- Christmas is centered around two important decisions:
- The Father decided to save our sins
- A sin deserves punishment, we deserve punishment
- Sin cannot be undone by anything we can do
- Second decision is ours
- Will we recognize him as our Saviour? and bow before Him? and put Him first in our lives?
- “Socialized Christianity”
- Just raised in it, however, a decision must be made
- We cannot be saved by anything done to us
Archive for the Salvation Category
Manna Church: “Christmas Celebration”
Posted in Salvation, Sin with tags Priorities on December 16, 2007 by HarryStott: "The Cross of Christ" *****
Posted in * Favorites, Cross, Grace, Salvation on December 14, 2007 by Harry- Pg 85
- “Ultimately what sent Christ there (to the cross) was neither the greed of Judas, nor the envy of the priests, nor the vacillating cowardice of Pilate, but our own greed, envy, cowardice, and other sins, and Christ’s resolve in love and mercy to beat their judgement and so put them away.”
- Grace = love to the undeserving
- Pg 86
- Christ purchased our salvation with His own blood
- There is nothing more we can contribute
- We must only fall before the cross, confess our sin, and thank him
LTW: "The Keeping Power of God, Part 2" not archived
Posted in Dependence, Salvation on December 4, 2007 by HarryOur salvation is not dependent upon us holding on to His hand; our salvation is bases on Him holding onto our hand.
TFL: “Do You Think I Came To Bring Peace?” ***
Posted in Peace, Salvation, Will - God's, Will - Our with tags Baptism, Relationships on December 3, 2007 by Harry- Luke 12:49:
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- 49″I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
- What Jesus says here runs contrary to everything else He said or did
- Even complicating things more for us, Paul explains Jesus in terms of peace
- Immediately before He asks this question, Jesus’ preface has to do with fire and baptism.
- Jesus refers to the fact that fire does two things
- Burns – Consumes what is combustible (food, paper)
- Purifies what is not combustible (metal)
- Baptism refers to His resolution to do the will of the Father
- His passion and crucifixion are ultimate display of Him doing the will of the Father
- Analogy: “The lifeboat is no good if the drowning man does not get into it. And no one else can do it for him. He must do it himself.”
- Going back to the question Jesus asks
- Jesus did not mean that His ultimate objective was division, but that the effect of His accomplishment would be division.
- When a life is saved, it changes the dynamic of interpersonal relationships
- Opening of Pilgrim’s progress is an example
LTW: “The Keeping Power of God” ** not archived
Posted in Holiness of God, Salvation, Sin, Temptation with tags Heaven on December 3, 2007 by HarryReview of series so far:
- Sovereignty of God
- Foundation of who God is
- All other attributes of God depend on this
- Holiness of God
- We model ourselves after God
- Guidance of God
- How guidance of God is our rudder and how all decisions we make must depend on God
- Salvation is a permanent gift
- It could not be taken away once given
- Does not mean we will not be attacked, danger will be greater as the evil one strives harder
- If we were on our own, we would be in trouble, but nothing is greater than the keeping power of God
- We will still sin until we get to heaven
- We cannot tolerate sin without repentance
TFL: "Good News, Bad News, Part B" ***
Posted in Ministry, Perseverance, Salvation, Secularism, Works with tags Revenge, Truth on November 30, 2007 by Harry- Pluralism: Truth is NOT in one entity
- Synchronism: blending of multiple entities
- In these mindsets there is always room for another God
- The Roman Empire when Paul preached was a pluralistic society
- Then why did they kill Christians?
- Because Christians would not just add Christ to the gods, Christians hold true that Jesus is the only way to salvation
- We live in a pluralistic culture today
- They (society) call us arrogant for saying that there is only one way to be saved
- But it is not arrogant if it is true
- If it is not true then it is just stupidity
- We should not preach Christianity on its pragmatic benefits, we preach on its truthfulness
- Pluralists can only tolerate pluralists and they are unmercifully intolerant to those who are not pluralists
- Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and nobody comes to the Father except through Him.
- John 14:6 (New Living Translation):
- 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
- They (pluralists) cannot handle this.
- Christianity did not come to us, except through a great cost, ie the persecution of Christians throughout the ages. And Christianity will not go forward without a great cost.
Continued from “Good News, Bad News, Part A” – When you suffer unjustly:
- Do not be surprised.
- Do not be mistaken that all will be well if we give our lives to Jesus
- Romans 8:28 (New International Version):
- “28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to his purpose.”
- Do not give up
- “Do right because it is right to do right.
- When things go bad we will not whine and despair
- Do not take revenge
- Romans 12:19
- 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d]says the Lord. 20On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. 0n doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e] 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
- Don’t miss the chance to help others
- Example of the depressed professor who was visited by a friend who told him to think back through the years and make a list of all those who have helped him and pick one and send a thank you letter
- He picked a school teacher who taught him the love of reading and wrote a thank you letter and it moved the teacher’s heart
