GOSPEL NUGGET #173

Na 1:5 The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
6 Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, And the rocks are thrown down by Him.

God is speaking and reminding us in earthquakes that we are living in a fallen creation "s

ubjected to futility" (see Rom. 8:20). Earthquakes also teach us sinners what we deserve---God's wrath and indignation.

Directly or indirectly, the moral cause of an earthquake is always sin. Without man falling into sin, creation would not have been subjected to futility. Without our personal sins, God's wrath would not be kindled.

An earthquake is God using a megaphone grabbing everybody's attention saying: "Okay, listen up everyone!!!" warning each of us of an even greater wrath to come if we do not repent.

GOSPEL NUGGET #172

A Blessed Look 

* Look And Be Saved: "Look to Me, and be saved..." (Isa 45:22)

* Look And Be Transformed: "...beholding (looking) as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2Co 3:18)

* Look And Be Glorified: "...we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1Jo 3:2)

It all begins with the look of faith. Once a sinner turns to the Savior, trusting in Him alone for salvation, right that very moment he is saved.

And then as he keeps on looking to the Lord Jesus in faith, he will be transformed from one degree of glory to another becoming more and more like His Savior. 

And then when the Lord Jesus Christ comes, when he will actually see His Lord and Savior, he will be completely like Him. 

Have you made that saving look?

GOSPEL NUGGET #171

Saving Faith Defined

Saving faith is resting on what the Savior already did on the Cross for our salvation. It is being entirely confident that what He did was enough for the salvation of our souls. 

It is finding His work on the cross sufficient to effect salvation. It is being fully convinced and persuaded about what God has revealed in His Word about the death of His Son on the cross for sinners. It is taking God at His Word. 

It is leaning on the Savior. You have no strength to hold yourself up (to save yourself) and so you lean wholly and entirely on Him. It is depending and relying on Him. It is counting upon His work on the cross to deliver its promise.

It is looking away from everything and everyone else and turning to the Savior alone for salvation. It is entrusting the salvation of your soul completely to Him. It is pinning your only hope of salvation utterly on Him. 

P.S. Hebrews 11:1 is a *description* of faith with regard to things promised by God in the future, hence, referring to things not yet seen in the present. It describes what faith does with regard to future things not yet  seen and realized.

When we talk about saving faith, we don't look ahead to the future, we look back to the Savior who died on the cross 2000 years ago.

GOSPEL NUGGET #170

Misconceptions About Salvation

#11 "I am trying to become a Christian."

The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize the supernaturality of becoming a Christian. 

Being born again and being saved is being a Christian. And both are humanly impossible. No one can bring himself forth anew and no one can save himself from sin. It takes the supernatural power of God in the Gospel (see Romans 1:16) to effect these in one's life. 

It is God who makes genuine Christians since it is God who saves and makes one born again into His family. Even living the Christian life after one has become a Christian is the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5:22-23). It is supernaturally produced. 

How then can one become a Christian? It is not by trying, not by self-effort but by trusting in Christ Jesus. When a sinner trusts in the Savior and what He did on the cross for salvation, it is then that God transforms him into a new creature---a Christian.

A dog can only become a man, not by trying, but by being actually a man, though this is impossible to the dog. A man can only become an angel, not by trying, but by being actually an angel, though this is impossible to him.

In the same way, a sinner can only become a new creature, a Christian, not by trying, but by being actually a new creature through faith in Christ.

GOSPEL NUGGET #169

GOSPEL NUGGETS

Ro 2:5 ...in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

God's judgment does not only involve the sinful things we do but also the rebellion of our hearts. You maybe someone who has not committed outward acts of sin and have comforted yourself that you are okay with God. But God is concerned with the condition of our hearts as He is with what we do. 

Repentance is, first of all, a condition of the heart that manifests itself in a changed behavior. You are heaping up for yourself judgment every single moment you remain in your unrepentant condition. 

It is not only when rebels attack a government establishment or a military facility that they commit a crime against the government. No, even if they do not do these things, if they remain in their rebellious state and do not lay down their arms, the government still sees them as in rebellion....even when they all go to sleep at night and do nothing. 

In the same way, even if you have not committed out and out serious sins against God, if you remain unrepentant, God still sees you in rebellion against Him...even when you go to sleep at night and do nothing sinful.  Your unrepentant heart is in itself sin!

 You will not be charged for illegal possession of drugs, but  worse---you will be charged with possessing an unrepentant heart! 

GOSPEL NUGGET #168

1Co 1:18 "...the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 

Our attitude towards the death of Christ on the cross is an index of our spiritual condition. To those who are "perishing" who will ultimately end up in hell, the message about Christ dying for the sins of sinners is nonsensical, meaningless, worthless and unbearably boring. 

You see them well-rested from a good night's sleep, alert, lively and enthusiastic and then you come in and tell them about the death of Christ on the cross for their sins, and then gradually, by and by, like a sleeping pill, with glassy eyes, they look the other way and then make a big "O" yawn. 

They just can't help it. They try and attempt to push themselves to make it valuable and precious, but truth be told, it has no value in their hearts. For them, the message of Christ dying for their sins is trash not treasure. Garbage not gold. Piffle not precious. 

They may say: "Oh it's precious and valuable!" but that's just because that's the standard and expected answer. They say it because it's the correct answer not because that's what's really in their hearts.

But to those who have been convicted of sin and have realized their utter helplessness and powerlessness in saving themselves, the message that Christ died for their sins is truly and genuinely precious. It is the power of God to salvation---it is their only hope to be saved.

GOSPEL NUGGET #167

The Jeffrey Johnson Twist 

Jeffrey Johnson was a 58-year old man who was described as a very nice man ("nicest guy"), who carried himself with composure ("Nothing seemed to bother him"), and was someone who was quiet and reserved, who loved animals and was even described by one as "the sweetest guy". 

Until one day, Mr. Johnson returned to his old workplace carrying .45-caliber handgun and shot down dead a man and injured 9 others. "I think he snapped" a lady friend recounted. 

Man is depraved. We may look good on the outside and sincerely believe that we are indeed good and benevolent but the fact of our depravity remains. Sin has twisted us, crooked us and perverted us inwardly. 

At any given moment, apart from the restraining grace of God, given the suitable situation and condition, we are capable of snapping mad like Mr. Johnson. A Hitler is in all of us. What we are is a lot worse than all the evil and sinful things we have ever done so far. We all need to be born again through faith in Christ Jesus.

Yes, including the "nicest guy" and "the sweetest guy" in the world.

GOSPEL NUGGET #166

Why Repentance Should Not Be Delayed

* The Impending Consequence Of Sin

You could die any moment and face a Christless eternity separated from God. Don't be a fool. The uncertainty of life should teach you to prepare for eternity. The impending consequence of sin (death) could happen to you any time.

* The Hardening Effect Of Sin

Ac 24:25 Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; WHEN I HAVE A CONVENIENT TIME I WILL CALL FOR YOU."

But the convenient time never came. Like Pharaoh, sin hardened his heart.

Heb 3:13 "...exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."

Sin is deceitful. It makes you delay repentance to another future time while all the time, it secretly and insidiously, hardens your heart to repentance. The conscience becomes so dead, the heart becomes so hardened and the point of no return is reached.

* The Deluding Outcome Of Sin

2Th 2:10 "...because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Persistence in sin and rejection of God's truth brings a delusion. Any moment conviction of sin may pass away and God may stop speaking to your soul by the Holy Spirit through His Word leaving you in spiritual darkness and opening you up to delusions that will damn your soul.

Many cult members are not victims. The false cults that they are deeply involved with are the very punishment of God Himself for rejecting His call of repentance.

GOSPEL NUGGET #165

Joh 6:67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

I did not come to Christ for success, convenience, physical health, material wealth, fame etc. I came to Christ for eternal life. And so even if I fail, even if I am inconvenienced, even if I get diseased, even if I live like a pauper or even if I am maligned and slandered in this world, I will never depart away from Christ.

I came for life, eternal life, and it is in Christ. Where or to whom shall I go? Eternal life is in Christ.

GOSPEL NUGGET #164

Illustration Of The Bible 

The Bible is like a spear or a lance. The spear point or the lance point represents the Gospel (The message that Christ died for the sins of sinners and rose again for our salvation, that trusting in it you shall be saved) The shaft or the handle represents all of its teachings and principles from Genesis to Revelation.

Many have attempted to pierce people with it using its wrong side (handle or shaft first). And they become frustrated and wonder as to why people do not apply it in their lives. It does not get inside their hearts.

Whereas the correct way to use it is to pierce people with it by its spear point. As the spear point penetrates the heart, it opens up the way for the handle to go in with all its teachings and principles.

The point is: A sinner must be saved first by trusting in the Savior in order for him to live the Christian life.The Gospel of salvation must be received first so that the principles and teachings of the Bible can enter as a result.

GOSPEL NUGGET #163

Why Do I Need To Be Saved? 

Four reasons, because a) I am a sinner b) I am a slave c) I am sick d) I am severed

* I am a sinner: I am a spiritual criminal before God under judgment

* I am a slave: I am enslaved to sin. God wants no sin at all but here I am unable to do otherwise. I am not a sinner because I have committed sins. No, I commit sins because I am a sinner. I am enslaved to sin. 

* I am sick: I am spiritually sick. Sin is like a virus that has contaminated my mind, my desires, my will. It even affected my body.

* I am severed: I am spiritually dead; as a sinner l separated from God

You see, I need justification (because I'm a sinner). I need liberation (because I am a slave). I need rejuvenation (because I am sick). I need reconciliation (because I am severed). And coming to Christ in faith gives me all four.

GOSPEL NUGGET #162

Misconceptions About Salvation

# 10 "Believe and have faith that you are saved, never doubt about it, and you will be saved. "

The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize the object of faith. 

Saving faith's object is the Savior. Sinners are not called to believe that they are saved in order to be saved. They are called to put their faith in Christ so that they will be saved. 

Sick people only get well when they take the medicine. They don't become well by believing and saying to themselves: "I am well! I am well!! I am well now!!! I will never doubt it!!!!" That is positive verbalization and thinking, not saving faith. 

Ac 16:30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

31 So they said, "Believe/trust on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."

Notice it is not "believe/trust that you are saved and you will be saved." Rather it is "believe/trust on the Lord Jesus Christ" (and the result?) "you will be saved." You are not called to trust in the result in order to get the result. You are called to trust in the Savior and you will get the result---salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET #161

The Robredo Tragedy


Jas 4:14 "... what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."

It is sad to know that DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo passed on to eternity. They found his body 800 meters from the shore of Masbate and 180 feet below sea level. His body was found inside the fuselage of the plane. Our condolences to his family. 

Death came so suddenly, unexpectedly and without warning. Nobody thought it would happen on that fateful day like you do not expect that you could go today. We usually think that "Lights Out" will happen to somebody else, but not me, not now. 

It is wisdom to learn to "number our days" (Ps 90:12), to realize that we are living on the edge of eternity every single moment and to know that "life is short, death is sure, sin is the cause, Christ is the cure."

GOSPEL NUGGET #160

Isa 52:14 "...His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of the sons of men"

Isa 53:3 ...And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

We have here a prophetic description of Christ as He hung on the cross. 

In His first coming, when He died on the cross, the Lord Jesus was so beaten up, so mauled that His face was so disfigured that He hardly looked human at all. His flesh when He was scourged was so lacerated that He was beyond recognition.

They were so violent and brutal against Him. The “Jesus” you see in crufixes are a false representation of what He actually looked like on the cross.   

But He was made like this because He was our substitute. He did not die for Himself, He died for us. He was deformed, distorted and disfigured because spiritually speaking, that’s how we look in the eyes of God.

 In God’s eyes we are marred and deformed beyond description. We were created in the image of God, but when sin came in, it distorted, deformed and disfigured us. When Israel looked at Him at the cross and despised Him, they were actually looking at themselves. 


 “You despise Me and would not even dare to look at Me because of what I look like. But I am doing this for you. I am your substitute. Don’t you know that you look like this in the eyes of God?” 

GOSPEL NUGGET #159

Objections To The Gospel

#4 "But I see so many hypocrites in church, why should I come to Christ?"

Answer

First of all, if you really hate to be with hypocrites then all the more you should come to Christ. Because if not, you will be with hypocrites forever in hell.

Secondly, the presence of hypocrites should teach you not to be one. God is not telling you "Come to Christ and be a hypocrite. No, He says: "Come to Christ and live your life for Him."

Thirdly, we are not inviting you to come to a hypocrite. We are inviting you to come to Christ. Christ is no hypocrite.

GOSPEL NUGGET #158

Objections To The Gospel

#3 "But I am different, I am a such a terrible sinner! God would never save a sinner like me!"

Answer

We oftentimes think and reason from ourselves to God. Since we think that we are unworthy sinners, we reason that God could not forgive us. But God would have us think and reason from God to ourselves. From up down and not from down up.

God to us right now is a God who offers forgiveness and salvation in grace, no matter how unworthy we think ourselves to be.

It does not matter what you think about yourself in relation to God, what matters is what God thinks about you today. And we can know His thoughts about us unworthy sinners though the Bible. And the Bible says that God can forgive sinners, even those who were guilty of murdering His one and only Son.

1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, OF WHOM I AM CHIEF.

No matter how wicked a sinner you think yourself to be, worst case scenario, you only come second. Because the chief sinner, according to the apostle Paul moved by the Spirit to write His words, was he himself. Don't argue with an apostle.

1Ti 1:16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, AS A PATTERN a  to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.

He is saying: "Hey, look at me! I am a pattern or a sample of a terrible sinner who got saved. If I, the chief of sinners, found salvation and forgiveness, then you can too. No one is too bad for Christ to be saved if they just come to Christ in repentance and faith."

GOSPEL NUGGET #157

De 30:19 "...I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life..." 

After God presented to Israel the blessings that would come with obedience (see Deut. 28:1-14) and the curses that would come with disobedience (see Deut. 28:15-68), He now sums it up with these words here in our verse.

"Life" here means a long life filled with God's blessings upon them in the Promise land, while "death" here means a life filled with God's judgments and curses ultimately resulting in death.

Though these words apply to Israel referring to their earthly blessings and curses, the principle contained in these words can be applied to spiritual salvation. We will all have to make a choice: 

a) Either we accept God's judgment of our sins in Christ when He died on the cross by faith or face the judgment ourselves. 
b) Either we face God in Christ as our substitute and representative in all His acceptability or face God ourselves with all our sins and imperfections. 
c) Either we trust in Christ and what He did on the cross or trust in ourselves and what we do to be saved. 
d) Either salvation by the Savior or salvation by self.
e) Either salvation by trusting or salvation by trying. 
f) Either life or death. 

Choose Christ!

GOSPEL NUGGET #156

Objections To The Gospel

#2 "To teach that salvation is by faith alone is to promote sin. For if salvation is by faith alone and not by works, then we can do as we please." 

The cause of this objection is the failure to understand the nature of salvation. Salvation is not only being delivered from the PENALTY of sin. It is also being delivered from the POWER of sin in one's life. 

To be delivered from the penalty of sin is to be delivered from God's wrath, judgment and condemnation. On the other hand, being delivered from the power of sin is to be delivered from sin's grip and hold in our lives, resulting in a transformed life. 

If salvation were a land area, the entrance to it is by faith alone. Entry is as simple as stepping into it by faith. Inside, you are free from God's condemnation and judgment. 

Can we then do as we please and live like the devil? No, because once inside, you will never be the same again. Your life will be transformed---you are given a new nature that hates sin and loves holiness, the Holy Spirit will indwell you to either conform you or convict you and you will have a Heavenly Father who will discipline you. 

Salvation is not by FAITH + WORKS. 

Rather, salvation is by FAITH---that results in---> WORKS.

GOSPEL NUGGET #155

Objections To The Gospel 

#1 "It is pride to say that you are 'saved' right now while you are still alive. It is only when we die that we can know that we are saved." 

Answer

To claim that one is saved on the basis of God's promise in His Word is not pride. It is faith and submission. If God did NOT promise in the Bible (His Word) that a sinner will be saved if he puts his trust in Christ, then to claim that you are saved is surely presumption and pride. 

But God has promised in His Word that you can have eternal life right now while you are still alive if you just put your trust in Christ:

Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes/trusts in Him should not perish but HAVE (present tense) everlasting life.

Joh 6:47 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes/trusts in Me HAS everlasting life.

1Jo 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you HAVE eternal life...

Therefore to claim that one can have eternal life right now while one is still alive is not pride. It is the result of believing God's promise and submitting to His Word. The proud person is the one who does not believe and submit to God's revealed Word. 

He makes God a liar. He thinks he is better than God. God says: "You can have it right now." He, on the other hand, insists: "No we cannot!"

GOSPEL NUGGET #154

Zec 3:2 "...Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"

Like a helpless burning stick (brand) plucked out from the fire so is a saved sinner delivered from God's judgment and condemnation. 

The burning stick (the brand) did not jump out, no, it was "plucked" out. No sinner can remove himself away from God's judgment. If ever he should be saved, God must do the saving. God Himself must pluck him out of it.

And it is all of grace (God's undeserved favor). Notice: ""...Is this not a BRAND plucked from the fire?"A brand is a burning piece of wood. It is worthless. You can't make anything significantly useful from it. What's the use of risking yourself by plucking out a burning piece of wood from the fire when you could get them fresh from trees all around?

God had no obligation to save a sinner like me. He could have justly swept me out to hell. But He did not do that. In grace, He sent His Son, who did not mind risking His life for me by dying on the cross. And by His grace, I was enabled to trust in Christ and I got saved.

Are you a brand plucked out from the fire by faith in Christ?

GOSPEL NUGGET #153

Rahab's Bright Red Cord

Jos 2:18 If, when we come into the land, you put this cord of bright red thread in the window from which you let us down; and get your father and mother and your brothers and all your family into the house;

19 Then if anyone goes out of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, we will not be responsible; but if any damage comes to anyone in the house, his blood will be on our heads.

The land of Jericho was about to be judged by God through the nation Israel. But there was one person there who was promised deliverance from the judgment---the harlot Rahab.

The Israelite spies promised Rahab that she would be spared and everyone with her in the house where she would bind the bright red cord. They guaranteed her safety with their lives: "if any damage comes to anyone in the house, his blood will be on our heads." 

All Jericho will be destroyed. But there was one place of safety and salvation in that place. And that is in the house of Rahab where the bright red cord was tied. Israel did come and destroy Jericho EXCEPT in that very place of safety. 

In the same way, God is going to judge this place (the world). And there is only one place of safety. It is in the place where the Savior was "tied" and "bound," so to speak, to a cross where He shed His blood---the cross of Calvary. 

Anyone who will hide himself by trusting in what Christ did on the Cross will be saved.

GOSPEL NUGGET #152

Isa 64:6 "...all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags..."

The word "filthy rags" in the original Bible refers to a woman's blood-stained menstrual cloth. In God's eyes, the best that we can do are only used napkins. It is because sin has affected every part of our being---mind, desire, will, spirit, soul and body. 

The clearest glass of water in the world is the most despicable of all if it has an HIV virus in it. Let's meditate on those words: 

1. If "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" in His eyes, imagine how filthy must our sins be in His eyes. 

2. If "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" in His eyes, then there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. If we ever have a chance of saving ourselves, it must be by our righteous works, but if our righteous works and deeds are even filthy rags in His eyes, then we cannot do anything to save ourselves. We are helpless, powerless and hopeless in ourselves in saving ourselves. 

3. If "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" in His eyes, then the idea that we can go to heaven if our good deeds outweigh our bad ones is an illusion. 

4. If "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" in His eyes, then the idea that our righteous deeds cover and cancel out our bad deeds is false. In fact, it only compounds it. Covering an open sewer with used up, blood-stained napkins doesn't make it look good. It only makes it worse.

All these point to the fact that if we are to be saved, we will be saved not by what we do but by the work of Another. And that "Another" is Christ. We need another righteousness not our own. And that righteousness is Christ. Christ is the saved sinner's righteousness. In Jeremiah 23:6, He is called "THE LORD ***OUR*** RIGHTEOUSNESS."

And we can only have Him as our righteousness if we put our trust in Him and what He did on the cross.

GOSPEL NUGGET #151

Ro 10:13 ..."whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

We have here three things a) The Scope Of The Gospel b) The Simplicity Of The Gospel and c) The Salvation Of The Gospel

I. The Scope Of The Gospel: "whoever..."

The scope of the Gospel offer is for everyone

II. The Simplicity Of The Gospel: "whoever calls on the name of the LORD..."

The condition of the Gospel is simple. It is to call upon the name of the LORD in faith. We know that it refers to a call of faith because of the following verse. Look:

Ro 10:13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?...

It refers to anyone calling upon the the name of the LORD Jesus trusting that He alone is sufficient to save. It is an acknowledgement of helplessness and powerlessness to save oneself. You seek salvation in the Lord Jesus because you know you can't save your self.

The "name of the LORD" is who He is. His name describes who and what He is. Jesus means Savior. To call on His name is to call upon Him, acknowledging Him as the Savior of sinners.

You can call upon the name of the Lord Jesus while trusting in your heart your own religiosity, good works and morality to save you and you still will not be saved. Why? Because that is not what the verse is saying here. It refers to anyone calling upon the Lord Jesus Christ SOLELY trusting in Him that He ALONE can save.

It is not trusting in Christ PLUS our own personal goodness, moral character, religious achievement etc. for salvation, no, it is trusting Christ alone and what He did on the cross for salvation.

III. The Salvation Of The Gospel: "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

You shall be saved from the penalty of sin (wrath of God in hell), from the power of sin and eventually from the presence of sin.

GOSPEL NUGGET #150

GOSPEL NUGGETS

2Pe 3:9 (God) "is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." 

True Story

An infidel stood in a park and announced to everybody that he would prove that God does not exists. He told everybody surrounding him that he would curse and blaspheme God for five straight minutes and if nothing happens to him after that, this would prove to everyone that God does not exists.

And so standing over a stool so that he would tower over everybody so that everyone can hear, he began his five minutes of tirade against God. 

He hurled against God the foulest expletives that ever came out of man's mouth. One profanity after another was thrown against heaven. They were blasphemies so evil and insulting enough to make Satan and his demons look like choir boys in church. 

Personally, I think, at that time, all the angels in heaven stood with righteous indignation and anger, gasping, holding their swords, ready to strike him dead waiting for their insulted Master to give the command. 

But the last second came, the five minutes was over and nothing happened to him. He still breathed God's fresh air, life was still in him, God's birds perched on the trees were still singing and chirping to him. So he announced: "See, nothing bad has happened to me. I have proven to you that there is no God!"

Everyone was silent. They did not know what to say. Moments later, an elderly Christian stepped forward and said: "Sir, you have not proven to us that God does not exists. YOU ONLY PROVED TO US THAT GOD'S PATIENCE AND LONGSUFFERING IS NOT EXHAUSTED IN FIVE MINUTES." 

My friend, "consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation" (2Pe 3:15). That is, He is patient with us so that we might be given time to repent and be saved. 

Repent and turn to Christ in faith. 

Yes, five minutes is too short for God's patience to be exhausted. But remember too, that we will all (even repentant sinners) have to face eternity and your life is too fleeting that it could be over any moment. We will all have our last five minutes. Who knows eternity for you might be just five minutes away after reading this.

GOSPEL NUGGET #149

Disobeying The Gospel

1Pe 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, WHAT WILL BE THE END OF THOSE WHO DO NOT *OBEY* THE GOSPEL OF GOD?

The Gospel is the Good News that Christ died for our sins and rose again from the dead. But tagged behind the Gospel is the command to believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for salvation.

Ac 16:30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31 So they said, "Believe/trust on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."

Not to trust and rely on the Lord Jesus for salvation is disobedience to the Gospel. This is the first and foremost command that God wants a sinner to do before he obeys any other command of God in the Bible.

Let's answer the question: "WHAT WILL BE THE END OF THOSE WHO DO NOT *OBEY* THE GOSPEL OF GOD?"

2Th 1:8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power

Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation is not a suggestion and advice from God. No, it is His primary across the board command. 

Have you obeyed the Gospel?

GOSPEL NUGGET #148

The Old Roman Road To Salvation

Ro 3:10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;

Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Ro 6:23 ...the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ro 10:13 ..."whoever calls on the name of the LORD (in faith, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross) shall be saved."

GOSPEL NUGGET #147

Misconceptions About Salvation

#9 "We are all saved since Christ died for us."

The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize the difference between Redemption Accomplished and Redemption Applied. It is a failure to realize that Christ's death on the cross was provisional. 

It is true that Christ died for every single sinner. He said that the work of redemption is "finished". But it does not mean that every single sinner is therefore saved. No, there is a condition to be fulfilled. One must trust in what He did on the cross in order for that accomplished redemption to be applied to him.

What is an available free water if you don't drink it? Will it quench your thirst? No.
What is an available free medication if you don't take it? Will it cure you of your disease? No.
What is an available free lifebuoy if you don't cling to it? Will it save you from drowning? No.
What is an available toll-free bridge if you don't cross it? Will it convey you across the other side just by its mere existence? No.
What is an open door if you don't enter? Will it get you inside? No. 

In the same way, Christ accomplished redemption for us all but that accomplished redemption must be personally received and accepted by faith. At the moment of faith, God applies redemption to us.

Redemption Accomplished must be Redemption Appropriated in order for it to be Redemption Applied.

Wrong---"For God so love the world that He gave His one and only Son that everyone is now saved automatically. 

Right---"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that WHOEVER BELIEVES/TRUSTS in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."