GOSPEL NUGGET #444

Miss Universe And Salvation

Miss Universe is an annual beauty pageant that seeks to award the Miss Universe crown on a lady contestant that shows herself to be beautiful, shapely and brainy to the whole world. The crown must be earned, given only to those who deserve it.

People think that God's salvation is like the Miss Universe beauty pageant. They are convinced that God bestows His salvation to those who are morally good and upright.

That salvation can be earned and awarded to people who show themselves deserving of it by their good works, religiosity and philanthropy.

But God be thanked and praised that salvation is not like that at all. He offers salvation to those who don't deserve it. We are all sinners---none of us is "Miss Universe" material spiritually speaking. If God should hold a contest called "Miss Heaven," none on earth will win it.

Salvation is by grace, given as an undeserved favor. It's a free gift offered to all. It was the Lord Jesus who won the "crown" at the cross when He died for us all.

Now, He offers it to anyone who would have it by faith in Him and what He did on the cross.

Ro 6:23 ... the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

GOSPEL NUGGET #443

Are You A Pharisee?

The Pharisees during the Lord Jesus' time were men who were extremely moral and religious. They were viewed as the men who raised the banner of orthodoxy in Israel. People looked up to them with respect.

The problem with them was that they were content with their own perceived goodness as their ticket to salvation. They believed that because they were good and righteous men (in their own standards) they earned the right to be saved by God.

Many people are like that today. You could even be one of them. Satisfied and content with your own goodness when you compare yourself to others, you think and believe that you have a good chance of making it to heaven.

The thing that you must realize is this---you are not good enough for God. None of us are. We all need to be saved.

And salvation does not come by trusting and being confident about who we are and what we did, but in trusting and relying in the Savior and what He did on the cross.

GOSPEL NUGGET #442

How A Legal Genius Came To Believe In The Resurrection Of Christ

Simon Greenleaf was one of the greatest legal minds the world has ever seen, if not the greatest. Mr. Greenleaf was the president of Harvard Law School for over 30 years.

He wrote a book called The Laws Of Legal Evidence. This is a book with many volumes. It was considered the standard book used by courts all over the world during his time and, probably, to a degree, still is today for evaluating evidence. It is considered by many as the greatest book in history when it comes to the laws and principles of evaluating evidence.

Mr. Greenleaf brought to bear his legal genius on the Gospels and was compelled to admit by the sheer force of the evidence that “The resurrection is established by better evidence than any fact of ancient history.” He wrote a book called The Testimony Of The Four Evangelist which examines and adjudged as historical the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If Christ resurrected, it means, among many other things, that He died for our sins. If He died for our sins, then all my debts against God are paid. Trusting in Him and what He did, I enter into the good of all that He did on the cross.

GOSPEL NUGGET #441

The Passover

The entire story of the Passover (Exodus 12) furnishes us an illustration of salvation. Death was about to roam the land of Egypt and slaughter every firstborn of the family whose doors were not sprinkled with the blood of the Passover Lamb. All Israel applied the blood and were delivered.

There are three things that we notice and observe in the story:
* First, there is the apprehension of their condition
* Second, there is the availability of salvation
* Third, there is the appropriation of the provision.

--- First, the Apprehension Of Their Condition

The Israelites realized their dangerous predicament and plight. They knew that the tenth plague would involve every firstborn in the land. And that’s the first step in salvation. You won’t see the importance and essentiality of salvation if you don’t see any need for it.

--- Second, the Availability Of Salvation

Salvation is possible because it is available. God made it so. In the case of the Israelites, their national deliverance from the tenth plague is possible because of the availability of the Passover Lamb. Their deliverance is not possible and available in themselves. No, their deliverance is possible and available only in the blood of the Passover Lamb.

In our case as sinners, our deliverance and salvation is possible because of the availability of the blood of the Savior shed on the cross. Our deliverance and salvation is not possible and available in ourselves. No, our deliverance and salvation is possible and available only in the blood of the true Passover Lamb---the Lord Jesus Christ.

--- Third, the Appropriation Of The Provision

The availability of salvation will do us no good if we don’t appropriate it personally to ourselves. Yes, you must realize your condition. Yes, you must know that salvation is available. But, ultimately, in the end, you must personally appropriate it to have it.

It’s not enough to know that we are sinners and that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son for us to be saved, no, each one of us, personally, must trust in Him for us not to perish and have eternal life.

GOSPEL NUGGET #440

The Evidence For The Resurrection Of Christ

The proof that the Lord Jesus resurrected from the dead is the same proof used for authenticating historical figures and events. How do you know that a certain man named Abe Lincoln walked this earth who became the president of the United States?

The answer to this question will not be answered by scientific laboratory experiments. Rather, it will be confirmed through credible eyewitness testimony.

Eyewitness testimony is valid evidence used in all courts of law in the world. One can be sentenced to death on the testimony of a credible eyewitness. Also, historians use credible eyewitness testimonies to verify and ascertain history.

When it comes to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have more than 500 eyewitnesses who saw Him physically alive after He was put to death on a Roman cross. And many of these died for their testimony.

The apostle Paul was a hostile witness. He was first an enemy of Christianity, who, later on, became its ardent promoter. What prompted him to change sides? He said he saw the resurrected Christ. He suffered persecutions and hardships, he lost his position and prestige among the Jews, and he eventually died, beheaded, claiming that the Lord Jesus resurrected.

Nobody would be willing to suffer persecutions and hardships and die for what they know to be a lie. It's against the grain of human nature.

The evidence is strong---the Lord Jesus did die for our sins and rose from the dead.

As far as I'm concerned, it's over when it comes to my sins before God. He already paid for it, and trusting in what He did on the cross, I am saved.

GOSPEL NUGGET #439

Jas 4:6 ..."God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

Let's apply this verse to the issue of the sinner's salvation.

In the aspect of salvation, the proud sinner is the one who has not seen his spiritual condition before God.

In pride, he thinks that he is good enough for God to accept him and that he is fine as he is with himself. No problemo.

He looks at himself and says: "I am fine with God. I am this and I am not that. I do this and I don't do that. God will certainly accept me." God resists such a sinner and he will never be saved.

The humbled sinner is the one who sees his true condition before God by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.

He sees himself as a sinner helpless and hopeless in himself to save himself. He owns himself a spiritual criminal and could only hope for the mercy and grace of God in Christ Jesus to be saved. Such a sinner will be given the grace of salvation.

Why? For God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

GOSPEL NUGGET #438

Exodus 11:7: “‘But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’

The jaws of the dogs were locked shut from barking against the Israelites. This is a supernatural event for it is humanly impossible to do so. This is God’s work, not man’s work.

Now, just as it is humanly impossible for Israel to silence the dogs by their own works and efforts, so it is humanly impossible to silence the accusations and condemnations of God’s justice against us sinners by our own works.

Just as it took God to silence the cries of the dogs against Israel, so it takes God, in the person of Christ, to silence the demands of justice against us.

Without the hand of God to restrain the dogs, all Israel would have been preyed upon. Without God in the person of Christ, the Savior, all of us sinners would have been condemned.

Ro 8:33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

Ro 8: 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

GOSPEL NUGGET #437

King's College Chapel

King's College Chapel is an iconic, luxurious and expensive chapel in Cambridge, England. It was begun in 1446 by King Henry VI and took over a century to finish.

It was originally built with one purpose in mind---it was the place where priests would pray for the soul of King Henry VI to secure his salvation.

Had King Henry VI known the Word of God, he would have realized that salvation is through the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that salvation is accessible to all by faith in Him.

Men are now held responsible by God to turn to the Savior and put their trust in Him for salvation. You can have all the priests praying for you round the clock, 24/7, but if you have not personally trusted in the Savior and His work on the cross, you will never be saved.

Trust in Him now and be saved. He died for your sins and rose from the dead for your salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET 436

EX 10:28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Beware, do not see my face again, for in the day you see my face you shall die!”

 EX 10:29 Moses said, “You are right; I shall never see your face again!”
There is such a thing as hearing the Lord’s message for the last time. 

If you remain stubborn in your sin, there will come a time when God will stop speaking to you and warning you.

That would mean total and final abandonment. And the next thing that will happen is judgment and condemnation.

While you are still able to hear the Gospel call to come, repent and trust in the Savior for salvation, do not harden your hearts. Come to Him now in repentance and faith.

GOSPEL NUGGET #435

EX 10:24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be detained…

EX 10:25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice them to the LORD our God.

It is ever Satan’s way to convince us that sinners can approach God without God’s appointed sacrifice. You see, Pharaoh would have them approach Holy God without the prescribed sacrifice of God.

And it is still happening today. Millions, in fact billions, are convinced that they are good to go with God without ever seeing the need and the sole importance of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for their salvation and acceptance with God.

They look at themselves and say: “I am good to go with God.” They look at the cross and they don’t see any need for it.

But it is not so with the enlightened man Moses. He says that it is a “must.” Look at verse 25: “But Moses said, “You MUST also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice them to the LORD our God.”

If Moses and the Israelites heeded Pharaoh’s suggestion, if they went out into the wilderness without a sacrifice, then God’s holiness would have consumed all of them in the wilderness.

If you want to be accepted by God, there is only one way---it is only through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were only pictures pointing to the Savior’s ultimate and all-effectual sacrifice.

Trust in what He did on the cross for you and be accepted by God.

GOSPEL NUGGET #434

EX 9:25 The hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt…
EX 9:26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.

As you can see there is no condemnation to those who are in the land of Goshen.

The land of Goshen here is a picture of our position in Christ. Outside of Goshen, there was judgment and destruction. In Goshen, there was peace, security and safety.

You see, outside of Goshen, you can admit that you are a sinner, you can have correct theology that God is the Lord Yahweh and that He is righteous and you are depraved (See all these in Exodus 9:27-28). But if you are not in Goshen, you will be judged.

In the same way, it is not our confession, our correct theology, our religiosity that can save us. What saves a sinner is the blessed fact that he or she is in Christ.

RO 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

And you can be in Christ if you trust in Him and what He did on the cross for salvation. Trust and put your confidence in Him now for your salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET # 433

How Faith In The Savior Is The Opposite Of Pride 

Faith means reliance. It is to depend on the Savior for salvation. To put our reliance and dependence on the Savior and what He did on the cross for salvation is to admit that we are helpless and powerless in ourselves to save ourselves.

Faith in the Savior, therefore, is the response of a humbled sinner, who has seen his own inability to save himself.

A proud person, on the other hand, would rely and depend on himself, his character and his own works and efforts for the salvation of his soul.

He thinks and believes that he can do it. He does not see himself as helpless and powerless to save himself with only one hope of salvation, namely, the Savior and His work on the cross.

When the Bible says: "Believe (rely and depend) on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved," it says that because we could not rely and depend on ourselves for salvation. We need the Savior, who alone can save us.

GOSPEL NUGGET #432

My sister told me about a friend's cousin who died of tuberculosis. I said: "Died of tuberculosis? Why, there is free medication for it at the health center?" It's a sad, sad story when someone dies when they don't have to.

I know someone who have had at least two bouts with TB, and yet, by God's grace, he came out of it still alive and kicking, and most of all, healthy.

He is as poor as a rat. He had no job and no money to pay his way to health. And yet, because the medication was given free, he was brought back to health.

Sadly, spiritually speaking, what I just told you is the painful reality with millions of people today. Millions of people are dying and going to a place of torment when salvation and eternal life are offered free by God.

Ro 6:23 ...the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Why go to hell when you can be saved freely? Take the free gift of eternal life and salvation today by putting your trust in the Savior and what He did on the cross.

GOSPEL NUGGET #431

Salvation by faith alone is not at all impossible to believe. We have been doing it for years now.

Consider, for example, taking in medication to heal our diseases. There are diseases in which we can't do anything on our own to make it go away.

So we go to the doctor get a prescription from him and religiously take it for ourselves. We don't do anything to help the medication. We don't add anything to it. We just simply allow it to take its course and heal us.

After some time, we ourselves experience its benefits and come out of the experience healed. We experience salvation from the disease just by relying alone on the medication.

As a result of it, we experienced a changed life---we can function well and do things that we normally do.

It is exactly the same with salvation. We are powerless to save ourselves. We have a spiritual disease and there is nothing we can do. But praise God He sent us the medicine in the person of the Savior.

All one has to do is to rely on Him and what He did on the cross to be saved. As a result, a saved sinner experiences a changed life. He can now function well for God, glorifying Him.

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 everlasting life.

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...

GOSPEL NUGGET #430

EX 6:6 “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘ I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

EX 6:7 ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

EX 6:8 ‘I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.’ ”

Notice the 7 "I Wills" of God here. Israel was powerless and helpless to free himself from the clutches of Pharaoh. It will take God to deliver them. Their salvation was all the work of God. Repeated seven times for emphasis.

Applying this to spiritual salvation, realize that salvation is of the Lord…all of it. Salvation is not the work of man but the work of God.

Just as Israel cannot deliver himself from the bondage in Egypt, so no sinner can deliver himself from the penalty, power and presence of sin. It takes the Savior to be saved.

Are you relying and trusting on the work of the Savior on the cross for your salvation?

GOSPEL NUGGET #429

EX 5:3 “Then they said, “ The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”

You see, to avert the judgment of God, a blood sacrifice is a must.


Our good works can’t do it. Our religious activities won’t prevent it. Our good character is to no avail. God requires a sacrifice for His judgment to be averted.

And the one sacrifice that will appease the wrath of God against us sinners is nothing less than the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.

Are you trusting in it for your salvation?

GOSPEL NUGGET #428

"Don't Sit On The Air - Sit On The Chair"

Salvation by self-effort can be likened to a man sitting on the air. Ultimately, he can't do it. His strength will fail and he will sag down by and by as time ticks by the second. Eventually, he will hit the ground.

Salvation by relying upon and trusting in the Savior and what He did on the cross is like sitting restfully on a steady and stable chair.

He knows that self-effort just can't do it. He needs something or someone to rely on. And so, instead of sitting on the air, he sits on the chair.

My friend, the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross is just like that steady and stable chair. You can rely on Him and His work completely for your salvation.

Don't sit on the air. Sit on the chair!

GOSPEL NUGGET #427

Exodus Chapter 1---The Enslavement Of The Israelites And Their Groaning 

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.

Have you seen yourself helpless and powerless to save yourself? As a result, are you seeking and longing for deliverance from sin?
 

GOSPEL NUGGET #426

Heb 10:19 ...having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

The temple and the tabernacle had an inner area where the dazzling presence and glory of God dwelt. It was called the Most Holy place or the Holiest place.

Only one person was allowed to enter that place once a year, and that with a sacrifice of blood.

It was a very dangerous place. For the holiness of God (God is a consuming fire) can break out on sinners if they come without a sacrifice or if their sacrifice was unacceptable.

No sinner can approach God and be with Him without an unacceptable sacrifice. Without it, we, as sinners, would all be consumed and damned by God's justice and holiness.

Not one among us, in ourselves, is good enough for God. However, I, as a sinner, can, boldly, with confidence, approach God by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.

My eternal acceptability before God depends not on me and what I did, but on the acceptability of my sacrifice. Knowing that God would never reject the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus did for me on the cross, I can come to Him boldly and with confidence through Jesus.

GOSPEL NUGGET #425

Isa 32:17 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.

A lot of people are troubled, distressed and worried sick about their condition before God. They don't have peace, they don't have quietness and they are uncertain.

Their consciences, like a sore tooth, nag them to no end on and on. They want peace, quietness and certainty, but they can only have it if they are right with God. They are wrong and so they must be right with God.

Peace, tranquility and certainty are the products and effects of having a right standing with God.

And they can only have this right standing with God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Ro 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith (in the Savior), we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

GOSPEL NUGGET #424

The Necessity Of A Sacrifice

Our acceptability before God does not depend on who we are and what we do. Rather, our salvation and acceptability before God depends entirely on the acceptability of our sacrifice.

It's all about the atonement, the atonement, the atonement. It's all about the sacrifice, the sacrifice, the sacrifice. We either make it or break it at this one great crucial issue. This is the pivotal point---the deciding factor.

God demands a sinless sacrifice. The problem is we can't provide one. But God, in His great love, sent the Lord Jesus Christ to be the sacrifice for our sins.

And the only sacrifice for sinners that God can accept is the sacrifice that He Himself provided.

Now, there you have it. Here you are a sinner before a holy God. In yourself, you will be doomed forever. But there's the great sacrifice that God Himself provided for you.

What are you going to do with it? It's your only chance. It's your only hope of being actually accepted by God. Will you stand behind it, rely on it entirely, for your actual acceptance with God?

Will you trust in Jesus and what He did on the cross for your salvation?

GOSPEL NUGGET #423

Great Men Reduced To Nothing When They Saw God's Holiness

Job was probably the best man in his day in terms of morality. And yet, when he saw God's majesty and holiness he saw himself vile:

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.
Job 40:4 "Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.

The prophet Isaiah, again, we can say, was probably one of the best men in Israel, if not the best man in his time. But when he saw God's holiness, he saw how unclean he was:

Isa 6:3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!"
Isa 6:5 So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."

The apostle Peter considered by many as the first pope saw his sinfulness when face to face with the holiness of the Lord Jesus:

Lu 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"

If Job, Isaiah and Peter saw and realized that in spite of their seemingly impressive moral record before man, were not good enough for God, how much less are we who are down there in the ladder of morality.

The man who is most white on the face of planet earth would appear as dirty white when face to face with God's holiness. We are like bright candles at night that appear as nothing when exposed under the full blazing sunlight of a noonday sun.

None of us measures up to His holiness and standard. We are all found wanting. If ever God should accept us, it is only through the sinless sacrifice and offering of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.

It is only through Him and what He did on the cross that sinners can be accepted by God.

GOSPEL NUGGET #422

Why Do People Reject Jesus?

You don't feel the absolute necessity to go to a doctor if you think you are perfectly fine. The doctor's clinic would be the most boring place in the world to you.

However, once you are made to realize that there is something in your body that requires immediate medical attention, and that your condition is fatal, I tell you, Dr. so and so would be most precious and valuable to you.

You will never forget his name. You will keep coming back to him for as long as your condition requires. You know that your life depends upon his skill.

Many people reject Jesus and find Him of no value at all in their lives because they are blind to their need of Him. They don't realize and see that their condition absolutely cries out for Him for their well-being.

But once they are made to realize that they are sinners in the sight of God, spiritual criminals, who are helpless and powerless to save themselves and that any moment they die they could go into an eternity of doom, I tell you, Jesus and what He did on the cross would be most precious to them. They know that their eternal destiny hangs upon Him.

Have you seen your utterly helpless and powerless condition to save yourself? Has the Holy Spirit made you see your actual condition as God sees you?

And, as a result, have you found Christ Jesus and what He did on the cross for you valuable? Have you seen the fact that He is your only hope of salvation, and that being so, you put your entire trust in Him for salvation?

GOSPEL NUGGET #421

GE 48:14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.

(Read the rest from verses 17 to 20 in your own Bible)


In Genesis 48:14-20, Jacob intentionally places his right hand on Ephraim, the younger son, instead of Manasseh, signifying that Ephraim will receive the greater blessing, thus reversing traditional expectations.

The blessing of the right hand was considered a greater blessing. Since Manasseh was the eldest son, Joseph thought that he should receive the greater blessing. But Jacob intentionally crossed his hands and placed his right hand on Ephraim and gave him the greater blessing.

Spiritually, it is the same with salvation. Just as Jacob crossed his hands to set aside the first birth in preference for the second birth, so the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ set aside the first birth in favor of the second birth.

The Bible teaches that If you want to enter into the blessings of salvation, you must be born again. As they say: "If you are only born once, you will go to hell. But if you are born twice, you will be saved and be with God forever."

Our natural birth caused us to be in Adam. The new birth causes us to be in Christ. And it is Christ who is appointed by God to be the heir of all things. Be in Christ by being born again. Be born again by putting your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for your salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET #420

The Holiness of God, The Sinfulness of Man and The Need For A Sacrifice

God’s holiness is not only like a wall around Him that repulses sin and sets Him apart from it, His holiness is also like a fire and a lion that burns and goes against sin.

No sinner can survive in the direct presence of a holy God---His holiness will break out against him. God's holiness is a big problem for sinful humanity. His holiness makes Him unapproachable to sinful man.

God, in His holiness, demands that He must be approached through a sacrifice. And not just any other sacrifice but a sinless sacrifice.

Some people ask: "Why is it that God does not come out in the open in His fully glory for all the world to see?" That would be catastrophe for sinful humanity. We will all die. No sinner can be in the direct presence of a holy God and see Him in His full glory and survive.

He did come 2000 years ago. He clothed and covered Himself with humanity so that sinners can make direct contact with Him and not die.

And then, He went to the cross, offered Himself as a sinless sacrifice, He satisfied the demands of God's justice, holiness and wrath, and now sinful man can now approach God through Him (Jesus Christ).

It is only through the Lord Jesus and what He did on the cross that God can be approached and for sinners to be with Him forever and ever.

Have you trusted Him and what He did on the cross for you?

GOSPEL NUGGET #419

Ge 46:33 "So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?'

34 "that you shall say, 'Your servants' occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,' that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."

Ge 47:5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.

6 "The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen.

Even though Joseph’s family were totally unacceptable to Pharaoh because of who they were---they were despicable shepherds hated by the Egyptians, Pharaoh still accepted them and brought them to enjoy his abundant favor because of Joseph.

In the same way, even though we are unacceptable to God, despicable sinners that we are, God accepts sinners through the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Lord Jesus, we find acceptance with God and enjoy God’s boundless blessings.

If you are seeking acceptance with God, come to the only way through whom you can only be accepted---come to Christ.

God does not accept sinners because they do good works, because they do religious activities, because they did sacrifices and penances. No, He accepts sinners through Christ’s merit and work on the cross.

Come to Him now in faith, trusting Him and what He did on the cross for sinners like you.

GOSPEL NUGGET #418

“It is not against good works that we contend but simply faith in them.”
---Martin Luther

Often we are misrepresented as saying that Christians are no longer to do good works. Nothing could be further from the truth. No, on the contrary, we encourage good works. We exhort every single Christian to abound in good works.

What we are saying is exactly what Martin Luther said above: "It is not against good works that we contend but simply faith in them." Good works do not save. It's the Savior who saves. Good works have their proper place in the Christian life. But they are out of place if we make them our savior; if we put our trust in them to save us.

The Bible does not say: "For God so loved that world that whoever does good works and puts their trust in them shall not perish but have eternal life."

Yes, do good works but put your trusts in the Savior and what He did on the cross for your salvation.  

GOSPEL NUGGET #417

What God Wants From You As A Sinner

God wants you to take Him seriously. So seriously that you hate sin in your life. That in you there would be this desire to be perfectly righteous in His sight beginning in the inward parts, in your heart. Not just external righteousness but internal righteousness. He wants you to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

And that in the process of desiring it you realize that you are powerless and helpless in yourself to attain it by your own efforts. You attempted over and over again to be perfectly righteous in His
sight but failed time and time again.

He wants you to realize that you are spiritually bankrupt. He wants you to be humbled. He wants you to mourn over your condition. He wants you to stop asserting yourself that you are worthy of salvation.

To sum it all up, He wants you to repent. To change your attitude towards God, change your attitude towards sin and change your attitude towards self.

And then, He wants you to look away from your helpless and powerless self to the Savior He provided and view Him and what He did on the cross as your only hope of acceptance with God and salvation, realizing that salvation is given as an undeserved favor and a free gift of God to those who are not worthy of it.

Mt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart...
Mt 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...
Mt 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit...
Mt 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn...
Mt 5:5 Blessed are the meek...

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

GOSPEL NUGGET #416

Ge 45:17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan.

18 'Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.

20 'Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"

23 And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey.

Jacob was blessed by Pharaoh for Joseph’s sake. Jacob did not do anything to deserve the royal benefits and goods given to him, but still it was given to him because of Joseph.

In the same way, God is offering to us the spiritual blessing of salvation not because we deserve it but because of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as Jacob was blessed for Joseph's sake, so a sinner is blessed by God for Christ's sake---what He did on the cross. But, like all offers, it must be received and accepted on our part.

God is offering to us now the blessings of salvation, redemption and forgiveness of sins through the Lord Jesus Christ. And we can receive it the moment we put our trust in the Savior and what He did on the cross.

GOSPEL NUGGET #415

Lu 7:7 ...say the word, and my servant will be healed.

Lu 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude who followed him, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel."

The centurion in this story is a great man of faith. His dear servant was dying and he was helpless to do something about it. But he knew the Lord Jesus Christ and all he needed from Him is His word about the situation.

To him, all the Lord had to do was utter the words and his faith will latch on it (Faith is taking God at His Word). He knew that the Lord's Word is the surest thing in the universe. Behind the Word of God is the God of the Word who is all-powerful and one who cannot lie. When He utters something, you can be sure that it is as good as done. You just wait and see.

The result? His servant was healed.

In the same way, we are all spiritually sick and ready to perish forever. But God has a word for us: "Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead."

If we just take Him at His word, trust in this good news of a message, we will enter into the good of this message and salvation will be effected in our lives.

GOSPEL NUGGET #414

A man may go to hell

with his religion
with his good works
with his morality
with his zeal
with his sincerity
with his church membership
with his prayers
with his sacrifices
with his ten thousand other things
but he can never go to hell with Christ
Christ is the sinner's only escape from hell and only deliverance from condemnation.

GOSPEL NUGGET #413

Ge 22:14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided."

The expression "The Lord Will Provide" in this verse specifically refers to the blessed and comforting fact that God Himself will provide a sacrifice and atonement for the sins of sinners.

Moving up a verse before this, we read: "Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son."

The ram that the Lord provided as an offering was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Many people attempt to provide from their own resource to atone for their sins. They do religious works, charitable endeavors and philanthropic activities to somehow atone for their sins. They are ignorant of the fact that none of their own provisions can deal with the sin issue in their lives.

They ought to know what God has provided for the salvation of their souls in Mount Calvary. There the Lord Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead.

It is not what we provide and give to God that saves us. No, rather, it is God's provision in the cross of Calvary, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, that saves a sinner.

Have you accepted by faith the Savior that God has provided for sinners like you and me?

GOSPEL NUGGET #412

Our Logos Hope Tour Experience And The Gospel

Logos Hope is actually the name of the missionary ship going around the world spreading the Word of God and helping needy people everywhere. Just today, we were privileged to be toured around the vessel by one of its workers. It was a cool experience.

During the tour, we were introduced to a nifty apparatus that purifies dirty water and turn it into a clear and drinkable one. The widget would indeed be very valuable and useful in areas in the world where clean water is a luxury.

All you have to do is pour dirty water into the device, and then, within minutes, clean water would come out from its hose on the other end, all ready for any thirsty soul.

I then thought of the Savior. It's a picture of the Savior and what He can do for any sinner. All of us are murky waters, spiritually speaking. Spiritually, we are rejects, useless and no good. In a word---sinners. But the moment we come to Christ in repentance and faith, trusting in Him and what He did on the cross, He makes us into a new creature, transformed and renewed.

He alone is God's "apparatus," so to speak, who can turn us into something that is acceptable, pure and useful to God.

Come. Come to Christ and entrust yourself to Him now!

GOSPEL NUGGET #411

Misconception About Salvation #15

"Make the Lord Jesus Christ King in your life and confess your sins and you will be saved."

The cause of this misconception is the failure to realize that the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives can never atone for our sins. It never does and it never will.

If all that it takes for our sins to be forgiven in salvation is to make the Lord Jesus Christ king in our lives and confess our sins, then there was no need for the Lord Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Why, in the world, did He die on the cross? His suffering and His death on the cross are unnecessary if such were the case.

The penalty of sin must be paid, God's justice, holiness and wrath must be satisfied and making the Lord Jesus Christ king in our lives and confessing our sins can never satisfy these demands. Yes, there is a huge and essential place for the Lord Jesus' kingship in the life of a Christian but it is not in the how-can-a-sinner-be-saved level.

Salvation is not in the crown of the Lord Jesus Christ. No, rather, salvation is in His cross. Yep, not in the crown, but in the cross when He died for our sins and rose again from the dead.

The moment we put our trust in Him and what He did on the cross, then, that's the very point when salvation takes place. And salvation involves the transfer of the saveD sinner from the kingship of sin to the kingship of Christ.

GOSPEL NUGGET #410

JNH 4:6 So the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant.

Let me share to you a Gospel Nugget here. Look at the verse again please: “…the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him…”

Let me introduce you to God’s saving plant. Go to Isaiah 53:2: “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground…”

ISA 53:4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.

ISA 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

Listen, like Jonah exposed to the scorching heat of the sun, we are also exposed to the blazing heat of God’s judgment and wrath.

And just as God made a plant to grow from the earth to give Jonah a comforting shade to deliver him from his misery, so God caused the Lord Jesus Christ to grow here on earth as our Savior.

He took the heat of God’s wrath and judgment that was scorching hot against us. He was burned for us, so to speak. He took the piercing heat for us. He bore it all. He suffered.

And now, anyone who comes under His shade, anyone who trusts in Him, will be delivered from eternal discomfort in the lake of fire.

And just as Jonah was extremely happy about the plant, our joy and delight should be in Christ our Savior, not in the world and in the things it offers

GOSPEL NUGGET #409

Ge 19:29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain (Sodom and Gomorrah included), that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.

When God destroyed and judged Sodom and Gomorrah, he spared Lot for he remembered Abraham who interceded for Lot. Lot was spared for Abraham's sake.

In the same way, when a sinner comes to the Savior for salvation, trusting in Him and what He did on the cross, God saves the sinner for He remembers, as it were, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. He is saved for Christ's sake.

Just as God remembered Abraham so God remembers the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of the sinner who flees to Him for salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET #408

Lu 5:18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.

Luke 5: 20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

Men brought to the Lord Jesus a paralytic. The paralytic was a picture of us helpless and powerless sinners. The man could not do anything. All he did was do nothing at all. He was paralyzed.

He could not do community service. He could not do religious works. He could not do philanthropic endeavors.

But when the Lord Jesus saw the faith in his heart, it was enough for Him to grant the blessing of forgiveness of sins to the man.

On the way home, we can imagine the situation to have unfolded this way: As he told of the story of the miracle that the Lord granted him and the forgiveness he received from Him, people must have asked: "What did you do that you were forgiven? Did you do community service? Did you do religious works? Did you do philanthropic endeavors?"

His reply: "No. All I did was put my faith in Him. He saw it and I was forgiven!"

My friend, you want forgiveness of sins? Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross and you will receive the wonderful blessing of forgiveness of sins.

GOSPEL NUGGETS #407

Ge 18:14 "Is anything too hard for the LORD?

Let's apply this verse to spiritual salvation. Many who are burdened heavily by the guilt of their sins are downcast and distressed saying: "Can God forgive a sinner like me? My sins are too great and many. I am such a terrible sinner!"

My friend, is there anything too hard for the Lord? The Bible says: "... where sin abounded, grace abounded much more."

If you come to Christ in repentance and faith, trusting in Him and what He did on the cross for your salvation, God gives this guarantee: "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool." (Isa 1:18).

Your sins may be many and great but nothing is too hard for the Lord. Come to Christ and find salvation!

GOSPEL NUGGET #406

2 Co 5:18 ...God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ...

Many are painfully aware of their spiritual separation from God because of their sins. But many of them are also woefully ignorant about the way to be reconciled to God.

Some opt for religious activities to be reconciled to God. Others attempt to be reconciled to God through their good works. Still, others go for it through personal sacrifices.

My friend, the way to be reconciled to God is "through Jesus Christ."

He died for our sins and rose from the dead. That if we repent and trust in Him and what He did on the cross, we will be reconciled to God just as the Corinthians here in the verse we are considering.

Come to Christ. Turn to Him. Trust and rely on Him and what He did on the cross for your salvation. And you will be reconciled to God.

GOSPEL NUGGET #405

The Gospel In Mary Jane Veloso's Case

Mary Jane Veloso is a woman sentenced to die for drug trafficking in Indonesia. Only the president of Indonesia could save her. She was at his hands, at his mercy.

At the last hour, the Indonesian president gave her a reprieve. She accepted it and she was spared from certain death.

You see, spiritually speaking, we are all Mary Jane Velosos. We are all sinners and the sentence of death has been issued against us. We are all in death row awaiting our execution.

There is nothing we could do to save ourselves. Absolutely nothing! We are at God's mercy. Only His benevolence could save us from eternal death in the lake of fire.

Then God came to us, offering us His forgiveness and salvation in Christ. He says to us as it were: "You are a guilty sinner. But I am here to offer you deliverance from condemnation. My Son died for your sins and rose from the dead for you. Will you accept the pardon that I am offering to you?"

And everyone who trusts and relies on Christ and what He did on the cross for our salvation has accepted the pardon and is now free from judgment and damnation.

Have you accepted God's reprieve? Have you trusted in the Savior for salvation?

GOSPEL NUGGET #404

Jon 1:12 And he (Jonah) said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you..."

 Jonah here is a picture of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The storm was ravaging angry against the ship and the people on board felt its fury. They could have all gone down if it continued. Jonah then offered himself to assuage the wrath of the storm and the sea.

It's the same with the Lord Jesus. The wrath of God is blowing angry against us sinners. His justice is hounding us. But the Lord Jesus Christ came and threw Himself, so to speak, on the cross of Calvary and paid the penalty of all our sins.

Putting our faith and trust in Him and what He did on the cross for our salvation, everything changed. God's wrath was appeased. His justice was satisfied. The dark clouds of fear and disquiet within our hearts are replaced by the peace of God. God is smiling.

All because of Jesus who voluntarily offered Himself to die for us. Have you trusted and relied on the Lord Jesus and what He did on the cross?

GOSPEL NUGGET #403

Pr 20:9 Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"?

The answer to the question in this verse is "Absolutely, no one!" Two things are implied in the verse:

First, we have universal iniquity

No one, no not one can truly and really say that "I have made my heart clean and I am pure from my sin." The Bible says: "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (see Ro 3:23) and "...there is no one who does not sin..." (see 2Ch 6:36).

Ro 3:10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."

Second, we have universal inability

It is not within the power of the sinner to make himself pure and clean. He has no ability and strength to do so. Just as a leopard cannot change its spots and a Ethiopian cannot change the color of his skin, so no sinner can make himself pure and clean.

Jer 2:22 “Although you wash yourself with lye And use much soap, The stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.

Pr 27:22 Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

We are all guilty and powerless to atone for our sins and expiate our guilt. What we need is an acceptable atonement to wash us and cleanse us of all our sins. By the grace of God, we have Someone just like that---the Lord Jesus Christ.

He died for our sins and rose from the dead that if we put our trust in Him and rely on what He did on the cross we will be forgiven, cleansed and washed from our sins.

GOSPEL NUGGET #402

Bad News For Good People

Ro 3:10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."

That's God's assessment and evaluation of all people when measured according to His perfect standard. All are found to be sinners. In the eyes of men, there maybe good people, but in His holy eyes, there is none who is righteous. There is none who is good.

That's bad news for people who think they are good enough for God. When God looks at us, none of us is good enough in His sight. A sinner is a spiritual criminal in God's eyes. And no criminal is ever good. Criminals are bad.

But here's good news for bad people:

Mr 2:17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

Ro 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

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

GOSPEL NUGGET #401

Ec 3:14 I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it...

Let's apply this verse to salvation. Whatever God does is perfect. Nothing can be added to it and nothing can be taken from it. Realize that God has done everything that is absolutely necessary in Christ Jesus for our salvation.

You don't have to add anything to it. You don't have to take anything from it. You don't have to improve on it. All you need to do is to place your trust in the Savior and what He did on the cross for our salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET #400

Good News For Spiritual Criminals

Man's greatest problem is sin. He is not saved by religion, following the Ten Commandments, doing good works, joining a church, being baptized or partaking the Eucharist.

 Sin is a spiritual heinous crime in the eyes of God. A sinner is a spiritual criminal in God's eyes deserving nothing else but judgment and condemnation. God is a just and holy judge, only the payment of the penalty can satisfy the demands of His justice. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.

 That penalty is death---eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. The things mentioned above fall short of the stipulated and demanded penalty. They are not the payment for our spiritual crimes against God. Therefore, they could not save a guilty soul.

 Enter the Lord Jesus Christ. He became Man to serve as the sinner's substitute and representative. As such, He can pay the penalty for us and as us. His death on the cross had an eternal value to it since the one who died was an eternal person. His death therefore satisfied the eternal penalty of our sins. Jesus is Man but He is also God. As God, He is eternal.

 He died for our crimes against God and rose from the dead to show that God approved and accepted the payment Jesus made for us.

 Now, forgiveness of sins, a brand new life and salvation are offered to anyone who would come to Him in repentance and faith, trusting in Him and what He did on the cross for salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET #399

Islam And The Gospel Of Christ

In Islam, the surest way to get to heaven is to die fighting for the cause of Allah and Muhammad. The idea is you sacrifice your life in order to be saved. Salvation in Islam is not free on the recipient's part. It must be earned.

The Gospel or the Good News of Christ is diametrically the opposite. Instead of offering and sacrificing your life to God in order to be saved, it is God, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who offered and sacrificed His life to purchase our salvation and made it available for every single sinner in the world.

Salvation as offered in the Gospel or the Good News of Christ is therefore a free gift offered to sinners. All the sinner has to do is to accept and receive it by placing one's trust in the Savior and what He did on the cross.

Ro 6:23 ...the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Re 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

GOSPEL NUGGET #398

The Crusades And The False Gospel Behind It

During the Middle Ages, Muslim Turks took control of the Holy Land and made the lives of professing Christians who visited there difficult. Sojourning to the Holy Land was part of their worship.

In response, Pope Urban II gave a convincing sermon that fired up thousands of professing Christians. He encouraged them to rescue the Holy Land from the hands of Muslim Turks, and that in doing this, they are to wear a red cross on their chests or on their sleeves. Hence, the term "CRUSades." Fighters wore crosses as they went to battle.

He promised them salvation if they do it. They would go straight to heaven if they die in the attempt. This was the beginning of the Crusades.

How different it was with the condition set forth by God for the salvation of a sinner. The Crusaders were made to believe that they would be saved if they fight and die in battle. The Bible, God's Word, on the other hand has this to say:

Ac 16:31 ..."Believe (trust or rely) on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."

It is not our fighting and dying in the battle that saves, no, it's what the Lord Jesus did on the cross...if we trust in it.

GOSPEL NUGGET #397

Ge 12:16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

Pharaoh was well-pleased with Abraham's wife---Sarah, and because of her, he treated Abraham well. He gave Abraham presents which made Abraham very rich. If not for Sarah, Abraham would have been killed by Pharaoh and his men.

A principle with regard to salvation can be gleaned about what happened to Abraham here. Just as Abraham was made rich on account of his wife Sarah, so we, sinners, can be made spiritually rich on account of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I, as a sinner, in myself am unworthy and undeserving of all God's blessings, even His salvation. I deserve nothing but condemnation and judgment. But God treated me, and is treating me, and will treat me well not because of me but because of Christ.

The very moment a sinner trusts and relies on Christ and what He did on the cross, the spiritual blessings of salvation will be given to him as a present from God on account of Christ.

God saves the sinner not because of the sinner but because of Christ!

GOSPEL NUGGET #396

The Secret Of The Longevity Of The World's Oldest Person

As of now (March 3, 2015) the world's oldest person is Misao Okawa, a Japanese lady who was born way back in 1898! She is currently 117 years old. Everyone would readily agree that that's a pretty long life there!

Her secret of long having a long life? She doesn't know! You probably read this article because you were curious to know the secret of her longevity. Sorry to tell you that she has no idea.

However, I could tell you the "secret" of how to have eternal life. Here it is:

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 everlasting life.

Eternal life is primary a quality of life. It is a life united to God through Christ, with a glorious promise of a very long, long life in the future when Christ would come again and give those who trust in Him a glorified body capable of living forever and ever.

You want to have eternal life? Trust in the Savior and what He did on the cross for salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET #395

Ge 11:4 And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves..."

What happened in Babel is repeated in the lives of many people over and over again in relation to salvation.

Many people think that in order to reach heaven they must do it by their own efforts and works. They pile up and build for themselves a tower of good works to reach the heavens.

They are ignorant of the fact that God has provided the only way to Him in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said: "I am the way...no one comes to the Father except through Me."

My friend, no man-made effort can be enough to save a sinner. It is only through Christ and what He did on the cross that we can be brought to God. Come to Him in faith, trusting in Him and what He did on the cross for your salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET #394

Fifty Shapes Of Grace Part 2

Allow me to list the riches of God's grace towards a sinner who repents and trusts in Christ for salvation. For part 2, I will also list only 10. The sinner who repents and trusts in Christ and what He did on the cross for salvation is by God's grace:

11) a possessor of eternal life
12) indwelt by the Holy Spirit
13) reconciled to God
14) promised future glory
15) has peace with God
16) delivered from condemnation
17) adopted into God's family
18) an heir of God
19) blessed with every spiritual blessings
20) a member of God's Church