churches, nation and world. We must pray for the work of Satan’s kingdom to be bound, broken and torn down. We must, in Jesus name, push back the gates of hell and take the land for Jesus.

Stand — We cannot acquiesce to the lies and tricks of the enemy. Nor can we bow to the world’s definitions of right, wrong and wisdom.

The Prussian king Frederick the Great was widely known as an agnostic. By contrast, General Von Zealand, one of his most trusted officers, was a devout Christian. Thus it was that during a festive gathering the king began making crude jokes about Christ until everyone was rocking with laughter--all but Von Zealand, that is. Finally, he arose and addressed the king: "Sire, you know I have not feared death. I have fought and won 38 battles for you. I am an old man; I shall soon have to go into the presence of One greater than you, the mighty God who saved me from my sin, the Lord Jesus Christ whom you are blaspheming. I salute you, sire, as an old man who loves his Savior, on the edge of eternity." The place went silent, and with a trembling voice the king replied, "General Von Zealand--I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!" And with that the party quietly ended. 

Right now Satan is doing all he can to undermine and defeat the witness of the church. We cannot compromise with those who speak half truths while destroying the life of those for whom the claim to defend.

Share — We MUST share Jesus with those in our world. Jesus sent us out into all the world…our world is the one we live in everyday…the people in our day to day life. We can no longer be quiet…we must share our faith.

Conclusions

The other side will always attempt to solve the problems of the world via force and the law. But God has already proven mankind’s heart is hopelessly lost and incapable of change on its own.

We must point the world to the answer for all of its problems…a right relationship with Jesus Christ through faith alone.

We, all of us, are saved by grace through faith and not of ourselves…not by our works…not by our politicians…not by our laws and not by force.

Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin!