Great Reasons To Choose Christ! Series

Great Reasons to Choose Christ!

The Book of Romans

Romans 5:12-21 (Read 8-21)

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - May 29, 2016

(Revised November 24, 2020)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Romans chapter 5. For context tonight we will begin reading at vs. 8, but our main focus will be on vs. 12-21. In these verses God will show us some of the most important reasons why everyone should choose to receive Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of their lives.

*But Christians, also keep in mind that God chose us before we chose Him! This is one of our most comforting discoveries about the love of God: He chose us before we chose Him! In Luke 19:10, Jesus is the Son of Man who came "to seek and to save that which was lost.''

*Jesus also told a parable about a shepherd who went searching for his lost sheep. In Luke 15:4-7 the Lord said, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." Then in John 10, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who even laid down His life for His sheep.

*God chose us before we chose Him! In Ephesians 1:3-7, Paul said this to all Christians:

3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

4. just as HE CHOSE US in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

5. having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

6. to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

7. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

*God chose us before we chose Him. But we still have a choice to make. Remember what Joshua told the Children of Israel in Joshua 24:14-15:

14. "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!

15. And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.''

*We still have a choice to make. Jesus confirms this truth in Scriptures like John 6:35. There the Lord said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

*People must choose to come to Christ, to believe in Him. And tonight's Scripture shows us some of the most important reasons why everyone should choose Christ. Please think about this as we read Romans 5:8-21.

MESSAGE:

*Pastor and author Brian Waite wrote a book called THE DAY I MET GOD. In this book Pastor Brian told of how he came from a long line of losers, people who made all kinds of terrible choices in life.

*Brian told about a statue in New Hampshire erected to the memory of a General Waite from the Revolutionary War. But it's not what you might think. This General Waite abandoned his troops in the middle of a battle and ran away from the front lines.

*Then he got so lost in the dark night that both the general and his horse froze to death. That statue was a warning against being a foolish coward.

*Pearl Waite was another man in Brian's family line. Pearl had a great idea, and invented crystallized gelatin. His wife even gave it the name of "Jell-O." Unfortunately, Pearl Waite sold the patent for his invention for just $25.00. (Another source said he sold it for $450.) The man who bought the patent for Jell-O turned it into a multi-million-dollar product, but Pearl Waite died broke.

*Well, we have all made bad choices in life, some a whole lot worse than others. But in 1981, Brian Waite made the best choice anybody can ever make. That year, Brian opened his heart to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. He gave his life to Christ.