Part Of The Family

NO! He said, “Go and sin no more.”

I can show you where Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:

> 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.

But I can also show you where in the very next verse Paul writes, “And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Don’t tell me what you think. Don’t tell me how you feel. Tell me what the scriptures say.

We are saved by faith alone, based on the scriptures alone, third, so that we are not alone.

3. So that we are not alone - We are part of the family

- Read Romans 4:16-25

I will make you the Father of many nations.

- read vvs 22-25

My friends, God was at work back then and He is still at work today. We are part of the family of God. We are one of those “many nations.” You are part of the tapestry of God woven through the history of mankind.

I was blessed to be able to learn a little bit about Chris’s grandfather a while back. He was a Christian, a man of God who boldly stood up for his God in a non-Christian country. Chris’s dad then passed that heritage down to his son.

We are standing on the shoulders of all of the believers who have gone before us. We are sanding on the shoulders of Abraham, and David and Paul, and Peter. We are enjoying the benefits of the faith of our founders and those who have gone before us.

The sacrifices they made to pass on the gospel, to provide scripture, to spread the Gospel around the world, to found a Christian nation. We are not alone, We are standing on their shoulders.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We are not alone. We are part of the family. We are enjoying the blessing and the labor of those who have gone before us and we have a responsibility to those who come behind us.

Paul writes in:

> 1 Timothy 1:12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry—

Well my friend, God has considered you as well. Look around at how many people who do not know the Lord. Who are not part of His kingdom nor part of what He is doing on earth today. But God has selected you, and adopted you, and called you to be part of His family, and to be an ambassador for Him.

My son leads a small group in Denver. My Dad was a leader with the Gideons, was a deacon and Sunday School teacher. His dad was a part of the Christian Business Men’s Committee. taught Sunday School and supported many Christian colleges and ministries. His dad was a circuit-riding Presbyterian minister in Tennessee.

One generation after another, passing down to the next generation the faithfulness of God and a love for the Lord. Paul writes, this justification was not for Abraham alone, but it was for us as well.