I want to talk about something a little more personal. I want to get to the Christians view. Some of you may not believe, and that's just up with you and Him. But I'd just to bring out some light, some acknowledgment to this. I know some of you are thinking "blah not another boring sermon that I have no interest in whatsoever". But, just hear me out, okay? It won't take long I promise.
We are in the end of days. There is an urgency to bring light to the world before our timing is gone. It's already expired. We are on borrowed time. But I don't want to overwhelm the brethren. But we rest and trust in his Grace and boldly protest the gospel of his grace.
The word Gospel means "good news". It's pretty important to understand that. The Bible is not a book that tells us what we have to do to earn salvation, it is a book that tells us what God did to earn our salvation. What he did was send Jesus, his son to live as flesh as one of us. Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves and he paid for what we had done in his body on the cross. God created human beings and intended for them to be ruling creatures. We were supposed to be under God but over everything else. We were supposed to rule over creation under the guidance and authority of God's Word and to function as conduits for all the blessings of heaven. That's how it was supposed to be, but unfortunately, the Bible tells the story of how our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell into sin by choosing to rebel against God's Word in order to become autonomous ruling creatures. Basically, they wanted to be gods unto themselves, deciding good and evil. From that point on, humanity has been on a downward spiral moving further and further away from God and our original design and glory. The heart of the Gospel is the Good News that Jesus has come as God in the flesh and has obeyed God perfectly and has therefore won the right to all the blessings God originally intended to give to men and women. Furthermore, through his sacrificial death on the cross, he has paid the debt that we owed to God for disobeying his commands. There is therefore no need anymore for us to hide from God.
In Jesus, we can come home and we can be restored. The climax of the Gospel is the great news that he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where he now intercedes on our behalf. He gives the Holy Spirit to all his people and he slowly but surely, changes our hearts, reforms our desires and teaches us how to be the children of God we were always intended to be. For now, Jesus remains in heaven, changing the world one person at a time, but one day he will return and judge the world in righteousness. He will remove from this world all sin and all causes of sin and he will restore the cosmos to a state of peace, prosperity and flourishing and all those who have received him as their Lord and Savior will participate in his rule and enjoy his goodness forever.
Some of you could be thinking, I haven't done anything that bad. Or, I've done some things that could never be forgiven. My crimes are too horrific to be redeemed. But that's why we have a savior! It doesn't matter how big or small it is. You commit one you've committed them all! And it's okay. It is. Jesus laid down his life so we could be forgiven.
I'd like to call it the ABC's of salvation. It's so easy a CHILD could do it!
A: admit you are a sinner. This is the first step. Recognizing you are not perfect and have done wrong and are in need of a savior so we can be forgiven and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We all have sinned and come short. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. – Romans 3:23NKJV For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. – James 2:10 NKJV "There is none righteous, no, not one; – Romans 3:10 NKJV. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23 NKJV. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9 NKJV
B: believe in Jesus Christ. You will be saved. Salvation is not complicated. we entrust our life to Jesus Christ—believing on Him and His finished work on the cross. "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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 15:3-4 NKJV
C: Confess Jesus is Lord. With your mouth, confess he is the Son of God. We know it's all the work and merit of God that we may come as the righteousness of God. All who come on the name of the Lord shall be saved. In Christ alone.
Not sure how to pray?
If you are not familiar with prayer, it is simply talking to God openly and honestly. In your own words, confess your sins to Him (He knows what they are anyway). Admit that you have broken God's law. Receive God's gift of salvation by declaring that you believe in Jesus' finished work on the cross, His shed blood for your sin, and His resurrection from the grave on the third day. Confess Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life. Your life will be forever changed as you begin a new journey of faith in Him, surrendered to His Lordship. You are not scared of your works but FAITH ALONE!
Shalom and God bless 🙌
