Life and Death

Am I the Kind of Person God Saves?

How do you really know if you’re a Christian or not? Were you to die today (like the 150,000 or so people around the world passing into eternity), do you really know whether or not you would go to heaven? A pretty important question you think? On the one hand the world is crowded with churches and preachers that say salvation is something you earn through good works and a moral lifestyle. In fact most of the cults and Catholicism that infer faith in Christ would lean toward such a doctrine. Others market salvation as a feel-good path to self-fulfillment, and downplay sin or personal guilt, and preach that salvation is nothing more than a “belief” or acknowledgement of certain facts about Jesus (the gospel).

Either way, the message is the same: God saves those who have something to offer Him. But is that really the kind of person God saves? Have you sought salvation on God’s terms, or yours? Sometimes we complicate this issue more than necessary and shouldn’t, since it’s only life and death and getting it wrong (as in more than one gospel) can cause painful consequences for today and tomorrow. John Piper in a six-minute gospel presentation defines salvation essentially in one sentence, “The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy. That’s the gospel.” Is it that simple?

I am struck with the simplicity and profundity of the Christian gospel. You can see it from the very beginning. It's right there in the Christmas story in what the angel said to Joseph, "You shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). Perhaps the church just needs to get back to remembering that God sent His Son into the world to save His people from their sins (Mission of the Messiah- Lu. 19:10). Seemingly, a proper presentation of the gospel would focus on that. The angel told Joseph: "He is the one who will save His people from their sins. That is why you must name Him Jesus (Yeshua-“Jehovah who saves”). Humanity's real destroyer is sin and its penalty, and the guilt for sin is a real guilt, a God-imposed guilt that damns to eternal hell. That is why people need to be saved, rescued, and delivered. That is what people must understand in the gospel, and that is what we must proclaim.

That’s why this Sunday, we’ll begin part one of a two-part message in our Basic Training series entitled, “Why The Gospel?” We’re going to clear up the myths, ambiguities and questions surrounding the issue of what it means to be saved and have eternal life as opposed to eternal death (which is not so good). Come and learn once and for all what it means to be a Christian. Then, on Father’s Day Sunday, we’ll finish this message with an answer to the question, “Why Give the Gospel?” That answer will equip and empower you to meet the requirement to give the answer to the first question to those that appear lost If you have been hesitant or scared to share your faith and the gospel to family, friends and neighbors, come and learn why you MUST and can share your faith and do your part to fulfill the Great Commission. Let’s make this summer a key time to refocus on what maters most shall we?