It may seem odd to many people, for they see what I write.  But I am not a righteous man.  I have never been a righteous man.  Nor is it possible for me to say I am now a righteous man.  And I will wake in the morning a wicked fool.

You may think this is some kind of trick.  “Perhaps he’s about to make some play on words.”  But I am telling you what is true.

Take away the Spirit of Christ within me, and I immediately fall to the man I always have been, and far worse.  Do you doubt me?  Then I propose to you that you do not know the gospel of Christ Jesus.

Do you really think a man must be righteous in order to speak of the gospel with boldness?  Must a man be righteous, in himself, in order to speak against the wicked?  I tell you no on both counts.

The Spirit of Christ within me speaks these things.  I simply relay what I hear.  “Perspective” comes from him and I speak what I see.  And if I do what is right it is not because I desire to do all good things.  The Spirit of Christ tells me what I must do, and I do it.

I have come to lean on the Lord Jesus for everything.  And this is not to my credit.  He has taught me to listen to him in everything I do.  Even my desire to love him is not from me.  It is a gift from him for he has taught me to trust him.

“This is what is meant by, Unless the Lord builds the house the builder build in vain.”

You may think this is some silly attempt at humility.  If that’s what you think, you are deadly wrong.

Please let me ask you a question.  How can a man act in a heavenly way, when all he has ever known his wickedness and death?  that os to say: with what understanding can he lay aside all that he has been taught?  My mind retains the horrors of my own wicked sins.  But the love of God quiets me, as if a crying child.

It is as though a man wears a certain kind of glasses.  What he has known, discolors everything he sees.  Even as we read the Living Holy Scriptures, we are prone to interpret them according to our own knowledge.  And even while someone, with understanding, tells us what the Scriptures mean, we hear with our own wicked ears. 

What was born and thrived in wickedness cannot give birth to what is holy.  A wicked heart can only give birth to death.  It takes what is Holy to come and give birth to what is holy.  And a perverse parent cannot teach a child to be a righteous man. 

What is black cannot make itself white.  Pure whiteness has no darkness in it.  Things that are “not” will not find ability to become.  But God can raise the living dead to eternal life!

We need someone to listen to our very thoughts, and help us correct them as they appear.  This is what the Holy Spirit of Christ does in the believer.  And as a man sees how radically different truth is from his own perception, he begins to love the truth. 

This is how he desires to dress all men.  And I testify that he does this, if a man will only ask in humility. 

Men fear to come to him because they know they are wicked and they know he is true.  But they hate him for no reason.  He shows us what we are, and humility is born.

I have spoken what is true here.  It is eternally impossible for a man to be a Christian on his own.  This is why so many live such horribly pathetic Christian lives.  They have a “form of religion but deny the power of it”. 

To “deny” means more than to say that something is not true.  To deny the power of God, is to stubbornly raise your hand and stand in your place saying,  “No I will not obey!  I refuse to believe!  I refuse to receive what you offer”.

We are born in death.  But by his promised willingness, he transforms us into life.  Go to him consistently, and you will see that what I say is true. 

Present your ragged and useless soul to the living God in Christ Jesus His Holy Son, even in his Holy name.  In a short time you will begin to see what a vicious murderer of righteousness you are.

He has promised, and cannot lie, he will raise up all who come to him.  But do not be deceived by the liars of this world.  To be transformed from death to life is no pleasant task.

There are great tears to shed.  There is horror to endure as you see who you really are.  There is great fear to fall upon you.  And all this will come to you, far before the peace of God gives you strength.  But endure this Holy beating, and you will find he is compassionate and full of generous love.

Many have tried and failed.  They testify that the way of God is full of misery.  But they testify from the volume of their own wicked heart.  They did not come to love the living God in Christ Jesus. 

They remained in their own depravity and would not allow God to open their eyes.  They came before God that he might praise them for being good men. 

To their shock, they began to see what a lie they have been.  So they quickly turned away from him and screamed to all men, while pointing at God,  “He is wicked and his promises are not true!”  Thus they have proudly announced that God is dead.

So they testify to all men, the first and greatest lie:  “God demands too much of us and is not willing to lend a hand.  He demands holiness and gives us no tools with which to grasp.  His promises are not but a trick; an evil and unholy trick.”

They will receive the proper reward for their insolent and wicked perceptions.  And to add to the plight of these perverse men, is that they have taught others their perversity.  God will surely call them to a Blazing Fire of Holy accountability.

But if you desire life, understand what I have written.  If along the way you desire to return to death, you will know it and die.  But you are dead already; condemned before God for the wickedness that you are.  What then, can you possibly stand to lose? 

If you don’t go buy food, from those who sell it, you will not eat.  And man is not a garden of holiness in himself!