This is the truth of Christianity, and our Christian faith. No long sermons will get a person to heaven. No beautiful and immaculate church, nor a simple building. No great acts no good deeds, Only your faith is required. It is written:
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
ACTS 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
John 3:16
John 4:14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life
The truth is in the word of God. The truth is in the example of Jesus Christ our Lord. The truth is held in the living word of God, our bible. The truth is easy, difficult for some to understand, but it is the truth just the same. Anyone can doubt or have reservations, but the word of God is truth and never changes. Salvation is just as simple as described by Jesus Christ our Lord. The difficult part is man’s ability to accept it. It sounds too easy, too simple. But denying it does not make it untrue. Just like denying God is real can’t make Him less real. He is God, and His offer of salvation is absolute. No strings attached. No got you points, only His love and grace.
The love from God to save us all is not dependent on our being good. Nor does it depend on how much or less we have sinned. God has, in His infinite mercy and grace, allowed us to come to Him sinless and free from condemnation through one person, Jesus Christ.. Through the sacrifice of Jesus. Man cannot atone for His sins and be clean, only through the blood of Christ are we forgiven. God does forgive and remembers the sin no more. He has blotted it out forever.
We are to live according to the word of God as related by Jesus, to live in love. Love for one another, all forgiving and live in humility. As the Lord has said, none of us are any better or worse than any other. We have all sinned. Our choice is to continue living in sin, in our own desires, or live according to the word of God. We can look around and say well, at least I don’t sin in this way or that. But God does not look at sin in this way. A sin is a sin to the Lord God our Father. Humans are the ones who put a ranking order for sin. Odd how our individual sins just happen to be lower than someone else’s.
How many times do we as Christian’s judge according to sight, or to hearing. But we do not consider gossiping as a sin. None of us are blameless, but God does offer redemption in the form of Jesus. He does offer all people the same redemption. We can all be saved who desires such. All we have to do is believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to save the world. That through Him and only Him we are forgiven of our sins. This allows all who believe to be heirs with Him in the kingdom of Heaven. We are allowed to be children of the one true God. We are all one family of Christians. Not bound by denomination, but by the same belief in the one true God, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
There is so much more to say about being a Christian, about the freedom it brings and the peace of mind it bestows. The grace and mercy of God for all His people and the kingdom we will inherit. The love of God will pour out on all believers so generously that it will be spilled over to those we meet. Let His goodness guide you in all you do. Let your prayers be filled with praise to our Father in heaven. We gave been blessed to be allowed to take our prayers straight to God. We are allowed to approach His throne and can be assured he will hear.
Being a Christian is also a way of life. We live what we believe. We are not perfect and we all sin, no matter who we are. None of us are perfect all the time. We spend time asking for forgiveness when w slip, knowing that we will receive this immediately. Not depending on how we can make up for our sin. We couldn’t atone anyway. Our response to being forgiven is complete belief that it is given, and our continual effort to live a godly life. This is for each of us alone. We are not to try and force our belief on anyone, only to offer it as truth. This way someone else can attain forgiveness from God almighty and live a peaceful life. We can have peace in any situation with knowledge that God is still in ultimate control. He allows what He will and has always the best in mind for those who love Him. We are saved from separation of ourselves and God through His Son Jesus. This is the gospel, the good news that can be shared. Jesus is the answer to all problems, for there is nothing God can’t do for those who love Him. The bible is full of His promises, they are yours to take as His children. He has held nothing good from those who love Him and is always by your side. He, through the Holy Spirit is always present and ready to hear you and help. He will guide and counsel, He will listen and console, He will never leave you. God is love, and as much as we can understand love, He is all that. But unfortunately, we cannot understand the depth of His love. It is unconditional, eternal, and so fulfilling to our soul. There are no strings attached, remember, He loved us while we were still sinners and when we did not know His word or who Jesus was.
Now that we know His word, and His Son, we are to live what He said we are. We have become a new creation, the old us has died away. The new creation is to live Christ like, striving to become as godly as our faith will allow. This does not happen overnight. We are expected to grow our faith, exercise it as you would a muscle. Watch it grow and become confident in His word.
We are saved by the loving grace of God Almighty. He provided the final sacrifice for restitution. No more do we have to sacrifice lambs for our sins. No more do we need to perform rituals as a way to please God. No more do we have to hear the word only from priests. We have been given freedom. Freedom from our past sin debt, from separation from God. We have been given the right to direct communication with the Lord. Jesus said, when asked how to pray, start with “Our Father”. What a wonderful statement from the Lord. We are allowed to approach God’s throne simply by talking to Him. We have been allowed to read His Holy Word for ourselves and have the right to attend a church. God’s church, filled with His word and presence. How magnificent that is.
Those of ancient times, during the times of the prophets wanted this and it was not to be. They did have the temple, but to be able to approach God Himself in your own home is an honor. Through our salvation, by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we are completely redeemed. No more do we have to be ashamed of our past, we have been made new. A clean slate for our lives. One that is based on the teachings of Jesus. Yes we have the freedom to worship our God by word and deed. By the way we live and treat others. We have that second chance that so many people wish they could get. The real value is that anyone can have what we as Christians have. They can have the peace that comes with our turning to Christ and accepting the word of God. It is given freely and without strings attached. We did not have to clean up our act before we could be saved. God saved us and showed the righteous way to live. When we repented of our past sin, we committed ourselves to live according to the word of God. Remember. God loved us while we were still His enemies. He loved us before we loved Him. He loved us even when we had no idea of who He is. He even loved us when we did not care for Him. His hand reached out to us, invited us to take our piece of His salvation. All we had to do was accept. All anyone has to do is believe and accept the offer from God. We are blessed that He loves us so much. His Holy and true word is at easy reach to read and learn. His way for us is lighted so that we cannot misstep. All we have to do is make a move.
I will never understand why anyone would not accept God offer for forgiveness and a new life, and an eternal life with Him. Yes, the Lord does offer to set us free. Free from our past, our sins and our fears. If anyone has not accepted Jesus as their savior, I would plead that they would. The Lord will be seen by all one day, and any doubt a person has will be gone. But also gone will be the opportunity to accept Him. Please do so now if you haven’t already. Accept the Lords offer for redemption, put on His righteousness and be perfect in His sight. Walk in your faith believing the word of God. Trusting in His grace and be delivered from sin and condemnation. Be free of your old self, and live the new fresh life the Lord has given.
May the peace of God be with you always, AMEN.