Speaker: Bill Simpson

If the cross is not about wrath, then:
• Christ did not take your punishment
• Christ did not bear your guilt
• Christ did not satisfy justice
• Christ did not remove condemnation
• Christ did not reconcile you to God
And if Christ did not take your wrath… then you must.

God does not need your permission. God does not need your activation. God does not need your cooperation to be sovereign. The devil loves this lie because it shrinks God. A small God can’t save you. A small God can’t sanctify you. A small God can’t sustain you. And a small God can’t be worshiped.

We try to fix ourselves with self help. God fixes us with salvation. We try to build our own lives. God gives us new life. We try to make our own world. God is making a new heaven & new earth. We try to save ourselves. God sent a Savior. God says: “You cannot cover you. But I can. And I will.” This is the gospel.

The serpent did not deny God’s existence; he questioned God’s Word, stirred desire, & taught Adam & Eve to interpret reality through what looked good, felt good, & seemed wise. This shows how sin distorts perception—& how the God we ran from is the God who came looking for us.

The truth is centering, stabilizing, clarifying—if we are willing to upend our devotion to our preferred vision of the truth.

You Only Live Once is a lie because it ignores eternity. It ignores judgment. It ignores the soul. It ignores God.

The lie says: “God just wants you to be happy.” The truth says: “God wants you to be holy — and in holiness you will find a joy deeper than happiness.” The lie says: “God doesn’t care about your happiness.” The truth says: “God cares so much about your joy that He refuses to let you settle for anything less than Himself.”

The serpent’s lie leads to death. God’s truth leads to life.

Most people don’t reject God—they just crowd Him out. Not intentionally. Not rebelliously. Just gradually.