Abraham is called a friend of God in the Bible. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God (James 2:23). I too am a friend of God. Not because I’ve done anything to earn that friendship, but because righteousness has been imputed to me. Are you God’s friend tonight?
To be a friend of God, you have to believe in God and you need imputed righteousness. How do we get imputed righteousness? Through faith in Jesus Christ. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus Romans 3:21-26).
Please don’t miss this tonight. To be God’s friend, you must put your faith in Jesus. You must believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Why? Because all have sinned. You and I are sinners. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are all sinners. The question is: are you a sinner saved by grace or are you still a spiritually dead sinner in your trespasses and sins? We must put our trust in Jesus because He is the propitiation for our sins – propitiation means that the wrath was satisfied. God’s anger over your sins was satisfied by Jesus’ suffering, shed blood and death on the cross, if you repent and put your faith in Jesus.
Please notice that it says “faith in his blood.” It is through faith that you are saved. It’s when you acknowledge that you are a sinner and that you need to be saved. It’s when you stop trusting in yourself or someone else and put your full trust in Christ and His shed blood. Why? Because by the shedding of Jesus’ righteous blood, there is remission or forgiveness of sins. Your sins can be forgiven. You, yes you, a guilty sinner – a liar, thief, murder at heart and adulterer at heart, covetous person, you can be seen as innocent. You can be declared not guilty. Not by your own works, not by bribing the Judge of the Universe, not by any other means, except through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
When you repent and put your faith in Jesus you are justified, you are seen as righteous – through the righteousness of Jesus. His righteousness is imputed or put on your account, when you surrender your life to Him. When you believe in Jesus Christ our Lord; when you truly believe in Him. Not just with intellectual belief, but with all your heart, soul and mind. When you surrender your all to Him. When you withhold nothing.
Jesus is the only way of Salvation. There is no other way. He is the only One who perfectly obeyed the will of God the Father. He is the only One who is the perfect sacrifice, the perfect atonement for your sins. Jesus is the only Savior, but you must believe in the living Son of God. Whoever believes in Him has everlasting life (1 John 5:12). Oh, trust Jesus tonight. Turn away from your sins and turn to Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Trust Jesus tonight and become a friend of God.
Stop being God’s enemy tonight. Be His friend. Come to Jesus. Submit to the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, stop being God’s enemy. You say that you are not God’s enemy tonight? Are you sure? Let’s look at God’s word and see. Please examine yourself. See if any of these verses describe you. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4).
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 John 2:15-17).
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others (Ephesians 2:1-3).
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them (Ephesians 5:3-7).
Oh do not be deceived tonight. Don’t let Satan the great deceiver keep you deceived. Do no deceive yourself. You are either a friend of God or you have made yourself His enemy. You say that you are neither friend nor foe? Oh, but you are. Jesus said that you are either for Him or against Him. There is no middle ground. You cannot be God neutral. You either love God or you hate Him. You either serve God or you serve Satan. You can’t be neutral. Are you God’s friend or are you God’s foe? You can’t serve God and someone or something else. You are either for Him or against Him.
Are you for God? Who do you serve? Who has your heart? Have you been born again? Has God taken away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh or is your heart still hardened? Do not harden your heart tonight. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. Surrender your life to Jesus our Lord. Jesus is the only Savior. Don’t continue hating God. Don’t continue with God’s wrath being against you. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36).
You can be forgiven for your sins. You can be forgiven for your hatred toward God. You can be forgiven for making yourself God’s enemy. God loves us and God made us, but we’ve all sinned against Him. We have all rebelled against Him. Your rebellion makes you a child of wrath tonight. Do not be deceived. God hates all workers of iniquity. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity (Psalm 5:5). God is angry with the wicked every day: God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11).
Oh don’t continue going through life being the enemy of the great Creator. God has graciously given you every breath that you have taken. One day His mercy will be removed from you and you will breathe your last breath. Then you will suffer for all of eternity for your sins, for your hatred, for being God’s enemy during this life if you die in your sins. You will suffer in the flames of Hell forever and ever.
But you don’t have to do this. You can be a friend of God. There’s only one way to become God’s friend. There’s only one way to remove God’s wrath from you. There’s only one way for your sins to be forgiven. There’s only one way of salvation – through Jesus Christ alone.
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Have you repented and put your trust in Jesus? If not, what’s keeping you from doing so tonight? What worldly possession or pleasure are you unwilling to let go of? You can’t grab a hold of Jesus with one hand while you are still holding on to the world with the other hand. He gave His all for guilty sinners like you and me. You must surrender your all to Him.
Oh become God’s friend tonight and stop being His enemy. Forsake all and submit to the Lordship of Jesus. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord on Judgment Day, but if you wait until that great and terrible day of the Lord it will be too late. Your eternal destiny will already be set.
If you wait until Judgment Day to confess the Lord Jesus, you will do so, but then you will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where you will suffer God’s wrath over your sins forever. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
Do not foolishly die in your sins being an enemy of God. You will suffer His vengeance in flaming fire. It is everlasting destruction. Don’t do it. Don’t continue rushing through life speeding down the broad road to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). Do not continue loving the pleasures of the flesh.
Oh tonight, confess and forsake your sins. Admit that you are a sinner. Admit that you deserve God’s everlasting anger over your sins. Oh, come to God humbly and beg for His forgiveness. Cry out for God to save you. Become a friend of God tonight.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). Do this tonight and be saved. Do this tonight and become God’s friend instead of His enemy.