|
2 What is This Salvation?
What’s it all about?
Talk two – What is this salvation?
1. Welcome and introduction
Welcome and thank you for coming this evening and welcome back, if you do have any questions which may have occurred to you from last please ask someone this evening as we all need to understand as much as we can form the course.
Now obviously the key character in the Christian faith is Christ so what was, and what is so unique about the person of Christ that has caused this faith to survive and flourish all over the world for just over 2000 years, and how come one individual could have such an impact. Therefore having looked at the factual evidences for the life of Jesus last week in documented archaeological and historical evidence what is it about this person that even today causes so many to follow Him. There are just over 2 billion that claim to be Christian around the world. 36.5 percent of the population is Christian.
So let us look at the uniqueness of Christ and what was so special about Him, but it is important to acknowledge that we are talking about a real character that existed. At the heart of the Christian faith is a relationship with Jesus and therefore we need to learn about Him.
? His Birth and life was foretold for thousands of years in the Old Testament but not only that throughout the Jewish culture as well we have corroborating evidence the Jews that shows were looking forward to the day when there saviour would come and the life of Jesus fulfils all of the Old Testament prophecies (promises made in advance), in fact there were which Jesus fulfilled in His birth, life, death and resurrection.
Recorded on the 37th anniversary of His death we read this written by Josephus and Suetonius who were roman historians) and Josephus a Jewish historian, the following was written.
Josephus - Quote
“Now there was about that time, Jesus a wise man, if it is lawful to call Him a man, for he wasa doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to Him both many of the Jews and Gentiles. He was the Christ.
And when Pilot at the suggestion of the principle men, had him condemned on the cross, those who loved Him at first did not forsake Him, for He appeared to them alive on the third day as the divine prophets had foretold, these and 10,000 other wonderful things concerning him and the tribe of Christians named from Him are not extinct at this day”
How do we know that we have what they wrote well “There is more evidence for the life of Jesus than the life of Caesar” - F. F. Bruce, and refer back to last weeks table.
? He was born of a virgin who risked death and being ostracised and Joseph and her family’s story also corroborates this, she even went on to have other children.
? He was fully Human
He had a human body He got tired - John 4:6
He got hungry - Mathew 4:2
He had human emotions Anger - Mark 11:17-19
Love - Mark 10:21
Sadness/Grief - John 11:32-36
Distress - Mark 14:33
Sorrow - Mark 14:34
Human experiences Temptation - Mark 1:13
Learning - Luke 2:52
Work - Mark 6:3
Family - Luke 2:41-48
? But was He more than just a man?
? His teaching
His direct claims
The (I am) I am the bread of life - John 6:35
I am the light of the world - John 8:12
I am the Resurrection and the life - John 11:25
My Kingdom – Luke 22:30
Come to Me – Mathew 11:28-29
Follow Me – Mark 1:17
Some point to the truth but Jesus said I am the truth for example Buddha said as he was dying “I die still seeking the truth”, Jesus said” I am the way the truth and the life”, “Seek and you shall find”, this shows us the uniqueness between Jesus and other religious leaders as Christianity is not a religion but a personal relationship with Jesus.
Welcome me and you welcome God – Mark 9:37
He was the image of the invisible God – John 14:5-14, To have seen me is to have seen (God) the father
? His indirect claims
To forgive sins Mark 2:5
To Judge the World Mathew 25:31-32
? His direct claims
To be the Messiah - Mark 14:61-62
To be the Son of God – Mark 14:61
To be God the son – John 8:58
My Lord and my God – John 20:28
Claim to be God – John 10:33
? But what evidence is there to back this up?
? His life matched His teaching – e.g. Sermon on the Mount – Mathew 5.6 and 7.
? People still refer to being Christ like.
An innocent and pure life, even corroborated by the quote I read earlier.
? His works – John 10:37-38
37Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. 38But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
? His actions “He went about doing good”
? His Character – Loving, forgiving, sacrificing, humble etc, even when completely innocent and accused standing before His accusers he said nothing”
? His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy,
? His death – what was so special about it? Jesus lived and died to bring about restoration between man and God to restore that which was lost when man first sinned and restore our relationship with God, so that as individuals we can know the forgiveness and acceptance and peace and power of Christ in our lives and eternal security.
Mans greatest need
The manner of His death – why was it so horrible-for the cross lies at the heart of the Christian faith and this is because of mans greatest need as we mentioned last week in Romans 3:23 “23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and we mentioned sin and the results of sin in our lives.
All have sinned
Results of sin Pollution of sin – Mark 7:21-23
Power of sin – John 8:34
Penalty of sin - Romans 6:23
Partition of sin – Isaiah 59:2
So if we accept that there is a need then what can we do about it, and more importantly what has God done about it.
What God has done
The self substation of God – J. W. R. Stott.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might be able to receive forgiveness for our sins and die to them and live for righteousness, which is right standing with God.
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
This therefore is the solution to the separation our sins have caused between us and God, and by accepting Christ, that us asking to be forgiven and deciding to believe in His death and resurrection then we are then back in relationship with Him as if we had never sinned and the barrier is gone. His power therefore is then available to us to live out the Christian life.
The agony of the cross
What the cross has achieved
Romans 3:23-26
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Four pictures of
a. The law court – the penalty of sin is paid, penalty, fine paid in full– v24 “are justified freely by his grace”
b. The market place – power over sin broken, price paid– v24 “the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”
c. The temple – Pollution of sin removed, purity restored, – v25 “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood”
d. The home – reconciliation, separation barrier of sin removed – “ Corinthians 5:18 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation”
? What about His death – only Jesus has risen from the dead.
a. His absence from the tomb
1 Jesus did not die – John 19:34, so having been severely beaten and flogged even to the exposing of bone and muscle then nailed to a cross and hung there for six hours and then having his side pierced with a spear and the blood having separated into blood and water and shut in a tomb for 3 days he wasn’t dead?
2 Disciples stole the body – why when they were scared and frightened as recorded in scripture and persecuted by the authorities since all the disciples were martyred and suffered horribly, why would they die for a lie, that this argument says they instigated.
3 Authorities stole the body - Why when the roman authorities wanted to quell Christianity and it clashed with there own beliefs
b. His presence with the disciples
Hallucinations – People – over 550 people
Time – over a period of six weeks
Numbers – 11 different occasions
One may hallucinate but over 500 all at once at different locations completely independently.
Also He ate fish with the disciples and cooked and ate fish on the beach with them. A ghost does not eat fish
c. Immediate effect – the transformation of the disciples from a cowering huddled bunch to a bold fearless group.
The birth and growth of the Christian Church.
The testimony and death of the early disciples and early Christians
d. Effect down the ages
2 billion Christians
2000 years
The testimony and death of Christians down the ages today !
? Conclusion & Summary
Righteousness from God Romans 3:22
Right standing with God
From God
Justified freely by His grace – it is a free gift but like any gift we must se our need of it and want it and then ask for it, similar to anybody who has an addiction the only way for them to get help is to acknowledge they have a problem.
He died for you and me
And the fruit of that new relationship 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
A new life, with the peace and eternal security, and the love and power of Christ in our lives.
? Summary
So what is this salvation, it is to believe in Jesus and to ask and receive His forgiveness, to enter in to a right relationship with God, to have peace and eternal security, to have access to his power over sin and to follow Him. John 6:29 says “Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
? So the question we all at some point in our lives have to answer is the same one that Jesus asked Peter in Mathew 16:13-20
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[b] the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,[c] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[d] will not overcome it.[e] 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[f] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[g] loosed in heaven." 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
? But what if he was just a good man, nobody could have achieved and done the things Jesus did in His life, in actions and character, even in his death and resurrection if that is al he was.
? People will always have differing opinions of who Jesus is and that’s reflected in this passage but the real question each one of us has to answer is 15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
? So why don’t we discuss that question together.
|
Ernie Butler, 05/03/2008 |
|
|
