10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Philippians 3:10 KJV
When Jesus died on the cross and rose again three days later, he redeemed us with his blood. Now we – each and every one of us – have a choice to make. Do we put our faith and trust in what Jesus did on the cross, or do we try to get to heaven our own way.
(News flash. The second option will never work.)
The truth is that the only way to heaven is through Jesus. More importantly you wouldn’t want to have to go through what Jesus went through to get to heaven anyways, but the good news is that you don’t have to!
We access God (and everything He has to offer) through faith in Jesus
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Hebrews 11:1-2 KJV
There is no way to go to heaven without faith in Jesus. That is just the simple truth. When this verse says that the elders obtained a “good report” from their faith, that word really means that they…
- Obtained a witness
- Good Reputation
When you become a Christian, regardless of what you may or may not have done in your life, you obtained a witness in heaven of your good reputation.
Jesus Comes In…
When we accept Jesus as our Lord, we allow Jesus to come into our lives and make our spirits alive again.
19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died [a]in vain.”
Galatians 2:19-21 KJV
Before Christ because of sin, we were dead inside. There was no hope for us. We were headed to hell because of choices that we ourselves made, but God wanted us to know Him.
God doesn’t send people to hell. We choose to go to hell and God offers us a way to reverse those choices and not feel the consequences that our actions bring.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV
This gift is something that we receive when we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord. When we choose to accept the free gift of God through faith, that is when we can become part of the family and obtain this great intercessor.
We obtain testimony from Christ
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Romans 8:34 KJV
The simple truth is that Jesus loves us. We try to put words in his mouth and justify how we think He should feel about us based on our actions, but Jesus never changes and is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Jesus, after dying on the cross and rising again, sat down at the right hand of God. He is seated there now! Why?
Well, Jesus is talking to God about you. If you are a born again believer, Jesus isn’t up there pointing out every time you make a mistake. Instead, He is up there interceding for you.
That means every time you DO mess up, He is telling His Father, “Hey remember what I did on the cross? That sin he/she just committed also falls under My blood.”
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:12-14 NKJV
The blood of Jesus has obliterated all of your sin. That means that no one other than you – and maybe your 5 closest “friends” – remembers or will remind you of your sin.
God’s not up there trying to find everyplace that you miss it. He isn’t looking for complete perfection, but your heart does matter.
The Blood of Christ
The blood of Jesus washed your sin away. There is life in the blood. That is why only the blood of a sinless man would be sufficient to purchase back all of humanity from the clutches of hell.
You see. Adam already committed treason by handing the devil the keys to the earth some 6,000 years ago. We all were on our way to hell because of the path we each choose when we sin.
But God so loved the world that He gave. He gave His only begotten. And when we believe in HIM, we in essence take the road that leads to life instead of death and hell.
Salvation Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my sins. I know that I have sinned, but I believe that Jesus came to earth, died on the cross and rose again 3 days later for me. I confess Him as my Lord right now, and I receive Him into my heart and my life to be my Lord and Saviour.
In Jesus Name, Amen.
0 Comments