Pastor A

The following qualities will be in the life of a new Christian that has truly been born again.

6. Victory over sin and the world. I John 3:3-10 “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” I John 5:4-5 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” I John 5:18 “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.“

7. Rejection, misunderstanding from the world. I John 3:13 “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.“

8. Good Works will be evident. I John 3:17-22 “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.“

9. The Holy Spirit will be active. I John 3:24 “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.“

10. One will have evidences of Answered Prayer. I John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.“

Are these ten characteristics that we have examined over the past two days evident in your life? If not, enter today into a new relationship with Christ!

Saturday evening Shelli was “exercising” in our bedroom. She was bouncing up and down on this large green ball. I am unsure of the “exercising” part of this hilarious routine of bouncing up and down; but, if it helps Shelli’s self-esteem to know that she exercising, then so be it.

I suddenly hear this blood-curdling scream and then what I witnessed defies all laws of gravity. With one unbelievable move, Shelli went from bouncing on this green ball to under the sheets and wrapped up in a tight cocoon in the middle of our bed – all in one motion. Shelli is screaming, “kill it, kill it, kill it!”

On the green ball was a three inch cockroach! (Thanks to new shoes purchased at Foot Locker, we inherited two cockroaches.) I picked up a shoe, smacked this cockroach, who was paralyzed too from the screaming that was emanating from beneath the comforter, and although the cockroach met his maker, my hand bounced off of the green ball with great authority. This green ball is interesting. I dutifully picked up the dead cockroach and took him to the toilet where he was unceremoniously removed from the premises.

Because the cockroach had touched Shelli’s arm, she had to immediately go take a shower. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the second cockroach make his way from the Foot Locker bag and head for Shelli’s dresser. By now, Jennifer and Jonathan are involved. I pulled the dresser away from the wall and Jonathan shined the flashlight; awe or uggh, there he was on the back leg of the dresser. I handed Jennifer a shoe for each hand and told her as I pulled the other side of Shelli’s dresser away from the wall to smack him.

She was too squeamish and said she could not do it. So, I pulled the other side of the dresser away from the wall and there he was. I smack him good; however, he took off running even though his “innards” was oozing. Jennifer now starts screaming! He disappeared. Now, Shelli was still in the shower and wanted to know what was going on with the commotion she heard from Jennifer and the “smack.”

Jennifer was hysterically laughing at this point (by the way, the same Jennifer who caught the eight inch lizard last week with no fear, is now afraid of a three inch cockroach) and spills the beans to Shelli. Shelli is now all paranoid, tiptoes to the bed and refuses to sleep on her side of the bed. She insists on sleeping with the lights on and the TV on in our bedroom and on my side! Ok, I finally fall asleep only to be awakened by a panicked Shelli around midnight; she saw a shadow, so we had to explore the possibility that the cockroach had come out from hiding. It was not him; nor did we ever determine exactly what the shadow was.

Now it is Sunday; Shelli is terrified to walk around in her own bedroom. We go to church, come home, go back to church, get back home around 10:00 p.m. last night. Shelli walks into our house and informs me that she is now brave and that we have to find that cockroach or she cannot sleep in our house. She tiptoes up the steps; I turn on the light; she looks around and all is clear; she screams for as she looks into our bathroom, THERE HE IS! I grab a shoe; smack him good. He also has been unceremoniously dismissed from this life.

Whew! We were able to sleep with the lights out and TV off. We have had an eight inch lizard and two cockroaches and lots of terrifying screaming. Our neighbors have to be deaf for surely they would have called the police by now! I have not figured it out yet, but surely I can come up with a sermon illustration…

Excerpt from an essay by Mark Alexander                                                                                   Publisher, The Patriot Post

Memorial Day was first observed as Decoration Day to commemorate those who died in the War Between the States. It is a day set aside in deference to American Patriots who pledged and delivered their lives to Support and Defend the Rule of Law enshrined in our Constitution.

Since our nation’s founding, more than one million American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have paid the ultimate price in defense of our nation, and it is their final sacrifice that we honor with solemn reverence. Our Founders clearly understood that the burden of sustaining Liberty would be calculated in human sacrifice. As John Adams noted, “I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States.” So, on this last Monday in May, millions of American Patriots will honor the service and sacrifice of these uniformed Patriots by participating in respectful commemorations across the nation.

Who were these brave souls?

On 12 May 1962, Gen. Douglas MacArthur addressed the cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, offering this description: “Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man at arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefields many, many years ago and has never changed. I regarded him then, as I regard him now, as one of the world’s noblest figures — not only as one of the finest military characters, but also as one of the most stainless. His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give. He needs no eulogy from me, or from any other man. He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy’s breast.”

Gen. MacArthur continued: “In twenty campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self- abnegation and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people. From one end of the world to the other, he has drained deep the chalice of courage. As I listened to those songs in memory’s eye, I could see those staggering columns of the First World War, bending under soggy packs on many a weary march, from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn, slogging ankle deep through mire of shell-pocked roads; to form grimly for the attack, blue-lipped, covered with sludge and mud, chilled by the wind and rain, driving home to their objective, and for many, to the judgment seat of God. I do not know the dignity of their birth, but I do know the glory of their death. They died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in their hearts, and on their lips the hope that we would go on to victory. Always for them: duty, honor, country. Always their blood, and sweat, and tears, as they saw the way and the light.”

On Memorial Day of 1982, President Ronald Reagan offered these words in honor of Patriots interred at Arlington National Cemetery: “I have no illusions about what little I can add now to the silent testimony of those who gave their lives willingly for their country. Words are even more feeble on this Memorial Day, for the sight before us is that of a strong and good nation that stands in silence and remembers those who were loved and who, in return, loved their countrymen enough to die for them. Yet, we must try to honor them not for their sakes alone, but for our own. And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice.”

He continued, “Our first obligation to them and ourselves is plain enough: The United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we — in a less final, less heroic way — be willing to give of ourselves. It is this, beyond the controversy and the congressional debate, beyond the blizzard of budget numbers and the complexity of modern weapons systems, that motivates us in our search for security and peace. … The willingness of some to give their lives so that others might live never fails to evoke in us a sense of wonder and mystery. One gets that feeling here on this hallowed ground, and I have known that same poignant feeling as I looked out across the rows of white crosses and Stars of David in Europe, in the Philippines, and the military cemeteries here in our own land. Each one marks the resting place of an American hero and, in my lifetime, the heroes of World War I, the Doughboys, the GI’s of World War II or Korea or Vietnam. They span several generations of young Americans, all different and yet all alike, like the markers above their resting places, all alike in a truly meaningful way.”

President Reagan concluded, “As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. … I can’t claim to know the words of all the national anthems in the world, but I don’t know of any other that ends with a question and a challenge as ours does: ‘O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?’ That is what we must all ask.”

Indeed we must.

For the fallen, we are certain of that which is noted on all Marine Corps Honorable Discharge orders: “Fideli Certa Merces” — to the faithful there is certain reward.

To the beneficiaries of the legacy of Liberty that they defended with their lives, I humbly ask that each of you observe Memorial Day with reverence. 

We ask that you observe Memorial Day with reverence and we ask that you remember in your prayers the souls of all the fine young men and women who have over the decades, offered the ultimate sacrifice so that we all might be able to enjoy the freedoms that our Country and our Constitution provide.

We wish each of you a happy and blessed Memorial Day.

There are certain qualities that will characterize the life of a born again Christian. Consider the following ten qualities:

1. Obedience to God. “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” I John 1:6-7. “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” I John 2:3. “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” I John 2:6. “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” I John 3:24. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.“
2. Awareness of Sin. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” I John 1:8-10
3. Love for other Christians. “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” I John 2:10. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” I John 3:14. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” I John 4:11
4. Change of desires, loves, affections. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” I John 2:15-17
5. Spiritual Understanding. “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. … But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” I John 2:20, 27

Tomorrow we will examine the second set of five qualities. Are these first five qualities in your life?

After you have received eternal life and are genuinely born again, God does not want you to live in doubt. He wants you to know you are His child. If you have truly repented of your sin and fully yielded to Christ as Savior and Lord of your life, then you can be sure that you are now born again. The Bible promises in I John 5:11-12, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son, He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.“

Jesus Himself said: “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.” John 5:24.  It is certain that the Holy Spirit, Who comes to live in your heart at the moment of salvation, will bring assurance deep in your heart. What a great verse in Romans 8:16, “The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.“

God will not fail to save any person who repents of his sin (hates it and turns from it) and willingly asks Jesus into his heart as his Savior and Lord. God cannot refuse to save anyone who does that. His promise is true, sure, eternal, and unfailing. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

But perhaps you still have doubts. You know God could not fail to do the saving, but you know something is wrong. God tells us in His Word that certain things will be evident in our lives if we are truly born again. Just as breathing, heartbeats, and brain activity are medically accepted evidences of physical life; there are Biblical evidences of spiritual life. The book of I John was written to Christians to let them know some of these evidences so that they could be certain that they possessed spiritual life.

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” I John 5:13.

Tomorrow we will begin to look at specific qualities that will be evident in a changed life.

After you have received the gift of eternal life, God doesn’t want you to live in doubt. He wants you to know that you have received eternal life and a new relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the theme of the entire book of I John in the New Testament. God gives us undeniable evidence such as:

The Promise of the Written Word. The Bible, of course, is God’s written Word, it is full of passages which reaffirm the believer’s assurance. Perhaps the most familiar verse is I John 5:13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son God: that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.“

We also see The Promise of the Living Word in I John. God’s Living Word is His Son, Jesus Christ. A word is an instrument of communication. Jesus Christ is the one final, ultimate instrument which God the Father used to communicate to man. One statement of promise which Jesus Himself made about eternal life is found in John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.“

We also see The Presence of the Holy Spirit promised to us. The Holy Spirit, one of the three Persons in the Trinity, is also involved in assuring the believer of his salvation. Romans 8:16 states, “The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.“

When you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you enter into a relationship with God. you become a child of God (John 1:12). You are born into a family (John 3:3-7). The Bible compares this spiritual birth into God’s family with the physical birth into your earthly family. When you were born as the child of your father and mother, a relationship was established. Even though you may disown your parents, or they disown you, you cannot change the relationship: they are still your parents and you are still their child.

Nothing can alter this same fact spiritually. At the moment of your spiritual birth, you become a child of God. He is your Father, you are His child, and nothing can break that relationship.

Some would argue and say our relationship with God is broken when we sin. We cease to be His child. Simply this is not true. Our fellowship with God is broken, but not our relationship. When David had committed adultery and murder, he prayed in confession to God, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation!” (Psalm 51:12) He did not pray, “restore unto me thy salvation.” He did not need to, David’s relationship with God had not been altered, just his fellowship or his joy.

God does not want you to live in a fog. He wants you to know that you are His child.

We must believe in Jesus Christ. The kind of faith mentioned in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we examined yesterday, is not just any faith. It is trusting Jesus Christ, alone, to save you for all of eternity. This is saving faith. This faith is not just a belief in certain facts. A man may say, “I believe in marriage. I’ve read all the books on marriage I can find. I attend weddings every week, and I now know much about marriage. Yes, I believe in marriage.”

Fine, but does all this make the fellow married? No. He has just believed facts. He has experienced nothing… he has not put the facts into his life. Just believing that Jesus Christ is the Provider of eternal life does not give you eternal life. You must accept Him into your life by faith. You may see a chair and believe that it exists and that it will hold you up. But until you apply those facts to your life and sit in the chair, you have exercised no faith or belief in the facts.

In the same way, you may believe about Jesus without believing in Him. James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.“

The important question is… Do you want to receive the eternal life that Christ offers to you? No other question is more important than this one. Your answer determines your destiny. If you are willing to transfer your trust and hope of working your way to heaven from yourself and your abilities to Christ and Christ alone, you can receive eternal life. Are you willing? Will you receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour?

Jesus said, “I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3

A simple, faith prayer: Lord Jesus, I want You to come into my life. I am a sinner. All my life I have trusted in myself, but now I place my trust in You. I accept You as my Savior and Lord. I now repent of my sins and ask You to help me live for You. I gladly receive your gift of eternal life. I know I don’t deserve it, but I thank You for it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Did you pray and believe. Let me know and I can rejoice with you. Tomorrow we will examine how you can live free of doubts regarding your new decision to trust Jesus Christ.

But why did Jesus Christ become a man? The Bible says He did it in order to pay the price for man’s sin and to purchase eternal life to give man as a free gift. II Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Jesus came into the world to deal with our sins. How did he do that?

More than 600 years before Jesus Christ was born, the prophet Isaiah was inspired by God to write these words describing Jesus: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity (sin) of us all.” Isaiah 53:6

Peter described it like this: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” I Peter 2:24.

Our sins were placed on Jesus when He died on the cross. The awful price of man’s sin was paid by the only One who could pay it: the infinite, perfect Son of God. When Jesus cried, “It is finished” in John 19:30, He was saying, “It is paid; the work is done. The debt of your sin is cancelled.” That is amazing!

God’s solution: Jesus Christ is the answer. he is God’s grace personified. But does everyone receive the gift He purchased? The Bible says no, for there is one more necessary decision and we discover the key to receiving this gift in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.“

The key is faith.  Tomorrow we will examine this key.

This pill is a hard one to swallow: man is a sinner and cannot save himself. The plight seems hopeless; and in fact, it is hopeless until God’s solution to the problem is applied.

God does not want to punish us. After all, He created man and sustains man. It would be totally unnatural for God to desire to destroy those whom He has given life. He said in Ezekiel 33:11, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die…?“  Peter reminds us that the Lord is “… not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9

Before you breathe a sigh of relief, remember that God is not only merciful; He is just and must punish sin. A judge who would release known criminals because he felt sorry for them would soon find himself out of a job. The law of the land demands justice. So does God’s law. And although God does not want to punish us, He must punish sin. God says about Himself, “I am of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.” Habakkuk 1:13  “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:20.

The message is clear: God must punish all sin. Obviously, man then doesn’t stand a chance (or deserve a chance); but God in His great love provided a solution in His Son Jesus Christ.

So what is the solution? Jesus Christ made this amazing claim: He said that He was God in John 10:30; 14:8-9; and 17:5-26. Now it is one thing to make a claim, and quite another to prove it. Jesus backed up His claims by His works. In every way, the life that He lived and the works He performed proved that He was God (John 5:36; 10:25, 37-38).

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, one of the three Persons in the Trinity, and he became a man! He was 100% God and 100% man in the same body.

Tomorrow we will look at God’s solution in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Bible has much to say about man. The Bible reveals the drama of human experience from the creation to this present hour. It even tells what is going to happen to man in his future. The predominant message of the Scriptures is that man has made a mess of everything. Remember the “Midas” touch which turned everything to gold? Man’s touch turns everything black with sin.

A well-known evangelist tells about asking a young man on the street, “What is sin?” The stranger replied, “Sin is anything you do wrong and get caught.” The Bible, of course, says something entirely different. Sin, according to the Scriptures, is the breaking of God’s law. Romans 3:23 plainly states, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.“

Imagine that you are standing with a group of people on a mountaintop. This group of people represents the entire human race. Every person in this group has a bow and arrow. The bow represents human efforts and the one arrow symbolizes the one life of each individual. The objective is simple: everyone must shoot his arrow from one mountaintop toward a target on another mountaintop many miles away.

This target represents God’s perfection. Anyone who can hit the bulls eye earns eternal life. Some shoot their arrows nearly 100 yards across the chasm. Some make it half the distance. Others just kind of topple off the edge or get jammed in the bow. But there is no difference; all of the arrows fall short of the target.

Every man is a sinner according to Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Every man has broken God’s laws. Certainly, some have broken more than others; but all are guilty. The man who gets a speeding ticket is just as guilty of breaking the law as one who has murdered.

James 2:10 states it this way, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.“  None of us will ever gain entrance into heaven by following the Ten Commandments or the Golden Rule or some code of ethics. Good works are not the answer. Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.“

Tomorrow we will examine God’s solution to man’s problem.

Russ Jones and Chris Woodward – OneNewsNow – 5/20/2011 7:20:00 AM

GOP lawmaker and Tea Party Caucus founder Michele Bachmann says President Obama has defined his Middle East policy: “blame Israel first.”

Supporters of Israel are expressing outrage over President Barack Obama’s call yesterday that Israel give back territory it gained when attacked by Arabs in the 1967 war. Obama’s demand came as he prepares to meet today (Friday) with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

Obama urged that a Palestinian state be based on 1967 borders — before the Six Day War in which Israel governed East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. The president also pressed Israel to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority and the “unity government” the PA has formed with the terrorist group Hamas.

In an exclusive interview, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) tells OneNewsNow she is grieved with Obama’s position.

“I think this is a gross error on the part of President Obama,” she states bluntly. “He’s indicated that his philosophy in his doctrine toward Israel is to blame Israel first. For the president to come out now and stand on the side of the Palestinian state, and to stand on the side of returning to the 1967 borders, is nothing more than a betrayal of our friend Israel.”

In a statement released late Thursday in Jerusalem, Netanyahu called the 1967 lines “indefensible.”

Noting the scheduled meeting between Obama and Netanyahu, Bachmann has little doubt how the president’s remarks will sit with the prime minister.

“To do this the day before [Netanyahu] comes to the United States is clearly a slap in the face and an insult to [him],” says the conservative congresswoman. “It is clear from the Bible — and from many people in the United States who believe that God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who curse Israel… that President Obama is not standing with many Americans across the United States who embrace a pro-Israel policy.”

If the president’s 1967 border proposal were to be implemented, Israel would lose holy sites such as the Western Wall, King David’s Tomb, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Garden Tomb.

Author and radio host Janet Parshall says when it comes to President Obama’s call for Israel to return to its 1967 borders, one’s heart has to beat a little faster.

“It’s like, wow, are we really as a nation starting to turn our back on Israel?” she asks. “And in the big picture of scripture, this might explain why America is never identified in scripture. Do we lose our way because we’ve lost our soul when it comes to supporting the nation of Israel? I don’t know, but it’s got my attention.” Parshall made her comments today on American Family Radio‘s “Today’s Issues” program.

And Dan Celia of “Financial Issues” says the administration is continually trying to make friends with the Islamic nations of the world — something he says all for naught. “Let me just speak to the president for a moment, because I’m sure he’s listening,” Celia said today on American Family Radio. “They hate America. I know that you want them to love you, but as long as you are the so-called leader of this nation, they hate you, too.”

The Gospel message begins with a small, but vitally important word: grace. “Grace,” according to one dictionary, is “unmerited favor.” In other words, it is something you do not have coming to you. Titus 2:11-14 states, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.“

According to the Bible, eternal life is something which is offered to you freely. There is no price for you to pay. It truly is a gift of God’s grace.

There is a big difference between a “gift” and an “award.” A gift is a present you receive from someone else; an award is something you strive to attain or earn. The Bible states in Romans 6:23, “For the wages (what we earn or deserve) of sin is death (physical and spiritual death): but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Add to this the message of Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.“

What does this mean? It means that if we could earn eternal life by our own efforts, we would spend eternity bragging about what we had done.  Tomorrow we will examine man’s problem in relationship to the Gospel message.

If Judas could return for just one hour to speak to you personally, undoubtedly he would try to persuade you to make the decision he did NOT make. He would talk to you about your eternal destiny. There is a good possibility he would ask you: Do you know for certain that if you were to die today, you would go to heaven?

Tragically, many people have the idea that even if God made eternal life possible, He would not let us in on the secret. The good news is that God does offer eternal life and that you can be sure of receiving it. In fact, one reason the Bible was written was to get this message to you. The Bible states, “These things have I written unto you that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” I John 5:13.

Suppose that you were to die tonight and stand before God; what reason would you give Him for allowing you into Heaven? Would you tell Him about all the things you have done for Him? Would you mention your tithes and offerings, your work for the church, your baptism, your perfect Sunday School attendance? Many people would. But the Bible says that none of these answers are acceptable. There is only one answer and it is given in great detail in the Bible. This answer is known as the Gospel, which means, “Good News.”