Fast Food Salvation

Intro

Ask everyone what their favorite fast food place to eat is

Mine is the food court at the mall, because i can get almost anything I want!

Many people treat God like this. They say there are many ways to God. Whatever way you want to get to him, that's the best best way for you. Getting to heaven is like choosing lunch in a food court. Just choose what you want!

But is that what the Bible says?

John 14:6 CSB

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Wow! Jesus said that? He is the only way to God? That seems only very exclusive, don’t you think? What gives Jesus the right to be the ONLY way? Let’s take a look at the evidence.

Good news Bad news

I have some good news, and some bad news. I’ll have to give you bad news first.

1.  You are a sinner.

Romans 3:23 CSB

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

romans 3:23

“Sinned” means that we have missed the mark. When we lie, hate, lust, or gossip, we have missed the standard God has set.

Suppose you and I were each to throw a rock and try to hit the North Pole. You might throw farther than I, but neither of us would hit it.

God’s standard is perfection. Unless you never sin once in your life, no matter how small, you cannot go to heaven. The Bible says that the ONLY person to ever have done this was Jesus.

The bad news gets worse.

2.  The penalty for sin is death.

Romans 6:23 CSB

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Suppose you worked for me and I paid you $50. That $50 was your wages—that’s what you earned. The Bible says that by sinning we have earned death.

That means we deserve to die and pay for our sins forever in a place called hell. It is a place of suffering and isolation. That is what our sin earns for us. The bad news is very bad. The truth is that there is no way for us to get to God! You cannot do enough good things to pay for your sin. But look at the second part of that verse. since there was no way we could come to God, the Bible says that God came to us!

Here is the good news!

1.  Christ died for you.

Romans 5:8 CSB

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Suppose you are in a hospital dying of cancer. I come to you and say, “Let’s take the cancer cells from your body and put them into my body.” If that were possible, what would happen to me? What would happen to you? I would die in your place. I would die instead of you.

The Bible says Christ took the penalty that we deserved for sin, placed it on Himself and died in our place. Three days later Christ came back to life to prove that sin and death have been conquered and that His claims to be God were true. Isn’t that amazing! Your sins have been paid for!

So then, what does Jesus want from us? What does he ask for in return for suffering for our sins? Do we need to make sure to pray and go to church? Does he require us to do sacraments in order to be forgiven?

The good news gets even better!

2.  You can be saved through faith in Christ.

Eph

Ephesians 2:8–9 CSB

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.

Faith means trust. Just as you trust a chair to hold you through no effort of your own, so you must trust Jesus Christ to get you to heaven through no effort of your own.

Salvation from Jesus is a free gift! Can you earn a gift?

Let’s say I am building a house. I ask you to come help me build it. When we are done, I give you car. Is that car a gift? No! You earned it!

You cannot earn a gift, that’s what the word means. All you can do is receive the gift. How do we receive his gift?

Romans 10:9 CSB

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

All you have to do is believe in Jesus, and trust Him alone for you salvation.

Lets go back to our original question. What gives Jesus the right to be the ONLY way? Because He is the one who paid for your sins. He died in your place.

What gives Jesus the right to be the ONLY way?

This is what separates true Christianity from every other religion on the world. Every other religion has this idea: If I obey, then I will be accepted. Only Jesus says: I accept you because I paid for you.

Look at what else the Bible says

Philippians 2:9–11 CSB

For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There is no one else worthy of our worship, prayers, and thanks. Jesus loves you right now just as much as when he died in your place.

Pivot here if there are no unsaved youth in the audience

This decision is real, and you have only this life to decide where you will be for eternity. Will you pay for your own sin, or will you let Jesus pay for it all?

Acts 4:12 CSB

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

There is no third option, there never will be. Let me ask you, is there anything keeping your from making this decision right now? If you already have the gift, you cant receive it again. there is no need to because all your sin is paid for. But if you have never made this decision before, personally, I invite you to do that tonight.

Will you bow your heads with me?

Right were you are at I want to give you the opportunity to pray. There is no special prayer, what you choose in your heart is what matters. But you can pray something like this.

Dear jesus

I know I am a sinner

I believe that you paid for all my sin on the cross and rose from the dead.

Please forgive me for my sin, I trust in you alone to pay for it.

Thank you for this free gift.

Amen.

Please let us know if you have questions.

Eternity with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

This is the pivot for an all-saved audience

So this is my question for you: If you trust Jesus with your eternity, do you trust him with your today? Do you trust him with your money? your relationships? your happiness?

Galatians 2:20 CSB

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

What does God promise?

Psalm 37:4–5 CSB

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act,

This gospel isn’t just a ticket so you can go to heaven when you die. You are defined by your relationship with Jesus. Jesus wants everything, because everything is better with him. His plan for your life is better than anything you could come up with. Do you believe that? Do you really believe that?

Galatians 2:20 CSB

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Can you say that? I am speaking to myself. Unless we can honestly say that about ourselves, we are missing out. Eternity with Jesus starts now. and lasts forever.

We are going to pray now. Ask God to show you any parts of your life that you need to give control to Him.