Christmas, what is it?
Is it about the christmas tree, all the decorations, some nice music that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy, is it about hoping friends and family getting us the things we want as presents?
What is it really?
We need to search the Word of God, for it is perfect, and all our guidance needed is in the Bible. Psalm 119:105
So, what does the Word of God say about Christmas?
Well, simply put... nothing is said!!
We're not called to 'celebrate Christmas', one would search in vain to find the celebration of Christmas in the Bible.
The whole idea of Christmas and all its materialism, is contrary to the Bible.
So, what's with all these Christians going about Christmas and singing etc and proclaiming some story?
Yes, we use this as an opportunity to witness of the Truth and the birth(Christ was not born on the 25th of Dec by the way), death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, in accordance with what He has commanded us to do. Matt 28:18-20
We're going to talk about:
- the birth of Christ
- then you're going to hear some really bad news
- then you will hear the best news you will hear... EVER!
- then on another birth
- and lastly we'll end with a question.
1.Birth :
Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.""(Immanuel=God with us)
Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, Unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
Who is the Person in mention in the verses above? It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, He is fully God and fully man, and He came into this world to save lost sinners!!(you and me). Though the fact of His birth is immensely wonderful and AMAZING, there is yet more, for He was born into this sinful world to die, and not only die but to rise victorious over death, that whosover believeth on Him should not perish but have eternal life!!
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
This is wonderful news!!!! And there is more, but before you go further you must hear the bad news!!
2.Bad News:
Yes, this is utter bad news! Who does it affect? Certain portions of the population? Everyone else except me? NO! This bad news affects every single person! EVERY SINGLE PERSON!!
We'll be talking about sin, standards, and salvation which will bring us to the best news you will ever hear !
- Sin
The bible tells us that we are dead in trespasses and sins. Ephesians 2:1
What is sin?
Sin is rebellion, missing the mark, disobeying God.
Where is the evidence?
We all die!
James: 1.15".. and sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death."
Romans 5:12-21 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (for until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were constituted sinners, so also by the obedience of one shall many be constituted righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord"
1 Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam all die,even so in Christ shall be made alive.
How did we become sinners? Where did we get it from? Well, we got it from our parents! And where did they get it from? They got it from theirs and so on and so forth right until our first parents=Adam & Eve.
They chose to disobey God and hearken unto the temptation of Satan, and so death entered as a result of sin, and we see the full evidence of it, we all die! No two ways about it.
Sin encompasses all, there is a universal depravity, let's see more what the the Word of God says about this:
Rom 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
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."
Heb 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"
We need to realize that its not just that we do wrong things i.e. sin, but that we have a sin nature, a proclivity to sin. Think of a child, no one would want to teach their children to disobey or do things wrong, but yet they do, why is that? Its because of the sin nature. We perform acts of sin, because we are sinners.
Our hearts are corrupted; in the book of Mark 7:21" For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man."
But now, there may be some who say, " yeah, i agree with what's said, but i ain't that bad, i mean comparing with others, im quite ok i think", others may have thoughts like "how could a compassionate God punish relatively good people"
We can see in the questions in italics above, there is an emphasis on 'I' and assuming that what we think is correct, and that the buck stops with what we think ourselves to be, as well as having thoughts of God according to our own fancy and whim, but as we've seen previously, we have been blighted and corrupted by sin, our thoughts and the very facet of our being is corrupted and blinded, and our thoughts are most definitely NOT the final say.
Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
When we come up with statements like 'im not as bad as ..." etc, we acknowledge we have some manner of a standard, but then someone else might have a different standard too. What then? Everyone will do what is right in their own eyes! And that is precisely what sin does, we make ourselves out to be as God, and decide what the standards are, and act out as we desire.
Again, we're sinful beings, can something spoilt be a standard? NO! And since we're all sinners, even if we compare with everyone it will be futile, realizing that the best of men are men at best. And what are men? Sinners!
Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
I would like to ask you a question, do you believe in absolutes?
Yes? No?
If you answered no, that is your absolute, we do believe in absolutes, but the thing is you see, we can be ABSOLUTELY wrong about our absolutes, and more oft than not we are not consistent with regards to them.
A prevalent thought is that we should be accepting of all views i.e you can believe and do whatever you want, we should respect each others views.
The Lord Jesus Christ says in John 14.6 " I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me."
There are many who say that they are accepting of all views, but when they are faced with the no holes barred Truth of Christianity and the Word of God, they are squeezed into a corner, and say that they dont agree and cant accept that everything else is false and that we are all lost sinners and ONLY faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in His sacrificial death and resurrection avails, all else is lies.
But if we believe we should accept all, our conscience betrays us, does it not??
We can lie to others, and we can even lie to ourselves(remember our deceitful hearts), but we can never ever ever lie to God. Lets consider a few words of Scripture:
Psalm 94:11 "The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity."
Psalm 139:1-2 "O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Though understandest my thought afar off."
Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living, and powerful and sharper than every twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Jeremiah 17:10 "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins"
Luke 16:15 "And He said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God."
We continue on with:
- Standard
In the beginning of creation, we were created, and we were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
God is perfect. He is the standard, but we have all fallen short of His glory as quoted previously from Rom 3.23, i'll quote it again, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
We have the laws and commandments, and these show us for who we really are, when we look at His commandments, they are perfect, the problem is not with the commandments, but with us, for it really does show us our sinful and evil nature.
There might be some who still think that they are 'good', but again, our idea of what is good is not the standard, God's standard is the standard!
Ok, to push the thought the further, have we really been good? We may think that we have not committed some of the 'bigger' sins like murder and adultery, but have we?
Remember, as we quoted earlier, God searches the heart, and we cant lie to Him!
God is perfect, and there is no such thing as small sin or big sin, SIN IS SIN. No two ways about it.
The Lord considers hate/anger equivalent to murder.The Lord considers the thought of lust in the heart equivalent to adultery.(Matthew 5)
Have you looked at another female or male and lusted in your heart? Its SIN!
Have you bought or downloaded pirated movies/software etc? its stealing. Its SIN!
Have you cheated on your exams, income tax returns etc? Its lying. Its SIN!
Have you while driving, or waiting for the bus and train, and someone cuts ahead of you, and you curse them in your heart? Its SIN!
The list is endless.
Have we really been 'good'? I think not. Perhaps we may be 'good', but 24/7, every waking moment, every second, every thought, action and deed completely without taint according to the perfect standard of God?
You might be saying, 'Impossible! That means perfection!!"...
Precisely!.
That's exactly what God requires, and we realize we cant meet the standard for we are sinners! Our best is as filthy rags!
Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
Psalm 53:1,3 "The fool hath said in his heart, "There is no God." Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: There is none that doeth good. Every one of them is gone back: They are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
Psalm 14:3 "They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no, not one."
Romans 3:10 " As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one."
There may be many things that we think we're doing good, and we may be very sincere in it, but we can be very sincerely wrong in it as well. The people who flew those planes into the World Trade Centre on September 11th were sincere. How sincerely wrong they were! We can be a sincere Bahai, or a Buddhist, or a Hindu, or a Muslim, or even an atheist, it matters not, we're sincerely wrong( this may be offensive to some, but its the truth). I pray that your heart may not be hardened as you continue to read.
You need to know that God is Holy. Holiness means, set apart, separate and perfect, no taint whatsoever!God is holy, God is righteous, God is just, God is love. God cannot simply forgive sinners without a basis! Then God would not be just nor holy, nor righteous. God must punish sin. God hates sin! But God loves the sinner("For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." John3:16-17)
We can't save ourselves nor can we save others, for we're all in the same boat, i.e. sinners. Only Someone PERFECT could meet God's PERFECT standard...
and so we come to our next part:
3.Salvation, the best news you will ever hear (Gospel means good news)
Who is that Someone PERFECT who could meet God's PERFECT standard?
It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ!!
Immanuel!
God with us!!
Isaiah 9:6, 7:14
He is fully God and fully man, and without sin!
The Lord Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:20-21 "but while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins."
Luke 1:34-35 "Then said Mary unto the angel,"How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" And the angel answered and said unto her,"The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be call the Son of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ was born to die. And thanks be unto God that He is not dead but risen from the dead!!
Galatians 3:13 "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written,"Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
The tree/cross was prophesied in scripture, and we can see the descriptive agony and suffering it entails in Psalm 22.
Our works can NOT save us, our wealth cannot save us, only faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning death and resurrection can save us. Its by His grace and mercy that we are saved, its not of works. Neither are we redeemed by corruptible things such as silver or gold, but by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we read in the Word of God, without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Hebrews 9.22
Rom 8:3 " For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:"
The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. Though He came as a man, He is sinless, He is impeccable! He could not sin! Salvation of those who believe in the Lord does not rest upon shaky foundations of maybe's and perhaps's, it rests upon perfection! Thanks and glory be to God!!
2 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"
1 Peter 2:22 "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth:"
1 Peter 2:22 "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth:"
1 John 3:5 "And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin"
The Lord Jesus Christ fullfilled all the righteous demands of the law, all the time! UTTER PERFECTION!
Matthew 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill."
We would rarely ask people to show us our sin, or examine our life and show if there was any sin, the evidence would be overwhelming, lets examine a few verses:
John 8:46 "Which of you convicteth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me?
The Lord could say this for He is indeed sinless!
The testimony of others:
John 7:46 "The officers answered,"Never man spake like this man."
Matthew 8:27 "But the men marvelled, saying, "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!"
Matthew 7:28 "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
Matthew 13:54-57 "And when He was come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, "Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? is not His mother called Mary? and His brethren, James and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? When then hath this man all these things?" And they were offended in Him"
They failed to see the one before them was verily God, the fountain of all life and wisdom and knowledge and power,who hath no beginning nor end, He is Immanuel, God with us, God manifest in flesh!
The thief on the cross beside the Lord, who in the beginning was mocking like the other thief, but after beholding the Lord's testimony, said this, Luke 23:41-43:
"But the other answering rebuked him, saying, "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.""
Its imperative to know and realize that if Christ merely lived a perfect life, that would not suffice, Christ was born to die, and that a death on the cross.
John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep."
John 10:18 "No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received from My Father."
Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many"
This plan of salvation is no mere afterthought, it is in the eternal counsel of God. When sin entered, and Adam and Eve were given the consequences of their actions, from there we read of the seed of the woman who would bruise the head of the serpent(Genesis 3:15)
Galations 4:4"but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law"
1 Peter 1:20 "Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you"
Sin was no surprise to God, and the answer to it was ready.
The Man who was in the manger and who hung agonizingly on that cross was truly God!
Our thoughts are baffled! But it is the Truth!
Luke 2:7 "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."
Matthew 17:1-3,5 "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain apart. and was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with Him. Then answered Peter,and said unto Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three booths; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him."
Matthew 27:46 "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, "Eli,Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say,"My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?"
The One in consideration in the above verses is the Lord Jesus Christ. it is the SAME MAN! the One born in the manger, the One who at all times was infinite delight unto the Father, is the same man that hung on the cross and was forsaken of God. He was forsaken that those who believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ may never be forsaken.
We hear that anguished cry of the Lord Jesus, as quoted from Psalm 22:1 "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" and we see an answer in verse 3 "But Thou art holy"
God is of purer eyes than to behold evil and can not look upon iniquity(Habakkuk 1:14) Sin must be dealt with, but we can not come out by ourselves out of the despicable pit of sin, and that's why the Son, that is the Lord Jesus Christ came to into this world to die, and rise again, that whosoever that believeth upon Him should not perish but have everlasting life!
John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which looketh on the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
The last cry of the Lord Jesus on the cross was "It is finished:" (John 19.30)Indeed the work of salvation is finished, NOTHING needs nor can be added to it, it is done, completed, PERFECT! All who trust upon the Lord and His finished work upon the cross shall be saved and have eternal life! Salvation can never be lost, to those that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, for it rests upon the finished and perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is this not good news! Is this not the best news you will ever hear!!??!!
He is RISEN from the dead!! John 20:19-20 "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them," Pease be unto you." And when He had so said, He shewed unto them His hands and His side. Then were the discipled glad, when they saw the Lord."
John 20:26-29 "And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace be unto you." Then saith He to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing." And Thomas answered and said unto Him," My Lord and My God." Jesus saith unto him,"Thomas, because thou has seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
Do you believe in the Lord Jesus that He is God, and that He came to die for sinners as you and me and that He is risen victorious over death that WHOSOEVER believes upon the Lord Jesus should not perish but have everlasting life??
The Lord did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Do not linger in self-righteousness, its futile, believe in the Lord Jesus!
Some thoughts from Isaiah 9:6. Its said that His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Wonderful: He indeed is wonderful, Christ is the ceaseless object on wonder of all whose eyes have been opened to see and marvel before Him and His glory!
Counsellor: The words the Lord spoke were divine, and full of authority and compassion. Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore whosoever heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which build his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which build his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell: and great was the fall of it."
What are you building upon?
Mighty God: God became man, and though He was man, He was fully God! He healed the sick, had control over the elements, weather, animals, demons, angels and the dead. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent!
He changed lives, and overcame sin!
Everlasting Father: He is the Father of Eternal ages and of life, He has all authority. He says that "WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life"(emphasis mine). Whosoever!! Do you believe the One who has all authority?
Prince of Peace: Peace!! The world craves for peace, but can never achieve it, and it never lasts, as is based upon compromises. John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
Peace only through the Lord Jesus, we are at enmity with God in our sinful condition, only by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ can we have peace with God, there is no other way, all else are lies, deceit!
The Lord Jesus Christ satisfied ALL the righteous requirements of Holy God by dying for sin, He made peace through the oh so precious blood that was shed at the cross, and the blessed fact He who became dead, is alive, and alive forevermore!! Revelation 1:18.
4. Birth
If you recall, we mentioned about another birth, what am i talking about?
If you recall, we mentioned about another birth, what am i talking about?
The bible tells us that we must be born again.
John 3:5-7 "Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unot thee, 'Ye must be born again.'"
Recall that in the beginning its stated that we are dead in trespasses and sin, that's why we must be born again. You have read and heard the Word, do you believe it?
There are two 'musts' in this passage in John 3. The other must is in verse 14 "even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
5. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of your sins?
John 3:5-7 "Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unot thee, 'Ye must be born again.'"
Recall that in the beginning its stated that we are dead in trespasses and sin, that's why we must be born again. You have read and heard the Word, do you believe it?
There are two 'musts' in this passage in John 3. The other must is in verse 14 "even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
5. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of your sins?
The Bible tells us that "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish", "repent ye, and believe the Gospel".
But, what is repentance?
It is NOT penance/restitution, for example, consider Judas, the one who betrayed the Lord Jesus and sold Him for 30 pieces of silver, he had remorse and regret, but this is NOT repentance! Matthew 27:3 "Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, having regretted himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief prisets and elders, saying, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? see thou to that." And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself."
It is NOT merely tears and fear of judgment, consider Felix, who trembled, Acts 24:25 "And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee." But that convenient time never came!
It is NOT merely feeling bad for wrong things that we have done. 2 Corinthians 7:10 "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."
Repentance means a complete change of mind, turning from sin and to God, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for all that He has done, takes side with God against self, and repudiates self, and see's self as completely and irrevocable bankrupt and helpless, lost, SINFUL, willfully rebelling against the creator, and thus turns and trusts completely and wholly in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord of the life. Luke 15 and Isaiah 55:7 give an apt description of what repentance is:
Isaiah 55:7 "Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts: And let him return unto the LORD, And He will have mercy upon him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
So again, do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for you and me, and is now risen?
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"
Romans 10:9 "that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from among the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Don't delay, for you know not what may happen tomorrow and it might be too late then.
Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
The Word of God tells us in Psalm 95, "To-day if ye will hear His voice, "Harden not your heart,.."
So the Truth is before you, one can either believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and freely accept his marvelous free gift of eternal life, or can continue to remain in condemnation. It is of a truth that every one in Heaven will have the Lord to thank and everyone in Hell will have themselves to thank.
My dear readers, the Lord Jesus loves you, He loves you that He died for you and me! and when did He die for us? when we were good, nice little obedient creatures? NO!
Romans 5:6-8 "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
He died knowing that not all will respond, but yet the cry goes out to WHOSOEVER will, do not linger in the despondency of self reliance, and glorification of 'I', confess your sinful nature before the Lord, and trust in Christ completely, there is no other way.!
Make no mistake, the choices we make have a bearing on eternity, and mind you, when we die, we do not disappear into nothingness, we continue to exist, but whether it is with God and eternal bliss or in hell with eternal torment and woe, it depends on whether or not we believe and trust upon the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls.
John 3:17-21 "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."
Do you love the light or darkness?
I'll end with Acts 17:32 " And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: others said, "We will hear thee again of this matter." So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed:"
Three groups of people mentioned:
Mockers
Procrastinators
Believers
Which are you??
John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me."
If you have any questions, concerns please just drop a comment, and by God's grace and leading will try to address them, or you can send me a mail anytime at : don[dot]andris[dot]c[dot][at]gmail[dot]com.
Shalom.
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings within, and foes without,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind,
Sight, riches, healing to the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come!
But, what is repentance?
It is NOT penance/restitution, for example, consider Judas, the one who betrayed the Lord Jesus and sold Him for 30 pieces of silver, he had remorse and regret, but this is NOT repentance! Matthew 27:3 "Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, having regretted himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief prisets and elders, saying, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? see thou to that." And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself."
It is NOT merely tears and fear of judgment, consider Felix, who trembled, Acts 24:25 "And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee." But that convenient time never came!
It is NOT merely feeling bad for wrong things that we have done. 2 Corinthians 7:10 "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."
Repentance means a complete change of mind, turning from sin and to God, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for all that He has done, takes side with God against self, and repudiates self, and see's self as completely and irrevocable bankrupt and helpless, lost, SINFUL, willfully rebelling against the creator, and thus turns and trusts completely and wholly in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord of the life. Luke 15 and Isaiah 55:7 give an apt description of what repentance is:
Isaiah 55:7 "Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts: And let him return unto the LORD, And He will have mercy upon him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
So again, do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for you and me, and is now risen?
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"
Romans 10:9 "that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from among the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Don't delay, for you know not what may happen tomorrow and it might be too late then.
Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
The Word of God tells us in Psalm 95, "To-day if ye will hear His voice, "Harden not your heart,.."
So the Truth is before you, one can either believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and freely accept his marvelous free gift of eternal life, or can continue to remain in condemnation. It is of a truth that every one in Heaven will have the Lord to thank and everyone in Hell will have themselves to thank.
My dear readers, the Lord Jesus loves you, He loves you that He died for you and me! and when did He die for us? when we were good, nice little obedient creatures? NO!
Romans 5:6-8 "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
He died knowing that not all will respond, but yet the cry goes out to WHOSOEVER will, do not linger in the despondency of self reliance, and glorification of 'I', confess your sinful nature before the Lord, and trust in Christ completely, there is no other way.!
Make no mistake, the choices we make have a bearing on eternity, and mind you, when we die, we do not disappear into nothingness, we continue to exist, but whether it is with God and eternal bliss or in hell with eternal torment and woe, it depends on whether or not we believe and trust upon the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls.
John 3:17-21 "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."
Do you love the light or darkness?
I'll end with Acts 17:32 " And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: others said, "We will hear thee again of this matter." So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed:"
Three groups of people mentioned:
Mockers
Procrastinators
Believers
Which are you??
John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me."
If you have any questions, concerns please just drop a comment, and by God's grace and leading will try to address them, or you can send me a mail anytime at : don[dot]andris[dot]c[dot][at]gmail[dot]com.
Shalom.
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings within, and foes without,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind,
Sight, riches, healing to the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come!
