COME, O SINNER (Sovereign Grace)

I have a great love and appreciation for hymns, for there is something about the simplicity of Gospel truth which echoes in the heart of man like a tuning fork.

Hymns are arguably the most honest genre of music ever created, for they expose the fragility of our spiritual health and emotional vulnerability.

In many ways, we cannot hide from the conviction of a hymn, meaning their lyrics are meant to simply and directly speak truth in love, and inspire us to humble ourselves in reverence at the foot of the cross.

Hymns remind us who we are as sinners, but more so, that we have been bought with an infinite price, saved by grace, and redeemed through the blood of Jesus.

Like hymns of old, "Come, O Sinner," a contemporary hymn from Sovereign Grace Music, does not shy away from the harsh reality of eternal life separated from God, but exposes our hearts' dilemma and points us to the saving power of the cross.

In a day and age where truth is becoming increasingly relative and changing constantly, we need a song like this, saturated in absolute truth, to remind us of the immeasurable price Jesus paid to ransom our freedom.

Sometimes it takes an extreme act of love to get our attention and that is exactly what "Come, O Sinner" provides, because Jesus willingly gave His life to set us free from the penalty our sin demands, and we cannot forget that sacrifice for even a moment lest we fall away.

Scripture reminds us, "God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one" (Psalm 53:2–3).

Unfortunately, we are living in a sea of ignorance in our world today, for countless souls willingly reject Christ and boldly choose self-preservation or false religion as their ultimate means to an end when they pass from this life to the next.

Therefore, we are wise to not only ensure we have reconciled our own hearts to God, but that our lives testify to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts, so others may witness our good deeds and be drawn to the saving grace of Jesus through repentance. 

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13–14). 

LYRICS: "Come, O sinner, come and see Christ the Lord upon a tree. See the crown of thorns adorn the King who labors to breathe in agony. Come, O sinner, come and see what our God became to set us free."

It is one thing to know Jesus died for ours sins, but seeing a depiction of the torture he endured through a movie such as "The Passion of the Christ" brings horrific, visual perspective to Isaiah's prophesy of Jesus' crucifixion.

"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4–6).

None of us would ever take pleasure watching someone being beaten, tortured, mocked and ultimately executed for a crime he/she never committed, yet that literally happened to Jesus so we would not have to endure eternal torment and separation from God for our sins.

When we consider the cross of Calvary, we are hard-pressed to even summon the courage to look upon our Savior's face and mutilated body, knowing our sins caused His excruciating pain and anguish. That is why this lyric is so powerful, though, for we cannot hide from the harsh reality of what happened to Jesus and more importantly, why it matters.

Rather, we must COME AND SEE firsthand the eternal sacrifice made for the forgiveness of our sins, lest we minimize the crucifixion as a insignificant means to an end for His resurrection to occur. No, each stripe, bruise and wound He suffered matters infinitely.

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus suffered more deeply than we could ever imagine, therefore let us not be so naïve to assume His sacrifice was easy considering He was God. Our Savior knew beforehand in the garden of Gethsemane what lay in wait and prayed His Father would perhaps choose a different path to accomplish His mission of salvation for mankind, even though He knew that was His sole purpose in coming to earth to begin with.

"And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will'" (Matthew 26:39).

However, despite knowing full well the torture, agony and execution He would suffer, Jesus submitted Himself to the Father's will unto death to provide our eternal way of escape, proving once and for all God's love, grace and mercy are limitless and immeasurable.

LYRICS: "Come, O sinner, come and mourn For He calls your sin His own. Do you feel the weight of justice served? He suffers the wrath that you deserve. Come, O sinner, come and mourn for He bears the curse for all you've done."

Once we've acknowledged the reality of what happened at Calvary, we are then called to COME AND MOURN over what caused this injustice in the first place.

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4), because mourning our sin is the gateway to eternal life.

When God revealed Himself to the prophet Isaiah in a vision, Isaiah became overwhelmed with guilt and immediately bowed in reverence to the Lord, confessing his sin and that of his people.

"And I said: 'Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!' Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for'" (Isaiah 6:5–7).

The Lord did not have to atone for Isaiah's sin in that moment, but His holiness demanded Isaiah be purified and cleansed of his unrighteousness to enter into His presence, and that is exactly what the blood of Jesus does for us.

It washes away our iniquity and cleanses us from sin so we have the honor and privilege of spending eternity with God. Make no mistake, eternal judgment still takes place and we will give an account for all the sins we've committed in our lifetime.

"For it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:11–12).

But instead of condemning us to hell, God imposed His wrath on Jesus one time for all eternity to purchase our salvation and earn final victory over sin and death.

"'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55–57).

The question is not whether we truly comprehend the magnitude of the cross from a big picture perspective regarding salvation. Rather, do we feel the weight of justice served when temptation begins to take root in our hearts and minds, or does reality set in only after we've yielded to sin?

LYRICS: "Oh, the wonder of this awesome scene where our Savior bleeds. Oh, the power of the love of God. Come and stand in awe."

There is absolutely no substitute for pure, unconditional love.

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

When bad things happen and difficult trials impact our lives, we wonder sometimes whether God is listening to our cries for help. It can cause doubt to take root in our hearts and weaken our faith. However, have we ever considered that God saved us from the greatest natural disaster the world has ever seen?

He saved us from ourselves and defeated sin and death by coming down from His heavenly throne and humbling Himself by taking the form of a man to unjustly suffer a criminal's death so we would not have to.

"Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man" (Psalm 66:5).

Jesus demonstrated unconditional, selfless love when He took our place upon the cross, and we are wise to recognize the infinite price that was paid to not only save us, but teach us how we should love one another.

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:4–11).

Knowing what Christ did for us, we should stand in awe, wonder and immeasurable appreciation to God for sacrificing His Son on our behalf. No other worldly religion testifies to anything remotely close to that absolute truth, yet millions follow their false doctrine and the promise of heavenly riches and rewards which will ultimately only bring eternal pain, torment and damnation to their souls.

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew 12:30).

LYRICS: "Come, O sinner, come rejoice! Mercy fills this place of scorn, for He dies to save His enemies that all who draw near may know His peace. Come, O sinner, come rejoice! Through the death of Christ, death is destroyed."

Once we have acknowledged the reality of Christ's sacrifice and mourned over our sins, we are called to COME AND REJOICE in the victory we have in Jesus.

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).

It amazes me how many followers of Christ have lost their joy despite knowing full well their eternal debt has been paid. Unfortunately, countless, born-again believers continue to submit themselves to fleshly strongholds rather than recognize Jesus has released the shackles which formerly kept them enslaved.

Scripture affirms, "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin" (Romans 6:5–7).

Is there anything this side of heaven more glorious than that promise? 

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6–8).

That is the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, yet far too many of us have lost our way and forgotten our true identity. My brethren, if we have been born-again through the saving power of Christ, we are no longer slaves to our flesh but set free from the stronghold of our enemy.

"So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11).

Therefore, we must cast off all guilt, shame and regret which enslaves our minds and clouds our judgment, and instead embrace new life in Christ which has defeated sin once and for all. Make no mistake, we were all former enemies of God, but we have been redeemed as His enemy and embraced as His friend because of His unconditional love and forgiveness for us.

"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life" (Romans 5:10).

It would be careless for me not to address the immeasurable risk we take by ignoring the continual warnings God outlines in the pages of His Word.

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’" (Matthew 7:21–23).

There is a monumental difference between identifying ourselves as Christians and truly living our lives in submission to God's authority and obedience to His Word. That means we do not cower to the world's standard but rise far above it, willing to stand for what is right according to Scripture and endure persecution rather than yield to worldly pressure.

I can attest there is nothing more important to me working in the business world than the honesty of my words and integrity of my character, and the same goes for my writing.

Therefore, because I publicly declare myself a follower of Christ, my actions must testify to the power of Christ living in me, otherwise my actions are hypocritical to the hope I profess and confusing to those who scrutinize whether my faith is authentic and worth consideration for their own sake.

My hope and prayer is that others are drawn to Christ by my actions because they see a change in my behavior which glorifies God and keeps me from obeying my fleshly desires. For "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Sometimes we have to preach that Gospel message to our hearts numerous times a day because we get distracted when the storms of life roll in unexpectedly. However, we also know that bearing the name of Christ is an honor and privilege which holds us accountable and allows us opportunity to humble ourselves.

Therefore, if we desire to be used by God to accomplish His will in this world, we must rely on the Holy Spirit who dwells within us so we might extinguish the fiery arrows of the enemy and win souls for Christ by our application of His Word to the glory of His awesome name.

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident" (Psalm 27:1–3).