A few weeks ago, I was in a pretty mild, yet widespread accident. 7 cars total were involved, two bumping in the left lane, two bumping in the right lane, and three in the center lane. I was merging into the center lane from the left lane, and I saw the truck in front of me basically just stop instantly. I slammed on my brakes, but it was too late...
I had to go to court as a result of this accident since I rear-ended the truck in front of me, and I would be guilty of the fault for hitting the truck in front of me. I was not looking forward to this visit. Since justice is often corrupt, I expected them to maybe even pin more blame on me than I really had.
So I went to court and stood in line to be judged. I printed out a handout for the judge to look over, but the guy at the door simply asked me for the Insurance letter (proof I had it), and then simply said, "All Charges Dismissed."
POWERFUL WORDS, THOSE WERE! After I left the courthouse, I thought about how that is just like what the Lord Jesus Christ will do at His Judgment Seat to those who have accepted Him as Savior.
Although the basis of the words "All Charges Dismissed" in the court on earth was simply the laziness of the courtroom to take action, and even a bit of corruption, the basis in Heaven for similar words will be Perfect Love and Mercy, given to those who have their name in the Lamb’s Book of Life - those who have accepted Christ as Personal Savior.
Some say that justice is blind, but the justice of Jesus Christ is Infinitely Righteous. With Jesus as our Savior, He is Faithful & Just to forgive us of all our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness!
In this lesson tonight, we will study how Jesus issues acquittal to our sins and how powerful this acquittal actually is.
One quick example of the power of this acquittal is where Jesus heals the man sick of the palsy (shorter term for paralyzed, that is, his nervous system stopped functioning in some parts), accounted in Matthew 9 and Mark 2.
Jesus was preaching to a great crowd in Capernaum, and so many people were interested that they overcrowded the house where Jesus was. Imagine this: Nobody could even enter through the door!
A paralyzed man lying on a bed was brought to Jesus, but he couldn’t get into the door, so they opened up the roof, and four friends lowered him into the room.
First thing Jesus does is say "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee" (Mark 2:5), and many of the scribes thought that Jesus was being blasphemous.
Mark 2:8-11: "8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house."
Think of this...people today can be used of God to heal people through His Power, but Jesus alone can forgive sin.
I. What we did
We all have sinned. Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
If you have ever told a lie, taken something (borrowed forever without them knowing = stealing), thought unwholesome thoughts toward another person, or even put yourself in focus above God, CONGRATULATIONS! You are human! We all are guilty of sinning.
Take for example this conversation:
Rhonda: "Have you ever sinned, Pete?"
Pete: "Nope"
Rhonda: "Hey, Pete...I John 1:8 - ’If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.’"
Pete: "DRAT! FOILED AGAIN!"
Yep, so everyone has sinned, even the most mature Christians (I’m not talking about Pete!).
The penalty of this sinning is death. Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
We all deserve eternal separation from God, meaning hell, but God is patient with us, and is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
This brings us to what God did to bridge the gap between imperfect man and Perfect God...
II. What He Did
Imagine that you have only one son (if you have one, more power to ya). What if you had to give up your only son because everyone else did something awful? You would be DEVASTATED!
John 3:16-17: "16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
God gave up His Only Son, Jesus, because we all were sinners. He paid the price, and all we have to do is accept Him to receive eternal Life in Heaven.
The now-famous Praise Chorus "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" has a great chorus. Here’s a line-by-line overview:
"You came from Heaven to earth to show the way"
Jesus came to earth, taught us how to live our lives pleasing to God, and His Words remain recorded in the Bible.
"From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay"
Jesus died for the payment of our sins on the cross. We remember this day that He died by ’Good Friday’ (usually in April - :) I was born on Good Friday!)
"From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the Sky, Lord I lift your name on High"
Jesus was buried in a tomb bought by Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man of the area. Three days after his death on the cross, He rose again from the dead, walked the earth and proved He was God, then went up to God the Father in Heaven to be at His Righteous Right Hand. He will return sometime in the future (very soon, I believe, based especially on events in the last 20 years or so).
This entire set of events is also recorded in I Corinthians 15:3-6. Jesus gives an account of His resurrection in Revelation 1:18...
Revelation 1:18 - "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."
He conquered death and hell by His resurrection.
III. Our Loving God wants us to come to Him
As stated in 2 Peter 3:9, God does want us to come to Him. He is a loving God, not a brutal slave-master.
Romans 5:8 - "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
I John 4:8b - "for God is love."
If you remember in John 3:16, it starts out with the words "For God so loved the world."
He is a loving God. Notice that He sent His only Son for us out of love.
This ’love’ in all these cases comes from the word ’agape’ (pronounced ag-ah’-pay). This type of love is Spiritual, unconditional, and unfailing. The Lord loves us much more than we can love anybody else.
Think of one thing on this earth that you REALLY love. God can top that by a factor of infinity!
IV. Do we want to come to Him?
I will give two invitations in this section and one in the last section to accept Christ if you choose to...
Salvation is a choice, and if you want to accept Christ as your Personal Savior, Praise the Lord! That is even a gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 - "8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
If you want to accept Christ right now, and you can pray the following prayer sincerely, pray the prayer and know that you are a child of God and are promised eternal life in Heaven for accepting Him...
"Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me. I am sorry for the sins I have committed and ask You now to be my Personal Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross and shedding Your blood for the payment of my sins and rising again from the grave three days later. Thank You, in Jesus’ Name, Amen."
(Just a side note, you don’t have to pray EXACTLY those words. These prayers are a general guideline of what you need to believe and confess to have a true understanding of the Faith in Jesus Christ.)
Accepting Christ as Personal Savior is the best decision you can make in this lifetime.
Revelation 3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
Anyone who asks the Lord to be their Personal Savior will receive Him.
John 1:12 - "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"
And
Romans 10:13 - "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
If you ever desire to become a born-again Christian (born-again = spiritually, not physically (John 3)), the Holy Spirit is drawing you to Christ, and you should be obedient and accept Him as Savior.
According to Romans 10:9, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be Saved. That simple! It must be sincere, however.
Again, if you want to accept Christ right now as your Personal Savior, and you can pray the following prayer sincerely, pray the prayer and know that you are a child of God and are promised eternal life in Heaven for accepting Him...
"Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me with Your Awesome Love. I am a sinner and am sorry for the sins I have committed and ask You now to be my Personal Savior. Thank You for sacrificing yourself on the cross and shedding Your blood for the payment of my sins and rising again from the grave three days later. Thank You, in Jesus’ Name, Amen."
V. What Will Happen to those who Accept Him?
Revelation 3:21 - "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."
We will SIT WITH JESUS?!?!?!?! That is AWESOME!!!!!!! I am going to be SO EXCITED when I get to meet Jesus! Yes, I need to do more on this earth for Him, but when I meet Him, I certainly won’t be disappointed!
If you have accepted Him, your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Anyone found in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be with the Lord in Heaven for eternity - a place of perfection.
Revelation 20:15 - "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
It’s either Heaven or hell. Again, a choice. If you don’t want God in your life, He won’t force you to be with Him for eternity. Eternity without God happens to be hell, which is a place of eternal torment - with weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12)
This world is full of garbage, and I’m not just talking about landfills.... People treat others unfairly and unkindly, stresses pile up, and so on and so on. In Heaven, none of these imperfections will exist! ZIP, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA will be imperfect in Heaven!
If you want to accept Christ right now as your Personal Savior and inherit eternal Life in Heaven through Him, and you can pray the following prayer sincerely, pray the prayer and know that you are a child of God and are promised eternal life in Heaven for accepting Him...
"Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Awesome Love for me. I am a sinner and am sorry for the sins I have committed and ask You now to be my Personal Savior. You are the only way to Heaven. Thank You for sacrificing yourself on the cross and shedding Your blood for the payment of my sins and rising again from the grave three days later. Thank You, in Jesus’ Name, Amen."
Hebrews 11:6 - "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
If you have accepted Christ, LET US KNOW!!! :) It’s WONDERFUL NEWS!!! We would like to help you get started in the right direction in growing Spiritually and give you some resources to start your Walk with Christ! If you want to e-mail me personally and discuss this issue more or tell me about your decision of Faith, go right on ahead!
Psalm 103:12 - "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."
Therefore, Jesus Christ has paid our price, taken our sins and cast them into the sea (Isn’t that AMAZING?! He casts them into the sea - doesn’t keep them around! (Micah 7:19)), just because we have accepted Him as Lord and Savior.
All charges dismissed! There is no need for a gavel in Jesus’ court - All charges have been dismissed with those who love Him and have Him in their heart! Praise the Lord for that AMAZING reward!
Deuteronomy 31:6 - "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
Keep evangelizing and witnessing, and pray for those who have not experienced Christ’s Love first-hand, because it is Amazing!
James 5:20 - "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you all as you go out into the world and share the Gospel with friends, family, and others around you. Praise the Lord!
He will never leave you nor forsake you, and He is SO AWESOME! He is Mighty and Just and Powerful and Holy, Holy, Holy! We need to Praise His Holy Name!
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who Was and Is and Is to Come! Glory be unto His Infinitely Powerful Name!
