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The message of the messiah’s birth What Christianity is all about?
Do you know what life is about? The years can go by very quickly as you live life, goingthrough the trials and hardships that we all face in our lives trying to figure things out. Life is a gift, Eternal life in Christ is the greatest gift. The healthiest person can die suddenly by some unknown natural causes or by an accident. No one knows what tomorrow will bring for them, how long they have.
Many when they get older, become more mature and turn to a spiritual life, they understand that their body, this world is not all there is. They still feel the same youth inside, though their body is wearing out. They search for answers through philosophy, religion, they turn to humanism to do good deeds to others. There are those that teach a positive life attitude to be the ANSWER needed for right living. There are numerous teachers of all types with personal opinions throughout our history that have said they have the answer. Jesus is the answer, Jesus is not like other religious leaders. We are not told to do good to be accepted by God. Because your good is never enough. We were not just given a set of rules to learn and abide by to become good people as religion teaches. Too many, even those who go to Church regularly have this view of what it is all about. Jesus said He came to give us an abundant life, not for things but for what really matters. A fullness to our soul, to be satisfied in life no matter what happens. To be content even if we have little and to have a peace when conflict and trials come. He gives us the power to where we can stay the course and not be shipwrecked with what life throws at us. And life can throw a lot. Jesus said “My peace I give unto you.” It is that rest of our soul, during the storms of life.He shares His peace with us in the midst of the worst of circumstances we may be in. But one must make “peace with God ” first to have “ The peace of God” in their life. He gave us the power to live a different life through the Holy Spirit who will indwell a believer but it happens only by our accepting the Gospel. We must choose, be willing to do what is right before God, not men. What is required is for you to have faith, trust in him, that He becomes your heart, your reason for living. Going to church does not mean you are a Christian any more than going to school means you ARE educated or a teacher. Jesus gave us the message of the gospel to be the way to God, to rescue us from our sinful condition. But for the gospel to work we must know and admit the condition we are in. Take for example, one of the more popular religious teachers on TV, Joel Osteen has a prayer at end of this sermon which can be said by any religion (minus the name Jesus): ‘And I want you to just pray a simple prayer with me. Maybe you don't know how to pray. But all you got to do is say this prayer and mean it with your heart. Say, Jesus, come into my heart. Save me. Be my Lord. Be my Savior. Jesus, I want to serve You all the days of my life. I'm not everything I want to be Jesus, but I know You'll make me into what You want me to be. Jesus, I'll serve You all the days. I'll give you 100%.” He and so many think this is what is needed but this is not a prayer that BRINGS salvation but can be more applied to discipleship. There is No mention of people acknowledging they are a sinner in prayer, therefore the message is powerless because the main element to enact the gospel is not mentioned. For one to be saved they need faith in the message, and that message is the gospel. And the gospel is about rescuing you from your condition, and your condition is sinful. It will destroy you, kill your body and destroy your soul. We all sin (if you say you don’t, you are lying according to the God of the Bible and that too is called sin). Your salvation is not dependent on saying the right words in a prayer. I don’t think one can find any example of anyone praying for salvation in the book of Acts. Not that it is excluded, but You can exercise biblical faith without a prayer, and still be accepted by God… but, praying without faith, repeating words that are put in your mouth by repeating the words of the messenger is not what is required … to believe in Jesus can be accompanied with spontaneous prayer from the heart (in your own words) showing that you understand what you have heard and receive the gospel message or it is only a futile religious exercise of words. Does everyone need the gospel? Yes but it can only be applied to those who can admit they are sinful to be saved by it, which is to be saved BY Him. But this is not as easy as one would think. Jesus said this twice: Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." One goes to the doctor and he tells them they are ill, they believe and trust his judgement and will take the medicine needed to make them well. This is not so when it comes to our spiritual illness that affects our human nature. God loves you enough to tell you that you sin. A sinner is someone who has a fatal disease that has separated them from their creator, that will being death. A sinner is searching for a cure - that cure is the gospel, which only God can provide. It is God’s grace that gives us the way to Him through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Jesus must be seen as the only way, a life and death dependence on Him and His work in the crucifixion, to have salvation received. For it is He alone that one must depend on, trust in. Rom 10:13For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." 1 Cor. 15:2-4 What did Paul preach? “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.” Your attitude cannot save, baptism cannot save, nor any other work. No work of man or of obeying God’s law can, only His work, that of his sacrifice, which was 100% sufficient on its own to save. (It was accepted by the Father) the work was complete. 1 Cor. 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Cor. 1:21 “ it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe .” Only those who are saved by the message can give the message to others to be saved, for they understand who and what saved them. Jesus said it is better to give than to receive, we need to be recipients of what God gives, which is available to all. The best is to receive from Jesus. For the gospel to work, to bring salvation sin has to be understood as an offense to God shame and guilt will be present before one puts their faith / belief, trust in the gospel, which is trusting in what Christ Jesus did for you.
The power to save is by believing in the gospel, not by grace “only” as some universalists teach. No, we are not all children of God, we must be born into God’s spiritual family, there are not different faiths that lead to God, but one faith. (Eph.4:5) Jesus said He is the way to the Father, and the truth and the life. |
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