Galatians 1: How Can I Be Saved If I Can't Save Myself?

Class Outline:

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Justification is the key.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re in the resident congregation turn off your electronic devices and put them away. Let this be a place where you aren’t distracted by the world.

 

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with a worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Thanks for listening to this Bible lesson!

 

Why did God the Father create Barah Ministries?

 

God the Father provides a place for every creature in the world to worship.  Barah Ministries can be your place if you so choose.  One thing to count on here is you will learn the TRUTHof the Word of God that sets you free.  Whether you allow yourself to be free is up to you.

 

At Barah Ministries we are banking our eternal future on the Lord Jesus Christ.  We know with absolute certainty one unchanging fact…JESUS CHRIST IS GOD.  John, Chapter 1, Verse 14 says this…

 

JOHN 1:14

And the Word (ho logos…the Lord…God the Son) became flesh (entering a new mode of existence…true humanity…as Jesus…the Christ…the Jewish Messiah)…and He lived in a physical body among us…

 

JOHN 1:14

…and we (John and the other apostles) saw His glory with our own eyes…the glory of the uniquely born Onefrom the source of God the Father…the One who is full of grace and full of truth.

 

We get to know the Lord.  As a result, we gain confidence in our relationship with Him as we study the Bible…the Word of God…the absolute truth.  The apostle Peter tells us in Second Peter, Chapter 1, Verses 20 and 21…

 

SECOND PETER 1:20

…know this first of all…that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of any person’s own private interpretation…

 

SECOND PETER 1:21

…for no prophecy of Scripture was ever made by an act of human will…but men directedfromthe Source…God the Holy Spirit (the One who leads us into all the truth) … spoke directly from the exact thinking of THE God...the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

What the Bible says is true.  Don’t let anyone sway you from this truth.  If you build your life on this truth you cannot lose.

 

God has an enemy, Satan, whom God made ‘the ruler of this world.’  In John, Chapter 16, Verse 11the Lord says…

 

JOHN 16:11

…concerning judgment…the ruler of this world (Satan)…already has been judged.

 

Satan is a very real creatureand his fate is sealed.  He and his fallen angels were sentenced to the Lake of Fire in eternity past, and their appeal, accusing God of being unloving and unfair, will be struck down in the Supreme Court of Heaven at a future time.  Satan is powerless against God and he is powerless against us believers in Christ.

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

How Can I Be Saved If I Can’t Save Myself?

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

False teachers with their false teaching confused the members of the churches at Galatia.  As Paul put it, they were bewitched! They were gullible, so they were duped.  Allowing themselves to be fooled by liars was their choice.  In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which is the subject matter of our current study, he reaffirms a very important idea…perhaps the most important idea in divine history…JUSTIFICATION comes through faith alone in Christ alone.  In today’s Lord’s Supper Celebration, the Lord reminds us of the importance of this truth.  It’s a lesson made for everyone’s ears.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31 says…

 

ACTS 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christand you will be saved by God…you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

It can’t get any clearer than that!  God is the ONLY ONE who saves.  As Paul Wickham puts it in song, the Lord is the GOD OF OUR SALVATION.

 

MUSIC

OPENING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

GOD OF OUR SALVATION

Phil Wickham

 

OPENING PRAYER

 

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father thank you for the crystal clarity the Bible provides…thank you for giving us God the Holy Spirit to make clear what Scripture is telling us…thank you for giving us the gift of faith so we can develop a lifestyle of faith…thank you for the free gift of salvation because of the sacrifice of Your Son and our Lord…Jesus…the Christ…

 

…today Father we pray for our enemies…we pray for all those who reject a relationship with Your Son by saying He is just like any other man…we pray for all those who attack the veracity of the Bible by declaring it is just a book…we pray for all those who are fooled by men…false teachers with their false teaching…who are seared in their conscience as if seared with a branding iron…those who suppress the truth with their unrighteousness…

 

…Father we wouldn’t wish Your wrath on our worst enemies…we pray that you keep on teaching us how to spread the gospel message to the unbelievers in our periphery…help us provide them with the truth that sets them free from bondage to sin and to the Law…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

How Can I Be Saved If I Can’t Save Myself?

 

LESSON PART ONE

 

Today’s entire lesson is a Lord’s Supper Celebration.

 

There are people in your life who are no longer here on earth.  They have “passed away” … they have died.  If these people were significant in your life, sweet memories remind you why they were meaningful when they were here.  My Mom comes to mind.  I have regular memories of her, and I still get choked up thinking about her.

 

There are others.  Louis Armstrong.  Ray Charles.  Tony Bennett.  Burt Bacharach.  Whitney Houston.  Frank Sinatra.  Nat King Cole.  Natalie Cole.  Robin Williams.  Jesse Owens.  These are just a few of the people that have been on my mind this week.  I wonder where they are.  They are no longer here on Earth, but they still exist.  Are they in heaven or are they in the Lake of Fire?  We don’t know.  God knows.  We remember.

 

In the Lord’s Supper Celebration, we remember.  Why are believers in Christ obedient to the request from our Lord to celebrate this way?

 

The Lord’s Supper was established by the Lord on the night of His final meal

with His apostles, known as The Last Supper.  The meal was held during Passover, the Jewish celebration of their escape from four hundred years of captivity in Egypt.

 

Meals are a time for families to come together.  The Lord wants His family of

Church Age Believers to come together regularly to remember Him.  What do you remember about the Lord during this special time?

 

The Lord commanded His apostles, “DO THIS (Lord’s Supper) IN MEMORY OF ME.”  The Lord suggested frequency…“KEEP ON DOING THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.”  So we keep on celebrating CHRIST and His Cross regularly.  We eat to remember who He is as a PERSON.  We drink to remember His WORK on the Cross on our behalf.  It was a voluntary sacrifice He made as our sin substitute.  This spiritual meal is a deep, intimate, and personal expression of our unconditional love for the Lord Jesus Christ and our gratitude for who He is and what He has done.

 

During this celebration, the Lord reminds us what His body and His blood did for us.  It provides an eternal future of spiritual nourishment.  In First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 26 the apostle Paul reminds us, on behalf of the Lord…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26a

…as often as you eat this bread (representing His body) … and as often as you drink this cup (representing His blood) … as part of the Lord’s Supper Celebration…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26b

…you proclaim as a realityand you announce the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death…until He comes again at the second coming.

 

The Lord’s death on a Cross provided the opportunity for freedom for every creature who has ever existed…for every creature who has been on the Earth…for every creature who is on this Earth right now…and for every creature who will ever come to the Earth.  The Lord is calling YOU to freedom.  Will you come?

 

We are studying the apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians.  At the end of chapter two, there are a couple of verses that reverberate around the world to this very today.  Galatians, Chapter 2, Verses 20 and 21…

 

GALATIANS 2:20

“I (as a believer in Jesus…the Christ…the Jewish Messiah) have been crucified with the Christ…and it is no longer I who live…but Christ lives indwelling me…and the life which I now live in my physical bodyI live by faith alone in the Son of God alone…faith in the Lord Jesus Christ…the One who loved me unconditionally and who gave Himself up as a sin substitute for me.”

 

GALATIANS 2:21

“I (Paul and all believers in Christ) do not nullify the grace of God (by thinking I

can be saved by my works)…for if absolute righteousness comes to us through keeping the Mosaic Law…then Christ died needlessly at the Cross.”

 

As we look at these verses we are reminded of one of the most important doctrines of the Bible…if not THE most important doctrine of the Bible…the doctrine of justification.  When you become a believer in Christ, you are justified.  What does it mean to be justified?  It means that God looks at you just as if you had never sinned.  As a believer in Christ, you have a right standing before God.  Why?  Because the Christ…in fact, the entire Triune Godhead…God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit LIVE IN YOU.  You are justified.

 

Galatians, Chapter 2, Verse 20 defines what it means to be a Christian.  We have placed all of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.  Is that necessary?  The Bible says it is.  In Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 18 through Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 20…the Lord makes it clear that all are sinners from birth.  This passage in Romans is an indictment of the entire human race.  Read it sometime.

 

All creatures are born guilty of sin.  All creatures are born in a helpless and hopeless condition.  Think of how dependent a baby is in everything.  So is every creature in the spiritual realm.  All of us are born without a relationship with God…we are condemned to the Lake of Fire from birth…and we are powerless and unable to do anything about it.  Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 10 to 18 says…

 

ROMANS 3:10

…it is written, “THERE IS NO CREATURE WHO IS RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD…NOT EVEN ONE…

 

ROMANS 3:11

NO CREATURE UNDERSTANDS GODOR ANY DIVINE THING…NO CREATURE SEEKS A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD…

 

Thankfully, God seeks us!

 

 

ROMANS 3:12

ALL CREATURES HAVE TURNED ASIDE FROM GOD…TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS…NO CREATURE DOES ANYTHING GOOD…THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

 

ROMANS 3:13

“THE THROAT OF EVERY CREATURE IS AN OPEN GRAVE…WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP ON DECEIVING…THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS…”

 

This is no surprise to you!  People are snakes!

 

ROMANS 3:14

“…THE MOUTH OF EVERY CREATURE IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS…FULL OF BLASPHEMY…”

 

ROMANS 3:15

“…THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD…”

 

ROMANS 3:16

“…DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS…”

 

ROMANS 3:17

“…AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.”

 

ROMANS 3:18

“THERE IS NO FEAR OF NOR RESPECT FOR GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

 

This is God's formal accusation directed toward every creature ever created.  Dang!  What can we do about this?  NOTHING!

 

Knowing we could do nothing about this, the Lord did something about it.  He went to the Cross to save us from this fate.  And when we choose to become believers in Christ…placing our faith alonein Christ alone…taking advantage of His grace alone to be saved…even though we can’t DO, what the Lord has provided for us makes our salvation DONE!

 

As believers in Christ, we are identified with everything that belongs to Jesus Christ…we a placed into an unbreakable union with Jesus Christ from the moment of salvation…we are dead to sin and dead to an obligation to follow the Mosaic Law, which no man has ever followed successfully except the God-Man, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Attempts to pay for your own sins…attempts to redeem yourself…attempts to follow the Mosaic Law and its commands are all fruitless acts…we cannot redeem ourselves.  The false teachers in the first century Galatian region claimed it was okay to be a Christianbut there was more, and they claimed to own the secret to the more.

 

These false teachers were liars.  They claimed that self-righteousness is important…they said religion is important…they said good deeds are important…they said keeping rituals was important…they said all these things and more are conditions for salvation.  They are liars.

 

Oil and water don’t mix.  The Lord Jesus Christ is like water.  When you mix oil and water, the oil rises to the top.  The oil is like superficial people who count on themselves for salvation.  Their shallowness will make them rise to the surface.  Their hypocrisy will be exposed.  They are pretenders who rejected a relationship with the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  For all eternity they will regret their foolish decision.

 

At the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ made a stunning and misunderstood pronouncement in John, Chapter 19, Verse 30…

 

JOHN 19:30

…when Jesus (as He hung from the Cross) had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!”…and Jesus bowed His head and gave up His spirit (into the care of God the Father).

 

Jesus’ body went to the grave.  His soul went to Tartarus, a compartment of Hades in the underworld.  There, Jesus made a glorious proclamation.  IT IS FINISHED.  A Greek idiom…the Greek word TETELESTAI…PAID IN FULL.  Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at the Cross…the sin of every creature is now paid in full.  Your salvation is on a layaway plan.  When you have something on layaway, and it has been paid for, you can only take advantage of your layaway item when you claim it.

 

As believers in Christ, we know it is not the Law… morality… good works or

religion that gets us to heaven.  It’s Christ alone who has the power to get us to heaven.  For believers in Christ, Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 1 resonates inside of us…

 

ROMANS 8:1

(Since all the things mentioned at the end of ROMANS 7 are true…believers in Christ need to remember that...) there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those of us who are IN UNION WITH CHRIST JESUS.

 

God’s graciousness offers every creature a plan to be saved as a free gift.  Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…

 

EPHESIANS 2:8

For by God’s grace you have been saved through faith alone in Christ alone for salvation…and that grace and that faith and that salvation is not from the source of yourselves…it is the gift from the source of God the Father…

 

EPHESIANS 2:9

…so being saved is not as a result of your works (deeds you do in self-righteousness)…so that no one may boast (about savinghimself).

 

As believers in Christ, we choose dependence on Christ for our salvation…and we were saved by His gracious mercy when we were unbelievers.  Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verses 20 and 21…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:20

Therefore, we believers in Christ are AMBASSADORS for Christ…as though God the Father were appealing through us…because He is…we beg you unbelievers on behalf of the Christ…be reconciled to God the Father.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:21

For God the Father made Jesus…the Christ…who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf…so that we might become THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD the Father in union with Him.

 

As a believer in Christ, you are JUSTIFIED.  The entire Godhead looks at you just as if you had never sinned.  You have a spiritual bank account.  Every bill you owe that is presented against that bank account is stamped PAID IN FULL because at the moment of your salvation, the Lord credited absolute righteousness (+R) to your account…the admission ticket to heaven.  Your sins are paid for.

 

Do you want to work for your own salvation?  That’s -R. Self-righteousness.  Unfortunately, self-righteousness cannot get you to heaven.  When we return from the break, we’ll take the offering, we’ll enjoy the Lord’s Supper elements, and then we’ll revisit a passage from Romans that illustrates your justification.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

How Can I Be Saved If I Can’t Save Myself?

 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

Christians are to follow the Lord’s example in everything, especially in giving.  John, Chapter 3, Verse 16 says…

 

JOHN 3:16

“God the Father loved the world unconditionally…and He loved the world so much…that He GAVE His uniquely born Son…

 

What’s the best time for Christians to give?  There must never be a time when we don’t give.  Everything we have comes from God.  When we give, we are simply redirecting the resources God has given us to His purposes.

 

Giving expresses your faith in God.  You don’t worry about the amount you give because in faith, you know God will return it to you abundantly.  Let your giving rival God’s giving and watch what flows to your life.  Give something…give anything…give now…and keep on giving.

 

Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with one of his always inspiring offering messages.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

GALATIANS 6:9

Let us not lose heart in doing good…for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Enjoying the Elements

 

Bread and wine.  The Lord gave us these things to remember Him.  We will enjoy the elements together in a few moments as we listen to The Lord’s Supper Song.

 

Matthew, Chapter 26, Verses 26 to 28 tell us the reason the Lord wants us to celebrate this meal together…

 

MATTHEW 26:26

While the apostles were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take…eat…this is My body which is being broken for you.”

 

MATTHEW 26:27

And when Jesus had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you…”

 

MATTHEW 26:28

“…for this is My blood…the blood of a new covenant…My blood…poured out for whosoever…for the forgiveness of their sins.”

 

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper to remember.  Jesus Christ died for us as our sin substitute…Jesus Christ is risen from the dead to prove His Deity…Jesus Christ will come again to gather us unto Himself.  We celebrate, and we are grateful.

 

We remember that the Lord loves us unconditionally…He forgives us completely for every sin…He ALWAYS treats us with grace…ALWAYS giving us blessings we could never deserve.  Thank you, Lord for making it possible, through the Cross, for every single one of Your creatures to be saved and to be blessed.  Thank you for all your gifts.

 

Enjoy the elements as you listen to Telly Leung remind us where our spiritual gifts come from.

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER SONG

 

ALL GOOD GIFTS

Telly Leung

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

How Can I Be Saved If I Can’t Save Myself?

 

LESSON PART TWO

 

So how do you know if you are saved?  A beautiful passage highlights what Christ did for you at the Cross.  You are JUSTIFIED!  Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 21 to 31…

 

ROMANS 3:21

BUT NOW apart from the Mosaic Law…another principle entirely…the RIGHTEOUSNESS that comes from God the Father…which has been made clearly visible…being witnessed to by the Mosaic Law in the sacrificial offerings and being witnessed to by the Old Testament Prophets in direct statements…

 

ROMANS 3:22

…RIGHTEOUSNESS that comes as a gift from God the Father through the principle of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and not through the principle of faith in yourselves for righteousness…and that free gift is available for whosoever believes in Christ…for there is now no distinction between Jews and Greeks…

 

ROMANS 3:23

…for (in God’s eyes) all creatures have sinned in the past when Adam sinned and all creatures keep on sinning…and all creatures keep on falling short of the glory of God…

 

ROMANS 3:24

…yet all creatures keep on being justified by God the Father as a gift free of

charge from His grace through redemption which is a result of being in union with Christ Jesus…

 

ROMANS 3:25

…(the Christ)…whom God the Father displayed publicly as a propitiation (the ONLY perfectly satisfactory payment for sin)…through a sacrifice of His blood for the benefit of all who have faith in Christ for salvation.  This was to demonstrate God the Father’s righteousness…because in the forbearance of God the Father, He passed over the sins all creaturespreviously committed…

 

ROMANS 3:26

…for the demonstration, I say, of God the Father’s righteousness at the present time…so that God the Father would be seen as just and as the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ.

 

ROMANS 3:27

Where then is there a place for Jewish boasting? It is excluded. Because by what kind of law is righteousness credited? Is righteousness credited based on the law by the principle of works? NO! Righteousness is credited based on the principle of faith in Christ alone for salvation.

 

The transition from the law of works to the law of faith makes boasting before God impossible for every creature.  However, failure to keep the whole law makes boasting before God impossible as well.  It did not faze the Jews or the Galatian believers.  In self-righteousness, they boasted anyway about how spiritual they were because of all their additions to salvation.  It was a superiority play.

 

Paul was Jewish, and he always had the Jewish mindset in view as he wrote his lettersto address their rejection of their Messiah’s work in favor of their own.  Why is boasting before God excluded?  In Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 28Paul says…

 

ROMANS 3:28

For we maintain that a man is justified (declared righteous by God just as if he had never sinned) by faith alone in Christ alone…another principle entirely…apart from works of the Mosaic Law.

 

ROMANS 3:29

Or is God the God of Jews only (the Ones who were given the Mosaic Law)? Is

God not the God of the Jews and also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, He is the God of the Gentiles also…

 

ROMANS 3:30

…since indeed the God who will justify the circumcised (the Jews) by faith (only) and the God who will justify the uncircumcised (the Gentiles) through faith (only) is the same God.

 

ROMANS 3:31

Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law through faith.

 

As a result of justification by faith, believers in Christ are no longer in bondage to sinand we are no longer bound to the thought that keeping laws or not keeping laws puts our salvation in jeopardy.  Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 14…

 

ROMANS 6:14

For sin shall no longer be a master over you believers in Christ…for you are not under law…but you are under God’sgrace.

 

One verse could have saved me from twenty-one years of Roman Catholicism and twenty-nine years of Systematic Theology.  Believers in Christ are free from sin and are free from the law.

 

God the Father was wronged by sin.  If He had chosen to do what humans do when we are wrong, He would have sent us all to the Lake of Fire.  Instead, in mercy, He sent us His Son to die for our benefit.  When we were helpless and hopeless and condemned and the targets of His wrath, God the Father sent His Son…the Lord Jesus Christ…to live the perfect life…to suffer the perfect death…and to have the perfect result…the chance to be saved through faith alone in Christ alone, taking advantage of His grace alone.

 

As people, often we feel insignificant.  We allow the world and its standards to rob us of joy.  We let our mistakes define us.  God simply does not see us that way.  Then we want to work to please Him, thinking it will get us back in His good graces.  Believers in Christ NEVER leave God’s good graces.  We are the targets of His grace.  We can’t please Him by working.  Romans, Chapter 4, Verse 5…

 

 

ROMANS 4:5

But to the one who does not work for salvation…but believes in the Lord Jesus Christ who justifies the ungodly (ungrateful and undeserving unbelievers)…this person’s faith is credited to His account by God as righteousness...

 

For a Christian to EVER feel insignificant for any reason does not reflect a true understanding of who the Lord is and of what the Lord did for us at the Cross.  How does that happen?  We get our eyes on people and what they think of us.

Here’s what the Lord did for us at the Cross…Romans, Chapter 5, Verses 17 to 19…

 

ROMANS 5:17

For if through the transgression by the one…Adam…spiritual death reigned as king through Adam…and it did…much more those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness (through faith alone in Christ alone) will reign as king in the resurrection life through the One…Jesus…the Christ.

 

ROMANS 5:18

So just as through the principle of Adam’s first transgression there resulted in condemnation to all men…even so through the principle of one act of righteousness (the Lord’s work on the Cross)…there resulted in justification of life to all men.

 

Free of charge!

 

ROMANS 5:19

Through Adam’s disobedience the many were made sinners (ungodly and unrighteous unbelievers)…even so through the obedience of the Lord…Jesus…the Christ the many will be considered righteous before God the Father.

 

As Christians, we suffer much abuse at the hands of those who claim to love us.  That’s not what happens in our relationship with Christ.  Justification is a simple legal act.  No matter what sins you commit for the rest of your life, through one act of justification, in God’s eyes you are declared NOT GUILTY.  Your sins are PAID IN FULL.  The only problem is that you believers in Christ believe Satan’s lies about you much more than you believe the Lord’s truth.  Justification happens at a single moment in time and the result of justification stands finished forever.

 

Believers in Christ are saved, once and for all time.  So let’s remember this

important doctrine every time we want to doubt who we are in union with Christ.  And let’s keep on remembering Christ and thanking Him for his amazing work for us on the Cross.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

The closing moments of our lesson today could be the ten most important minutes of your life.

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

The Lord Jesus Christ gave you a powerful weapon and a perfect gift from the moment of your physical birth…CHOICE.  You get to choose the life you want to live.  The life you are living right now is the sum of all the decisions you have made so far.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Sovereign God of the Universe and the Savior of all mankind, says there are only two choices for your eternal future…either heaven (the small gate and the narrow way) or the Lake of Fire (the wide gate and the broad way)described in Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 13 and 14…

 

MATTHEW 7:13

“Enter through the narrow gate…for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destructionand there are many who enter through the wide gate.”

 

MATTHEW 7:14

“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to the resurrection lifeand there are few who find the small gate.”

 

Which road will you choose for your eternal life?

 

Those who are on the broad way that leads to destruction may think there is comfort in numbers, yet it is not true.  Believing what everyone else believes does not save you.  Placing your confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ saves you.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is 100% God…that’s why we call Him Lord…and He is 100% Man…true humanity like you and me…that’s why we call Him Jesus…the Christ (the Jewish Messiah).  Jesus says HE is the small gate, which makes Him your guide to heaven…John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation) … and I am the truth (through the gospel message in the Word of God) … and I am the resurrection life (eternal life) …and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”

 

God the Father’s plan for your life is simple…BELIEVE in His Son and it is your ticket to eternal life.  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31 says…

 

ACTS 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved by God, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

Those on the broad way that leads to destruction place their confidence in liars.  The Lord Jesus Christ warns about them in Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 15…

 

MATTHEW 7:15

“Beware of the false prophets (false teachers) … who come to you in sheep’s clothing (appearing harmless)… who inwardly are ravenous wolves (out to destroy your eternal future).”

 

As ravenous wolves, false teachers want to rip to shreds your chance for a great eternity by deceiving you with a false gospel message.  Proverbs, Chapter 14, Verse 12 illuminates the issue…

 

PROVERBS 14:12

There is a way that seems right to a man (saving yourself by thinking good

deeds will earn your salvation)…but its end is the way of death (the second death in the Lake of Fire).

 

The Lord Jesus Christ offers the true gospel message and an invitation to be saved in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life (eternal life) right at that

moment…but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

RIGHT WHERE YOU SIT…RIGHT NOW…you can tell God the Father that you are believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation, and that is the moment of eternal life for you.

 

Who is this God who saves you?  The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christin First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (Paul) delivered to you as of primary importance the gospel message I also received from God…that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

God’s enemy, Satan, is the sponsor of false teachers, false teaching, and a false gospel message.  You have to be able to discern the difference between God’s truth and Satan’s lies…John, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…

 

JOHN 8:31

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word (the Word of God from a true teacher), then you are truly disciples of Mine…”

 

JOHN 8:32

“…and you will know the truth (the true gospel message)…and the truth will make you free.”

 

Another warning for those who choose the broad way is Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 21 to 23…

 

MATTHEW 7:21

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven (by obeying the gospel message) will enter heaven.”

MATTHEW 7:22

“Many will say to Me on that day (of judgment), ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name…and in Your name did we not cast out demons…and in Your name did we not perform many miracles?’”

 

MATTHEW 7:23

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you…depart from Me (into the Lake of Fire)…you who practice (a lifestyle of) lawlessness.’”

 

Don’t wait until it’s too late to consider what road you are on!  Mark, Chapter 1, Verse 15 says…

 

MARK 1:15

“The time is fulfilled…and the kingdom of God is at hand…so repent

(changeyour mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ)…and believe in HIS gospel message.”

 

The will of God the Father is that you believe in His Son so you can have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  Those who choose the narrow way have decided that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone is the ONLY ticket to heaven.  Get yourself on the narrow way that leads to eternal life in heaven right this minute.

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  The apostle that Jesus loved said it ninety-eight times in his gospel…if you want to be saved, just BELIEVE.  That’s it.  We are justified by faith alone in Christ alone through His grace…expressed at the Cross.  The best thing about justification by faith is that it is open to EVERYONE…or as June Murphy puts it in song…it’s open to WHOSOEVER.

 

MUSIC

CLOSING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

WHOSOEVER

June Murphy

 

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

 

Thank you for Your mercy and grace…help us to reflect You in everything we do…

 

We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS?

 

Ask the Pastor

pastor@barahministries.com

 

KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD!

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

www.barahministries.com