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Last Update: 19 January 2001
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"Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation;
on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies
and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old."
Ps 25:4-6
Today, I have the privilege to talk to you and I want to share a verse, which has guided me many years. This has been my hearts desire and by asking us here , you also, have expressed this same desire.
Here we have King David, asking of God, in this psalm, to keep teaching him. What a teachable spirit. He knew much but wanted God to give him understanding of what God is about. Just as then until this day, God still honors that simple request.
"Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvelous things without number:" Job 5.9
A yearning and searching after God is the essence of this verse. But let me draw your attention to a part of the passage.
"for thou art the God of my salvation;" Ps 25:5
Have you inquired of the Lord for salvation? Is he your salvation? Please allow me to kindly ask two questions?
"If you were to die right now or five years from now, are you 100% sure that all of your sins (past, present and future) are for given and that you have eternal life?"
If you answered , "No" or "Almost", then let me ask another:
"On what do think you must depend for forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven?"
There many answers to this question and here are a few:
"These things have I written unto you that ….. that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5.13
The Bible is clear that you may know or have confidence in your eternal destination. There are three truths and one decision wrapped up in this knowing.
Truth 1 - The Problem Of Sin
We start with a key verse:
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which
I also received, how that Christ died for our sins" 1 Cor 15.3
Each one of us has a problem and that problem
is sin. Why is sin an issue?
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt 5.48
A tall order from the Lord Jesus as he declared the kingdom of God on
the Mount. Sin robs a person of perfection. God's Holiness
demands perfection. You see, we all know that we are not perfect
and that no matter how hard you or I try we can not do it. By the
time
we find out about this command, it is too late. We have done
wrong and no longer are perfect.
"For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." Ecclesiastes 7.20
This is God evaluation of us…..we are not perfect.
What is sin? Perhaps, if I find a certain definition of sin,
then I can measure myself against that standard and be found perfect.
"for sin is the transgression of the law.." 1 John 3.4
Okay, but what law? How about the Law of Moses and that familiar part, the 10 Commandments.
"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Ex 20.7
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."
Ex 20.14
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor.." Ex 20.16
Bearing false witness is lying and I am afraid we all done it. From the big ones to the little ones we do to spare others to think badly of us, we all do it. Remember the standard of Jesus:
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt 5.48
By now, you might be saying , "Okay, I am not perfect but I am better than most, if not all, the people I know."
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3.23
Please consider the Grand Canyon. Can anyone jump it? No matter if you are Carl Lewis of one us, no human has the ability to have the glory of God. Others may not be able to "jump" as far as you, but all will come short. God's holiness demands perfection. This is what it takes to get to heaven.
Truth 2 - The Penalty Of Sin
"Christ died for our sins" 1 Cor 15.3
Why did Christ die? There is a penalty for sin
"For the wages of sin is death;" Romans 6.23
What are wages? They are that which is due us, that which you
or I deserve after we have done something.
What is death? It has to be more than physical death because
people do go to heaven so this death must be something else the ceasing
of function of the human body.
The scripture describes this judgment, these wages, as:
Hell is real. Jesus, himself refers to it more that He did
to heaven.
Now this may seem harsh but God is just. He will send people to eternal judgment. If He overlooked sin and let people into heaven with out His justice being satisfied, Would He be just? Would He be God?
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Justice)" Gen 18.25
The answer is, "Yes!" He will do justice. One of you might ask, "Certainly not me, it must mean someone else?" Who receives judgment.
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die,
but after this the judgment:" Hebrews 9.27
No person escapes evaluation.
"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Rev 21.8
A pretty rough crowd is listed here, but I must draw your attention to the words: "all liars". How many murders does it take to be a murderer ? " One. How many lies?
The news is bad for each one of us because we all have lied and all will be judged and see the promise of God of the result.
There is good news which is the third truth. However, in the honesty of your own soul, in this moment, please ask yourself this question,
"If I were to die this moment, based on the scripture we have seen, where would I spend eternity? Are you concerned about that?"
Truth 3 - The Payment Of Sin
"Christ died for our sins" 1 Cor 15.3
Please notice who died for our sins. It is Christ. He is the only salvation to mankind's problem of sin.
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel" 1 Cor 15.1
The word gospel is a Greek word that means good news. The good news is that God, knowing he can not tolerate sin, is also love and provided a solution to the problem of sin.
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom 5.8
We are going to find out that God made a way of escape from hell through His own Son. But, first, who is Jesus?
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Matt 1.23
Jesus is God with us and He sacrificed himself for us. This is the message of the gospel.
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" 1 Cor 15.3-4
As we have seen, Christ died for our sins. I
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isa 53.6
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree," 1 Peter 2.24
That means that He who knew no sin (perfect) took each and every sin and knew it.
"He had by himself purged our sins" Hebrews 1.3
"He said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." John 19.30
It is finished. What does finished mean? Complete, where nothing more needs to be done. The price of sin has been perfectly paid. What more is there for any of us to do?
"and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1.7
What does "all" mean? What sin might it not cover? Since this work and the statement describing it was about 2000 years ago, your sin and my sin was all future. This includes every sin we have committed or will commit. How much of the saving work did Jesus’ do ? All of it.
And when it was finished , Jesus was buried. His death was a true death.
Jesu paid your sin debt and mine with His death and its payment is credited to me.
"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to ever one that believeth." Romans 10.4
Think of it as a ledger book where on the debits side are listed all my sin. However, on the credit side is Christ's righteousness. The sin debt is beyond our ability to pay. None of us can be good enough and nothing can erase our sin. So Jesus offers not only to pay our sin, but to credit His righteousness to us.
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Romans 3.28
Justified means "declared righteous". We are not made righteous but declared righteous. There are no deed of keeping the law that I can do to be declared righteous.
The analogy is that, let's say, I have a billion dollar debt. There is no likelihood that I can earn a billion dollars. However, let's say, a billionaire sees my problem and offers to pay off my debt. While that would be great, in the end, I still would be broke. The gift of Christ is like this hypothetical billionaire then giving me another billion dollars just to live on. Not only does Jesus pay the debt he credits to us His righteousness. You and I need to have that righteousness to satisfy the standard of God's Holiness and Perfection.
Jesus did not stay in the tomb. To Him, because of His righteousness,
was granted the power to rise bodily from the dead and conquer sin, death
and hell. 1 Corinthians goes on in chapter 15 to describe the multitude
of people who saw Him alive after His burial. Our savior's
work is truly acceptable and is proved by His being alive today.
Being alive, He is capable of making this offer to you today.
The Decision
Have you, will you, take the offer of Jesus to be declared righteous?
"and so ye believed." 1 Cor 15.11
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10.13
"Whosoever" means you and me. And what are you saved from? Sin, Death and Hell.
"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?" Romans 10.14
The common meaning of "believe" is to understand and agree to it. The Bible meaning is more.
-The Three Angles of Faith
It is like I am rowing down a lazy river but then I hear a noise.....the
sound of rushing water. A fall is coming up and I am too close to
it to row to shore before the current takes me over. Seeing my plight
a man on the shore toss a rope which lands perfectly over my lap.
I now have a decision. Do I drop the oars and grab the rope or do
I keep rowing. The choice is, do I depend on Him to pull me
to safety. Remember who the offer comes from, Jesus Christ
who is currently seated at the right hand of God the Father.
Are you willing to drop the oars and grab the rope?
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.." Galatians 2.16
That means that if I add in the works of the law to salvation then I am not justified. That is, a split trust is no trust.
When I sit in a chair, I depend on it to hold me up. If I don't sit down fully and half hold myself up, then I will never know if the chair will ever do its job. Likewise, a person doesn't have faith until the cast away anything else but Jesus to save them from sin and hell.
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Romans 3.28
If I am still trusting in some deed, then I am not justified.
This is a clear decision. One has to transfer their dependence from anything else in the world to Jesus alone. Therefore you can not say, "I have always believed."
"the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1.15
Jesus commanded this repentance, this change of mind. This decision
is a change of mind about what one will depend upon to get to heaven.
A person has to honestly admit they are on the way to Hell because of their
sin. This person has to want the offer Jesus has made
to them and stop depending on anything else but Him to get to heaven.
To those who accept this free gift.
"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." ?John 3.18
I must ask:
*****If you have questions please
Email David Phillips for more info*****
or
Link
to Highlands Baptist Church