The Price We Pay - Senior's message

The Price We Pay

August 12, 2007 – Senior’s service

Hebrews 10:26-31

Let’s begin by reading Hebrews, chapter ten and verses 26 through 31: “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Many people believe they'll go to heaven because they tried to live a good life. Here is the simple truth: Those who receive Jesus Christ's gift of salvation will spend eternity with God, whereas those who refuse the gift will not. The price for rejecting God is separation from Him for all eternity.

When a person becomes a believer, he rec­ognizes that he is not good enough in himself to deserve anything from God. Man's sinful nature—which is characterized by rebellion against the Lord—has alienated him from his Creator. No matter how hard a person tries, he cannot avoid sinning again, because he still has his old sin nature. However, at the moment of salvation, Christ forgives all his sins, declares him no longer guilty, and gives him a brand-new nature.

Therefore, if a person rejects the truth that salvation conies only through the atoning death of Jesus Christ, he has nowhere else to turn. His good works aren't enough to get him into heaven—a place of sinless per­fection—because his transgressions remain unforgiven. The penalty for sin is death; if Christ's substitutionary sacrifice is rejected, the guilty party must pay the price himself.

These words are not meant to scare you into receiving salvation; they're a warning about what the future holds if you reject the Lord. God has set before you a choice between eternal life and death: "Choose life in order that you may live . . . by loving the Lord your God, by obey­ing His voice, and by holding fast to Him" (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).