GOSPEL LIGHT #704

The Bible's Scandalous Message Of Salvation 

One of the reasons why people don't read the Bible is because they think that they know what's written in the Bible already.

They think that the Bible teaches a be-good-and-do-good-to-be-saved method of salvation. "Why bother to read and study it seriously? The point is simple --- just be good and do good and you'll go to heaven!" so they think and say.

Do a survey. Ask around. Almost to a man, people will say that in order to be saved one has to be good and do good.

Ask a young kid, who has never been exposed to the teachings of the Bible, and he'll answer "Do good in order to go to heaven."

Examine all the religions in the world. In fact, almost all of them, except one, teach that salvation is by good works. If all the people in the world today were given 1 million years to figure out how a sinner is saved, they would all come up with a variation of the salvation-by-being-good method, at the end of it.

Why? That's naturally what comes into a man's mind.

The Bible turns heads with its teaching that salvation is not by works but through faith alone in the work of the Savior. It iconoclastically breaks the mold. It controversially presents a paradigm shift. It turns their belief system upside down. It offers a road that's less traveled. It defies the conventional. It shockingly goes against the grain. Scandalous! Bizarre! A sucker punch! Nobody saw it coming! Totally out of this world!

It is something that is completely unlike any other belief system in the world. It could not be the result of man's devices, because it is something that is totally different from anything that humans could create.

My friend, I invite you to unlock the secrets of salvation. Dive into the Bible's pages and discover for yourself the life-transforming truth it contains, finding salvation by faith alone in the work of Christ on the cross. 

GOSPEL LIGHT #703

Ex 1:13 The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; 

Ex 1:14 and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.

It is often common with the dealings of God with men for God to cause men to become painfully aware of their bondage to enable them to see their need for redemption.

Pharaoh is a picture of Satan. Egypt is a picture of the world. Israel’s bondage in Egypt was a picture of the sinner’s bondage to sin in the world.

The problem with the sinner is that he does not see his deplorable condition. On the contrary, he enjoys the bondage of sin that is breaking him piece by piece, inch by inch.

Often, before God saves a sinner, He makes him painfully aware of his bondage to sin. He makes him aware that sin is a taskmaster and that his service is an affliction and grievous. That he is helpless and hopeless to free himself from this condition.

At this point, God is opening the sinner’s eyes, creating the need in his heart to be freed and redeemed from sin. At this stage, the sinner is ready for “Moses.” Moses is just in the next chapters in his life, so to speak.

When a sinner becomes painfully aware that he is a sinner in bondage to sin, helpless and hopeless to save himself, the Savior is just around the corner. It is at this point that the sinner is ready for His salvation.

 

GOSPEL LIGHT #702

The Sinker's Prayer

Mt 14:30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"

Caught in the tempest's might, Peter knew he couldn't fight. With waves dancing wildly, stirred by winds through the night, he beheld before him a fearful, fearful sight. In such a plight, "Lord, save me" was a cry that's no slight.

Peter's "Sinker's Prayer" wasn't a scripted recital, but a heartfelt plea drawn out from within. Desperation, helplessness, and dire urgency gave him the words. He wasn't even urged to sincerely say it. He saw the emergency. It just came, unbidden, upon his realization of the situation and his recognition of the Savior. He knew exactly why he was crying out to Him (his case was dire) and he knew exactly why it had to be Him whom he should cry out for (he knew it was only Him who could save him at that point).

His case is so unlike many today. Many are manipulated to parrot the Sinner's Prayer even without being convicted of sin. Conviction of sin is God making us realize our urgent and critical need for His intervention. After all, how can one truly ask for something when, in reality, he sees no need for it?

Many a Sinner's Prayer today does not qualify as a genuine call. They are actually mere recitals.

The Bible does not say: "Whoever RECITES calling upon the Lord shall be saved." Rather, it says "Whoever CALLS upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." My friend, call upon the Lord. Call upon Him because you have seen your helpless condition. Call upon Him because you know it's only Him who could save you.

GOSPEL LIGHT #701

 Scripture Savvy - Salvation Smart

2Ti 3:15 and that from infancy you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise to obtain salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Knowledge can take you to the stars, but the true wisdom that the Bible gives takes you beyond. There are people who are smart enough to build a rocket but clueless about the way of salvation. Even the brightest minds can be fools if they miss the path to heaven. What does it matter if you are an expert when it comes to the ship's carpeting? What does it matter if you are a connoisseur about the ship's paintings? What does it matter if you are a specialist about the different metals of the ship? Yes, what does it all matter when the ship is sinking? When the world is a ship that is sinking fast, the only knowledge that truly matters is the one that shows you the way to the rescue boat.

The Bible savvies you for it and gives you the smarts - it is through faith in Christ Jesus.

GOSPEL LIGHT #700

Settle Matters With God Without Delay 

Mt 5:25 "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

Let's apply this verse to our relationship with God: 

While it is true that God has become favorable and propitious toward us through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is also a sense in which He is our adversary in that He has something against us, if, all the while, we remain unrepentant.

God, as it were, goes with us on the way of life and warns us that if we don't settle the matter with Him He will deliver us over to the Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will have us thrown to prison for all eternity.

Don't put this off. This ought to be an urgent and pressing concern on your part. "Agree with your adversary quickly." Come to terms with Him without delay. Settle the score with Him at once. Don't go to court with Him. You will only lose your case.

Come aside with Him now in Calvary, when His Son died on the cross for all your sins against God. There, by faith in the Savior, avail of the payment He provided for your sins against God and have your case closed for all eternity. 





 

 

GOSPEL LIGHT #699

The Sorry Myth: Debunking The Belief That Being Sorry Is Enough 

One common misconception about salvation is the belief that merely expressing a sincere apology to God is enough to make everything okay. 

Yes, the sinner ought to be sorry. He should be sorry. It would be an act of brazenness if he or she is not.

An apology, however, no matter how heartfelt and sincere could never save us from the punishment we deserve. Not even if we do it a million times. Ask any just law court in the world. 

That's because only the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross could pay for the penalty of our sins. If expressing a sincere apology is all that it takes then why did the Lord Jesus Christ have to die on the cross?

Don't settle for sorry. You need the Savior! You need to repent and trust in what He did on the cross for you! 

GOSPEL LIGHT #698

The Gospel According To "Saint John" The Methodist Circuit Rider 

He is one of the unsung heroes of Church History. His name is not well-known. They just called him "Saint John." He would travel on a regular circuit, visiting multiple towns and settlements, preaching the Gospel to the people he would meet.

One of his methods in sharing the Gospel was this --- He would go out into the mines and inquire for the names of miners who went down sick the longest. And then he would volunteer to work for their shifts. Dark, dusty, and sooty, there he was working hard down in the mine. There, he would preach the gospel to other other miners and then he would emerge out from the mine after some days and then he would go to the sick miner's house and give the money to him. He would sit down with the sick miner by the fire and preach the gospel to him, using what he did as an illustration of what the Lord Jesus Christ did for sinners. Many people came to Christ because of what "Saint John" did. 

The world right now is upside down. People like "Saint John" should be the heroes of the world, acknowledged, celebrated and applauded. And yet "Saint John" rode into the sunset of his life largely unrecognized. In God's kingdom, God will turn it right side up. And nobodies like "Saint John" will forever be somebodies there. I am curious to know his real name.

Here's the gospel according to "Saint John" The Methodist Circuit Rider:

We are the  miners down in this dark, dusty and sooty cave called the world. Down and out, we could not do anything for ourselves. But the Lord Jesus came and took our shift. And there on the cross earned salvation for us. And He comes to us offering us salvation for free. All we have to do is to receive it freely from his hand by faith.