• Acts 4:12 (NIV)
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
INTRODUCTION:
In December 2006 Michael Trimble, a forensic archaeologist testified in a Bagdad courtroom as part of the Saddam Hussein trial. Trimble gave three days of testimony regarding the mass grave uncovered from which he had examined the remains of the Kurds killed by Saddam. His testimony showed the horrible cruelty of the Iraqi leaders in their attempt to control Kurdistan through terror. He and his team uncovered the remains of 301 people ‹ 60 percent of them children. Trimble commented about his testimony saying:
“I was searching for days for my closing statement, and out of sheer dumb luck my birthday was on the 26th of November and the team gave me a flag and they all signed it. One of the women wrote two lines from a Polish poet . . . ‘History counts its skeletons in round numbers. A thousand and one remains a thousand as though the one never existed.’ And that was it; I had my closing line. I said: ‘Your honor, we have not presented 300 remains to you; we’ve presented 301.’ The whole room was silent.” (Kristen Hinman, “CSI: Iraq Goes to Court.” Riverfront Times; Dec. 6, 2006.)
When all was said and done Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced to death. But what Trimble did was to remind the judges and the world that Saddam’s crimes were not about the numbers, but about each individual. Would Saddam’s crimes have been worse if they had found 1,000 or more dead bodies? Should Saddam have been let off with a lighter sentence if only 50 people had been so brutally executed? Or is it possible that even a dictator like Saddam deserved to be convicted of death for ordering the death of just a single person? It isn’t about the numbers; it’s the individual.
Numbers are important to God. Multitudes followed Jesus; 3,000 were saved on the day of Pentecost; another 5,000 were added to the church in Acts 4.
But in all the numbers, God never looses sight of the individual; it is the individual who is important to God. From the cross Jesus had compassion for the thief who was being justly punished for his crimes, but Jesus forgave him and welcomed him into paradise that very day.
And God is concerned about you. God knows your name; He knows what you need and is ready to step in to rescue you if only you ask Him for help. God loves the individual. It’s true; if you or I had been the only one to believe Jesus would have given His life just for you—just for me.
It reminds me of the man who was walking the beach early one morning and saw a little boy picking up starfish from the beach and throwing them into the ocean. The man asked the boy what he was doing and the little boy told him, “I’m saving the starfish from dying. After the tide goes out the starfish will be stranded on the beach and die in the heat of the sun.” The man shook his head and asked the little boy what difference he thought he could possibly make because there was no way he could save the thousands of starfish up and down the beach that would die like that; it was just part of nature. The boy threw the starfish in his hand into the ocean and said, “It matters to this one.”
This morning we begin a four part series WE BELIEVE. Together we are going to look at the four defining truths or what we sometimes call the cardinal doctrines of the Assemblies of God: salvation, divine healing, baptism in the Holy Spirit and the second coming—Jesus saves, Jesus heals, Jesus baptizes in the Holy Spirit and Jesus is coming again.
Today we are going to focus on the doctrine of “SALVATION, God’s Love for You.” As we look today at the cross I want us to see four R’s that will help us to understand the doctrine of salvation: REBELLION, RESCUE, REDEMPTION, and RECONCILIATION.
I. REBELLION – Every one of us has a sin problem.
1. We like to think we are ‘good people,’ but the truth is that every one of us has a sin problem.
• Romans 3:23 (NIV)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
a) I’ve checked the dictionary and ALL means ALL. We are all sinners. Nevertheless many of us still want to claim to be a good person. I’m not as bad as so-n-so, or I would never do that.
• 1 John 1:10 (NIV)
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
b) Sometimes the truth hurts, but this blow to our ego is not intended to hurt us but to heal us. Just like the drug addict or the alcoholic the first step to healing is to admit you have a problem. No one can be saved, to be set free and forgiven of one’s sin until they agree with God that they are in fact a sinner.
c) We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. Sin is a part of our DNA; it’s what we are made of, so there is no getting around it: we all sin. But what is sin?
• 1 John 3:4 (NIV)
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
d) Sin is disobedience to God’s law. If you want proof that you are a sinner then examine your life in light of God’s 10 commandments. Have you ever lied? Strike one. Have you ever talked back to your parents or not shown them proper respect? Strike two. Have you ever stolen? That’s three strikes and you’re out (and we’ve still got seven to go)! We are all sinners!
e) If the 10 commandments are too hard for you then how do you rate on keeping the summary of all God law? Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all your heart soul mind and strength; the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself? Have you kept God as #1 in your life? Have you always shown love to other people? None of us have even come close to just obeying these two commandments. Why? We are all sinners because sin is lawlessness.
2. Sin separates us from God.
• Isaiah 59:2, 12 (NIV)
[2] But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear . . . [12] For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities.
a) We have all at one time or another felt the separation that happens when someone dies. Their voice is silenced; their eyes are dark. Never again can you laugh or even cry together. When you take their hand it is cold—lifeless. God said the wages of sin is death. Death separates, but it is more than a separation between the living and the dead. Sin separates us from God too.
b) Do you believe that sin separates the sinner from God? Do you believe that sin not only separates people from God in this present life, but that more importantly sin will separate people from God for all eternity in hell, what the Bible calls the second death?
ILLUSTRATION: Some time ago an 18-year-old girl living in the state of Washington attended a worship service at a nearby church. She had never been in a church before and for the first time in her life she heard the gospel message. That Tuesday the church received the following letter from her:
Dear Church members:
Last Sunday I attended your church, and I heard the preacher. In the sermon the preacher said that all men have sinned and rebelled against God. Because of their rebellion and disobedience they all face eternal damnation and separation from God. But then he also said God loved men and sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to forgive them of their sins and that all those who believe in him would go to heaven and live with God eternally.
My parents recently died within months of each other. Like me they never attended church; I know they did not believe in Jesus Christ, whom you call the Savior of the world. If what you believe is true, they are damned to hell.
You compel me to believe that either the message is true, that you yourself don’t believe this message, or that you don’t care. You see, we live only three blocks from your church, and no one ever told us.
c) Someone said, “Actions speak louder than words.” Based upon your actions what do you really believe? Do you care enough to tell your neighbors about God’s love? Do you care enough to even invite them over for dinner so they would be comfortable to come with you to church? What do we believe? Sin separates people from God whether you believe it or not.
3. The first R is rebellion; we all have a sin problem that separates us from God. Is there a cure for the deadly disease of sin? That brings us to the second R:
II. RESCUE – Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross to be our Savior.
1. We are helpless and unable to do anything to save ourselves.
• Acts 4:12 (NIV)
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
a) Some people may think it is ‘narrow minded’ or intolerant (certainly it’s not politically correct) to say that we can only be saved thought the name of Jesus Christ. I guess that the fact of the matter is that they are right to think that! But we can’t change the truth; we can’t invent our own plan of salvation, or think all roads lead to heaven. Only through Jesus can we be rescued and saved from our sins.
• John 14:6 (NIV)
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
b) The most loving thing we can do is to communicate the truth to people around us because without the truth of God’s love and mercy available to them through Jesus there is no chance that they can ever be saved. No one can do anything to save their own soul.
• Ephesians 2:1 (NIV)
. . . You were dead in your transgressions and sins.
ILLUSTRATION: We are not like a drowning man struggling to save himself and crying out for help; we’ve already drowned! We are dead in the water. We need someone to come and breath the breath of life into our soul so we can be made alive!
c) God didn’t wait for us to cry out for help. Jesus came to our rescue before we even thought about calling out to be saved. In fact God did this while we were still his enemies!
• Romans 5:8 (NIV)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
2. Jesus provides the perfect sacrifice to rescue us from the penalty of sin.
• Romans 6:23 (NIV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
a) We deserved to die and spend eternity in hell’s fire as the just punishment for our sin forever separated from God, but Jesus paid the penalty for our sin on the cross that we might receive the gift of eternal life.
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
• 1 Corinthians 15:3 (NIV)
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
b) Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. Through His death we are rescued and receive God’s forgiveness.
3. Jesus death is not just for us; Jesus is the savior of the world! He died for all sinners not just a select few.
• John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• Romans 10:13 (NIV)
for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
4. The first R is rebellion; we all have a sin problem that separates us from God. The second R is rescue; while we were helpless Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He is the savior of the world! The third R:
III. REDEMPTION – Jesus’ blood purchased our freedom.
1. Redemption literally means to ransom by the payment of a price.
a) Jesus secured our salvation with His blood. The price paid to redeem us was not cheep. While our salvation is the free gift of God, our ransom cost God what was most dear to Him; the price for our freedom was the life of His one and only Son Jesus who shed His blood upon the cross for our sins.
• 1 Peter 1:18-19 (NIV)
[18] For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
b) Jesus redeemed us from sin; that is Christ has paid the ransom to set us free from Satan and the power of sin that had control of our lives. Before Jesus came to our rescue and we were saved, we were not just alienated from God, but we lived under the dominion of satanic powers; we were slaves to sin and bound by the chains of guilt and death.
• Ephesians 2:2 (NLT)
You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
• Colossians 1:13 (NIV)
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
• 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
2. By the blood of Jesus we are redeemed; the ransom has been paid, therefore we no longer belong to the devil. We belong to God!
• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)
[19] Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
• Romans 6:18 (NLT)
Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness.
• 1 Corinthians 7:22-23 (NIV)
[22] For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. [23] You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
3. Because Christ has redeemed us from the power of sin we do not live to please ourselves. We live for Christ who set us free.
• Galatians 5:1, 13 (NIV)
[1] It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery . . . [13] You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
• 1 Peter 2:16 (NIV)
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
4. Rebellion, we all have a sin problem and are separated from God, but Jesus has come to our rescue; as the perfect sacrifice for our sin He has redeemed us from the power of sin to live a life of freedom. The reason Jesus rescued and redeemed us from sin is the final R:
IV. RECONCILIATION – Through Jesus we are made children of God.
1. Jesus did not die to establish a world religion; Jesus died so we can enjoy a personal relationship with God.
• Romans 5:10-11 (NIV)
[10] For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! [11] Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
a) The wall of separation has been torn down; the veil that prevented us from having access to God has been ripped in two. God has opened the way for us into His presence!
b) But more than just entering into His presence we have been brought into an intimate and loving relationship with God. We are no longer estranged enemies of God; we are God’s friends, more than that we are children of God!
• John 1:12 (NIV)
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
• 1 John 3:1 (NIV)
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
2. God has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
• 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NIV)
[18] All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: [19] that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
3. How can we help others to be reconciled to God? Or perhaps your first step might be to know how to be personally reconciled to God. Being reconciled to God is as simple as knowing your ABC’s. Here is all someone need to do; four simple steps from A to D:
ADMIT The first step is to agree with God that you are a sinner; as long as you think you’re a good person, you don’t think you have any need of God. Admit you are a sinner.
• Romans 3:23 (NIV)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
• 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
If we confess our sins [literally: agree-say the same thing], he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
BELIEVE The second step is to believe that Jesus died for your sins and has been resurrected from the dead that you might be forgiven and have eternal life.
• Romans 6:23 (NIV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
CONTRITION (some might say CONFESS YOUR SIN) The third step is to repent of your sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. This is not just simple telling God you are sorry for your sin; rather with a deep sense of remorse and Godly sorrow you ask God to pardon you of your sins with a commitment to change your way of living. Repentance literally means to turn around and go in the different direction—instead of living in sin you make a u-turn to live for God.
• Acts 3:19 (NIV)
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
• Romans 5:8 (NIV)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
DECLARE It’s not enough to just believe that Jesus died for your sins. You need to make known that “Jesus is Lord” through what you say and do. As a child of God the Holy Spririt lives within you to empower you to live a new kind of life; no longer do you sit on the throne of your heart—JESUS IS LORD of your life.
• Romans 10:9 (NIV)
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Conclusion:
REBELLION, we all have a sin problem that separates us from God.
RESCUE, while we were helpless Jesus became the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sin that we might be forgiven.
REDEMPTION, the blood of Jesus paid the ransom to set us free from the power of sin and death; we have been set free to live for God.
RECONCILIATION, we have been made children of God; Jesus has not established a religion but has brought us into a loving relationship with God.
Communion
