Introduction:
The theme for today’s sermon is “Jesus Christ our salvation”.
The first words of Scripture are “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. Everything begins with God. From the Scriptures we learn that God created everything that man would ever need before creating man. This tells how much God loves man; He loved man even before He created him. God’s love was such that He created man in His own image and likeness and gave him authority and dominion over His whole creation. Satan, who had failed in his rebellion against God, was aware of God’s love and so directed his attention to man who bore God’s image and likeness and had authority over him. He devised a plan to deceive man. He began by creating doubt about what God had said about eating the fruit of the one tree that was forbidden by asking “Has God indeed said?” Once the devil had succeeded in creating doubt about what God had said, he proceeded to change the word of God. God had told Adam “you shall surely die” and the devil changed it to “you shall not surely die”. According to Dr. Warren Wiersbe, when we change the Word of God, we change the God of the message and that is idolatry. Once Satan had succeeded in changing the Word of God, he could now question God’s motive. He implied that God was withholding the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from them because He did not love them and did not want them to become like Him. Satan still uses the same method to deceive today. He and his followers first plant doubt about God’s word, then change the word of God and then apply their own motives to the words they had changed to make their hearers focus on them rather than on God. When Adam and Eve obeyed the devil rather than God, the intimate relationship that had existed between them and God ended.
Step One: Sin brings an end to our relationship with God
a) The wages of sin is death
Beloved! Sin brings an end to our relationship with God for “The wages of sin is death”. (Rom 6:23) When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, they also chose to live without Him. They immediately became aware of their sinful state, and filled with guilt and fear, hid from God’s holy presence. In Adam “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). We have all inherited Adam’s sinful nature.
b) Separation from God deprives man of his authority
Sin creates a barrier between man and a Holy God and separated from God man lost his authority. Satan took advantage of man’s choice to live without God to lead him into captivity. Satan becomes the one who determines and controls his activities and he is forced to obey even when he does not approve of what he is doing.
c) Satan’s interest is to steal, kill and destroy
Satan’s interest is to steal, kill and destroy and those under His control often see nothing wrong with their evil acts. This is the reason for much of the suffering, destruction and death that we see in the world.
Illustration:
The Psalmist declares that “Justice and judgement are the habitation of thy throne; mercy and truth shall go before thy face”. (Psalm 89:14) God could not compromise His justice. When Satan rebelled against God he was judged and cast out of heaven. Since Satan could not come against God, he directed his attention to man who he knew was greatly loved. He sought to abort God’s divine plan for man by deceiving man to sin so that God would judge the man He greatly loved. The only one who could save man without compromising God’s justice was God Himself and it was for that reason that Jesus Christ gave His life to save man without compromising God’s justice. Satan tried to abort God’s divine plan for man; he only succeeded in delaying it. He came as a thief to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: but Christ came that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
Application:
Beloved! A drowning man cannot save himself. He needs a saviour. God saw man drowning in sin and sent a Saviour, Jesus Christ. We can either trust Him to save us or drown in our sins. Jesus Christ is our only Saviour. No other person can save us and restore our relationship with God.
Step Two: Christ restored our relationship with God
a) Christ’s blood was shed for our forgiveness
Sin destroyed our relationship with God; Christ met God’s righteous requirements to restore it. Jesus Christ, born without a sin nature, tempted in all ways as we were yet without sin, shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin to make available God’s gift of eternal life to all believers. (Rom 6:23)
b) Christ’s body was wounded for our healing
Christ shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin; Christ’s body was broken for our healing. Sin has taken a physical toll on the body destroying it through pain, sickness, disease, and cancers. “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed”.
c) Christ was forsaken for our acceptance
Christ was forsaken that we might be accepted and reconciled to God. At noon, while on the cross, the sun was darkened as Christ cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46) Jesus was forsaken and rejected and called His Father God so that we might be accepted and reconciled to God and call Him Abba, Father.
Illustration:
Beloved! God’s remedy for sin was the shedding of innocent blood. The blood of animals could only cover sin because the judgement on sin was greater than the sacrifice. This sacrifice pointed to the eternal blood of the Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world without compromising God’s righteousness and justice. When Jesus cried out on the cross “it is finished” it was because His sacrifice was greater than the judgement of God on sin. He fully paid for our past, present and future sin. There is therefore no need for any other sacrifice for sin “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive”. (1Co 15:22) Salvation is God’s free gift of forgiveness to everyone who believes in the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and receives Him by faith.
Application:
Our salvation does not cost us anything but it cost God all He had, His only Son. For this reason, we can be sure of our salvation since it does not depend on us but on Christ.
Step Three: The evidence of salvation is a restored relationship
a) Living to please the Lord
Beloved! “We are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God”. (Eph. 2:8) The evidence of Christ’s salvation is a restored relationship with God and living to please our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ made this possible when on the cross He was made sin with our sinfulness so that we might be made righteous with His righteousness, a righteousness that has never known sin.
b) Living as a son of God
The Son of God became the Son of man that sons of men could become sons of God. His suffering, death, burial, and resurrection made provision for all our needs. Christ took our place on the cross and gave us His place as the son of God so that we can come before God’s presence and call Him Abba, Father.
c) Living as an heir of the grace of God
As children of God, we have become joint heirs with Christ and partakers of the New Covenant of grace. God’s grace does not depend on what we do but on what Christ has done. We no longer give to be given but give because God in Christ has given us all He has. We no longer forgive to be forgiven but forgive because God in Christ Jesus has forgiven us. We no longer love to be loved but we love because God loved us and gave His life for us.
Illustration:
Christ has set us free from sin and its destructive effects. When Adam and Eve sinned the first thing they did was to hide from God’s presence. When Peter, before he began to follow Christ, saw Him perform a miracle that led to a great catch of fish his response was to ask Jesus to depart from him for he was a sinful man. This same Peter, although he had denied Jesus Christ three times, after a similar miracle after His resurrection, was in a hurry to come into His presence when he realised that it was Jesus on the shore. Peter’s behaviour this time was completely different. He could not wait for the boat to reach the shore but jumped into the water and swam to where Jesus was. What had changed? The first time the veil in the Temple that separated sinful man from a Holy God was still in place. The second time, after the death of Christ, the veil had been torn from top to bottom giving everyone access to God’s presence.
Application:
If Peter, who denied Christ three times, could come boldly to God, what sin can prevent you from doing the same? The only hindrance is pride and trust in your own works. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25) It is your decision whether or not to trust Christ and accept His sacrifice for your salvation.
Conclusion:
God is love and “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. (John 3:16) “Whoever” applies to all of us. It applied to Peter and it applies to me and you. Peter, who claimed he was ready to die for Christ, denied Him three times before the cock crowed. His sin of denial did not keep him from God’s presence and it was in God’s presence that he was restored and commissioned to feed and take care of His people. Christ restored him by giving him the opportunity to reverse his earlier three denials by replacing them with three confessions of love. Peter needed to come to Christ and be restored to be able to fulfil his mission. Had he not come to Christ Peter would have known no peace and would constantly be reminded of his denials every time he heard a cock crow.
Personal Response:
God does not want anyone to perish. Jesus Christ calls out to all who are burdened and heavy laden and offers rest. How can anyone refuse such an offer? Let us come to Christ who alone is able to save us and restore us so that we can fulfil His divine purpose for our lives to the praise and glory of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
