You Can't BE Forgiven, Because You Already ARE!

Trey Searcy here with Truth Time Radio.
Today we're going to be talking about false ways to get your sins forgiven.
False ways to get your sins forgiven, and they're false because all ways of getting your sins forgiven are false.
There is no such thing.
You can't get your sins forgiven.
It's an impossibility, and has been for almost 20 centuries now.
Ever since the 1 Corinthians 9:17, dispensation of the gospel was committed to the apostle Paul.
When it comes to reconciliation, there are two parts.
There are two parts to reconciliation.
There is God's, and there is yours.
God's part was 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21.
Check it out sometime.
God's part was to take your sins and put them on Christ, making him to be sin for you.
He charged your sins to Christ, holding him responsible.
He did so, so that he can stop charging them to you.
He's no longer holding you responsible for the sins that Christ died for, and religion with all their rhetoric has done a great job veiling this truth.
So, God did his part.
What about yours?
God through Christ finished it.
Now it's up to you to, by faith, believe it.
Next time someone tells you that salvation comes by getting your sins forgiven, you tell them that if that were the case, if that were the case, then according to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 19, the whole world is saved.
You see, they've simply let religion and its cohorts blind them from the truth.
You cannot be saved by getting your sins forgiven.
You can be saved by faith, believing that at the cross is where God stopped imputing sins to mankind because Christ with his life paid for them all.
There he paid for all sins, was buried, and has risen.
God forgave the world of their sins.
He didn't save the world.
Having our sins forgiven and being saved are not the same thing.
In the next verse, look with me now, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 20.
Here we're told that now, that would be following the work that God did in Christ on the cross, now, we need to quote, Be ye reconciled to God.
Be reconciled to him.
Now this is a salvation verse.
Look at it.
You see, verse 19 is not a salvation verse.
No, verse 19 is a I got my sins forgiven verse, a truth that applies to everyone in the world.
People die every day unsaved but with their sins forgiven.
It's universal forgiveness, not universal salvation.
Now, in looking at verse 20, verse 20 of 2 Corinthians chapter 5, here we have a verse that is speaking of salvation.
Examine it.
Look for yourself.
Look at it.
Don't be lazy and take the easy way out.
No, don't do that.
Listen, while verse 19, look at it, while verse 19 is God giving assurance to the world that their sins have been forgiven, put out of sight, verse 20 assures us that we must reconcile ourselves to God.
He says I reconciled you, now you reconcile me, and it's our faith that completes the reconciliation process.
It has nothing to do, listen, it has nothing to do with us getting our sins forgiven.
That's the first half of the process that God has already done, and he did it all by himself.
That part had nothing to do with us.
As Wayne and Garth would say, we're not worthy.
My question is, is how come it took so daggone long, I'm about 60 years old, and it took so long to find out the truth about what Paul has explained and about the great message.
I'm glad I'm learning now, but I feel sort of slighted, for most of my life I have been confused and I have been praying continuously about the fact that what does God really mean?
And I'm just beginning to find out now.
I recently heard someone speak on how much God hates sin.
During the lecture, he also said, being forgiven of your sins requires you asking God to forgive them.
I thought to myself, man, if you really, if you truly knew just how much God hates sin, you wouldn't be saying this.
Listen, God hates sin so much that your itty bitty little words will never be enough to get them forgiven.
No, God hates sin a lot more than that.
He hates sin so bad that he required a sacrificed life for it.
Now that's real hatred of something.
When someone has to die because of it, if this man would get his nose in the book instead of buying his pre-written sermons, his Saturday night specials at the Christian bookstore, he would begin to see just how much God really hates sin.
And then perhaps he would realize that we cannot possibly have anything good to offer.
No amount of words will ever be enough.
Our asking won't change a thing concerning forgiveness.
It was something accomplished at Calvary where God collected the debt and he is satisfied.
And listen, for those who say that, yes, the world's sins are forgiven at the cross, but this only applies to them, it only takes effect after, after they become a believer, then what you're saying is, and you probably don't realize it, but what you're saying is, God reconciled himself to sin.
That's what you're saying.
That's what you're promoting.
You're promoting a God that would reconcile himself to the very thing he hates.
No way.
It's impossible.
He would never do that.
If it's as you say, if their forgiveness doesn't apply to them until they become a believer, then what God did is, he reconciled himself to sin.
In 2 Corinthians 5:19, God said he reconciled himself to the world, but you say he only reconciled himself to believers.
Don't limit God by changing his word.
He reconciled himself to the world, and the world had to be forgiven of their sins or God would have been reconciling himself to sin.
This reconciliation truth was not known before being revealed to the Apostle Paul by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It's in his letters, it's in Paul's letters, that we see the first evidence of individuals no longer having to do something to get their sins forgiven.
It was after the cross and through Paul that it was first made known that we do not confess our sins to get them forgiven.
We do not, Matthew 6:14, forgive others to get our sins forgiven.
As a result of the cross, they're forgiven regardless of what we do or don't do, believe or don't believe.
Today we're talking about false ways to get your sins forgiven, false ways to get your sins forgiven.
And here's a truth for you.
You can't get your sins forgiven.
It's an impossibility.
They've already been forgiven, and there's nothing left to do concerning forgiveness of sins.
And after learning this reconciliation truth, Paul, as a minister of reconciliation, began to spread this good news, the best news the world had ever heard.
And those with the religious, Pharisaical, self-centered mindset were out to kill Paul for it.
Satan, the author of confusion, working through ministers of self-righteousness in accordance to his policy of evil, has done a magnificent job at suppressing the truth about reconciliation.
Christ, 1 Corinthians 15:3, died for sins.
The fact that every person's every sin was forgiven, forgiven at the cross, and there's nothing you can do to earn your forgiveness, does not, as some suppose, promote a sinful lifestyle.
I would argue that it does the opposite.
Sin actually feeds off the fleshly things we do when going about to establish our own righteousness.
Sin feeds off the law, and is why Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:56 wrote, The strength of sin is the law.
The strength of sin is the law.
Next time you decide to do something in your flesh to get forgiven, remember the strength of sin is in your performance.
Contrary to popular belief, Satan is pleased when someone thinks they must go to God to do something to get their sins forgiven.
Every time you ask for forgiveness is precious time you could have been thanking God, thanking him for already forgiving you.
Acknowledging forgiveness, instead of asking for it, is an excellent exercise that will strengthen your inner man and awaken you to the truth of the finished crosswork.
It will change your thought process and promote cross-conscious thinking instead of sin-conscious
thinking.
Hey, it's plain.
This truth, now listen, this truth is plain in God's word, and there's no one good enough to get their sins forgiven.
God's word is plain in that there is none good, not even one human being.
You're not good enough to get your sins forgiven.
In Matthew 19, remember, a man, a man came to Christ and said, good master.
And what did Jesus say?
He said, why do you call me good?
There is none good but one that is God.
Now I wonder why more people aren't teaching this.
When are we going to concede?
When are we going to surrender and finally get this?
We are not good.
That's pretty plain simple English, isn't it?
I'm not good, you're not good, and no one you know is good.
Of course, I just lost a few of you right there because you don't really believe this book.
And I know I'm making some of you feel a little upbraided.
Truth will do that to you.
Now, while Satan, through self-righteous preaching, has made you think you're a good person, and that you're able to do some ritual, something in your flesh that will get your sins forgiven, you've never really trusted in Christ, believing that he did it all on the cross, wake up.
It's a lie.
You're in for a rude awakening.
You're in for the shock of your eternal life.
It surprises people when, when they learn that this dispensational truth of all sins, of all people being forever forgiven at the cross, wasn't spoken or revealed to anyone prior to Paul.
That's a surprise to most people.
However, it's evident by Acts 3:19 and 2 Peter 1:9 that Peter didn't know it.
In the time in which we're currently living, every person's every sin has been forever forgiven.
No one's waiting to have them blotted out.
Not so for Peter's audience.
Aren't you thankful, aren't you grateful for this dispensational truth?
You see, Peter never had this information to give to the believing remnant of Israel.
In the Bible, we're told that Christ has reserved a time out there in the future when he will blot their sins out.
He died for their sins on the cross.
He died for their sins on the cross.
I mean, he's not going to come back and die again.
But as far as wiping their account clean, it hasn't happened yet.
According to Israel's dispensational truth, their sins will be blotted out when the Lord returns.
Acts chapter 3 verse 19.
Which also explains what Peter wrote to them in 2 Peter 1:9.
In 2 Peter 1:9, let's take a moment, let's take a moment and look real quick in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 9, 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 9.
And you decide.
I mean, does this sound like someone who has a clean sin account?
Peter writes, But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Did you catch that?
From his old sins.
Now, this goes along with what we read in Acts chapter 3.
Let me find it real quick.
Acts chapter 3, and I want you to look down about verse 19.
Acts chapter 3, I mean, it's clear that the dispensational truth Paul reveals to us was not being revealed back here to the believing remnant of Israel.
Now, the book of Acts chapter 3 and verse 19.
Peter writes, well Luke wrote it, but it's Peter speaking.
Peter says, Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
Don't miss it.
Don't miss this truth.
It's right here.
If Peter and the believing remnant of Israel understood the same gospel, understood the same gospel that the apostle Paul preached, then words don't mean anything, because Paul, over and over and over tells us that sins have already been forgiven, while here Peter is clearly, speaking of a time out there in the future, when the Lord will return to blot out their sins.
And as we just read in 2 Peter 1:9, their gospel was that he purged them from their old sins.
That was the cross work of Christ for them.
It's different.
It's different from what Paul preaches to us.
Just compare, it's simple.
It's simple to get this.
Just compare Scripture with Scripture.
Just compare what Peter wrote about sins being forgiven to what Paul wrote about sins being forgiven.
Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:19 says he's no longer imputing our sins against us.
And Paul here in Colossians chapter 2 verse 13.
Just compare Scripture with Scripture, the truth should become clear.
Verse 13, Colossians chapter 2.
And you, being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having, now listen closely, don't miss it, don't miss this truth, having forgiven you all trespasses.
In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 19, he's not imputing our trespasses unto us.
You are no longer being charged for your sins, because 2 Corinthians 5:21 put them on Christ.
Christ took the punishment.
And in Colossians chapter 2 verse 13, he's already forgiven all trespasses.
Now you can pair that with Acts chapter 3 where Peter says there will be a time out there in the future, he called it the times of refreshing, when the Lord returns and they'll be back in his presence, and at that time they'll have a sin blotting out ceremony for the believing remnant of Israel.
That's when their sins will be blotted out, not before, and again is why he wrote over there in 2 Peter 1:9, don't you understand?
Your old sins have been purged?
So, the dispensational truth of all sins of all people being forever forgiven at the cross wasn't spoken or revealed to anyone prior to Paul.
You need to get that.
Peter didn't know it.
It's evident by Matthew chapter 6 verse 14 that prior to the cross, Christ didn't teach it.
Oh, He knew it, but he didn't teach it.
Why not?
Because prior to his finished crosswork, all sins of all people were not forgiven.
Why would he preach something that's not so?
At that time, there were things they had to do to get their sins forgiven, and it's religion that will drag you back to the other side of the cross, back there before Christ finished the crosswork and made it known through Paul.
This Sunday morning, they'll be more than happy to drag you back there and place you under the bondage of trying to get your sins forgiven, something that's already been accomplished for everyone on the planet.
Your sins are already forgiven, and you don't need to believe that in order for it to apply to you.
2 Corinthians 5:19 applies to everyone in the world, whether they believe it or not.
God's only answer to the guilt of sin was Christ on the cross, period.
This effectual forgiveness is simply a lie, a false way to get your sins forgiven.
It's a denominational teaching that says, Your sins are not forgiven until you believe Jesus died for them.
This could not be any further from the truth.
The truth is, that we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son when we were his enemies
– Romans 5:10.
And as his enemies, we didn't believe Jesus died for our sins.
God deciding to not hold my sins against me never required my faith.
I'm nowhere in the forgiving sins picture.
Reconciliation and getting your sins forgiven are not the same thing.
Reconciliation takes two people, getting your sins forgiven took one.
Proclaiming the gospel, the good news, how that Christ died for your sins, was buried and has risen for your justification.
Your sins are already forgiven, so stop trying to do what's already done.
Don't ask for forgiveness, acknowledge it.
This is Truth Time Radio, I'm Trey Searcy, I'm delighted to be with you today as we celebrate God's grace, his mercy, and love.
And as a minister of reconciliation, I am mandated to tell you this, getting your sins forgiven had nothing whatsoever to do with you, nothing to do with your behavioral modification, nothing to do with a lifestyle change.
Do I believe that after, after someone is saved, they ought to be concerned with how they act?
Sure do, but not an unsaved person.
An unsaved person needs to hear how good Christ was, and not how good they need to be.
They need to hear how good he was on their behalf.
The Holy Spirit and God's Word will help them to work on being a better person after they're saved.
God doesn't want an unsaved person attempting to clean themselves up, thinking that that will save them.
Sins being forgiven dealt solely with the clean life of Christ, his behavior, which was perfect by the way, making him the perfect sacrifice.
And while you may be good in your own eyes, or even someone else's, you in your present condition, in your flesh, will never be good enough for God.
His standard is too high, and there is only one that ever met it.
And now after being saved, if you want to talk about how we should live, if you want to talk about how we should carry ourselves as ambassadors for Christ, his representatives, now that's a different conversation.
Forgiveness on one side, salvation on the other.
Don't blur the lines like so many do today.
Your lifestyle is not a condition for your forgiveness.
You were forgiven before you were ever born.
Neither is your lifestyle a condition for your salvation.
Your lifestyle is not a condition for salvation.
It's a result of salvation.
Forgiveness of sins does not follow your moral reformation.
If you remember, people held the Pharisees in high esteem, didn't they?
They were considered to be very moral people.
Because someone cleaned themselves up somewhat on the outside, does not mean God forgave them
on the basis of how clean they were.
Listen to Jesus in Matthew 23:27, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanliness.
It's obvious that moral reformation won't cut it.
I know atheists who have high standards, good morals, help out their neighbor and try to do right.
Outwardly, some of them make Christians appear immoral.
And let's not forget the rich man who came to Christ in Matthew chapter 19.
He was doing a good job of keeping the commandments.
And so was Paul before his conversion, remember?
It's over there in Romans chapter 7.
He said, I was alive with the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
Before being saved, Paul was religious and felt alive.
He felt morally good.
Many are like this today.
They're religious and lost.
They feel alive and morally good, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones.
They've confused their relationship with religion for a relationship with Christ.
Listen, when lifestyle changes and behavioral modifications begin to overshadow and take the place of the finished cross-work, while I may not be the smartest guy in the room, there's one thing I'm quite certain of.
A train wreck is just ahead.
Someone with this attitude has their confidence in the wrong place.
We're here to encourage you to abandon the idea of being taught today that says, quote, You need to get your sins forgiven.
It's a religious-based mentality and it's prevalent among churchianity today.
You got to watch out for this.
These religious spin doctors are telling you that there are things you can do to get God to forgive your sins.
But the truth is, the truth is, your sins are already forgiven.
Stop trying to do what's already done.
Don't trust yourself for forgiveness.
Trust Christ.
Stop putting confidence in self.
This sort of confusion is why so many avoid the church and many are leaving the church.
How intimidating it must be for an unsaved person to think that they must gather up all their sins, take a trip to God, confess each and every one of them, and in their mind they think, I wonder if I sinned too much.
I wonder if my sin is too bad for him to forgive.
They're ashamed.
But you see, that's the beauty of the cross.
That's the beauty of reconciliation.
God can now say, haven't you heard?
I took all your sins out of the way.
I dealt with it.
It's been taken care of.
It's off the table.
I took it off the table and placed it on Christ.
A death that was the all-sufficient sin payment for mankind.
And, Trey, I did this so that you could freely come to me.
With all sins forgiven, you can now come to me and pursue a relationship.
I removed the sin barrier so that we could have an everlasting relationship.
A salvation, not religious, but an unconditional salvation relationship.
This had to be done before we could go any further.
Sin had to be removed for you and I to do this.
Now, I don't need your performance.
I don't need your laboring in your flesh to try and get your sins forgiven.
I don't need you to believe that they're forgiven before I can apply that to you.
It's a reconciliation truth that applies to everyone, whether they believe it or not.
It's already done.
You're forgiven.
I need your faith concerning your salvation.
Your faith in the all-sufficient finished cross work equals salvation.
What Christ did was good enough for me.
Now, I ask, is it good enough for you?
Hey, you can get this.
Listen, change is possible tomorrow if we're willing to open our eyes today.
There's a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Religion produces death.
Religion produces self-righteousness.
Those under the spell of religion are going about to, Romans 10:3, establish their own righteousness.
Oh, it's a way that seems right, but the end is the lake of fire.
They're confessing sins to be forgiven.
Some have been told to give their heart to God to be forgiven.
Others think if they turn from sin, they can be forgiven.
Some think being water baptized makes them forgiven.
Some sincerely think that saying the so-called sinner's prayer is what gets their sins forgiven,
even though there is no such thing, now listen, there is no such thing as, quote, A sinner's prayer, anywhere in the Bible.
These people are going about to establish their own righteousness by seeking their own forgiveness.
Listen, the only means of forgiveness was the crosswork.
Jesus was the source, the cross was the means.
One Sunday morning, they'll say, come forward and receive Jesus.
This so-called invitation to receive Jesus is a lie.
There's no flesh involved, no getting up, no walking down, no kneeling down, just you hearing the gospel and believing the gospel, placing your trust in Christ, a truth you can find in Ephesians 1:13, and it's just as clear as freshly clean crystal.
Another popular yet false way to get your sins forgiven is, be baptized for the remission of sins.
Absolutely not.
Water will not remove sin, and furthermore was a Jewish doctrine, a good Jewish doctrine, but a Jewish doctrine nonetheless, one that was to be followed before Israel's fall, when salvation was still John 4:22 of the Jews.
But in case you haven't heard, after the cross, Christ came to Paul and revealed a change in the program.
Christ told Paul that Israel, as God's chosen nation, had Romans 11:11 fallen and had been, verse 8,
given the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear.
You can't be baptized for sins that are 2 Corinthians 5:19 not even being charged to you.
What a waste of time.
God is no longer counting, no longer imputing your sins to your account.
So, instead of getting wet, spend that time telling someone that Christ took their punishment for them.
Reconciliation does not equal salvation, and there are simply not enough ministers of reconciliation today who will commit to telling this truth.
You can't confess enough, you can't pray enough, you can't turn enough, you can't get wet enough, and you can't believe enough to get your sins forgiven.
None of these things play any part whatsoever in your sins being forgiven.
They won't access forgiveness, they won't apply forgiveness, and they won't appropriate forgiveness.
You can get dunked three times a week from now till your last deathbed day, and it won't even wash one sin away.
You can't wash away something that's not there.
You can confess your sins to God from the time you wake up in the AM until the time you fall asleep in the PM, and you won't confess even one sin away.
You can't confess away something that's not there.
You can believe 1 Corinthians 15:3, Christ died for your sins, or you cannot believe Christ died for your sins.
Your belief or unbelief won't change a thing.
It won't change the fact that Christ died for your sins.
These are all just false ways to get your sins forgiven.
2 Corinthians 5:19, God is no longer counting, no longer charging your sins against you.
And just how is that possible?
Because he counted them to his Son, 2 Corinthians 5:21.
I mean, come on.
If God put all the world's sins on the person of Christ, and he did, punished him for them, and he did, and is not counting, not charging, not imputing your sins to you, and he's not, then please tell me, I'm so curious, which one of the sins that's not being imputed to you will your baptism wash away?
Which one of the sins that's not being imputed to you are you confessing to get forgiven?
Which one of the sins that's not being imputed to you are you turning from to be forgiven?
Which one of your sins that's not being imputed to you are you praying the sinner's prayer for?
Which one of these non-imputed sins needs your belief before God can appropriate forgiveness to you?
As if then and only then, after you've given your mental permission to God, only then will he allow the benefit of his death to go in effect for you.
The sin barrier that once separated God and man has been demolished.
Everyone in the world was included in that, whether they know it or not, whether they believe it or not.
Hear me well and test me well.
Get your Bible out and test me according to the rightly divided word of truth.
Getting God to forgive you today is an impossibility.
Let me say that again.
Getting God's forgiveness, getting him to forgive you of your sins today, is an impossibility.
He won't forgive you, so forget it.
He already did the work for your forgiveness, and to my knowledge, he has no plan in place to come back and remount the cross on your behalf.
It's done, it's finished, the work has been accomplished.
This wrong-headed thinking is why some can't be a blessing to others.
They're selfishly wasting time on themselves, all time trying to get God to forgive them.
Please forgive me, please forgive me.
They might as well be saying, Lord, will you forgive me of what you've already forgiven me for?
Listen, put it to bed and get on with it.
God's got things for you to do.
Thank you so much for taking time out to be with us here on Truth Time Radio.
We're talking today about those in religion who are teaching false ways to get your sins forgiven.
And they're false because all ways of getting your sins forgiven are false, every single one.
There is no correct way to get your sins forgiven.
They're all false because you can't get your sins forgiven when they already are.
Now understand this, getting sins forgiven and being saved are not the same thing as many wrongly believe.
Romans 4:25, listen closely, "...who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification."
Here is Paul making it clear.
He's making a clear-cut division between forgiveness of sins and salvation.
Look at it.
Look at the first half of the verse.
"...who was delivered for our offenses."
This confirms that Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins.
And the next part of the verse, listen, "...and was raised again for our justification."
Which is confirmation that Jesus was raised to make a way of salvation.
A clear proof that getting sins forgiven and being saved are two separate things.
Paul continues to provide further proof of this very thing in the next chapter as well.
Romans chapter 5, look at verse 10, "...For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
Again, as he did in chapter 4, Paul makes a clear-cut division between forgiveness of sins and salvation.
Look at the first part of the verse, "...reconciled to God by the death of His Son."
What does this confirm?
That Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins.
Now, look at the rest of the verse.
Here we go again, "...much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
Just like in the previous chapter, this is a clear-cut division being made by Paul showing that forgiveness of sins and salvation are not the same thing.
The whole world has had their sins forgiven, but the whole world is not saved.
Sins are forgiven whether anyone believes it or not.
God took care of that on Calvary's cross, but listen, belief is required for salvation.
That is, belief in the death, burial, and resurrection.
That's why we are told in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 that, even though God has done his part in terms of reconciliation, we must do ours.
That's why it says, "...be ye reconciled to God."
So how do we do that?
Is our part based on performance, on something we do in our flesh, something others can see?
That's what many think and that's what many hope because they like to do something that people can see them do.
They like to perform in front of others, but not at all.
Our part is an invisible faith part.
We stand in agreement with God by faith believing that Christ was the final offering, final sacrifice,
final payment for our sins, and that he was buried and has risen.
Concerning the wages of sin, there is nothing more to be done.
The world's wages were paid.
The account was stamped, PAID IN FULL.
You trying to add to that, you trying to add to what Jesus has already accomplished, will never please God.
Oh, that's what you think.
You think you're doing something good, but it's actually an insult to God.
It's a demonstration of your lack of faith.
It's you telling God, thanks but no thanks.
Thanks for what you did, but I'm not quite sure it was enough.
And listen, if you continue down that part you part God path, you won't wind up at your desired destination.
And it's Satan who will get the last laugh.
Your sins ARE forgiven, which means you can't GET them forgiven.
Now, you won't hear this often.
No, this finished cross-work preaching is not popular, but it's a shot of truth with no chaser nonetheless.
Now, before we go, let me share a couple of listener emails concerning reconciliation.
The truth that I've learned from you on reconciliation is what was missing.
I knew something was missing, but I didn't know what.
I was unable to put my finger on it.
After learning this, I now have the confidence to share Jesus with others.
And here's one.
On my way home one afternoon, the station I normally listen to went silent.
I hit scan and there you were.
You said, what Christ did for us does not hinge on our belief of it.
And you said that we are forgiven whether we believe it or not.
This was news to me.
You mentioned 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and went on to say that it's one of the most overlooked chapters in the Bible.
You brought up the last few verses.
I think it was verses 18-21.
In all my years of attending church, other than hearing the part about being a new creature, I never heard anyone explain verses 19 through 21.
Prior to catching this program, I had always thought that God only forgives those who ask for it.
I did not know that he had forgiven the whole world, and I don't think they know it either.
You're right, they don't.
And that's the problem.
Knowing what was done for them, knowing that God is not angry with them, that the wall of separation that was placed there by sin has been removed, and God is now ready to pursue a relationship with them on the basis of faith, that, that is what they need to hear.
And the listener continues here with, Now that I think about it, it is not logical to think that Christ died to forgive our sins, but his forgiveness does not go into effect until we believe it.
Why would he need our belief to make it so? Praise the Lord, it's so, it's so.
And we received so many letters and phone calls that sound much like these.
There is a great awakening going on.
Many are no longer satisfied with the he said, she said.
They're doing their own research and digging up these truth nuggets for themselves.
Religion brings fear, and they use that fear to control.
And it affects those who are impressionable and easily blown about by every wind of doctrine.
And I'm not throwing off on anyone.
I was that way.
It was when I understood 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 7, where Paul says, Consider what I say, and the Lord will give the understanding in all things.
When I understood that, I went to the letters of Paul.
I did my research and found out he was saying something very different than you'll find in the rest of the Bible.
He was writing about unsearchable riches.
Ephesians 3:8, unsearchable riches of grace.
Unsearchable because you won't find them outside of his letters.
So now I'm no longer easily blown about by every wind of doctrine because I'm stabilized.
I've been stablished.
Romans 16:25.
I now understand the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery.
And you can too.
That'll do it.
Remember, you only get two educations.
The one you're given, and the one you give yourself.
Galatians 4:16.
Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
Now I'm here to tell you that all truth is absolute truth.
There are no relative truths.
Every truth is absolute.
And something that is true is true for all persons at all times in all places.
You say wait I can think of a relative truth already Frank.
What is it?
Well right now I feel warm while the people in Alaska feel cold.
That's relative.
No it's not relative.
It's absolutely true for all people at all times in all places that right now you feel warm.
Remember truth is what corresponds to its reference.
When referring to you, it's true you feel warm right now despite what the people in Alaska feel.
It's absolutely true for all people at all times in all places that right now the people in Alaska feel cold.
That's absolutely true.
There are no relative truths.
Truth is truth.
Now when you say things like this however you get a lot of objections in our culture today.
Here are some objections we get to absolute truth.
There is no truth.
I heard that said on the radio once.
A guy called in and said, There is no truth.
What do you do with that?
Someone called in one time and said, You can't know truth. You just can't know it.
Or sometimes they'll say all truth is relative or my favorite it's true for you but not for me.
Christianity may be true for you but Buddhism is true for me.
Right?
No one has the truth.
You Christians you think you have the truth?
Let me tell you something.
Nobody has the truth.
What do you say to that?
And if they really get angry at you or annoyed they'll say well you ought not judge.
You Christians you're so judgmental.
Stop judging.
Don't you judge me.
Jesus said don't judge.
We got to deal with all these things don't we?
If we can't refute these particular objections then we can't say the Bible is true.
And the way we're going to refute these claims is to apply the claim to itself.
Apply the claim to itself.
For example, if someone were to come up here suppose I were to come up here and say to you, Look, I can't speak a word in English.
What would you say?
You just did, right?
Everyone can see that's self-defeating.
To say I can't speak a word in English is self-defeating.
It's logically self-defeating.
Now something that's practically self-defeating would be for me to say, My parents had no kids that lived.
Right?
Have to be here to say that.
Now we call this in the book the Roadrunner tactic because it reminds us of Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner.
What's Wile E. Coyote's only mission in life?
Catch the Roadrunner.
And Roadrunner is just a little bit too fast for Coyote, right?
Just as it looks like Coyote is about to catch him.
Roadrunner stops short of the cliff and for that split second as Coyote goes blowing by him, Coyote's hanging in midair with that question mark over his head until he realizes what?
He's got no ground to stand on and he plummets to the ground in a heap.
That's exactly what you can do to people who utter self-defeating statements.
You can show them their argument has no ground to stand on and they plummet to the ground in a heap.
The entire argument collapses on itself.
So, when someone says there is no truth if you apply the claim to itself what should you say?
Is that true?
You see?
Or if somebody says, All truth is relative, what should you say?
Apply the claim to itself.
Yeah, is that a relative truth?
No, that's supposed to be an absolute truth.
Right?
How about somebody says this?
This is a big one in our culture today, It's true for you but not for me.
What do you say to that?
Apply the claim to itself.
What do you say?
This section over here.
Well, you could say why but the easiest way to refute it is to say, Yes, is that true for everybody?
Is it true for everybody that's true for you but not for me?
Because if it's true for everybody that's true for you but not for me, then true for you but not for me can't be true because it's true for everybody.
Right?
Actually, there's a more fun way to deal with it.
If somebody says it's true for you but not for me say, Sure, go try that with your bank teller.
Go to your bank teller one day and say, I'd like $100,000 out of my account.
Bank teller looks at your account and says, I'm sorry, you only have $47.12 in your account.
And you go,
Ha!
That's true for you but not for me.
Give me the hundred grand.
Now if it's true for you, it's true for everybody.
When it's a truth that refers to its referent.
And that's true for religious claims as well.
If it's true that God exists, that's true for everybody whether you believe it or not.
If it's true that Jesus rose again for the sins of the world, that's true for everybody whether you believe it or not.
Will your faith change whether Jesus died and rose again?
No, he either did or he didn't, right?
Regardless of what you believe about it.
Do you have to believe something to make it true?
Do you have to believe in gravity to stay on the ground?
Do all those people who don't believe in gravity float away?
Look, there's another one!
Come back!
Come back!
If you believe, you'll come back!
No!
Your faith doesn't change a thing about whether or not this book is true.
The only thing your faith does is it appropriates the salvific content of it to you.
It does not change whether or not God exists or whether or not Jesus rose again or whether or not this book is true.
How about this one?
There's no truth in religion, only science.
You hear this a lot on college campuses, or campi.
That's what they say.
They say there is no truth in religion or philosophy or anything else.
There's only truth in science.
We get all our truth from science.
So, all your religious truths are just a matter of faith and all the scientific truths over here, they're really true.
What's the problem with the statement?
Yeah, is that a scientific truth?
No, that's not a scientific truth.
You can't go in the laboratory and prove that.
That's a philosophical claim right there.
So, it defeats itself, and wipes away a lot of skepticism about Christianity.
You ignorant, arrogant, judgmental Christians, you think you have the truth.
Let me tell you, nobody has the truth.
What do you say to that?
Yeah, then how do you have the truth that that's true?
If we can't know the truth, how do you have the truth that nobody has the truth?
Because if you have the truth that nobody has the truth, then I guess somebody has the truth, namely you, which means that nobody has the truth isn't true.
I know this can give you intellectual constipation if you think about it long enough, but...
In fact, in order for you to say that somebody is wrong, what do you have to know?
You have to know what is right.
You can't say somebody is NOT right unless you know what IS right.
You know, you're hearing a lot now from our postmodern culture that everything is meaningless, or that words don't have any meaning.
What do you say to that?
Everything's meaningless.
You say, hey, what do you mean?
I mean, if everything's meaningless, what do you mean by that?
Trying to tell us how to live.
When you say there's no meaning, of course there's meaning.
How about this one?
You should doubt everything.
This is the skeptical claim, right?
What do you say to that?
Yeah, should I doubt that?
See, why are skeptics skeptical of everything but skepticism?
Why don't they start doubting doubt?
See, if you start doubting doubt, then you're back to knowing something for sure, right?
Maybe skeptics ought to start doubting their doubts.
Have you guys ever thought about doubting your doubts?
I doubt it.
Actually, how many in here have doubts?
Everybody has doubts.
If you don't have doubts, you're not thinking.
Alright, so a lot of people aren't thinking, sorry.
Everybody has doubts, but when you look at the evidence, at least for me, I realize that most of my doubts are emotional, they're not intellectual.
And when they're emotional doubts, I should go, Look, that's just emotion. Emotions come and go, but facts never change.
When you look at the evidence for Christianity, you realize that you ought to start doubting your doubts.
This has been Truth Time with Trey Searcy.
Visit our website at truthtimeradio.com.
Until next time, remember, when a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest.