SD008 An important message to everyone!

An important message to everyone!

Tags : salvation

Category : Apologetics , Sermon

Certainly today there is a wealth of religions and non-religions vying for our attention all with its various claims for happiness, enjoyment, fun and life.  There is, no doubt, a reason for this…we are all looking for something beyond ourselves, something more.  There just has to be, doesn’t there?  And this yearning is not easy to describe.  King Solomon said that we have eternity in our hearts.

There is one that claims to have the real answers.  THE truth.  Claims to be able to fill the holes in our lives.  Claims to be THE life.  And contrary to how the world thinks, contrary to tolerance and the ‘doesn’t matter what you believe’ philosophy claims to be THE way.

It is odd that we think that it doesn’t matter what you believe if those beliefs are the opposite of each other – and surely we want to get it right, don’t we?  They can’t ALL be right – surely there can only be one.

It was Jesus who said: (NKJV) — 6 …I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus was not inclusive but exclusive – He says He is the ONLY way.  Not very palatable to us – but so what?!  Some medicine is not pleasant for us to take but we still take for the benefit of our health.  Either Jesus was saying something we should pay close attention to or else he got it wrong.

In another place in Scripture (the Bible) it says:

(NKJV) — 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

So, if Jesus is right…and I haven’t heard anyone prove Him wrong yet…and what we have just read here is that there is no other way except through Jesus and it says we MUST be saved…then surely we should take extreme notice.

From what do we need to be saved?  Jesus came to give us life.  Not just a plain boring life but life to the full.  So He came to save us from monotony.  But is it this that we need to be saved from?  Of course not but that is one of the benefits of coming to Jesus.  You cannot say that the Christian life is boring!

So, from what do we need to be saved? 1) From ourselves 2) From hell

From ourselves?  Well, yes!  We all like to think that we are good and on the balance of things we’re OK.  But on whose scales are we weighing ourselves?  With whom are we comparing?  With Hitler?!  With our neighbour?

Let’s find out just how good we are!  Have we ever lied?  Ever?  Have we ever stolen something?  Tell the truth now – otherwise we have just lied!  Have we ever got angry?  Have we ever lusted and wanted something that belonged to someone else that didn’t belong to us or ever can without stealing?  Hmm.  Yeah, but these are just minor things, aren’t they?  Aren’t they?  Well, all these things and others like them such a murder, such as taking the Lord’s name in vain (ever said ‘Jesus’ as a swear word), such as not worshipping any other god (including TV, money, wealth, work, etc) – all these things are called ‘sin’.  It is missing the mark – like missing the bull’s-eye on a dart board – or it is something that has been done deliberately.

Sin.

This is why we need to be saved from ourselves because there is a price to pay, a judgment given for those who sin.

We won’t want to hear it…but here goes:

(NKJV) — 23 For the wages of sin is death

Death!  That sounds a bit harsh doesn’t it – I mean we haven’t done anything THAT bad, have we?

(NKJV) — 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

The point here is that we are all in the same boat – nothing we do can get us to a better place – God is so completely holy He cannot bear sin – and so we are all under the same judgment.  What is more God could not make it clearer:

(NKJV) — 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

This brings us to the other point – we need to be saved from the judgment.

Jesus says that He is the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, the ONLY life – and we can only come to God through Him.

But if we reject Him then we are going to be judged according to our deeds and according to the fact we have not accepted Jesus:

(NKJV) — 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

But not all is lost!  What difference did it make for Jesus to come?

Well – you know that judgment that we have to suffer – the one which says we deserve death and hell – Jesus paid the price – Jesus took our punishment upon Himself to save us.  That’s why He died an horrific death upon the cross.  We deserved to be there but He paid our fine in full.  That’s why when He was about to die He said: It is finished!

This is why the message that Christian’s bring to the world is called ‘Good News’ (Gospel).

Jesus didn’t stay dead – but came back to life after three days – defeating death in the process – now we can simply accept and trust Jesus has done it all for us – and in return He will give us eternal life.

Why did He do this?  The most famous verse in the Bible declares it best:

(NKJV) — 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

And:

(NKJV) — 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He didn’t wait for us to turn to Him – He initiated it all – His arms are wide open now to receive you, if you would receive Him.

We could not pay the price for our sin – our destiny was hell and deservedly so – the proof is in what Jesus has done for us – He would not have gone to so much trouble dying in such a way let alone the spiritual side of things (which was worse – He literally went through hell for us) – He would not have gone through it if there had been some other way.

Will you turn to Him?  Will you accept the free salvation bought for you?  If so – you will pass from death to life – as simple as that.  But if you will not then you are still under judgment – there is a price to pay for rejecting such a great salvation – but why reject Him?  It doesn’t make sense – Jesus is the medicine we need to take – and not the unpleasant kind either.  It is completely free – it is a gift:

(NKJV) — 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Pray now and ask Jesus into your life – as a response to His great love for you – give your life to Him.

Here is a suggested prayer to help you:

Lord Jesus, how amazing it is for you to love someone like me.  I am a sinner and I need forgiveness. I know I don’t deserve the life you are giving me.  But I believe that Jesus shed His blood and died in my place for my sin.  I believe that He rose from the dead to give me life.  You have given your life for me – I give my life to you.  Come into my life to be my Lord (to be the one in charge), Saviour and Friend.  Thank you!  And please give me your Holy Spirit to help me walk according to your ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What now?  Go to a Bible-believing Church near you (like Ely Baptist Church in Cardiff) and tell people the Good News that you are now in the family of God and have eternal life.  If you have a Bible then start to read it – perhaps reading Luke first.

Need advice?  Get in contact with me – get in contact anyway and let me know what you have done – and if you have any questions because you have not yet decided or have unanswered questions getting in the way – just ask!  But PLEASE do not leave it – the question of whether Jesus is the way, the truth and the life is the most important question of all – and there is going to be a time when it will be too late to do anything about it – be URGENT – be saved.

God bless you as you move forward in your Christian life.