“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”
—Jeremiah 17:9
No two things are more contrary than the wickedness of man and the purity of God. Sin is hateful to God, and it has dug every grave and it fills the depths of hell with groaning and gnashing of teeth. “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23). The whole nature of man is affected by sin: the understanding is darkened, the will is corrupt, the conscience is defiled, the tongue is full of cursing and bitterness, the feet are swift to shed blood, the eyes are full of adultery, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ … For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:4-5, 8).
Scripture is crystal clear — salvation is God’s free gift and we do not deserve the smallest part of God’s gift. Instead, we deserve everlasting misery in the lake of fire. One sin calls for everlasting punishment because our sins are against an eternal God Who cannot forget our wickedness against Him. In every sin we say that God is not God and we will not have Him to rule over us. But by grace we are saved through faith. Paul tells us that the God of grace gives us salvation. It is even in His grace that God gives us both the desire for salvation and the assurance that we have been rescued from the penalty of sin. Salvation is a free gift God gives to spiritually dead people who earned the everlasting curse by their sin. God saves us! Redemption from sin is His work alone through His Son, Jesus Christ. Never let go of this truth for “She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her” (Proverbs 3:15). Praise God for the glorious, wondrous grace of salvation in Jesus Christ.
Tuesday Encouragement: December 2, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
