1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:02,800 All right, well, if you're sticking around for Bible study, 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:05,800 you can turn your Bible to Acts chapter 4 and verse 12. 3 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:14,440 In our series of Christianity one O 1, we've been looking at 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:17,160 these core fundamentals of the faith. 5 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:22,920 And I would say today is perhaps the most important of all of the 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:28,680 things that we've seen so far because today is the day that 7 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:34,360 has eternal consequence, decisions that affect more than 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:39,240 just a lifetime. So our subject today is 9 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:44,600 salvation. How is man made right with God? 10 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:46,880 We have seen so far that there is a God. 11 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,240 In week one we dealt with theism. 12 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,800 After that, we saw that Jesus is God in the flesh and he gave his 13 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,320 life a ransom for sinners. And then last week we saw the 14 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,440 Bible is God's word that tells us all the things that we need 15 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:03,680 to know. And today we will see how man 16 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:08,400 can be right with God or reconciled to him. 17 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:14,760 So let's ask the question first. If you're taking notes, what is 18 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:19,120 salvation? This is kind of a church word. 19 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:23,280 You probably don't use this at work or in school. 20 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:28,640 I've been salvationed. It's kind of a churchy word, but 21 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:33,640 it comes from the Latin salvare, which is to save, or the Greek 22 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,560 word sotiria again, which is to save. 23 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,120 And that's where I had you turn in Acts chapter 4 and verse 12 24 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:45,000 in your Bible where it says neither is there salvation in 25 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,720 any other. There is none other name under 26 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,200 heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. 27 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,760 But that is the word that is the subject of our study today. 28 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,000 And that word there is that same Greek word, soteria. 29 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:03,640 And if you study the Bible and study theology, we call the 30 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:08,120 study of salvation soteriology, soteriology. 31 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,000 So if you ever see that word, that's what it means, the study 32 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,240 of salvation. Most of the time though, in 33 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,480 Christianity, we're going to use the word saved. 34 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:21,000 That's probably a word that you're familiar with if you've 35 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,480 been around for a long time. Saved. 36 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,080 A person can be saved from a burning house. 37 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,560 In that sense, it isn't spiritual at all. 38 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:34,880 It's just saving someone from danger. 39 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,120 Money can be saved up. Hopefully you've got that 40 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,360 figured out to save money in your bank account. 41 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,720 So in that sense, it can be stored up and prepared or kept 42 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,440 safe somewhere. But today, what we're going to 43 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:52,400 see in Christianity is what the Bible means by being saved has 44 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:57,920 more to do with your soul. So I gave you this definition to 45 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:02,080 keep safe or rescue from harm or danger. 46 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,840 So that's going to be our definition for today and we're 47 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:10,840 going to apply that to the soul, as Peter says in first Peter 19, 48 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:17,320 receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your 49 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,600 souls. So the soul, quite simply, 50 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,160 without getting into a Bible study on what a soul is, the 51 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:24,840 soul is the part of you that's you. 52 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,840 Does that make sense? You are more than your body. 53 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,560 It's your thoughts and ideas. It's your personality, your 54 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:34,960 experiences, your care, emotions, your will. 55 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,400 It's the person inside of your body that's your soul. 56 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,880 And that part of you is going to live forever. 57 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:48,400 And that part of you, as we'll see today, is in danger, hence 58 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,200 the need for salvation or rescue. 59 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,680 So let's ask next, why do we need to be saved? 60 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,720 I like, maybe I feel like I'm not in any danger. 61 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,600 Doesn't seem like the building's going to collapse on me. 62 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,760 Or even perhaps in a spiritual sense, maybe we feel like not 63 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:12,800 that bad. I mean, I wasn't partying like 64 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,240 Ethan, not that I'm sure I did worse things than Ethan by the 65 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,680 way, but I'm not compared to other people. 66 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,400 I mean, I'm, I'm fine. It's, I'm not that bad. 67 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,800 But I want to give you 2 reasons today why we need to be saved. 68 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:34,880 First is because we're sinners. This is such a fundamental basic 69 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:40,280 in the Christian faith, but we can't miss it because unlike 70 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:44,760 other religions, Christianity does not assume that everyone is 71 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,960 good. And many, especially eastern 72 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:49,440 religions, it's quite the opposite. 73 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,000 They think that we are good and then we choose bad or we have 74 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,600 the potential for both. Kind of like Star Wars maybe. 75 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,960 But biblical Christianity is different because the Bible says 76 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:04,040 we are born bad, like bad to the bone. 77 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:08,280 It's it's inherent in our flesh and in our nature. 78 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,800 We have this sin problem that is passed down to us. 79 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,560 It's why we mess up and do things we shouldn't do. 80 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:17,200 It's it's built in, it's hardwired. 81 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:21,680 The book of Ecclesiastes, it says there is not a just man 82 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:26,080 upon the earth that do with good and sinneth not. 83 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,640 I'm sure you're great. We like you, but you're not 84 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:38,920 perfect and neither am I. And with that, sin brings a 85 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,160 consequence. It always brings death. 86 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:47,760 So the Bible says in Romans, the wages of sin, what we earn, 87 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,000 that's your wage. Like minimum wage. 88 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,560 It's like a lot of different now than whenever I used to work for 89 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,720 minimum wage. I think back in the day for me, 90 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,800 I didn't plan to say this, but when I was 16, I worked at 91 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,640 Wendy's when you actually had to flip hamburgers back in the day, 92 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:10,080 and I made 5:15 for minimum wage and just got raised up to 5 93 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:11,680 bucks an hour. And I thought that was pretty 94 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:13,480 good. That wouldn't work for Oregon 95 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,160 for sure. But the wage is what we earn. 96 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,880 It's what we get for our effort. And the Bible says what we earn 97 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:25,440 because of our sin is death. And we will face a physical 98 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,800 death. All humans will die, but there 99 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:31,640 is also something of greater consequence than death, as we 100 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,600 will see today. But let me first reveal to you 101 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:40,120 that this sin nature puts us in a state that the Bible describes 102 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,360 in several different ways. So let's look at the spiritual 103 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:51,760 state of unsaved man. The Bible says that before we're 104 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,880 saved, we're spiritually dead, blind, lost. 105 00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:00,920 Ephesians says we're without hope in this world, that we're 106 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,960 in darkness, that there's no good in US. 107 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:10,080 And perhaps even worse, at the bottom it says that Satan is our 108 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,600 father. This is our condition prior to 109 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:20,280 being rescued or being saved. So I've got this down in your 110 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:24,080 notes for you. All people on the planet are in 111 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,840 this condition until they are saved. 112 00:07:35,790 --> 00:07:38,510 I know that might be hard to believe, but this is basic 113 00:07:38,510 --> 00:07:43,150 Christianity. Your parents, your best friends, 114 00:07:43,630 --> 00:07:48,510 everyone you see on TV or on your phone or in person, every 115 00:07:48,510 --> 00:07:53,430 single person is in the condition that we just saw until 116 00:07:53,430 --> 00:08:01,360 something changes for them. So if sin wasn't bad enough, the 117 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:05,600 next one is perhaps even worse reasons why we need to be saved. 118 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:14,560 It is because God is good. Unfortunately for us, God is a 119 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:20,960 good God and he is a judge. And because He created all 120 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:25,160 things and gave life to all things, His breath literally 121 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:31,080 animates all life. He requires us to steward it. 122 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:37,720 And the Bible says that the God of the Bible is just and right. 123 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:43,559 Deuteronomy 32 just and right is He. 124 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:53,520 I got a question for you. What kind of judge would let bad 125 00:08:53,520 --> 00:09:00,320 people go free? Is that the people that we would 126 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,760 elect and choose and appoint to say we want you to protect us, 127 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,920 execute the law, do the right thing? 128 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:13,480 Would you want them to get up there behind the gavel and 129 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:19,600 perhaps favour somebody because of race, gender, religion, 130 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:29,040 preference or bribe? Would that not be corruption in 131 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,120 an earthly sense? Doesn't that make us want to 132 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,920 revolt whenever we see that sort of thing happen? 133 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:42,360 Well, the God of the Bible says in Genesis, shall not the judge 134 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:48,720 of all the earth do right? He will always execute just 135 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:50,920 judgement. What is right? 136 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,440 There is no corruption in him as Job said. 137 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:59,120 Doth God pervert judgement or why? 138 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,360 Doth the Almighty pervert justice? 139 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:04,040 Or doth the Almighty pervert justice? 140 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:08,040 I mean those words that pervert us to distort or to work. 141 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:12,480 Does he distort judgement? Is he making bad decisions? 142 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:14,480 Is he favoring some people over others? 143 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:19,360 Are some people getting by free? So how about for you? 144 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:27,120 If God rightly judged you, what makes you think that you would 145 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,560 get a pass? Well, I'll make it in because 146 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:35,240 you know. So it's this way in your notes. 147 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:42,000 If you stood before God today, why would he let you into 148 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:48,000 heaven? This is the situation. 149 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:52,800 This is what we need to be saved, Why we need to be saved? 150 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,560 Because it's appointed unto men, ones to die. 151 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,640 And death isn't the worst thing that can happen to a person 152 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:06,320 standing before a just judge without being saved. 153 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:11,680 It's going to be far worse. So let's talk next about what we 154 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:14,640 are saved from. We talked about why we need to 155 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,560 be saved. What is this? 156 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:22,240 What do I have to fear, really? I'm sure God's punishment will 157 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:25,280 be fine it, you know, it all works out in the end. 158 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,040 But there are two things that perhaps we aren't accounting for 159 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:33,520 if we're thinking that way. First is the wrath of God. 160 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:41,480 Modern culture wants to paint God and Jesus into a light of 161 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:45,640 loving and accepting in the sense that there is no judgement 162 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:50,520 or justice. But the God of the Bible does 163 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:52,880 not take sin as lightly as we do. 164 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:56,800 We often are tempted. We're weak and vulnerable. 165 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:00,720 We do things we shouldn't do. But how about this? 166 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:09,080 How do you feel about injustice? Like, what do you feel like 167 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:14,760 whenever evil things happen? For example, how do you feel 168 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:17,120 when people are sold into sexual slavery? 169 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,120 How do you feel when children are abused? 170 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,400 How do you feel when innocent lives are killed? 171 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:29,760 How do you feel when authorities misuse their power? 172 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,200 How do you feel when someone does you wrong? 173 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:42,240 Does it not elicit a response in us that says we need justice and 174 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,800 that proves that you are made in the very image of God, that you 175 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:50,000 want justice? The Bible says in Psalm Chapter 176 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,440 7 that God is angry with the wicked every day. 177 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,800 He doesn't like sin. Although he permits us to do 178 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,680 things in our free will, it angers him. 179 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,880 If you read the book of Genesis, you'll see that he wiped out the 180 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:11,560 whole planet because it angered him, how distorted the planet 181 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:14,840 had become. So the New Testament says it 182 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:16,560 this way. In the book of Romans, the wrath 183 00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:21,400 of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. 184 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:26,080 Wrath is even one step beyond anger. 185 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,600 You do not want to experience wrath. 186 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,040 And because I know you're not convinced, Colossians says for 187 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,240 which things sake? The wrath of God cometh on the 188 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:43,400 children of disobedience. The wrath of God cometh on the 189 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,080 children of disobedience. And I know what you're thinking. 190 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,680 Well, I'm not a children of disobedience. 191 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:52,080 That's not me. I'm not that bad really. 192 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,960 Well, let's just listen to Jesus and John 336 Jesus says he that 193 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:02,480 believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that 194 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,520 believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God 195 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:11,200 abideth on him. See, God's wrath isn't for a 196 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,880 particular sin or a level of sin. 197 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,280 Jesus said that if you do not accept the Son, which is the way 198 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:25,880 to be saved, then the only other option is to experience God's 199 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:29,160 wrath. And if God's wrath isn't bad 200 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:36,480 enough, what we need to be saved from is also eternity in hell. 201 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:45,200 I know you're thinking I came to church, we got good news in this 202 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:47,200 church. Why on earth are we going to get 203 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:51,680 into this subject right now? But you know what? 204 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:56,520 All of your Bible is important. Jesus talked about hell quite a 205 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:59,360 bit. And there is a modern stir today 206 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:04,000 of people that want to make the Bible say things that it it's 207 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,880 just clearly there for us. The idea of hell is no doubt 208 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:13,160 hard to deal with. To think about eternal conscious 209 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:19,800 torment, it seems kind of cruel. But this is no different from 210 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:22,720 the judge situation that we talked about a moment ago. 211 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:27,040 What should we do with hardened criminals? 212 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,720 Should they continue to freely walk the streets? 213 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,680 If you've harmed, maimed, damaged people repeatedly, do we 214 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,080 not say we have a place for you or you can't do that anymore? 215 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:47,120 Especially for those who would not repent or change at some 216 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,720 point, the punishment for evil doers can be so great to where 217 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:56,400 we would say you're going to be there for life or we're going to 218 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,880 end your life. Do we not do that in the justice 219 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:05,200 system? Why does God not get to do that? 220 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:14,160 The Book of Revelation, we see this harrowing event called the 221 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,040 Great White Throne. This is there is no salvation in 222 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,160 this moment. This is only a judgement for the 223 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,240 lost. It says the sea gave up the dead 224 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,400 which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which 225 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,840 were in them, and they were judged every man according to 226 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,920 their works. And death and hell were cast 227 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,040 into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 228 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,760 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was 229 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:46,320 cast into the lake of fire. Do you mean to tell me you 230 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:53,040 actually believe in hell? Yeah, it's in the Bible. 231 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,440 Now there are inventions like purgatory as an invention of the 232 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,280 Catholic Church. Dante's Inferno is a story, but 233 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:06,800 Hell is definitely real. What does it look like? 234 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:11,160 We can imagine we've seen things on TV and in other places. 235 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:14,839 Maybe if you're a bad kid like me and you've seen South Park, 236 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,440 you know that Satan comes out to play. 237 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,960 And maybe you've seen Little Nicky with Adam Sandler and he's 238 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:25,880 playing the air guitar and hell, it's not quite maybe like TV 239 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,600 makes it out to be. So let me help you with what a 240 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:33,240 biblical description of Hell is. What is hell like? 241 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:38,920 Well, there's more, but for us today, hell is a place where 242 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,800 condemned souls go. It is a place of constant fire. 243 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:48,000 It is a place of torment and darkness. 244 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,200 It's a place where fallen angels go. 245 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:56,120 It is an everlasting punishment with no escape. 246 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:02,680 And Hell isn't even the worst. Eventually Hell is cast into a 247 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:06,640 lake of fire, as it says in Revelation 21. 248 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,200 The fearful and unbelieving and abominable and all these 249 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:15,400 horrible people right shall have their part in the lake which 250 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:22,240 burneth with fire and brimstone. This is the second death. 251 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,240 See, there's something worse than a physical death. 252 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:31,480 The the death that comes after that is eternal conscious 253 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:36,160 torment. And maybe you're just struggling 254 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,600 to process this. What that I'm what I'm telling 255 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:43,200 you is true. Well, let's listen to Jesus just 256 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:46,680 for a moment. Jesus says, Enter ye in at the 257 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:51,920 Strait gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that 258 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:55,960 leadeth to destruction. And many there be which go in 259 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:00,160 there at but straight is the gate, and narrow is the way 260 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,560 which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 261 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:12,920 According to Jesus, many will experience destruction and few 262 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:20,160 will find life. That means that at least 50% or 263 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,840 more of the population will perish in hell. 264 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:30,400 I mean, that's sobering, isn't it? 265 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:34,440 That's not what we want, by the way. 266 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,720 We're not the judges. We don't get to determine who 267 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:38,800 goes to heaven and hell. This is not on us. 268 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:43,520 And it is not God's will that this would happen either. 269 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:48,840 The Bible tells us that God will have all men to be saved and to 270 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:50,240 come to the knowledge of the truth. 271 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,800 It is His desire. He has made a way, as we're 272 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,520 going to see in a moment. He loved us before we ever loved 273 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,080 him. He died for the possibility of 274 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,720 the world to be reconciled to Him. 275 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:10,840 But he gives man a choice. And when man will not repent and 276 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:15,840 turn and believe in faith? They can't go to heaven. 277 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:22,720 That's a place of perfection, A holiness, man. 278 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:24,400 It's going to be a praise party all the time. 279 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:28,840 It's going to be awesome. God's not going to drag them 280 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:30,760 kicking and screaming into a place where they don't want to 281 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:35,040 be. There's only one other place for 282 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,360 them. But let's move on now to how we 283 00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:41,880 are saved. So how do we get out of this 284 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:46,880 problem? How can I be rescued from 285 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:52,600 eternal damnation? Well, as sinners, we cannot fix 286 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:57,360 this problem on our own. We cannot self rescue if you 287 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:00,120 will. We do not have the capacity for 288 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:03,920 that in the book of Isaiah. The Bible tells us that our 289 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:09,200 righteousness, the things that we would do to be right, it's 290 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:13,640 filthy rags. We can't do anything that would 291 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:17,360 clean ourselves up enough because all of our efforts are 292 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:20,960 still dirty in comparison to a holy God. 293 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:29,200 We cannot do enough. Proverbs says, Who can say I 294 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:33,000 have made my heart clean? I am pure from my sin. 295 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:38,840 Can you say that? I can't say that. 296 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,760 The filthy rag illustration I think really sells it. 297 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:53,680 Would you take a not just a rag, a filthy rag? 298 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,960 Would you take a gross rag? And would you, like, wash your 299 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:02,000 dishes with something like that? Yeah, I think I'll eat off of 300 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,360 what I'm going to use like that. No, I don't. 301 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,960 I wouldn't do that. How about something like this? 302 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,720 You just say there's like hair and stuff on that, you know? 303 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,360 Yeah, let's let's take something white and let's clean our white 304 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:17,680 clothes with a with a rag like that. 305 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,760 I mean, some of us, if you're weak stomach, you might even get 306 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:25,480 a little nauseous messing with filthy rags. 307 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,960 See, it's not that man can do no good. 308 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,480 It's that man can do no good to satisfy God. 309 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,240 There's not enough that you can do to atone. 310 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,800 The sin is in your nature. You will continue to fail. 311 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:44,600 You will blow it. You're never going to be 312 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:49,480 perfect. Therefore there must be another 313 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:53,320 way. It cannot be self rescue. 314 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:54,960 So I want to pause it to you today. 315 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:58,840 I have a quote from an article from a pretty safe website 316 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,760 called Got Questions. If you I have Bible questions, I 317 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:04,640 recommend starting with the people in your life that are 318 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,080 from this church that you know. We love to open the Bible with 319 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:13,080 you, but this subject is called penal substitutionary atonement. 320 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:15,480 It is the way for us to be right. 321 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:18,680 Let's read this together. It says in the simplest possible 322 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:23,720 terms, the biblical doctrine of penal substitution holds that 323 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:27,440 Jesus's sacrifice on the cross takes the place of the 324 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,560 punishment we ought to suffer for our sins. 325 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:35,840 As a result, God's justice is satisfied and those who accept 326 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,440 Christ can be forgiven and reconciled to God. 327 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,080 Does that not sound like basic Christianity? 328 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:47,960 One O 1? It absolutely is. 329 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,480 It's just summarizing a whole bunch of verses for you. 330 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,040 Someone else died for you and your place. 331 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,560 Peter says it like this. One of my favourites, that 332 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:04,560 Christ also hath suffered for us, the just, for the unjust, 333 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,520 that he might bring us to God and praise the Lord. 334 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:14,240 We are the unjust on the other side of the judges gavel, the 335 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,680 guilty ones, with the sinful nature in the wrath of God 336 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,920 abiding upon us. And if you could imagine that 337 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:28,000 courtroom before the gavel comes down for the sentence that 338 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:33,640 somebody enters the courtroom and says, hold on, I'll take 339 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:38,200 their punishment. Can I be in their place and let 340 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:42,320 them go free? That is what Jesus did. 341 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:47,120 The just one, a civilian who's done no error will say I will go 342 00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:50,160 replace the criminal and take his punishment so he can be 343 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,560 free. That's what Jesus did for you. 344 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:56,840 The Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 5 that God made him 345 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:03,120 Jesus to be sin for us. Jesus literally became sin. 346 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:06,560 He took it upon himself who knew no sin. 347 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:11,040 He is that Lamb of God that we might be made the righteousness 348 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,000 of God in him. I mean, this verse is just the 349 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,440 best exchange on the planet. There's no better deal than this 350 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:21,240 right here. The perfect one took everything 351 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:25,080 you've ever done wrong upon himself and gave you the 352 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:28,040 righteousness of God and said you're forgiven, you're clean, 353 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:32,680 you're pure. There is no better deal than 354 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:37,000 that. Romans calls it a propitiation 355 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:42,040 whom God talking about Jesus, whom God had set forth to be a 356 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:46,680 propitiation through faith in his blood. 357 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,760 Now I know that you're not using propitiation every day in your 358 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:56,880 regular life either. So it means to appease to atone 359 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:03,800 or to make favorable. God was satisfied through the 360 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,560 blood of Christ. It appeased His wrath. 361 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:13,280 He is no longer angry with those that have had the blood applied 362 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:18,720 to their life through faith. And this is always how it has 363 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,280 been. A blood sacrifice has always 364 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:24,680 been necessary. We see this in the Bible. 365 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,880 There are other places we could look at as well. 366 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:32,320 But Adam and Eve, when they first sinned in the garden in 367 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:37,240 Genesis 3, they attempted to cover themselves and it did not 368 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,480 work. But God made a way for them. 369 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,440 He killed an animal and covered them with the skins of the 370 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,360 animal. His covering is what they 371 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:50,720 needed. Cain and Abel if you're 372 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,680 familiar. The two brothers. 373 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:54,920 One killed the other out of jealousy. 374 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:59,840 Presumably 1 sacrifice was acceptable and one was not. 375 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,120 The animal sacrifice is what's acceptable. 376 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,960 Abraham and Isaac. God called Abraham to offer his 377 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,560 son Isaac as a sacrifice, but there was a ram and the thicket 378 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:17,040 that was offered in his place. The Passover In Exodus chapter 379 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:22,720 12, God said that he would kill every first born, but if the 380 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,560 blood of the lamb was applied to the doorpost of the house, then 381 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,840 God would pass over that house and no death would happen there 382 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:33,320 because the blood would cover it. 383 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:39,640 If you read Isaiah 53, you see also that the Messiah Jesus 384 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:44,000 would be our Passover, our sin offering. 385 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:50,120 So get this down in your notes. The thing that saves you is 386 00:27:50,120 --> 00:28:06,790 believing what Christ has done. Essentially, if you're on the 387 00:28:06,790 --> 00:28:12,110 other side of the judge's gavel and they say why should we not 388 00:28:12,110 --> 00:28:19,150 give you the death sentence, your answer would be to point to 389 00:28:19,190 --> 00:28:23,190 Jesus. It's not what I've done, it's 390 00:28:23,190 --> 00:28:26,720 what He has done, as Ephesians says. 391 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:31,840 And that not of yourselves, right? 392 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:36,800 For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of 393 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:43,800 yourselves. Christians rely 100% on the 394 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:49,240 substitute that Christ's death, burial and resurrection appeased 395 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:52,440 the wrath of God and forgave me of all of my sin. 396 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:54,800 And if if that's not it, I got nothing. 397 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:58,200 I cannot produce enough good things. 398 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:00,760 I cannot deny my sinful nature enough. 399 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:07,800 It's all because of Jesus. So if you're wondering, am I 400 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:11,120 saved? Or perhaps you want to talk to a 401 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,960 friend about Jesus and you wonder, are they saved? 402 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:16,640 I think this question is helpful. 403 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:20,600 Why would God let you into heaven? 404 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,640 Christians will say because Jesus died on the cross to 405 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:32,360 forgive my sins. But a non Christian will always 406 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:38,600 say well I've been a good person, I haven't done anything 407 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,240 really that bad. That is the answer of a lost 408 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,640 man. They do not understand that 409 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:50,000 Christ was their sacrifice. Maybe they're saved and they 410 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,800 don't fully understand the gospel and you can show them 411 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,840 from the scriptures, but a Christian will always say 412 00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:58,120 because of Jesus I got nothing else. 413 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:04,120 But let's look next number 5, we're almost done at when we are 414 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:08,480 saved. So let's let's review briefly 415 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,800 first. We need to be saved because 416 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,640 we're sinners. God is good and that is a 417 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:18,720 problem for us. But Jesus paid for our sin and 418 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:23,240 that's the good news. But when does that apply? 419 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,680 You see, in Christianity, the cross is not universally 420 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:32,720 applied, forcefully applied to all humans. 421 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,400 To be saved, there is something you must do. 422 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:46,560 Although your works cannot save you, there is one thing that you 423 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:53,200 can do that will save you. It will rescue you from danger. 424 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:58,320 It was framed in a question in Acts chapter 16. 425 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,520 There's a man who saw enough. He knew God was true. 426 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:06,080 He knew God's apostles were the real deal. 427 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,160 And he said, what must I do to be saved? 428 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:17,040 And the answer is quite simple. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 429 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,560 and thou shalt be saved. Now, I know this is basic, 430 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,520 fundamental Christianity, but we cannot miss this. 431 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:29,280 It's so easy to fight and argue about all kinds of other things, 432 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,880 or to want people to do better or be better, and to totally 433 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,120 miss. What must I do to be saved? 434 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:40,240 Our answer always ought to be Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 435 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,520 and thou shalt be saved. You know, this is this is John. 436 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:49,960 Is it good? OK so the thing that you must do 437 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:53,160 to be saved is to believe on Jesus. 438 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,160 Ethan said this and Oh my goodness turn me down a tad. 439 00:31:57,240 --> 00:31:59,320 It must have been weak battery power. 440 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:02,720 Ethan quoted this verse in his testimony. 441 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:09,040 Romans 10/9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord 442 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:11,680 Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God raised him from 443 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:17,360 the dead, thou shalt be saved. We don't have to jump through a 444 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:19,760 whole bunch of hoops. We don't even have to be 445 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:22,800 baptized. You don't have to do anything 446 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,160 except for place faith in the substitute. 447 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:30,960 You can't self rescue. You simply need to accept God's 448 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:35,360 rescue. Romans 10/13 Whosoever shall 449 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:38,680 call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 450 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:41,680 That is a promise from this book to you. 451 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:44,800 You don't have to even believe me for it. 452 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:49,440 Believe the book. You have the word of God that 453 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:53,880 you will be saved. So maybe you wonder, what does 454 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,600 it look like to call on the name of the Lord and be saved? 455 00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:00,400 Is there special magic words? Is there a way? 456 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:05,360 Do I have to be on my knees? Well, it doesn't say, but I 457 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:07,280 think it could be something like this. 458 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:09,800 And if you never prayed this, you can pray this tonight. 459 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:15,960 God, I know that I'm a Sinner. I believe Jesus died and rose 460 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:19,680 again for me. I believe that He is the only 461 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,720 way. I want to make him my Lord. 462 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:27,160 Please save me and forgive me and help me follow you. 463 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:30,280 That is a simple prayer of faith. 464 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,280 It doesn't have to be those words, but something like that 465 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:37,800 is recognizing I need rescue, recognizing the substitute and 466 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:41,640 calling on Him to save you. But I know most of you have done 467 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:43,640 that. So let's ask our final question. 468 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:55,980 What happens next? What's after salvation when we 469 00:33:55,980 --> 00:34:02,620 choose to put our faith in Christ, the the Bible says that 470 00:34:02,620 --> 00:34:05,380 something supernatural happens to us. 471 00:34:06,860 --> 00:34:12,100 We are saved in that moment, spiritually, we are changed. 472 00:34:13,020 --> 00:34:16,199 And I had a big list of things that was going to overwhelm the 473 00:34:16,199 --> 00:34:20,000 screen and I took away of all the truths from this book that 474 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,960 are true of you once you accept Jesus as the Lord. 475 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:28,040 But I simplified them for you tonight just for a few things. 476 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:33,199 I call this the unchangeable change because salvation is not 477 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,800 reversible. If you are born again, if you 478 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:39,840 have believed on Jesus Christ, what happens? 479 00:34:40,679 --> 00:34:45,639 It sticks forever. You are rescued and here's just 480 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:48,120 a few things. Your sin has been paid for. 481 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:53,199 You're no longer trying to make up or atone or do better to 482 00:34:53,199 --> 00:34:57,680 please God. It's satisfied on the cross. 483 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:02,080 Colossians says you've seen this in Bible study in whom we have 484 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:06,520 redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. 485 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,440 Secondly, you have peace with God. 486 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:14,320 Although at times we may feel like God is angry with me, 487 00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:21,000 Romans tells us that we're justified by faith and we have 488 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:27,120 peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, not because of our 489 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:31,520 actions through our Lord Jesus Christ. 490 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:35,040 God is not angry with you. He loves you. 491 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:37,640 He calls you his son or daughter, His daughter. 492 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:41,360 You are in his family. And lastly, for tonight, you 493 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:45,840 have the Holy Spirit. The Bible says after that you 494 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:52,280 believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. 495 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,320 The Holy Spirit is not a thing that comes later. 496 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,200 It's not some weird spooky event. 497 00:35:57,560 --> 00:36:00,440 It it's, it doesn't even have to seem miraculous. 498 00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:04,800 It happens at the moment that you put your faith in Jesus, you 499 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:06,840 are born again and you are sealed. 500 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:09,960 You're given God's Spirit. You either have the Spirit or 501 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:13,760 you do not. He is always with you. 502 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:16,520 He will never leave you or forsake you. 503 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:21,960 He bears witness that you are God's child. 504 00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:26,560 So I wanted to leave you with something encouraging at the end 505 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:28,680 because I know some of tonight was difficult. 506 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:32,800 But as we conclude our time, I just want to ask you a few 507 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,760 questions. What are we going to pray for as 508 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:41,280 we come before the Lord tonight? Have you had that time in your 509 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:45,560 life that you chose to accept the rescue that God offered to 510 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:50,040 His Son? Can you share like Ethan did, a 511 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:58,120 time that God changed you? If you've been saved, are you 512 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:00,280 able to get that to other people? 513 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:03,440 This is the best news on the planet. 514 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:07,240 We can live forever and have peace with God. 515 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,000 That's why it's called the good news. 516 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:14,040 The good news though, comes with some bad news. 517 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:20,600 So maybe we need some sobriety to think about our lost friends 518 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:25,960 and family, people who will meet the end that we saw tonight. 519 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:32,080 If we do not beg God for Him to intercede in their lives, it is 520 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,280 His will that we would be saved. And Jesus taught us, if we pray 521 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:37,760 anything according to His will, He will hear it. 522 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:42,440 So tonight, if you are saved and you aren't sure what to pray, 523 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:45,840 would you pray for the lost in your life? 524 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:50,560 Maybe it's a cousin, brother, mother, sister, whoever. 525 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:53,720 Maybe it's a person at work, people that you love. 526 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:57,760 Would you ask God for an open door? 527 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:02,920 I had this earlier today. I walked by a guy in my office 528 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:05,280 building. I don't know who's working on 529 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:07,120 Sunday morning, but, you know, we're in there together. 530 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:11,440 And I just prayed God, would you just give me an open door? 531 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:14,360 This guy's a really an introvert dude. 532 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,960 And he said, hey, man, how are you doing? 533 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,480 He began a conversation with me and I was like, all right, let's 534 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:23,480 go. And we got closer to the gospel. 535 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:26,680 We aren't quite there yet, but sometimes we just need to pray 536 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:30,840 for God to open a door or give us a time to have that kind of 537 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:33,240 conversation with somebody. So as we wrap up, I want to give 538 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:35,760 us a moment to pray. That's the way we'll end. 539 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:38,040 And then Jay will come up and we'll have another song. 540 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:39,000 So let's pray.