Salvation Plain and Simple by Dr. Curtis Hutson

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In the Matter of Salvation, We Are Dealing With an Infinitely Holy God

There can be no understanding or appreciation for the plan of salvation without understanding this. This infinitely holy God has said that sin must be paid for. He said to Adam in Genesis 2:17, "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shall surely die." Ezekiel 18:4 says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death." And James 1:15 says, "Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." This infinitely Holy God said sin must be paid for. And the payment for sin is death.

This death is more than dying with a gunshot wound or cancer. It is described in the Bible as the second death. Revelation 20:14, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." If I pay what I owe as a sinner, I must die, go into Hell and stay there forever and ever. That's the price God demands for my sins. The Bible does not say the wages of sin is joining the church. I could join every church in town but that would not pay what I owe as a sinner. The Bible does not say the wages of sin is performing good works. I could work a thousand lifetimes and never earn Heaven.

If I offered to God my works as a hope of Heaven, the motive behind the works would render them ineffective. The only motive God accepts is love. First Corinthians 13:3 says, "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." Good works that are not motivated by love will not be rewarded. If I worked to stay out of Hell, the fear of Hell would be my motive, and thus render the works ineffective. The Bible says "The wages of sin is death." God has one payment for sin and that is eternal death in the lake of fire. The only thing I can do to pay my debt is die, go into Hell, and stay there forever.

This Infinitely Holy God Says All Men Are Sinners

The Bible says in Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." Again the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:20, "For there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, and sinneth not." Romans 3:10 says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." And Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

The words "come short" simply mean "to miss the mark." How far we miss the mark is not the important thing, but the fact that we have missed it. When I went to high school you had to make seventy to pass. If you averaged anything less, you had to repeat the grade. Suppose one student averaged sixty-five and another thirty-five. There are thirty points difference between their grade average, and both are in the same predicament. They are below the passing mark.

When God looks down on this world He says in the words of Romans 3:22, "For there is no difference."

I say, "Lord, what do You mean no difference? I know some folks that live better than others."

"There is no difference," God says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

Suppose I hang a target on the wall and ask every person in the room to take a dart and do his best to hit the bull's eye. Now everybody in the room throws a dart. Some miss the bull's eye by only a quarter of an inch. Others miss by a foot. Still others miss the whole target. But not one hits the bull's eye. When all the darts are thrown, I say, "There is no difference."

"Oh," says someone."What do you mean no difference? I only missed the bull's eye by a quarter of an inch."

I say, "There is no difference because all came short of the bull's eye." In God's sight there is no difference between sinners. We may not commit the same sins, but everybody has sinned and all men are sinners.

God says we are all sinners and sin must be paid for.

Now in the third place: