Galatians 3: If You Work For Your Salvation, You're Going to the Lake of Fire.

Class Outline:

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How much work makes you worthy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

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

 

Why did God the Father create Barah Ministries?

 

He wants all believers in Christ to know His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, intimately. Many claim that Jesus Christ is not God. They contend He is just a man. Would a man make a claim as bold as this? In Acts, Chapter 4, Verse 12, the Lord tells us…

 

ACTS 4:12

"…there is salvation in no one else…for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ)."

 

He's either telling the truth, or he's lying. You get to decide.   We think He is telling the truth. We have full confidence in Him, and we KNOW that Jesus Christ is God.

 

Knowing is not enough. Do you ever FEEL the magnitude of what the Triune Godhead has done for us? They love us…forgive us… die for us… wipe out our sins…free us from bondage to the Law…eliminate condemnation, damnation, and wrath that was due us because of our sins. It's mind-boggling they would do these things for creatures who are not good enough to do any of these things for themselves.

 

To help us get to know Him, the Lord has provided us with the Bible…His exact thinking…and He has given us a member of the Trinity to help us understand Biblical things…God the Holy Spirit…in John, Chapter 16, Verse 13, the Lord says…

 

JOHN 16:13

…whenGod the Holy Spirit of truth comes (whom I,the Lord, am sending to you)…He will guide you believers in Christ into all the truth…

 

The Lord does not want us to count on ourselves for anything!

 

Unfortunately, God has an enemy who loves perverting the truth. Our enemy has many titles…Satan…the evil one…the tempter…the destroyer…the deceiver…the great dragon…the one who deceives the whole world…the serpent who leads the world astray…the spiritworking in the sons of disobedience…and the prince of the power of the air.

 

The Greek word that describes Satan is diabolos,which means "slanderer." He is diabolical. Satan caused all the angels to turn on the Lord by trafficking slander about the Lord amongst the angels. Satan was so convincing that all of the angels believed him without checking the evidence. It's the same thing people do all the time…they hear things about you, and they never check theevidence. The Lord describes His enemy to a group of unbelieving Jews in John, Chapter 8, Verse 44…

 

JOHN 8:44

You are of your father the devil (not of your father Abraham)…and you want to carry out the desires of your father (Satan) He was a murderer from the beginning and he does not tell the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks, he lies…and lies are his native language…because he is a liar and he keeps on fathering lies.

 

Satan's greatest deception is convincing the world that he does not exist, and he is quite good at this deception. In First Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 9, the Lord commands believers in Christ to…

 

FIRST PETER 5:9

…resist Satan by standing firm in your faith…

 

We place our confidence in the Lord. We obey Him, and we reject Satan and his lies!

TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON

If You Work for Your Salvation,You're Going to the Lake of Fire

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

The older I get, the more I realize how pathetic it is that so many people in the world are counting on themselves for salvation rather than just believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. It's so much easier to accept thefree gift of salvation from a Sovereign Lord than to work for your own salvation. Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 13 and 14 warn us to…

 

MATTHEW 7:13

"Enter (salvation) through the narrow gate…for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction (in the Lake of Fire)…and there are many who enter through the wide gate."

 

MATTHEW 7:14

"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to the resurrection life…and there are few who find the small gate."

 

Today, we continue our study of Paul's letter to the Galatians with a theological and historical look at why faith alone in Christ is the only way to salvation as westudy the final passage in Galatians, Chapter 3.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let's hear some music. What a blessing it is to have a God we can ALWAYS depend on. Dependence whenwe are weak, when we are helpless (which is all the time), we count on the Lord, and He is ALWAYS there for us, no matter what. Second Corinthians, Chapter 12, Verses 9 and 10 affirm it…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 12:9

And the Lord has said to me (Paul), "My grace is sufficient for you, for divine

power is perfected in human weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I (Paul) will rather boast about my human weaknesses, so that the divine power of Christ may dwell in me.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 12:10

Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses…with insults…with distresses…with

persecutions…with difficultiesfor Christ's sake…for when I am weak…then I am strong.

 

Steven Curtis Chapman confirms this for us in the songHIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT Please…REALLY listen to the words of this song to prepare you for today's lesson.

 

MUSIC

OPENING SONG

Let's Sing the Lord's Praises

 

HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT

Steven Curtis Chapman

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

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

 

Father, we thank You for the magnificence of what You have done for us…while we were enemies by choice against You, You remedied the situation by sending Your Son…our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…to completely take on the burden of sin and unrighteousness instead of letting us take it on ourselves…and you require nothing of us in return for this graciousness…your Son took on a burden that was not His…sin…and paid the price we should have paid…and God the Holy Spirit teaches us to marvel and be in awe of the depth to which we are loved by You and entire Triune Godhead…

 

…help us to feel how much You love us…get us out of our intellect and into the feelings so we experience Your love for us…if only for a moment…so we can realize exactly what the blessings You give us mean…

 

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

 

TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON

If You Work for Your Salvation,You're Going to the Lake of Fire

 

LESSON PART ONE

 

Let's listen to today's passage, and then we will study it verse by verse… Galatians, Chapter 3, Verses 15 to 29…

 

GALATIANS 3:15

Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.

 

GALATIANS 3:16

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.

 

GALATIANS 3:17

What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

 

GALATIANS 3:18

For if the inheritance is based on Law, it is no longer based on a promise…but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

 

GALATIANS 3:19

Why the Mosaic Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

 

GALATIANS 3:20

Now a mediator is not for one party only…whereas God is only one.

 

 

GALATIANS 3:21

Is the Mosaic Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on Law.

 

GALATIANS 3:22

But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

 

GALATIANS 3:23

But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.

 

GALATIANS 3:24

Therefore, the Mosaic Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

 

GALATIANS 3:25

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

 

GALATIANS 3:26

For you are all sons of God the Father through faith in Christ Jesus.

 

GALATIANS 3:27

For all of you who were baptized into union with Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

 

GALATIANS 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Greek…there is neither slave nor free man…there is neither male nor female…for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.

 

GALATIANS 3:29

And if you belong to Christ, and of course you do, then you are Abraham's descendants…heirs according to promise.

 

So, as a reminder…in Galatians Chapter 1, Paul attacks false teachers and false teaching by refuting their contention that the gospel message came from Paul, the man. Paul says the gospel message he taught did not come from man…it came from God through a direct revelation, even though the gospel is delivered by imperfect men selected intentionally by a perfect God. Then Paul rebukes the believers in Galatia…Galatians, Chapter 1, Verses 6 and 7…

 

GALATIANS 1:6

I (Paul) am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel…

 

GALATIANS 1:7

…which is really not another gospel (it's a counterfeit)…only there are some (false teachers…the Judaizers) who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

 

In Galatians, Chapter 2, Paul argues that if righteousness can be attained through keeping the Mosaic Law…then Christ died needlessly at the Cross Galatians, Chapter 2, Verses 20 and 21…

 

GALATIANS 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ…and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives indwelling me…and the resurrection life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith alone in the Son of God…who loved me unconditionally and who gave Himself up for me."

 

GALATIANS 2:21

“(Therefore)…I (Paul) do not nullify the grace of God…for if righteousness comes through keeping the Mosaic Law…then Christ died needlessly."

 

Justification is given to us by God as a gift as a result of our faith in Christ…and through nothing else…especially not through our works.

 

In the first part of Galatians, Chapter 3, Paul wonders why the believers in the churches he started at Galatia are so gullible as to listen to and to believe the false teachers…Galatians, Chapter 3, Verses 1 and 3…

 

GALATIANS 3:1

You foolish Galatians…who has bewitched you?

 

GALATIANS 3:3

Are you so foolishHaving begun your salvationby the baptism ofGod the Holy

Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

 

Let's study the next passage, verse by verse.

 

Everything we study in the Bible is not practical. As we learn Biblical truths, we subtly ask ourselves, "How does what I'm learning right now apply to my life?" This passage is theological and historical, and it applies to your life, but it requires you to think what God wants us to think. He wants us to understand the foundation on which He builds the principles that lead to the "do's and don'ts" of our lives.

 

If you live your life by "do's and don'ts" only … that is, by behaviors only…you will miss the real things God wants to get into us. He wants us to have thoughts that enable us to have an instant reaction to false teachers and false teaching. Do you spot false teachers and false teaching immediately? Does your "bullshit meter" go off when you hear things that are not true?

 

Phase One of God's plan for mankind is SALVATION through faith in Christ. When we place our confidence in God the Father's plan, we ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save us. He does. How did we get saved by faith, not by works.

Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…

 

EPHESIANS 2:8

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

 

EPHESIANS 2:9

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

 

Phase Two of God's plan for mankind is sanctification. It demands faith as well. God, the Holy Spirit, takes over our lives and leads us into all the truth. He helps us get to know the Lord.  John, Chapter 16, Verses 7 and 8…

 

JOHN 16:7

But I (the Lord Jesus Christ) tell you the truth…it is to your advantage that I go away…for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you…but if I go away, and I am, I will send Him to you.

 

JOHN 16:8

And God the Holy Spirit, when He comes, will convict the whole world concerning

sin and righteousness and judgment…

 

Paul starts the last half of Galatians, Chapter 3,with a human analogy…

 

 

GALATIANS 3:15

Brethren, I speak in a human analogy…even though it is only man's analogy…

when a man makes a covenant (a contract)…and it has been ratified (confirmed by expressing consent…he signs it)…no one can set it aside and no one can add new conditions to it.

 

Paul is referring to a human's last will and testament. We write it when we are alive. When we die, no one has a right to change a single provision. If this is true in the human realm, it is even more true in the divine realm.

 

God made a promise to Abraham in Genesis, Chapter 22, Verse 18…

 

GENESIS 22:18

"In your seed Abraham (the Christ), all the nations of the earth shall be blessed… because you have obeyed My voice."

 

Notice…this is ALL the nations of the earth…not just the Jewish nation. How did Abraham obey Genesis, Chapter 15, Verse 6…

 

GENESIS 15:6

Abraham believed in the Lord through faith alone…and the Lord credited his faith to Abraham's account as absolute righteousness (the admission ticket to heaven).

 

God's promises cannot be canceled or changed like human contracts can be. Abraham is saved by faith, and he wasn't even circumcised. The false teachers would have told Abraham he wasn't saved. Acts, Chapter 15, Verse 1…

 

ACTS 15:1

Some men (the Judaizers) came down from Judea and began teaching the believers in Christ, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

 

Well, Abraham wasn't circumcised according to the custom of Moses…he is the father of the Jewish race…and he was very much saved Galatians, Chapter 3, Verse 16…

 

GALATIANS 3:16

Now the promises of God were spoken directly to Abraham and to his seed God

does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather refers to one… "And

to your seed"… that is, Christ.

 

Abraham believed in the promises of God, and hewas saved by faith. Because of his faith, God promises Abraham would produce a seed…Christ…who would come from Abraham's lineage…the spiritual Jews who believed in Christ by faith. Paul reminds us in Romans Chapter 9, Verses 6 and 7 that there is a difference between spiritual seeds and racial seeds…

 

ROMANS 9:6

But it is not as though the word of God has failed simply because unbelieving Jews rejected their Messiah Forall Jews are not spiritualIsrael in the eyes of God just because they are descended from Israel as racial Jews…

 

ROMANS 9:7

…nor are they all children of God in God's eyessimply because they are Abraham's blooddescendants…but the Lord says, "Through Isaac (a believer in Christ) your real descendants (the spiritual Jews) will be named."

 

Of special note…the promises of God to Abraham happened nearly five hundred years before the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments came to be Galatians, Chapter 3, Verses 17 and 18…

 

GALATIANS 3:17

What I (Paul) am saying is this…the Mosaic Law…which came four hundred and thirty years after God's promise to Abraham, does not invalidate a covenant (a spoken contract) previously ratified by God with Abraham so as to nullify the promises God made to Abraham.

 

GALATIANS 3:18

For if the spiritual inheritance is based on keeping Law (works)…it is no longer based on a promise from God (faith)…but God has granted salvation to Abraham by means of a promise (faith in Christ alone).

 

God's promise to Abraham was direct and unilateral…one on one  It required nothing from Abraham. It was not based on the Mosaic Law, which didn't exist.

Abraham was a Muslim who worshipped the moon god. He was as despicable as we are today, yet God didn't regard Abraham's depravity as an issue. Abraham counted on the Lord for his salvation rather than counting on himself. In Romans, Chapter 4, Verses 20 and 21, we see what kind of faith the totally depraved Abraham had…

 

ROMANS 4:20

...yet, with respect to the promise of God, Abraham did not waver in unbelief but was strengthened inwardly by God in faith, giving glory to God...

 

ROMANS 4:21

...and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

 

Do you exercise this kind of faith in your Lord? When we come back from the break, we'll take the offering, and we'll hear the rest of the Galatians 3 theological lesson.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON

If You Work for Your Salvation,You're Going to the Lake of Fire

 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

God the Father GAVE Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…

 

ROMANS 8:31b

If God the Father is for us believers in Christ, and He is, who is ever going to be successful in opposition against us?

 

ROMANS 8:32

God the Father…who (amid His feelings of WRATH) did not spare His own Son (the Lord Jesus Christ)…but delivered Him over for us all…how will God the Father, now that we are in union with Christ, not also freely give us all things?

 

Since God the Father is willing to give, let's not be conflicted about giving. Be generous with the financial gifts the Lord has given you. You'll be supporting God's ministry so we can provide the Word of God and the gospel message free of charge to people all over the world who need to hear about the Lord.

 

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

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 13:13

But now faith, hope, and unconditional love…abide in the sphere of these three…but the greatest of these is unconditional love.

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON

If You Work for Your Salvation,You're Going to the Lake of Fire

 

LESSON PART TWO

 

After hearing Paul's opening argument, the false teachers contend that the Mosaic Law nullified the promises to Abraham. Paul has to clear it up for them…Galatians, Chapter 3, Verses 19 to 22…

 

GALATIANS 3:19

Why the Mosaic Law then? It was ADDED because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

 

Why did God bring in the Mosaic Law? To teach us that we are sinners in our very nature Romans, Chapter 5, Verses 20 and 21…

 

ROMANS 5:20

The Law came in alongside sin so that the transgression (law-breaking) would

increase…but where sin (law-breaking) increased… God's grace overflowed all the more…

 

ROMANS 5:21

…the Lord provided grace abundantly in the presence of sin so thatas sin reigned as king in spiritual death (life "in Adam")…even so, by means of God'sgrace we believers in Christ would reign as kingthrough righteousness (from being in union with Christ) to eternal life (the resurrection life) through our union with Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

The Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant are not in opposition…God is not a God of confusion. The only way to have a relationship with God is to trust Him to do everything and to accept His gifts. The false teachers offer legalism… a perversion, and a poison that cannot save anyone. Instead, it leads people to destruction…either of the joy in their lives if they are believers or their very salvation if they are unbelievers. The ONLY way to heaven is to trust the Lord to do the work.

 

GALATIANS 3:20

Now a mediator is not for one party only…whereas God is only one.

 

GALATIANS 3:21

Is the Mosaic Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be For if a law had been given which was able to impart the resurrection life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on Law.

 

GALATIANS 3:22

But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

 

What is the Judaizer's lie? The Judaizers are saying, "All right, Paul… let's assume that God began his dealings with Israel by making a promise to Abraham calling for faith. You can't deny that four hundred and thirty years later, God thought it was necessary to lay down the Law for Israel. So the most natural thing to assume is that even if faith begins with a promise, later, we are completed and perfected by engaging God's will with effort to keep the Law and to show God we are worthy of the promised inheritance. They are inferring that God says trust me,

and then God says, work for me. Those who believe this lie distort James, Chapter 2, Verse 20…

 

JAMES 2:20

But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is

useless?

 

The Lord clears things up in Romans, Chapter 9, Verse 32…

 

ROMANS 9:32

…they did not pursue righteousness by faith…but they pursued righteousness as though it were by works They stumbled over the stumbling stone…(they missed accepting a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ for righteousness)…

 

Legalism is the most destructive bondage in which Christians engage Romans, Chapter 10, Verse 3…

 

ROMANS 10:3

For not knowing about God's requirement of absolute righteousness (meaning they ignored it) and instead seeking to establish their own self-righteousness, Israel and The Jewish Race did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God the Father through faith in Christ.

 

They rejected God's way in favor of their own wayto their destruction. Now the conclusion…Galatians, Chapter 3, Verses 23 to 29…for what purpose did God add the Mosaic Law?

 

GALATIANS 3:23

But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.

 

GALATIANS 3:24

Therefore, the Mosaic Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

 

GALATIANS 3:25

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor (the Law).

 

GALATIANS 3:26

For you believers in Christ (through faith alone) are all sons of God the Father through faith in Christ Jesus.

 

GALATIANS 3:27

For all of you who were baptized by God the Holy Spirit into union with Christ

have clothed yourselves with Christ.

 

GALATIANS 3: 28

There is neither Jew nor Greek (no racial distinction)…there is neither slave nor free man (no social distinction)…there is neither male nor female (no gender distinction)…for you are all one who are in union with Christ Jesus.

 

GALATIANS 3:29

And if you believers in Christ belong to Christ, and of course you do, then you are Abraham's descendants…heirs according to promise.

 

The purpose of the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments was not to save us. God gave them to show us that we need to be saved. We wouldn't know about sin without the Law.We only needed the Law until Christ came. In Romans, Chapter 7, Paul say we are born coveters…when God says do not covet, we want to covet even more!

 

God makes unilateral promises to us…He promises to do everything. He requires nothing. The job of the Mosaic Law is to ask us if we are guilty. If we are in prison, we can't get out by our good works, But we can get out through the permission of a judge. When we put on Christ, our stained life is washed away.

 

Foolish people think they have to be worthy of God's blessings.

 

NONE OF US ARE EVER GOOD ENOUGH TO BE WORTHY OF GOD'S BLESSINGS.

 

The Judaizers contend…if you don't drink, you're spiritual…if you don't smoke, you're spiritual…if you don't ingest caffeine, you're spiritual…if you don't swear, you're spiritual…if you go to church, you're spiritual…if I say you're spiritual, you're spiritual.

 

You're spiritual if you have God the Holy Spirit indwelling you…and you did absolutely nothing to make that happen but to accept as a free gift a promise from God. So what will it be for you? The works of the Law or obedience to God  It's a pretty simple choice.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

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

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

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

When food manufacturers noticed your fast-paced, mobile lifestyle, they came up with INSTANT food…instant coffee…instant oatmeal…instant potatoes…instant "TV" dinners…and instant gravy were among their initial culinary creations. Most of them were awful!

 

This message is for those of you who want an INSTANT relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…for those of you who may be wondering what's going to happen the INSTANT you close your eyes in this life, there is an INSTANT answer to your curiosity, and the Lord guarantees that in an INSTANT you can become a child of God.

 

You may not know your unfortunate circumstance at the moment of physical birth…unrighteousness. You were born physically alive and spiritually dead as an ungodly, unrighteous unbeliever. It's not your fault, but it IS your circumstance. First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human being who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…

 

Because Adam was appointed by God as the head of the human race, his first sin was credited to the account of all human creatures, resulting in spiritual death Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12…

 

ROMANS 5:12

Therefore…just as through one man, Adam…sin entered into the world… and spiritual death entered the world through his sin…so spiritual death spread to all men…because all men were considered by God to have sinned when Adam sinned.

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…

 

ROMANS 3:23

…all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10 says…

 

ROMANS 3:10

…it is written,"There is no creature who is righteous (at physical birth) … not even one…"

 

Despite this unfortunate circumstance, there is good news from God that INSTANTLY frees you from sin, from spiritual death, and from the kingdom of darkness into which you were born. You're invited to be born again…the spiritual birth…into a spiritual life in God's kingdom of light…where sin is no longer sovereign over you.   The Lord Jesus Christ offers you a "so great" salvation, and it is His will that you accept the free gift He made possible for you at the Cross. Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9 says…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...instead, He is patient toward unbelievers…NOT WISHING FOR ANYONE TO PERISH IN THE LAKE OF FIRE…but wishing for all to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

If you end up in the Lake of Fire the INSTANT after your physical death, it will not be because the Lord wants you there. It will be your choice.

 

So, how can you get to heaven in an INSTANT when you close your eyes in this life? By obeying God's plan for your salvation RIGHT WHERE YOU SIT, RIGHT NOW, you can be saved in an INSTANT. You can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the INSTANT of eternal life for you. Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31

"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…you and everyone in your household who also believes."

 

To BELIEVE means to take God's word for it regarding what it takes to be saved…and God says the ONE WAY…the ONLY WAY to get to heaven is through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

 

JOHN 14:6

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

 

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

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

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

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4

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

 

The Lord Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead proved that He is Deity, and it qualified Him to save you.

 

Believing in Jesus Christ is your acknowledgment that you can't do a thing

to get to heaven on your own. You can't buy your way into heaven…you can't"good deed" your way into heaven…you can't"be a good person" and get to heaven. You can only get to heaven by accepting the INSTANT gift of salvation from a God who loves you so unconditionally that He sent His Son to die for you on a Cross to pay your way into heaven. Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 8 says…

 

ROMANS 5:8

God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankind…in that while we were yet sinners (while we were unrighteous, ungodly, unbelievers), Christ died a sacrificial deathfor us.

 

God has an enemy, Satan, who deceives the whole world, including you, with a strategy to exploit human beings…RELIGION The religions of the world deceive you into thinking that you can work your way to heaven…that you can work to please God. No religious ritual has ever been good enough to do anything except waste your time. Religious rituals absolutely won't get you to heaven. They just make you look stupid.

 

It's wise to let God save you because once God does something, He never changes His mind. John, Chapter 10, Verse 28 says…

 

JOHN 10:28

"…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to believers in Christ…and they will never perish…and no one will snatch them out of My hand."

 

You can't lose your salvation. If anyone says you can, they are lying to you. There is no reason to be uncertain about what happens at the moment of your physical death. So, heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

JOHN 3:36

"He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment (IN AN INSTANT) …but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him."

 

When you reject a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible makes it clear there is a consequence Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 40 to 42…

 

MATTHEW 13:40

…just as tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.

 

MATTHEW 13:41

The Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) will send forth His elect angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks (unbelievers)…and those who practice lawlessness (unbelievers)…

 

MATTHEW 13:42

…and the elect angels will throw unbelievers into the furnace of fire (The Lake of Fire)…and in that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

Believers in Christ have a different fate Matthew, Chapter 13, Verse 43…

 

MATTHEW 13:43

Then the righteous (believers in Christ) will shine forth as the sun shines in the kingdom of their God and Father.

 

What's your choice? Are you for or against Christ?

 

A relationship with the Lord does not require blind faith. There is no such thing as blind faith. For the wise, faith is always invested after an examination. You have faith as a gift from God, and you can place your confidence in the object of your faith. To place your confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ and to let Him save you is a delicious move. You can reject a relationship with Christ, or you can make an INSTANT choice for Christ, and the result…your salvation…stands finished forever. Matthew, Chapter 13, Verse 44 encourages us…

 

MATTHEW 13:44

He who has ears…let him (really) hear (these things).

 

Some things that happen in an INSTANT are quite tasty!

 

Take a moment right now to wrap your mind around the only INSTANT thing that lasts forever…a relationship with the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let's close with music. Maybe the reason we want to help God by working for our salvation is that we feel like we aren't good enough to be worthy of God's blessings. We aren't, But as June Murphy says in her crossover song into the country music realm, THE CROSS MADE YOU GOOD ENOUGH!

 

MUSIC

CLOSING SONG

Let's Sing the Lord's Praises

 

MY CROSS MADE YOU GOOD ENOUGH

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

 

Thank you for making our salvation so simple…help us to ignore all those who make it complicated…

 

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

 

DISCUSSING THE LESSON AND PRAYER CIRCLE

 

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KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD!

 

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