Tag: jesus

Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him. - Luke 23:32 (NASB95)

Our church holds a men's breakfast monthly, usually on the first Saturday, and last weekend was no exception. Both related to the scripture we were reading (Romans 11), and as a preview of something from Sunday's message, we took a look at a section from the Gospel of Luke:

One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” - Luke 23:39-43 (NASB95)

Jesus didn't say, "You must be baptized to enter Paradise," or, "You have to bow your head and cross your hands to ask Me for forgiveness." Jesus said, "Today you shall be with me in Paradise."

Because salvation is by Faith and not by works. But don't take my word for it:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB95)

The criminal on the cross couldn't kneel and pray, couldn't get baptized, couldn't tithe, couldn't serve the poor, couldn't sing in the worship band, and couldn't pay the wages of his own sins. The only thing he could do was to believe in Jesus for the remission of his sins. (That is, Jesus paid the wages of the criminal's sins on his behalf.)

During this men's breakfast, our pastor mentioned that there is at least one denomination that believes that you must be baptized to be saved, and that even if you slip on the wet step of the baptistry, fall, hit your head, and die before being baptized, that you will go to Hell. There is no scriptural basis for this belief, and it directly contradicts previous passages we have looked at, as baptism is a work. Yes, a very symbolic work that is an outward expression of our faith, but nevertheless a work.

Because not only can we not get to heaven by works, we cannot pay for the wages of our sins. Yet Jesus paid the wages for all the sins committed by all of humanity from the beginning to the end of time.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23 (NASB95)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8 (NASB95)

I'm praying that some of you have read this far to read how to accept Jesus into your heart. Amen! This is the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” - Romans 10:9-13 (NASB95)

You don't need to read a fancy pre-written salvation prayer, be at church, or even be dressed in your best. You just need to come to Jesus as you are, confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead. That's it. No Works, All Faith.

Do it now, because tomorrow might be too late: "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." - James 4:14 (NASB95)

And now for those who have kept on reading to see if I am going to call out any particular sins... I don't need to.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - Romans 3:23 (NASB95)

I am a sinner, you are a sinner, we are all sinners. I don't see anywhere in the Bible where it tells us to "go unto all the nations and call their sins out". Instead I see a different call:

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” - Mark 16:15 (NASB95)

Jesus died on the cross so that you could receive the free gift of salvation. That is the Gospel, or Good News, of Jesus Christ - don't let this or any other human get in your way of accepting Christ.

So yes, I am a sinner saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, and I pray that you would open your heart to the Gospel before it is too late. Why? Because I love you. And so does Jesus.

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. - John 3:16-17 (NET)

What if you wake up one morning to discover that millions of people have disappeared? Or worse, it has already happened when you find this post?

Sounds like science fiction? Well, it's actually (as of the time I am writing this post) future Biblical prophesy: The Rapture. We haven't been taken by aliens, we've been taken by Jesus.

Governments around the world will undoubtedly be trying to convince the world that an alien abduction, or some other non-Biblical cause, has occurred. Information like this post will be labeled as false or misinformation, and could cause this blog and other websites like it to be taken down from the Internet.

If you would like to know more about future history, check out my friend Ken Power's book The End of the Beginning. It's freely available on the Internet for anyone to read or download. I pray that it will show you that you are a sinner in need of Jesus, and that if you find it after The Rapture, that you will know what must come to pass so that you are not deceived.

I've also shadowed a downloadable copy in case his website is taken down before mine...

The single most important word spoken by Jesus...

Most New Testament translations render this Greek word, found in John 19:30, as the phrase, "It is finished!" That, combined with this verse ending with Jesus giving up his spirit, might lead one to conclude that Jesus was referring to his impending death.

But this single utterance means so much more: Τετέλεσται should be rendered as "It has been paid in full."

Now you're probably wondering what Jesus paid in full before giving up his spirit. I don't blame you.

Before Jesus died on the cross, He had already paid the debt for all of the sins for all of humanity; a debt for which we could never repay our own, no matter how many "good" things we may try to do.

And this is why the Friday before Resurrection Sunday (aka Easter) is known as Good Friday.

But please, don't just take my word for it: read this verse in context here.