Point #1: We Have Justification & Salvation
Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
How much more? If God has done the heavy lifting, by raising the dead, How much more will the easy thing now be done.
God had already done the unthinkable; how much more will God do something relatively obvious!
Those already justified by Jesus’ sacrificial death will be rescued from this coming wrath.
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Not taking this opportunity, you are thereby despising God’s patience and storing up wrath for the final day.
Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
God will judge the secrets of human hearts. Nothing will then escape scrutiny.
God will be seen as just.
And this judgment will be through Jesus Christ
Jews can’t plead their Jewish background – No Through Christ
Jews can’t claim circumcision – No Through Christ
Jews can’t claim the law – No Through Christ
No one today can hide from the judgment by relying on outward appearances – No Through Christ
No one today can hide from judgment with their wealth – No Through Christ
No one today an hide from judgment a man made religion – No Through Christ
(Change Slide)
Point #2: We Have Reconciliation
Reconciliation is the restoration of a relationship to a state of harmony after a dispute or a change in status.
We see the breach in contract.
We see a harmonious state severed by a hostile state.
First harmonious:
Genesis 2:20b-25 but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Now Hostile:
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
From that moment moving forward we were in need of reconciliation.
Isaiah 54:9-11 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
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Jeremiah 31:31-31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
When God can these bones live? Ezekiel said God thou knowest but the interesting part is the command, God told Ezekiel to Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
To Prophesy means to Preach to them:
You who have been in your stagnant
You that have become comfortable in convenience
You that have become content
You that have become slothful
Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
We are the ones that can become stagnant, comfortable, content, and slothful, we are the ones that need to be reconciled.
II Corinthians 5:18-19 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
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We are the ones who need to be reconciled
Reconciliation is the establishment of one accord out of discord between two parties.
Christian reconciliation is the work of God through Christ by which He restores mankind to a favorable relationship with Himself.
Before we are reconciled to the Father we are enemies of the Father.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
The cross was a means to reconciliation…
Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Since it is the case that we were reconciled to God by the death of Christ, we shall certainly be saved by his life.
God has not moved for it is man that has done the moving.
Sinful individuals must be reconciled to God; it was man who left God; God did not desert man.
Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Because we, by our manner of life, were enemies of God, there was the need for us to be reconciled to God. Sin (to miss the mark) and iniquity (lawlessness) are used in the Bible to describe our rebellion against God.
We were hostile to his will; we were his enemies; there was no peace between us and God.
But Christ's death made it possible for us to be reconciled with God, and thus to have peace with him (5:1).
But there is another benefit beyond reconciliation: we shall be saved by the life of Christ.
If the death of the Savior could reconcile us to God, his resurrected life can save us from eternal death. A dead Savior is of no use to anyone, but a living Savior is able to bless and help. Because he is alive, our Lord offers much help and hope to that are faithful to Him.
For those subject to his calling:
He adds the obedient to the church (Col 1:13-14)
He provides the means to escape the temptations of this world (I Corinthians 10:13)
He dispenses mercy and grace in times of need (Hebrews 4:15-16)
He lives making intercession on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25-28)
He has authority over all men whether they realize it or not (I Corinthians 15:25-26)
He has left us His Word (I Peter 2:21-25)
(Change Slide)
Application:
When you are Approved and Accepted and Hired for a new Job, one of the things that is explained to you is the benefits package.
This is the package that you will receive as a benefit to being hired to a company.
These are the perks.
When I was hired on my job, they provided a computer, a phone, an expense card, travel points, and 3 weeks of vacation on day one, 401k, Stock options, sick days, holiday pay, and a volunteer day that I could use at my own discretion.
That was my benefits package.
This package helps you make the decision to take the job or not.
Jesus is sitting across the desk and He is asking us to trust him. He has laid his gospel message out in front of us to read and assess for ourselves.
He has given us the path toward a future
He has given us many references of people that have trusted Him and have taken the role prior to us.
He has shared their success stories.
The decision is ours. You know what is good for you. You know what is good for your family.
Conclusion:
In conclusion,
And being a member of the Lord’s church comes with certain advantages and benefits.
Namely Salvation and Reconciliation
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
To be made free in Christ Jesus, we must be a part of His body which is the church.
