Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Law #4: Recieving the Gift

(This is a continuation from Law #3, and the final spiritual law.)

The title of this post accurately describes what must be done to earn salvation. Nothing. We must accept what has already been done for us. Accept that it is by God's grace alone that you have been saved, and not by anything you can do (Ephesians 2:8). Everyone to whom these four laws have been presented in the fashion I just presented them has this opportunity. Simply place your trust in the fact that Jesus took your sins with Him to the cross and cleansed you from all unrighteousness. It's that simple, and yet it's so difficult. We as prideful humans have such a hard time accepting the gift. It feels so unfair, and we want to have to work for it a little bit so it feels less like we're cheating God (or, as is more likely, we're too prideful to admit our dependence), hence the rise of religion. But Romans 4:4-5 says, "Now to everyone who works, their wages are not credited to them as a gift but as an obligation. However, to anyone who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, their faith is credited as righteous."

When we allow our sins to be placed onto Jesus, we gain a blank slate, and all our sins are poured out on Him and subsequently cleansed. God looks on us as He would one who is righteous and pure. We thus gain several things: 1.) We are now back in fellowship with YHWH, and He can hear our prayers. 2.) The Holy Spirit (a topic I'll also cover later) indwells us and empowers us. 3.) We begin an eternal journey that will draw us ever closer to our Creator throughout this life and culminate with us spending eternity with Him. 4.) We gain forgiveness for every sin we ever committed and will commit.

What must you do to place your trust in Christ then? Simply say something in your heart along these lines...

Jesus, I know that I'm a sinful and desperate person. I'm sick Lord, and I'm separated from You. I ask You now to come into my heart, Lord. Indwell me, stay with me, guide me until my life is through, and on that day, please take me home with You, Lord. I surrender my life now to You, use me as You will. Amen

Now the emphasis here is not on the words themselves but their meaning. Their is nothing magical about this particular set of sentences. You could say them a hundred times every day for the rest of your life, but if you don't mean it, it wouldn't make any difference. If, however, you say it once, and you really mean it (even just a summarized version of it), Jesus promises that on the day of judgment you will stand among the redeemed. Will you be changed because of a decision of this magnitude? Duh. Will you have to give up some of your hopes and dreams in order to pursue the heavenly goals of God? Probably. Will it be worth it? Completely. Imagine the line below is the timeline of your life. It is an infinite existence as your soul cannot die. The red section at the beginning would represent your time here on earth, and the rest of the infinite line would represent your afterlife. (The choice you make in the red affects the never ending white line.)

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Anything you have to give up in this life for the sake of Christ is not even comparable to the promised future glory.

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with Me." (Revelation 3:20)

"Everybody eventually surrenders there lives to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego. You were designed to surrender to God - and if you fail to, you will create other things to give your life to. You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice." - Rick Warren

1 comment:

  1. Dear Andrew, Thanks for posting these. I wanted to see how you were doing then I read these, and the way you wrote them have been a great reminder to me of the gospel. =) Which me and you both obviously need everyday! See ya at school bud.
    Michael

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