Philippians: Can Your Resume Get You to Heaven?

Class Outline:

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Access denied to self-made saints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

An Online Christian Church

Teaching the Word of God

Verse-by-Verse

 

RORY CLARK

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

This is Pastor Rory Clark welcoming you to a Bible lesson with Barah Ministries, an online Christian community teaching the Word of God verse-by-verse to the hearers the Lord provides.

 

No matter where you are in the world, no matter how the Lord gets this Bible lesson to you, thanks for listening!  Studying the Bible is one of the best gifts you give yourself every day.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Can Your Resume Get You to Heaven?

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

How many people walking around on the earth today know righteousness is required for entrance into heaven?  Everyone knows!  But do they know the two kinds of righteousness?

 

There is self-righteousness, a works-based form of righteousness whereby a person believes they need a collection of good deeds to make them worthy of heaven.  You know this group.  They’re the ones who claim, “I’m basically a good person.  I haven’t killed anyone.  Why wouldn’t God want me in heaven?”

 

The apostle Paul saw it differently in Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 18…

 

ROMANS 7:18

For I (Paul) know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh…for the willingness to do good is present in me…but the actual doing of the good is not present in me.

 

Paul is describing sin.  Outward good…“give back” good…won’t get anyone to heaven.

 

Next, there is the righteousness of God, a faith-based righteousness whereby God imputes His righteousness to believers in Christ’s account as a free gift.  This group proclaims, “I am a sinner and I need a Savior.”  The Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Inward good, the kind that is gifted to believers in Christ by the Lord, is absolutely the ticket to the resurrection life and the admission ticket to heaven.

 

As we study the first passage of Philippians, Chapter 3 the apostle Paul examines his life.  He is the human version of The Tale of Two Cities, a Charles Dickens novel that begins, “It was the best of times…it was the worst of times.”  In this passage we’ll see the worst of Paul and the best of Paul, and as we hear his reflections, we won’t be able to help examining ourselves.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!  We get great JOY from studying the Word of God because of the promise of Hebrews, Chapter 4, Verse 12…

 

HEBREWS 4:12

The Word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword… and it’s piercing…even dividing the soul and spirit and the joints and the marrow, and is a critic of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 

As we begin the study of our lesson today, we ask God the Father to make the WORD OF GOD SPEAK to us, so we hear it and act on it.  Here’s MercyMe to sing about it.

 

MUSIC - OPENING SONG

Let’s Hear the Singing of the Lord’s Praises

 

WORD OF GOD SPEAK

MercyMe

 

 

 

OPENING PRAYER

 

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful to You Heavenly Father for providing us with the absolute truth of

the Word of God…

 

Father, thank you for enlightening the eyes of our hearts…for giving us spiritual eyes so we can fix our minds on the things of heaven instead of adapting to the evil intricacies of Satan’s kingdom…thank you for strengthening us with divine power through God the Holy Spirit who is indwelling our inner man, so we can have supernatural understanding as we study the Word…and thank you for grounding us in Your unconditional love, Your forgiveness, and Your grace so that we treat others as you would treat them…

 

…as we continue to study Paul’s letter to the Philippians, and as we learn to have JOY regardless of circumstances, make us remember the truth in this study so we can relax in our lives, letting You and Your Son and the Spirit control our lives and do everything for us just as You planned in eternity past…

 

…we ask these things through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Can Your Resume Get You to Heaven?

 

LESSON PART ONE

 

We continue our study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians in Chapter 3.  Philippi was a Roman colony that housed many retired Roman soldiers, and it was considered “a Rome away from Rome.”

 

Planet earth is a believer in Christ’s “home away from home” according to Philippians, Chapter 3, Verses 20 and 21…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:20

For our citizenship, as believers in Christ, is in heaven…from which heaven also we eagerly wait for a Savior…the Lord…Jesus…the Christ…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:21a

…who will (when He comes for us) transform the body of our humble state (our current physical body) into conformity with the body of His glory (a resurrection body)…

 

Believers in Christ are citizens of heaven.  Our time on this earth is temporary.  In the meantime, we don’t forget where we came from nor to where we are returning.

 

As you’ll remember, Paul is in prison in Rome awaiting an appearance before the Emperor Nero, an appearance that will determine if Paul is acquitted of crimes against the state, the crime of preaching Christ, or whether he will be executed.  He is writing a letter to his believer friends in Philippi to thank them for a financial gift they sent to care for him in prison, and for the friendships he established with believers in the church.

 

Being in prison is a circumstance that confounds some, but the apostle Paul treats the circumstance as a chance to evangelize, even to the Praetorian Guard, the Emperor’s soldiers to whom Paul is chained every day.  Paul saw prison the way he saw all circumstances…as a reason to REJOICE.  In Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 11 he says…

 

PHILIPPIANS 4:11b

…I (Paul) have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

 

Neither circumstances nor people robbed Paul of JOY.  In Philippians, Chapter 2, Verses 14 and 15 Paul saw life this way…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:14

Do everything without grumbling or disputing…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:15

…so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God, above reproach, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation…among which generation you appear as lights in the world…

 

Paul chose to have JOY, even when dealing with people who were evil.

 

Paul didn’t let things rob him of JOY.  In today’s lesson Paul reflects on his own

“successful” life before he met the Lord Jesus Christ, who changed Paul’s idea of

success.  Let’s listen to the passage…Philippians, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 11…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:1

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in union with the Lord (who is the source of our

JOY). To write the recommendation to rejoice again and again is no trouble to me,

and it is a safeguard for you.

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:2

Now…beware of the dogs…beware of the evil workers…beware of the false circumcision (the mutilators…unbelievers who are false teachers) …

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:3

…for we believers in Christ are the true circumcision, who worship in the filling of God the Holy Spirit and who glory in union with Christ Jesus and who put no confidence in the flesh…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:4

…although I myself (the apostle Paul) might have confidence…even in the flesh! If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I ought to far more…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:5

…I was circumcised the eighth day…I am of the nation of Israel…I am of the tribe of Benjamin…I am a Hebrew of Hebrews…as to the Mosaic Law, I am a Pharisee…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:6

…as to zeal, I am a persecutor of the church…as to the righteousness which comes from following the Mosaic Law, I am found blameless.

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:7

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:8

More than that, I count all things to be loss when compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count the things lost but human excrement so that I may gain Christ…

 

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:9

…and I pray I may be found…because of my union with Christ…as not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Mosaic Law, but having that righteousness which is imputed through faith in Christ…the righteousness which comes from God the Father on the basis of faith in Christ…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:10

…that I may know Jesus and the power of His resurrection from the dead and the fellowship of His sufferings…being conformed to His death…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:11

…in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead myself.

 

Here’s the structure of the passage…

 

STRUCTURE OF THE PASSAGE

 

A Look into Paul’s Past

 

Verses 1 to 6

Paul’s Works-Based Righteousness

 

Verses 7 to 11

Paul’s Reflections on Christ-Gifted Righteousness

 

Let’s study the passage verse-by-verse.  Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 1…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:1

Finally, my brethren, REJOICE in union with the Lord (who is the source of our JOY). To write the recommendation to REJOICE again and again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

 

“Finally” here does not mean that Paul is wrapping up the letter.  There are two chapters to go.

 

The word REJOICE is in the imperative mood, the mood of command in Greek.  In speaking for the Lord, Paul is saying rejoicing regardless of circumstances is mandatory for Christians.  It’s a way for us to safeguard our hearts.  It’s an attitude, the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus.

Next, in Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 2, Paul turns his attention to a problem he experienced in every one of his churches…Judaizers…false teachers attempting to confuse believers in Christ with false teaching…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:2

Now Philippian believers…beware of the dogs…beware of the evil workers…

beware of the false circumcision…

 

The Jews of Paul’s day considered us Gentiles to be dogs.  We were thought of as filthy vermin who traipsed around town like a mongrel dog looking for food.  Paul now was calling the Judaizers dogs, and the were Jews!  He was trashing orthodox Jews whom he compared to dogs barking at the truth and growling false doctrines.

 

The false doctrine is a false gospel message.  It’s the teaching that faith plus works equals salvation.  Acts, Chapter 15, Verse 1…

 

ACTS 15:1

Some men (Judaizers) came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

 

A Judaizer once compared salvation to rowing a boat with oars.  “One oar is faith.  One oar is good works.  Without the good works oar, the faith alone oar will just make the boat go in circles.”  Self-righteous ones can’t accept that faith in Christ alone is enough to get to heaven.

 

Paul counteracts the argument by calling the Judaizers the “false circumcision.”  On the eight day of a Jewish boy’s life he is circumcised, which is considered to be mutilation of the male sex organ.  By calling the Judaizers the false circumcision he was accusing them of mutilating the truth.  He called them “the mutilators.”

 

Paul contends that religious practices…works…like water baptism, circumcision, and tithing, for example, cannot save a person.  He’s right!  Faith in Christ alone saves.  Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 3…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:3

…for we believers in Christ are the true circumcision (the spiritual circumcision) who worship in the filling of God the Holy Spirit and who glory in union with Christ Jesus and who put no confidence in the flesh…

mAs believers in Christ, our confidence is in what God the Holy Spirit does for us with His divine power and not in what we do in human power.  The Lord communicated a parable about self-righteousness in Luke Chapter 18…and here’s Verse 19…the first verse of the parable…

 

LUKE 18:9

Jesus told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt…

 

Those who are self-righteous…legalistic unbelievers…falsely believe that their righteousness is good enough to get them to heaven.  Read the parable when you get a chance.  You’ll recognize it.

 

The apostle Paul was quite self-righteous before he became a Christian.  In Philippians, Chapter 3, Verses 4 to 6…Paul details his works-based resume…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:4

…although I (Paul) myself might have confidence…even in the flesh! If anyone has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I ought to far more…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:5

…I was circumcised the eighth day…I am of the nation of Israel…I am of the tribe of Benjamin…I am a Hebrew of Hebrews…as to the Mosaic Law, I am a Pharisee…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:6

…as to zeal, I am a persecutor of the church…as to the righteousness which comes from following the Mosaic Law, I am found blameless.

 

Paul was circumcised at the right time.  Eight days into a boy’s life the blood coagulates and circumcision can take place.  Paul was a good Jewish boy.  He is from God’s chosen nation, Israel.  He is of the tribe of Benjamin so he is from the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and not from the line of Ishmael, Abraham’s bastard child by Hagar.  He is NOT from the Arab lineage.  Paul is from the same lineage as Jesus Christ.  Surprise!

 

Paul called himself a Hebrew of Hebrew.  He was a man’s man.  He was at the top of the Jewish ladder.  Why?  He was a Pharisee…a learned man…an expert in Old Testament Scripture.  Today we think of Pharisees as unbelieving hypocrites, but that was not the perception of them in the first century.

 

As far as the Mosaic Law was concerned, Paul followed it to the letter!  He

describes his strict adherence to the Mosaic Law blamelessness.  Of course, we know that NO ONE is blameless.  No one was able to keep the Mosaic Law perfectly except Jesus Christ.

 

Paul believed with all his heart that his resume…his works-based righteousness… would get him to heaven.  Isn’t that the way it is with people today?

 

 

Your house, your car, your bank account, your status, your job title, your

prestigious friends, your philanthropy, your family background CAN NOT GET YOU TO HEAVEN.  Yet there are people everywhere who think the opposite.

 

 

Paul always took things one step further.  He believed that wiping out those who believed in that “Christ” character needed to be eliminated.  So he attacked Christians and sponsored having them put into prison or killed.  He sponsored the killing of Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

 

Paul is the worst person who ever lived.  Then one day while he was out hunting for Christians to torture on the road to Damascus, He met the Lord.

 

When we return from the break, we’ll request an offering and then we’ll continue our study of the first passage of Philippians Chapter 3.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Can Your Resume Get You to Heaven?

 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

God the Father loves all of His creatures unconditionally…and He loves us so much…that He GAVE His Son to save us.  God the Father is not conflicted about giving.  Are you?  First John, Chapter 3, Verses 17 and 18 say this…

 

FIRST JOHN 3:17

…whoever has the world’s goods…and sees his brother in need…and closes his heart against him…how does the unconditional love of God abide in this person?

 

FIRST JOHN 3:18

Little children (believers in Christ) … let us not love unconditionally with word or with tongue (love is not talk) … but let us love unconditionally with deeds and in truth.

 

Let this be a time in your life when you realize what God the Father is able to do with what we give.  Realize how important giving is…it makes life an amazing experience for those in need.  Be generous with the gifts your God has given you…your time gifts…your talent gifts…AND your treasure gifts.

 

Let’s hear insights on the power of giving from Deacon Denny Goodall.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

MATTHEW 11:28-29

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I (the Lord Jesus Christ) will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Can Your Resume Get You to Heaven?

 

LESSON PART TWO

 

The Lord Jesus Christ selected the worst person of all time to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.  Acts, Chapter 9, Verses 1 to 31 details Paul’s shift to Christianity.  Paul is Saul of Tarsus.  Saul was his Hebrew name given to him by his parents.  Paul was his Roman name.  Having two names was common in those days.

 

 

ACTS 9:1

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest…

 

ACTS 9:2

…and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to The Way (Christians), both men and women (and children), he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

 

ACTS 9:3

As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him…

 

ACTS 9:4

…and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

 

ACTS 9:5

And Saul said, “Who are You, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting…”

 

ACTS 9:6

“…but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”

 

ACTS 9:7

The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

 

ACTS 9:8

Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see

nothing…and leading him by the hand, the men traveling with him brought him

into Damascus.

 

ACTS 9:9

And Saul was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

 

ACTS 9:10

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias…and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And Ananias said, “Here I am, Lord.”

 

ACTS 9:11

And the Lord said to Ananias, “Get up and go to a street called Straight Street, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying…”

 

ACTS 9:12

“…and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.”

 

ACTS 9:13

But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem…”

 

ACTS 9:14

“…and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

 

ACTS 9:15

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and before kings and before the sons of Israel…”

 

ACTS 9:16

“…for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

 

ACTS 9:17

So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on Saul said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

 

ACTS 9:18

And immediately there fell from Saul’s eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized…

 

ACTS 9:19

…and he took food and was strengthened.  Now for several days he was with the

disciples who were at Damascus…

 

ACTS 9:20

…and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

 

ACTS 9:21

All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on Jesus’ name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”

 

ACTS 9:22

But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah).

 

ACTS 9:23

When many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him…

 

ACTS 9:24

…but their plot became known to Saul. They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death…

 

ACTS 9:25

…but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

 

ACTS 9:26

When Saul came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples…but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

 

ACTS 9:27

But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to

them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that the Lord had talked to him,

and how at Damascus Saul had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.

 

ACTS 9:28

And Saul was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.

 

ACTS 9:29

And he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews, but they were attempting to put him to death.

 

ACTS 9:30

But when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.

 

ACTS 9:31

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up…and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of God the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

 

Now Saul of Tarsus was Paul…a Jew…a Roman citizen…and a Christian.  He realized the errors of his works-based approach to salvation.  Now Paul was saved on the basis of faith in Christ, and he reflects on his life after salvation in Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 7…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:7

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

 

Paul is saying the works-based resume that was something to be desired in the past is now, since he met the Lord, is something to be disdained.  Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 8…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:8

More than that, I count all things to be loss when compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count the things lost but human excrement so that I may gain Christ…

 

Paul is saying that his works-based human resume is “skubala” … the Greek word for “shit”…human excrement.  Comparing his previous life with the life in union with Christ, he considers the old life to be a loss, not a win.  He considers gaining a relationship with Christ, even with its accompanying suffering, to be the win.  Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 9…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:9

…and I (Paul) pray I may be found…because of my union with Christ…as not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Mosaic Law, but having that righteousness which is imputed through faith in Christ…the righteousness which comes from God the Father on the basis of faith in Christ…

 

Paul says self-righteousness is nothing.  Christ-gifted righteousness is everything.  It’s the admission ticket to heaven.  Philippians, Chapter 3, Verses 10 and 11…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:10

…that I (Paul) may know Jesus and the power of His resurrection from the dead and the fellowship of His sufferings…being conformed to His death…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:11

…in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead myself.

 

With the imputed righteousness of Christ, gifted at the moment of salvation, Paul knows heaven is in his future.  He will be resurrected from the dead as will all of us believers in Christ.

 

The knowledge of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, fellowship with Christ, and a relationship with Christ is worth more than any human accomplishment.  If more people on this earth would take time to realize that, their eternal future would be a lot more promising than it is now.  It’s not our resume…it’s our relationship with Christ that is important.

 

Works-based righteousness or Christ-gifted righteousness.  What’s your choice?  There’s really only one choice.  Free gift or hard, meaningless work?  Take the gift.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

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

 

The final ten minutes of this lesson could be the ten most important minutes of your life.  You’ll be introduced to the good news concerning how you can spend all eternity in heaven when you close your eyes in this life.  We want you to know that…

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

…and what He wants for you is that you make the most important decision of your life.

 

Even if you don’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you still matter to God.  He created you…you’re one of His creatures…and He wants the highest and best for you.  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 any to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

The bad news is that everyone is born in a state of unrighteousness, including you.  You were born physically alive and spiritually dead as an ungodly, unrighteous unbeliever.  You were born on Satan’s team.  In God’s eyes, you were born a sinner and you need a Savior.

 

IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT you were born this way, but it is your circumstance.

 

In First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22, the Bible 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…

 

To God’s enemy, Satan…the ruler of this world…you don’t matter at all.  First Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 8 says…

 

FIRST PETER 5:8

Be of sober spirit…be on the alert! Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

You are the “someone” on Satan’s list.

 

Satan despises you so much he doesn't want you to be saved.  He doesn't want you to be with God in heaven when you close your eyes in this life.  Instead, he wants you to be with him in the Lake of Fire, and he wants you so badly that he sends false teachers with false teachings to deceive you.  In Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 15 the Lord Himself warns about this…

 

MATTHEW 7:15

“Beware of the false teachers…who come to you in sheep’s clothing…but

inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

 

When an animal is ravenous it has an insatiable desire to tear you apart.  So it is with false teachers who pretend to be for you, yet truly they want you to be twice the sons of hell that they are.

 

This gospel message offers GOOD NEWS to rescue you from the kingdom of death and darkness you were born into, inviting you to be born again to the spiritual life available in God’s kingdom of light.  You can choose to be on God’s team.  John, Chapter 3, Verses 16 and 17 highlight Jesus’ mission concerning you…

 

JOHN 3:16

“For God the Father loved the world unconditionally…and He loved the world so much…that He gave His uniquely born Son (the God-man…the Lord Jesus Christ…to be crucified on a Cross) … so that WHOSOEVER believes in Him shall not perish, but has eternal life.”

 

JOHN 3:17

For God the Father did not send God the Son (the Lord) into the world to judge the world…but the Father sent the Son into the world that the world might be saved through Him.

 

God wants you to respond positively to the good news of this gospel message so He can save you!

 

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 all of 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…

 

If a gospel message makes it sound like you have to work to get to heaven, it’s a false gospel message from a false teacher.  Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 6 says you don’t have to work to be saved…

 

ROMANS 11:6

…if salvation is by grace (a free gift from God) … and of course it is…it is no longer on the basis of your works…otherwise, grace (as a free gift) is no longer grace (it is not free).

 

Romans, Chapter 4, Verse 4 says you CAN'T work for salvation…

 

ROMANS 4:4

Now to the one who works for salvation, his wage for his work is not credited to his account as a favor from the grace of God, but his wage is credited as what is due for the work.

 

Your hardest work is not perfect enough to earn you a spot in heaven.  So relax!  You can get to heaven free of charge when you close your eyes in this life.  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31 says…

 

ACTS 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved by God, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

John, Chapter 3, Verse 36 warns you and invites you…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment…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.”

If you choose, you can spend eternity with God’s enemy, Satan, in the Lake of Fire…OR…you can have the free gift of eternal life right this minute!  RIGHT WHERE YOU SIT, RIGHT NOW, RIGHT THIS MOMENT God can save you if you let Him.  You can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and that is the moment of eternal life for you.

 

Romans, Chapter 10, Verses 9 and 10 exhort you…

 

ROMANS 10:9

…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord (that He is God) … and if you believe in your heart that God the Father raised Him from the dead… you will be saved…

 

ROMANS 10:10

…for with the heart a person believes…resulting in the imputation of absolute righteousness by God (your admission ticket to heaven) … and with the mouth a person confesses (admitting faith in Christ alone) resulting in salvation.

 

There is a consequence for rejecting a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ…in Matthew, Chapter 8, Verse 12, the Lord says…

 

MATTHEW 8:12

“…the sons of (Satan’s) kingdom (unbelievers) will be cast out into the outer darkness…in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

Many parents are false teachers leading their children to an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  Do you want to know if you’re a good parent?  Just ask yourself a simple question.  Are you influencing your children to have a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Sovereign God of the Universe?

 

He is the ONLY WAY to get to heaven according to John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6

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

 

There’s no time to waste!  God wants you.  If you want to go to heaven when you

close your eyes in this life, simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be

saved!  Take His word for it concerning salvation, and the resurrection life is yours free of charge!

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

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

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  What’s true of a Christian after salvation?  Galatians, Chapter 2, Verse 20…

 

GALATIANS 2:20a

“I (as a believer in Jesus) have been crucified with the Christ (the Messiah) … and it is no longer I who live the “I” life is dead) … instead, Christ lives indwelling me…and the resurrection life I now live in my physical body I live by faith in the Son of God alone…

 

GALATIANS 2:20b

…the One who loved me unconditionally and who gave Himself up as a sin substitute for me.”

 

From the moment of salvation on, it is God the Holy Spirit operating in us…and it makes us proclaim YET NOT I…BUT THROUGH CHRIST IN ME.  Here’s CityAlight singing it.  Enjoy!

 

MUSIC - CLOSING SONG

Let’s Hear the Singing of the Lord’s Praises

 

YET NOT I BUT THROUGH CHRIST IN ME

CityAlight

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

 

Thank you for letting us reflect on our lives in this study…thanks for helping us

realize that things are not what brings us JOY because You are the source of our

JOY!

 

Keep us reflecting on the faith-based, Christ-gifted righteousness You gave us believers in Christ, and let this knowledge be a source of eternal security for us, because nothing can snatch us believers in Christ out of Your hands nor out of Your Son’s hands…remind us to take comfort in our position IN CHRIST so that we enjoy every moment here on earth and every moment, inevitably, in eternity…

 

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

 

GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS OR WANT US TO PRAY FOR SOMEONE?

 

Ask the Pastor

pastor@barahministries.com

 

KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD DAILY!

 

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

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www.barahministries.com