"...so that he [God] might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith." (Romans 3:26-27 ESV)
Before the self-help culture was in vogue here in the United States, Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse saw from Scripture that the sickness of self-help lies at the core of every human heart. Listen to what Dr. Barnhouse had to say:
"Man is almost incurably addicted to the principle of doing something toward his own salvation. I will change that and make it even stronger. It is not that man is almost incurably addicted to self-help in salvation, but that by himself he is absolutely and unchangeably addicted to that principle of lifting himself by his own bootstraps. The fact that no man has ever succeeded in doing it does not seem to deter him. It is all an illustration of the nature of the human heart and an example of the distance to which sin has flung man from the righteousness of God. When man thinks that he can do something to bring himself nearer to God, he is thereby confusing his unawareness of his true distance from God. And when he thinks that God could be satisfied by something that comes from the human heart he is showing that he cannot comprehend the true holiness of God."
There is only one hope for the human heart and that is God who through His only Son, Jesus Christ, upheld His holy standard and at the same time brought about the forgiveness of sins and declaration of many to be righteous in His eyes. Barnhouse challenged his generation (and this applies to us as well) by stating:
"Boasting has been excluded by God Himself. If you will get down into the place of bankruptcy, God will save your soul and take you across the bridge safely, out of death and into life through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ."
It is my prayer that you would see your extreme poverty and place your total trust and confidence in Jesus Christ.
Before the self-help culture was in vogue here in the United States, Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse saw from Scripture that the sickness of self-help lies at the core of every human heart. Listen to what Dr. Barnhouse had to say:
"Man is almost incurably addicted to the principle of doing something toward his own salvation. I will change that and make it even stronger. It is not that man is almost incurably addicted to self-help in salvation, but that by himself he is absolutely and unchangeably addicted to that principle of lifting himself by his own bootstraps. The fact that no man has ever succeeded in doing it does not seem to deter him. It is all an illustration of the nature of the human heart and an example of the distance to which sin has flung man from the righteousness of God. When man thinks that he can do something to bring himself nearer to God, he is thereby confusing his unawareness of his true distance from God. And when he thinks that God could be satisfied by something that comes from the human heart he is showing that he cannot comprehend the true holiness of God."
There is only one hope for the human heart and that is God who through His only Son, Jesus Christ, upheld His holy standard and at the same time brought about the forgiveness of sins and declaration of many to be righteous in His eyes. Barnhouse challenged his generation (and this applies to us as well) by stating:
"Boasting has been excluded by God Himself. If you will get down into the place of bankruptcy, God will save your soul and take you across the bridge safely, out of death and into life through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ."
It is my prayer that you would see your extreme poverty and place your total trust and confidence in Jesus Christ.
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