Answering Our Culture
#10 – Just Do It, Already!
Various Scriptures
October 13, 2002
Introduction
This is our last message in our series on The Top 10 Reasons to NOT be a Christian.
We’ve looked at a bunch of different reasons people give for not becoming a Christians.
Today I want to give you some reasons to become a Christian.
An assumption and a definition: I assume that if you have come to the point where you are listening to this message, you have sensed a desire in your heart to know more about God, about Jesus, the Bible, or what it means to be a Christian.
If that is the case, then I rejoice with you, and I would love to visit with you personally or refer you to someone in the area who can answer your questions more fully than I can.
Now for the definition: what does it mean to become a Christian? “I grew up in a Christian church, so doesn’t that make me a Christian?”
No. One is not born into the Christian faith.
He or she must make a choice to do that.
“I was baptized as a child, and even confirmed. Doesn’t that make me a Christian?”
My definition of a Christian is someone who has trusted Christ for forgiveness of sins and eternal life, and seeks to become someone who becomes a devoted follower of Him.
The life of a Christian is focused on becoming more like Jesus, and living in the promises of God in the Bible, experiencing the full and abundant life promised by Jesus.
Sounds like a good deal to me. I hope you will find it worth pursuing for yourself.
By the way, ignore the Bible passages that are listed at the top of the sermon outline, because I forgot to delete these while I was revising the bulletin.
I will phrase the reasons to become a Christian in the form of four benefits that Christians have. I am confident that by the end of our time together, you will want to give serious consideration to giving your life to Christ.
Let’s move right on in, shall we?
4 benefits of becoming a Christian:
I. We gain forgiveness of sins.
The barrier between God and us is sin. The Bible says that everyone has sinned and that our sins have separated us from God.
But Christ died to take down that barrier, so that those who come to God through Him can know the forgiveness of sins.
The Bible says that Christ died for sins, once for all, to bring you to God.
Initially, we are forgiven of past sins; in other words, all those sins committed up to the point we trust Christ for salvation. Listen to Acts 13:38:
AC 13:38 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
What Peter is saying here is that no matter how devout you were about following God’s commands, you would never know forgiveness and eternal life.
But through Jesus, you have been forgiven of all your past sins.
And here’s something great you need to know. After forgiving your sins, God chooses to forget them. Forever.
The Bible says in Psalm 103 that God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. Do you understand how far that is?
Let me just give you a hint. If you were to travel north from anywhere, at what point would you begin going south? At the north pole. But if you were traveling east from anywhere, at what point would you being going west? You could go east forever and never be going west. That’s how far God removes our sins from us when they are forgiven.
In Isaiah, God says this:
ISA 43:25 "I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.
You don’t have to worry about God drudging up your old mistakes and sins. He doesn’t do that.
If you are a devoted follower of Jesus and you are being reminded of past sins, then understand that the devil is the one doing it, not God.
Not only are we forgiven of our past sins, we are also forgiven of “current” sins. What do I mean by that?
The hard fact of the matter is that as long as we live in this world, we will be tempted to sin. And there are times when we will probably give in. So what happens then?
The Bible says that:
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
It goes on later to say that in Jesus we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father.
When you agree with God that what you did was sin, God forgives.
Now let me be quick to say here that this is not a blank check for you to just do whatever you like, then come to God to wipe the slate clean.
If you continue to let sin rule your life, if you continue to run the show without living for God, then one has to wonder if you really took Christ to be your Savior and Lord in the first place.
We all know people who claim to be Christians and don’t live up to their claims; they’re the ones we call hypocrites, and Lord knows we have enough of them, amen?
We are going to talk later about how to live a life that pleases and honors God, even in the midst of the temptations in our world.
But for the time being just remember that the first benefit of becoming a Christian is that we gain forgiveness of sins.
The next benefit is that…
II. We gain eternal life.
Let me state that another way: we gain eternal life in heaven.
You see, everybody lives forever. After you die on earth, you will live forever in eternity. The question is, “Where will it be?” You will either be in heaven or hell.
And the great thing is that you can choose which it will be.
By trusting Christ, you choose heaven. By not trusting Christ, you choose hell.
And that eternal life begins the moment you trust Christ as your Savior. From that moment on, you are a citizen of heaven, just waiting for the time to go to your new home.
Let me just tell you something from a personal level – another benefit of having heaven settled is that it makes getting through this life a whole lot easier, because I know that when it’s all done, I will be in a place where there is no more strife and trouble.
I still have my days, let me tell you. But I can look past them to the day I when I will be standing in the presence of God, and there will be no more tears, no more sadness, just perfect peace with God.
Can you imagine a perfect place? No pollution, no crime, no political campaigns… Only awesome perfection. The only stuff on TV would be John Wayne movies and baseball.
The answers to all our questions will be there. We’ll finally understand all the wackiness in our world, like why disco ever became popular.
I’m being a little facetious, obviously, but the point is that when we get to heaven, it will be wonderful and glorious; beyond anything we can imagine this side of it.
The third benefit is that…
III. We gain a new life.
Jesus said that we had to be born again, by the Spirit of God. When we are born again, we become a new person.
The apostle Paul tells us that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.
This may not always be immediately obvious, and you may struggle for a while against old sinful patterns, but nevertheless, you are a new person in God. You have been given a new life.
I want to point out four awesome truths that accompany this new life. First,…
A. You are a child of God.
Listen to these words from the gospel of John:
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
God makes you His child when you believe on the name of Christ. We are adopted by Him. And the Bible says that we are entitled to all the blessings He makes available to His children.
Maybe you have a great family on earth. I truly hope that is the case for you. But being part of God’s family is infinitely better.
Maybe you’ve had a rough go of it in your family. Maybe abuse or ridicule was present. Maybe you’re from a broken home. I don’t know your situation, but I can tell you that life in the family of God, with God as your father is a wonderful thing. And the relationships within a bunch of people who truly love Jesus are incredible, often becoming surrogates for the relationships we have been missing in our earthly families.
You are a child of God with a great family. Next…
B. You are made free from the past.
We’ve already looked at how God forgives our past and chooses to not remember it anymore.
But I want you to also know that you are free from the bondages that kept you in pain, sorrow, and sin.
You can choose to say no to sin, with the help of God. You can leave the old patterns that hurt others and yourself. You can be free from harmful relationships that drag you down instead of help you up.
With God on your side, you can live in victory instead of defeat, because of the third truth about having a new life,…
C. You have help for the present.
It’s important that you understand that God not only gives you forgiveness of sins and a home in heaven, but He actually lives inside you to be with you and give you the strength you need to make it in this world. He gives you that help by first of all giving you…
1. Access to God.
The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that we can come right to God with our prayers, concerns, or whatever.
You don’t need a priest, a saint, a minister, or anyone. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we can come to God directly.
He already knows what’s on your heart, but He wants you to communicate with Him.
Most religions (and a lot of Christians, for that matter) consider God to be far off and inaccessible. Well, that’s not the God of the Bible, that’s for sure.
He’s there for you, 24/7.
Next, He gives us help for the present by giving us the…
2. Power of the Holy Spirit.
God uses the Holy Spirit living in us to help us live lives that honor God. He helps us to understand the Bible, helps us say no to temptation, and helps us experience the wonderful abundant and full life that Jesus promised to those who follow Him.
God living in us. Now that’s something to holler about.
The last truth about gaining a new life is that…
D. You have hope for the future.
Basically, I just want to reinforce the fact that you can live with an eye to eternity from now on.
Christians live in joyful anticipation of Jesus’ return. We don’t know when it will happen, but it could be at any time. And when it does, it will be a great moment.
We live in anticipation of our time in heaven, away from the earth and its troubles.
And life in heaven will be wonderful beyond description.
That’s the hope for those who trust in Christ.
Conclusion
When you become a Christian, when you trust Christ for forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven, you enter a wonderful relationship with the Heavenly Father, who loves you more than anyone on earth could possibly love you.
He gives you a new life, a home in heaven, help for the present, and a hope for the future.
He gives you freedom from the past and power to get you through the present.
Now who wouldn’t want that?
But let’s get into what it means to “trust Christ.”
What does it mean to “trust Christ?” It basically means that you realize your own helplessness to get to heaven.
You have to come to a point when you say that you are trusting what Christ did on the cross to be all you need to gain forgiveness and a home in heaven.
Are at that point? If not, I hope it will be soon for you.
If you are at that point, let me invite you to take that step right now. I am going to say a prayer that you can make your own, inviting Christ to forgive you and make you a new person with a reservation in heaven.
If you are feeling the tug in your heart, please don’t ignore it. Act on it, in faith that God will do just what He promises in His Bible.
Take advantage of the opportunity that Jesus purchased for you with His own blood on the cross.
Jesus said that if you believe on Him, you have crossed over from death to eternal life. Do it right now, won’t you?
Let’s pray.
