Saturday, June 30, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #134
Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
When God created Man, he enjoyed fellowship with God but when Man fell into sin three things happened to him: a) He became separated from God and became spiritually lost b) He became spiritually blind and ignorant and c) He became spiritually dead.
Lost, blind and dead are the three major things that we can say about man when he fell into sin. Three of the most important questions that a man should ask is this:
1. I am spiritually lost. Where do I go?
2. I am spiritually blind and ignorant. How can I know?
3. I am spiritually dead. How can I have life?
And all these three questions are answered by this verse here.
*I am spiritually lost and separated from God. Where do I go? How can I be reconciled to God? And Jesus says: “I am the Way.”
*I am spiritually blind and ignorant about God and the way back to Him. How can I know? And Jesus says: “I am the Truth.”
I am spiritually dead. How can I have life and enjoy fellowship with God? And Jesus says: “I am the Life.”
I am so confused. There are so many ways that claim to be God’s. And Jesus says: “No one comes to the Father except by Me.”
Thursday, June 28, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #133
Misconceptions About Salvation
#7 Everything in the Bible was written to tell us how to be saved."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to rightly divide the Word of God.
Not everything in the Bible tells us how to be saved. There are verses in the Bible that instruct us how to live a saved life after we have been saved by faith in Christ.
This misconception has caused many to believe that salvation is by faith in Christ PLUS doing all the commandments in the Bible etc. Obeying Christ as Lord is the result of trusting in Him as Savior. The former is the fruit of the latter.
There are verses that specifically teach us how to enter salvation land and there are also verses that teach us how to walk in salvation land after we have entered it by faith.
#7 Everything in the Bible was written to tell us how to be saved."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to rightly divide the Word of God.
Not everything in the Bible tells us how to be saved. There are verses in the Bible that instruct us how to live a saved life after we have been saved by faith in Christ.
This misconception has caused many to believe that salvation is by faith in Christ PLUS doing all the commandments in the Bible etc. Obeying Christ as Lord is the result of trusting in Him as Savior. The former is the fruit of the latter.
There are verses that specifically teach us how to enter salvation land and there are also verses that teach us how to walk in salvation land after we have entered it by faith.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #132
Misconceptions About Salvation
#6 "To receive Christ, one must INVITE JESUS INTO HIS HEART"
Obviously, the cause of this misconception is the failure to realize what it is to receive Christ.
To receive Christ is actually to receive His claims about Himself. Did you not notice that in the Gospel of John, the apostle strives and labors so hard to present to his readers claim after claim after claim of who the Lord Jesus is? The book piles up one claim after another of the Lord Jesus.
Here are some of them:
1. He is the Revealer of God (the Word of God)
2. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
3. He is the Bread from heaven
4. He is the Savior of the world
5. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to God except through Him.
6. He is the Light of the world
Now, in order to genuinely receive a claim, one must trust in the claim and the person making the claim. I might say for example: "I am superman", and your mouth may pay lip service to it by saying: "Yes, I believe", but if your heart does not trust what I am claiming, then you have not truly received my claim.
In order to genuinely receive a claim, one must trust in it. And so that is why the apostle John says in John 1:12:
Jn 1:12 Yet to all who received him, ***to those who believed/trusted in his name***, he gave the right to become children of God
Names in the Bible especially those of God describe who God is. His name is who He is. His name is His claim. To believe in Jesus' name is to trust who He is. "Jesus" in short, means Savior. And those who have trusted Him and His claims, are the ones who have genuinely received Him.
At least 150 times in the Bible, the idea of believing/trusting in the Lord Jesus is emphasized. Not once can we find of anyone inviting Jesus into their hearts. Revelation 3:20 is not an invitation to salvation but an invitation to fellowship for people who were already Christians who went out of fellowship with Him.
Receiving Christ is just another way of saying: "Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation."
Monday, June 25, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #131
Misconceptions About Salvation
#5 "In order to be saved, we must ask God for mercy."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize that God has already shown mercy toward us with regard to salvation.
It was at the cross of Calvary that God showed and manifested His saving mercy. With regard to the salvation of our souls in this side of the cross, we don't have to ask God for mercy when God has already shown mercy. Look at Christ hanging on the cross for our sins and tell me if God has not been merciful to miserable sinners like us.
To ask for mercy when God has already shown His mercy is pure unbelief.
What do you think of a beggar who upon seeing you darts toward you and then repeatedly asks for some money when all the time you have offered him a 100 dollar bill dangling in front of his face?
You would say: "What is wrong with you? It is not the time now to ask for money, it is now the time to receive the money that I am offering to you. Here take it."
In the same way, in this side of the cross, it is not the time now to ask God for saving mercy when God has already shown mercy, rather it is now time to receive His saving mercy, to trust in the mercy He showed at Calvary.
It is true that the tax collector did indeed ask for mercy when He said: "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" but observe please, that was before Christ died on the cross. Some time after that, God answered his prayer when Christ died for him at the cross, and now, we in this side of the cross, are not to ask for mercy, rather we are now commanded to trust Christ Jesus for our salvation.
That is why in the New Testament, sinners are not commanded to plea for God's mercy. They are over and over again commanded to believe and trust in the Savior.
It is not the time now to ask God to open the door for us, when God has already opened it at the cross . It is now time to step in by faith and be saved! Too many people right now are knocking on God's wide open door!
You can ask and beg for God’s mercy from now on until the day you die, but if you have not trusted and relied on Christ and what He did on the cross alone for salvation you will not be saved, because you have not obeyed the great gospel command to “believe, trust and rely on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
P.S. Of course, we can ask God for His mercy in terms of physical healing (Php 2:27) etc. But when it comes to God's SAVING mercy, we are now commanded to believe/trust in Christ.
#5 "In order to be saved, we must ask God for mercy."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize that God has already shown mercy toward us with regard to salvation.
It was at the cross of Calvary that God showed and manifested His saving mercy. With regard to the salvation of our souls in this side of the cross, we don't have to ask God for mercy when God has already shown mercy. Look at Christ hanging on the cross for our sins and tell me if God has not been merciful to miserable sinners like us.
To ask for mercy when God has already shown His mercy is pure unbelief.
What do you think of a beggar who upon seeing you darts toward you and then repeatedly asks for some money when all the time you have offered him a 100 dollar bill dangling in front of his face?
You would say: "What is wrong with you? It is not the time now to ask for money, it is now the time to receive the money that I am offering to you. Here take it."
In the same way, in this side of the cross, it is not the time now to ask God for saving mercy when God has already shown mercy, rather it is now time to receive His saving mercy, to trust in the mercy He showed at Calvary.
It is true that the tax collector did indeed ask for mercy when He said: "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" but observe please, that was before Christ died on the cross. Some time after that, God answered his prayer when Christ died for him at the cross, and now, we in this side of the cross, are not to ask for mercy, rather we are now commanded to trust Christ Jesus for our salvation.
That is why in the New Testament, sinners are not commanded to plea for God's mercy. They are over and over again commanded to believe and trust in the Savior.
It is not the time now to ask God to open the door for us, when God has already opened it at the cross . It is now time to step in by faith and be saved! Too many people right now are knocking on God's wide open door!
You can ask and beg for God’s mercy from now on until the day you die, but if you have not trusted and relied on Christ and what He did on the cross alone for salvation you will not be saved, because you have not obeyed the great gospel command to “believe, trust and rely on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
P.S. Of course, we can ask God for His mercy in terms of physical healing (Php 2:27) etc. But when it comes to God's SAVING mercy, we are now commanded to believe/trust in Christ.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #130
Misconceptions About Salvation
#4 "God is love and God will just forgive our sins out of leniency."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize that God is a God of justice.
That God forgives is a truth taught everywhere in Scripture. But He forgives because His justice has been satisfied on the cross, not because He is lenient. God forgives, yes, but in a righteous manner and not at the expense of His justice.
The penalty of sin must be paid. And that penalty was paid at the Cross of Calvary. God forgives but He forgives only in Christ Jesus. Because it is only in Christ that sin was paid.
Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
Hebrews 9:27 ".........without shedding of blood there is no remission."
Often people just ask for forgiveness and carry on thinking that just because they asked for forgiveness, God will therefore forgive them. As simple as that. They are counting and depending and relying on the fact that they have asked for forgiveness.
Not so. Forgiveness is based on what Christ did on the cross. And it is only the sinner who confesses his sins and with his heart CONSCIOUSLY TRUSTING IN WHAT CHRIST DID ON THE CROSS that God will forgive. The former is trusting in what they said to God, while the latter is trusting in what God did for them in Christ.
Many people ask God for forgiveness without Christ and His work on the cross in mind. If Christ did not die on the cross, even if you daily and hourly ask God for forgiveness, God will never forgive you. And even if Christ died on the cross, even if you confess your sins to God regularly, if your heart is not trusting in Christ for salvation, God will never grant you salvation forgiveness.
Many people want to die a slow and gradual death because they want to buy time and opportunity to ask God for forgiveness just before they breathe their last, believing earnestly that their good works coupled with their asking for forgiveness will ensure them salvation forgiveness.
P.S. If God just forgives because we simply ask for it and that's all, nothing more and nothing less, then there is no need for Christ to die on the cross for sinners. They can simply be forgiven by simply asking for it.
#4 "God is love and God will just forgive our sins out of leniency."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize that God is a God of justice.
That God forgives is a truth taught everywhere in Scripture. But He forgives because His justice has been satisfied on the cross, not because He is lenient. God forgives, yes, but in a righteous manner and not at the expense of His justice.
The penalty of sin must be paid. And that penalty was paid at the Cross of Calvary. God forgives but He forgives only in Christ Jesus. Because it is only in Christ that sin was paid.
Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
Hebrews 9:27 ".........without shedding of blood there is no remission."
Often people just ask for forgiveness and carry on thinking that just because they asked for forgiveness, God will therefore forgive them. As simple as that. They are counting and depending and relying on the fact that they have asked for forgiveness.
Not so. Forgiveness is based on what Christ did on the cross. And it is only the sinner who confesses his sins and with his heart CONSCIOUSLY TRUSTING IN WHAT CHRIST DID ON THE CROSS that God will forgive. The former is trusting in what they said to God, while the latter is trusting in what God did for them in Christ.
Many people ask God for forgiveness without Christ and His work on the cross in mind. If Christ did not die on the cross, even if you daily and hourly ask God for forgiveness, God will never forgive you. And even if Christ died on the cross, even if you confess your sins to God regularly, if your heart is not trusting in Christ for salvation, God will never grant you salvation forgiveness.
Many people want to die a slow and gradual death because they want to buy time and opportunity to ask God for forgiveness just before they breathe their last, believing earnestly that their good works coupled with their asking for forgiveness will ensure them salvation forgiveness.
P.S. If God just forgives because we simply ask for it and that's all, nothing more and nothing less, then there is no need for Christ to die on the cross for sinners. They can simply be forgiven by simply asking for it.
Monday, June 18, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #129
Misconceptions About Salvation
#3 "It does not matter what or who you believe, so long as you are sincere in your belief, you will go to heaven."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize that one could be sincere and be sincerely right but one could also be sincere and be sincerely wrong.
Sincerity is no substitute for truth. Hell will be filled with sincere people. A man high on drugs on top of a building is sincere that he is superman, that he could fly. He says: "I believe I'm a fly. I believe I could touch the sky. I dream about it every night and day, spread my wings and fly away. I believe I'm a fly."
He is sincere but sincerely wrong.
Would you have yourself operated on by a doctor who is sincere but has no knowledge at all about surgery?
Ro 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God (sincere!), but not according to knowledge (sincerely wrong!)
Ro 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
Satan has no problem with you being sincere so long as you remain blind to the truth. In fact this formula----sincerity minus truth or sincerity plus half truth is the perfect deception. The sincere person would think that he is okay with God when the reality is, he is not.The truth is: Christ Jesus is the only Savior in the world. And to be saved you must put your trust only in Him.
#3 "It does not matter what or who you believe, so long as you are sincere in your belief, you will go to heaven."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize that one could be sincere and be sincerely right but one could also be sincere and be sincerely wrong.
Sincerity is no substitute for truth. Hell will be filled with sincere people. A man high on drugs on top of a building is sincere that he is superman, that he could fly. He says: "I believe I'm a fly. I believe I could touch the sky. I dream about it every night and day, spread my wings and fly away. I believe I'm a fly."
He is sincere but sincerely wrong.
Would you have yourself operated on by a doctor who is sincere but has no knowledge at all about surgery?
Ro 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God (sincere!), but not according to knowledge (sincerely wrong!)
Ro 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
Satan has no problem with you being sincere so long as you remain blind to the truth. In fact this formula----sincerity minus truth or sincerity plus half truth is the perfect deception. The sincere person would think that he is okay with God when the reality is, he is not.The truth is: Christ Jesus is the only Savior in the world. And to be saved you must put your trust only in Him.
GOSPEL NUGGET #128
Misconceptions About Salvation
#2 "If my good deeds outweigh my bad ones, I will go to heaven."
The cause of this misconception is two-fold: a) a low view of God's holiness and b) failure to realize one's depravity.
* God is absolutely holy. He hates even a single sin. It took only one sin for Adam and Eve to be driven out of Paradise.
* Sin has affected and contaminated every part of our being---spirit, soul, body, mind, emotion and will. It has contaminated us entirely that even the best that we could do are "filthy rags in God's eyes" (see Isa. 64:6). Apart from the grace of God in salvation, our spiritual bank account in terms of good works is zero! Our good works will never outweigh our bad ones because we have no good works in God's eyes that He could accept in the first place (see Rom. 3:12).
We are saved through faith in what our Savior did and not what we have done.
#2 "If my good deeds outweigh my bad ones, I will go to heaven."
The cause of this misconception is two-fold: a) a low view of God's holiness and b) failure to realize one's depravity.
* God is absolutely holy. He hates even a single sin. It took only one sin for Adam and Eve to be driven out of Paradise.
* Sin has affected and contaminated every part of our being---spirit, soul, body, mind, emotion and will. It has contaminated us entirely that even the best that we could do are "filthy rags in God's eyes" (see Isa. 64:6). Apart from the grace of God in salvation, our spiritual bank account in terms of good works is zero! Our good works will never outweigh our bad ones because we have no good works in God's eyes that He could accept in the first place (see Rom. 3:12).
We are saved through faith in what our Savior did and not what we have done.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #127
Misconceptions About Salvation
#1 "Good people go to heaven. Bad people go to hell."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize as to who we are in the eyes of God. In God's eyes, there are no good people. We are all sinners. Sinners are spiritual criminals. And there are no good criminals. All criminals are bad. And all spiritual criminals are subject to God's judgment and condemnation.
Ro 3:10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
Ro 3:12 ...there is none who does good, no, not one.
The question is not: "Have you been good?" No, the questions are: "Are you saved? Are you redeemed by the blood of Christ?"
As long as you believe that you are quite good enough to go to heaven, you will never go to heaven. Because you are trusting in who and what you are (and you are actually a spiritual criminal in God's eyes), instead of trusting in Christ Jesus and what He did on the cross.
No, good people will not go to heaven. Because there are none in God's eyes. Only pardoned spiritual criminals go to heaven.
#1 "Good people go to heaven. Bad people go to hell."
The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize as to who we are in the eyes of God. In God's eyes, there are no good people. We are all sinners. Sinners are spiritual criminals. And there are no good criminals. All criminals are bad. And all spiritual criminals are subject to God's judgment and condemnation.
Ro 3:10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
Ro 3:12 ...there is none who does good, no, not one.
The question is not: "Have you been good?" No, the questions are: "Are you saved? Are you redeemed by the blood of Christ?"
As long as you believe that you are quite good enough to go to heaven, you will never go to heaven. Because you are trusting in who and what you are (and you are actually a spiritual criminal in God's eyes), instead of trusting in Christ Jesus and what He did on the cross.
No, good people will not go to heaven. Because there are none in God's eyes. Only pardoned spiritual criminals go to heaven.
Monday, June 11, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET # 126
Lu 5:32 "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
* Being a sinner is not a hindrance to come to Christ. In fact, it is our very qualification for it. Christ did not die for good people (there are none). He came to die for sinners.
There are people who say: "I am such a great sinner. I can't come to Christ." Friend, you are the very reason why He came. Only people who are sinners will experience salvation. You just can't be saved if you are not a sinner. You can't be found if you are not lost. Your being a sinner should not prevent you from coming to Christ. It is the very reason why you should go to Him.
The worst thing for a man is his self-righteousness. It is a smokescreen. It blinds him from seeing as to who he really is in the eyes of God.
* You don't have to clean yourself up before you come to Christ. You can't do it anyway in the first place. If you can, then you don't need to go to Christ. Christ does not only forgive, He also cleanses us from any moral filth.
You don't have to spiritually shape yourself up before you come to Christ. Come as you are---a sinner out of shape. Christ does not only save, He also shapes twisted and perverted and crooked sinners.
* Being a sinner is not a hindrance to come to Christ. In fact, it is our very qualification for it. Christ did not die for good people (there are none). He came to die for sinners.
There are people who say: "I am such a great sinner. I can't come to Christ." Friend, you are the very reason why He came. Only people who are sinners will experience salvation. You just can't be saved if you are not a sinner. You can't be found if you are not lost. Your being a sinner should not prevent you from coming to Christ. It is the very reason why you should go to Him.
The worst thing for a man is his self-righteousness. It is a smokescreen. It blinds him from seeing as to who he really is in the eyes of God.
* You don't have to clean yourself up before you come to Christ. You can't do it anyway in the first place. If you can, then you don't need to go to Christ. Christ does not only forgive, He also cleanses us from any moral filth.
You don't have to spiritually shape yourself up before you come to Christ. Come as you are---a sinner out of shape. Christ does not only save, He also shapes twisted and perverted and crooked sinners.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET # 125
Christ---His Work, His Worth And His Word
* His Work: He died for our sins and rose again
* His Worth: His person gives us a glimpse of His worth. He was God the Son who became Man and appointed by God to save sinners.
* His Word: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes/trusts in Me has everlasting life Joh. 6:47
Trust what He did (His Work), what He said (His Word) and trust Him for who He is (His Worth) and you will have eternal life!
* His Work: He died for our sins and rose again
* His Worth: His person gives us a glimpse of His worth. He was God the Son who became Man and appointed by God to save sinners.
* His Word: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes/trusts in Me has everlasting life Joh. 6:47
Trust what He did (His Work), what He said (His Word) and trust Him for who He is (His Worth) and you will have eternal life!
GOSPEL NUGGET #124
Eph 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise
RO 8:9 ...if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
The word "Christian" just means one who belongs to Christ and follows Christ.
"Christ" refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, or the Anointed One. "Ian" is a suffix from Latin which means belonging to or adhering to. Put them together "Christ" + "Ian"= One who belongs to Christ and follows Christ, Christian in short.
If you don't have the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the verse says you don't belong to Christ, you are not a Christian.
You may have undergone the rite of baptism, you maybe someone who has memorized the Bible, you maybe someone who goes to church regularly, you maybe someone who prays every day but if you don't have the Holy Spirit in you, then you don't belong to Christ. You are not a Christian.
How can one have the Spirit of Christ? Look at Eph. 1:13 above. It happens when one hears about the Good News of Christ's salvation and then puts his trust in it and then and only then, can one have the Holy Spirit in him.
And it is only the person who has the Holy Spirit who can truly follow Christ.
RO 8:9 ...if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
The word "Christian" just means one who belongs to Christ and follows Christ.
"Christ" refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, or the Anointed One. "Ian" is a suffix from Latin which means belonging to or adhering to. Put them together "Christ" + "Ian"= One who belongs to Christ and follows Christ, Christian in short.
If you don't have the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the verse says you don't belong to Christ, you are not a Christian.
You may have undergone the rite of baptism, you maybe someone who has memorized the Bible, you maybe someone who goes to church regularly, you maybe someone who prays every day but if you don't have the Holy Spirit in you, then you don't belong to Christ. You are not a Christian.
How can one have the Spirit of Christ? Look at Eph. 1:13 above. It happens when one hears about the Good News of Christ's salvation and then puts his trust in it and then and only then, can one have the Holy Spirit in him.
And it is only the person who has the Holy Spirit who can truly follow Christ.
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