Last night was the official end of our series: "DON'T CHECK YOUR BRAINS AT THE DOOR."
(
We are having a wrap up Q&A with nachos next Wednesday.)
We have dealt with lots of questions...
IS THERE A GOD?
IS THE BIBLE RELIABLE?
WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN?
ARE ALL CHRISTIANS HYPOCRITES?
But all of these questions ultimately lead us to the question: "
HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM RIGHT WITH GOD?"
This question is so big and so important I just wanted to recap some of last nights thoughts.
1) IT'S NOT INTOLERANT TO SAY JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY; IT IS TRUTH. While the world looks at Christians sometimes as judgmental or critical, really we are trying to offer hope. Many passages in the Scriptures - such as Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5, Romans 1:16, and John 14:6 - tell us that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven. As the Bible is the Word of God and Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins on the Cross, we would be cruel NOT to tell people this life-giving fact.
2. WE ALL NEED SAVED. We are all born with a sinful nature that puts us in the sights of God's wrath and judgement. Our disobedience to God's law separates us from His holiness. It is only through the payment of death for those sins that God's wrath can be satisfied.
3. MY PART IN SALVATION IS ACCEPTANCE, BELIEF AND CONFESSION. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." John 3:16 tells us that eternal life is for all who
"believe". Romans 10:9 tells us that to be saved we must
"confess with our mouths" and
"believe in our hearts."
I pray that as we have gone through this series that some of your questions have been answered. And while you might not still have them all answered, I pray that you have come to understand that God is real, that Jesus is His Son and that you need Christ's sacrifice and resurrection in order to have life.
