Jesus Christ: The One And Only (Part 4) Series

Jesus Christ: The One and Only (Part 4)

1 Timothy 3:16

Introduction:

1. If somebody asked you this question, how would you answer? “If you were to die today, do you know 100% for sure that you would go to heaven?”

2. If your answer is “Yes,” what if they asked this next? “Why do you know you will go heaven?” How would you answer this? If you were to stand before God, and if He were to ask you why He should allow you into heaven for eternity, how would you answer this?

3. Would you say, “I joined the church. I was baptized. I kept the Ten Commandments. I never did anything too bad. I was better than most.”?

4. None of those answers are going to work. Why is this? Because none of these things can wash away our sin. At the end of the day, no matter how many churches we joined, or how many ponds we were baptized in, we have all sinned, and God cannot allow that sin to go unpunished.

5. When we stand before God, the issue will be very simple. The issue will be what you have done with God’s provision for sin – Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is truth, He is life. vs. 16

6. The entire divine gospel plan revolves around the person of Jesus Christ. What a person believes about Jesus Christ is the difference between eternal life or eternal judgment. This is why, as a church, we have a mission to proclaim Jesus Christ.

“…believed on in the world…”

1. How would you answer that question, “What must I do to be saved?”

2. The apostle Paul was asked that very question. Here is how he answered: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.” Acts 16:31

• That man did believe on Christ that day and was gloriously saved and changed.

3. This story could be repeated scores of times as we read about Paul’s ministry in the book of Acts. He went into heathen, pagan, Gentile lands and proclaimed Christ unto the Gentiles, multitudes believed on Christ, and their lives were radically changed. 1 Thessalonians 1:9

4. Many times Paul would begin his ministry in a city by proclaiming Christ to the Jews that were there. After all, if anybody should recognize who Jesus Christ was, it would be a Jew who had God’s Word and knowledge of the true God.

5. But time after time (because of pride and stubbornness), they would reject the message of Christ, and Paul would turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). The Bible says that the Gentiles were glad when they heard this, glorified the Word of the Lord, and they believed!

6. The only thing necessary for salvation today is to believe on Christ. You say, “Pastor Dan, that sounds terribly simple. All I must do is to believe on Christ? How can that be?” Let me explain.

7. Our sin created a debt that we had no possible way of paying. Romans 3:23, 6:23a

• The Bible tells us that all sin will be avenged by God. Sin is a violation of the law, and the wages of sin is death. Forgiveness is not enough. The debt is still owed.

• If I fall behind on my bills, the bank may empathize with me, but I still have that debt. The debt must be paid by me or someone else. Even bankruptcy does not wipe out the debt, it just transfers it to others. Someone will eventually pay.

8. We owe a debt because of our sin, but Jesus never sinned one time. He kept God’s law in totality. Christ then willingly paid the debt for our sin by dying on the cross. He satisfied the demands of God’s holy law, and then paid our debt in full. Romans 5:6, 8

• Christ took the full wrath of God against sin so that we would not have to incur it. When we fully deserved the wrath of God for our sin, Christ took God’s wrath for us on the cross. Romans 5:9-10

9. But how do you take what Christ did for us on the cross and apply it personally to your sin debt, to your heart, and to your life? Look at Romans 3:25, 28, 5:1.

10. The Bible is clear. You apply it to your heart by faith in Jesus Christ. The moment you believe and trust that His sacrifice was for your sins, God fully forgives you of all sin and brings you into a place of peace with Himself.

• It isn’t done on the basis of your good works, religious rituals, or self-effort. It happens on the basis of the fact that Christ died for your sin and paid your sin debt.