The Promise of Life and Freedom from Guilt
Today, I have both the honour and delight to be able to share with you what I feel God has placed upon my heart for us to hear. The Bible says that all who claim the name “Christian” are the “Ambassadors of Christ” – “2 Corinthians 5:20” and it is therefore my duty today to carry out my “Ambassadorial Role” for His Church as He is the commander in Chief”.
His foremost command for His Church is contained in “Mark 16:15” where it says – “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” And therefore, that is what I’m going to do for this brief time together today.
Text: –
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” – NIV
“It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.” – “John 5: 24” – The Message
- …a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.” Is to simply say that the Bible declares that without a knowledge of Jesus Christ as our personal saviour and knowing His forgiveness we are declared to be “dead in trespasses and sin” dead spiritually that is of course.
It is a fact that I am sure that none of us today would try to deny that everybody is looking for a life of freedom and pleasure. Everyone is looking to get the best out of what life has given to them, and to find satisfaction from what to many is a meagre existence from day to day. Well! I am here to tell you that in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ that I have read earlier on from “John 5:24,” that we discover the answer to that need.
Let me ask a question today of all of us – “What is it in life that causes people to live out their three score and ten? desperately seeking for satisfaction and a removal of their frustrations.”
I would hazard a guess that things such as: –
- Sickness.
- Unemployment.
- Fear of Rejection.
- Loneliness.
- Poverty.
- Inner Fears of the Past catching up on them.
- Inner Senses of Condemnation.
To name but a few have an intrinsic part in it and serve to destroy the inner potential that we all have in us.
Why do so many in their later years regret what has gone before, and perhaps go to their grave, with a feeling of “Their could have been something better“, Well! I’ll tell you. One reason is as the Bible says in “Ecclesiastes 3:11” that “…God has set an awareness of eternity in the hearts of all.” The other reason is the fact that in life there is an enemy whose foremost desire is to destroy all the inner potential that you and I have. His desire is to come into our lives to kill, steal and destroy, all the good in life that God desires us to have and has revealed that we can have through His Son Jesus Christ.
In the verse, that I quoted when we started John the writer of the Gospel reveals to us three basic secrets that God in heaven would have us understand relating to His Son Jesus Christ.
The reason for it is that in understanding the secrets we are enabled if we respond to the call of God to salvation through Christ, to receive in this life and the life to come, an answer to our frustrations and sense of dissatisfaction.
So, let me share with you right now the three secrets.
1) The Sinners Greatest Need.
The first of the three secrets is a revelation of the “Sinners Greatest Need.”
I wonder today what you consider to be your greatest need, let me name a few things that might be stated: –
These are but a few of the most popular and legitimate answers that might be given and are all centered on either physical or material desires. In general, these are the expected answers to the question but there is a need often neglected and it surpasses all other needs.
The greatest, the most profound, the most pressing need that any of us have is not centered on the material or physical, no! it is centered upon the spiritual.
In “John 5:24” we read the words of Jesus where He says “I tell you the truth: eternal life belongs to those who hear My voice and believe in the One who sent Me. These people have no reason to fear judgment because they have already left death and entered life.” – The Voice
If today, you have never recognised that Jesus Christ is the Saviour, then you need to recognise that you have an urgent and pressing need, and it is a need that affects your soul, your eternal destiny and it is a need to have your sins forgiven.
Again in “John: 5:24” the thought expressed is that by nature man is spiritually dead and this is further emphasised by the words of “Romans: 6:23” which tells us “The wages that sin pays is death.” The truth is that without Christ as our Saviour we live in a perpetual pay day.
Even though we may have lived an exemplary life, a life, which for all intents and purpose has been lived out caring for others, having the respect of our peers, doing good things wherever we go it still does not remove the stain that by nature and by birth we have.
If any today have any doubt about this then the Bible tells us clearly in “Romans: 5:12” – “Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death as a result of sin, so death spread to all men, no one is able to stop it or to escape it’s power.”
Now what’s been said is a sobering thought to have in one’s mind, but even more sobering is the fact that God in Heaven has declared that due to the sin nature every one of us has inherited, we are placed without exception under condemnation facing outside of Jesus Christ only His wrath.
In “James 2:10” we read “For whosoever keeps the law as a whole, but stumbles and offends in one instance has become guilty of breaking all of it”, that means therefore, as none of us would be so proud as to declare we have never sinned, that not only are we all spiritually dead, and cut off from God, but also under condemnation for our personal sinfulness.
It is a pretty awful state to be in but thank God the text that I started with reveals that God Almighty, offers a promise of life with freedom from guilt and condemnation. But, and that’s the question, “How can we get it? Well, it is revealed through the second of the three secrets that I mentioned earlier.
2) The Father’s Greatest Gift.
The second of the three secrets is a revelation of the “The Father’s Greatest Gift.”
What is God almighty’s greatest gift would you say today? Is it the material and physical things that I mentioned earlier being available? Well yes, they are great gifts and God’s desire is truly to give good gifts to us. However, there is a greater gift than all of those, and it is the gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sin.
If you remember what we were considering earlier you will understand that the reason we suffer from so much frustration and dissatisfaction is that due to our sin, God is not able to load us with His blessing every day, and the enemy of our lives the devil, does his utmost to just make life difficult and to destroy all that God desires to do for us.
Gods greatest gift then is to free us from the condemnation and the effects that sin has brought into our lives. The Scripture I read earlier stated that if we “accept God’s testimony regarding His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall not come into condemnation…” and that is a promise for you, right here and right now.
God’s declaration is that He will give us life and abundant life now and life that lasts throughout eternity. In addition to this is His promise to “…supply all your needs because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross” throughout your journey of faith onwards.
The question that arises for us now is – “How do we receive it? What do we have to do as individual to be the recipients of His gift? The answer is revealed through the third secret.
3) The Saviour’s Greatest Promise.
We have seen so far two secrets: – The Sinners Greatest Need & the Father’s Greatest Gift.
Let’s now look at the third and final secret “The Saviour’s Greatest Promise.”
The greatest promise made unto man is the promise that we discovered in “John 5: 24” let me remind you just now of it – “Very truly I tell you (this was Jesus speaking), whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” – NIV
What an amazing promise this is that we would not come into God’s condemnation, and that we would receive His blessing and the forgiveness of Sin. But again, as I said – how do we get it?
Well, the “ball is in your court” as they say, you have the responsibility to respond to this promise of God.
In the first instance: – If God has declared us along with all other men and women everywhere to be sinners, He must be right.
In the second instance: – We must do what He says we need to do to remove our sin and condemnation. It is the simplest thing in the world to do; it is simply “To receive Jesus Christ God’s Son and the World’s Saviour” as your own.
The Bible tells us in “John 3: 16” – “For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction but will have everlasting life.” – The Voice
Right now, God’s invitation to us, is to receive His Son Jesus Christ as our Saviour
Conclusion: –
The devil’s greatest lie, to everyone can be broken down into five ingredients.
- That there is no danger of spiritual death and judgment.
- That God is to loving and gracious and loving to judge and condemn us for eternity.
- That a person can be saved by going to Church or doing charitable works.
- That no one is good enough – So why bother.
- That it’s not possible to know that you are saved.
If you feel that God has spoken to your heart today, and you desire to respond to His call to you then will you take a moment to pray with me.
If your answer is yes! Then pray this prayer after me: –
“Lord Jesus I recognise my need as a sinner to take you to be my Saviour. I recognise that you are Lord and God. I believe Jesus that you were crucified, died, and was buried. I believe that on the third day you rose again. I believe that you ascended into heaven. I believe you are now seated at the right hand of the Father. I believe that you will one day come to judge the living and the dead. Jesus, please forgive me now, come into my life as my Saviour and Lord enable me to live for you – Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, then please let us know by going either to our guest page at www.worldwidechristianministries.org or by subscribing and commenting on our YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/c/AlbertMMartinWWCM and let us know about it so we can pray for you and help you further in this new exciting journey of faith.
