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another Jonathan in the church we’re going to have a Joe club and a Jonathan club we have enough of those so this evening uh we we just want to share with you the word of God just some of the things that um are important to remember during this holiday season and so before I do that let me have a word of prayer let’s pray together father we thank you so much for the Plan of Salvation that you um have designed before even this world was created and eternity past in the council rooms of God you are prepared a way for us to be saved to be made right with you to have our sins forgiven to know we have eternal life even now on this side of Eternity thank you Lord for the word of God thank you for sending your son who was going to be the perfect man and because he was the perfect man he would be the lamb of God without spot or blemish that would go to the cross and die in the place of Sinners Like Us but Lord because you’ve done that we still have to respond to it we still have to receive you and Lord the gospel still has to be preached so people can hear it and I pray Lord as it goes out that people would hear it and they would respond to it just like I responded and others here have responded to it in days past that we know from the word of God that we can be saved and forgiven be right with you and when we die we can be in your presence and Lord we know that’s the real reason for this uh celebration that Christ came into this world but not just to be a babe in a manger and not just to be one crucified on the cross but one who rises from the dead and who ascends into heaven and who is now seated at the right hand of God and is now preparing a place for us that where he is we may be also and then he’s coming back to get us that’s all in your plan Lord everything you’ve said so far has come true perfectly hundreds of years before after the prophets prophesied it came true so Lord we know it’s still going to be true we’re still in your plan and you’re not finished yet so I pray tonight that you would just use the word word of God to do your work and I pray in Christ’s name amen so this morning I mean this evening uh I would like to just uh ask you really a question are you in Christ is your identity as an identity where you are in Christ now that’s that may be a strange way to say it it may be strange to your ears in some ways but and the re reason I I I asked that is because that’s how the Bible identifies genuine Christians the Bible says like in the Epistle of Colossians to the Saints and faithful brethren in Christ in Christ who are at colosi Grace to You and peace from God our Father and just a few passages uh later in that same book in Colossians it says to whom God will to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the G Gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory see either you’re in Christ and Christ is in you or you’re not the source of this new identity and this new creation is God himself where the Bible tells us also in another passage that it says therefore if you are in Christ that you’re a new creat creature old things pass away and behold all things have become new so it’s important to know that there is a shift of of a of stance of a stance that you have in this world and it’s a change of of a sphere that you in because the Apostle is viewing all people as either in Adam or in Christ in other words if a person is in Adam because we’re all born from Adam that means they’re unsaved and still in their sin if they are in Christ that means they are saved and they have been washed away of their sin so in other words all who are in Christ are a new creation and all who are in Adam are still linked with the old things the old things being the old damic sinful nature with all its old Corruptions and old habits and old sinful enslaving sins that those who are now associated with Christ who are in Christ find themselves in a brand new position a brand new sphere they are a new creation because God made them new when they came to believe in Jesus Christ as their lord and savior so the a false understanding has made it possible though for people to be comfortable in their old adamic nature so that they still remain in Adam and not in Christ if someone is not in Christ Christ also is not in them and therefore they are not Christians that’s how the Bible uh talks about the clarity of being a real believer in Christ and those who are outside of Christ who are in in Adam all of us were in Adam but when we came to Christ now we are in Christ so that’s the kind of lingo that the Bible uses and it’s very important to understand so if someone is not in Christ then also Christ is not in them therefore they are not Christians and are in the end without hope without real hope in other words without gospel hope see the gospel gospel hope is sure hope because it’s based on not a a blind leap in the dark it’s BL based on truth it’s based on Pro prophetic truth historical truth Divine truth that comes from God to us not everybody has that hope in this world matter of fact we live in a world that there’s a lot of hopelessness and the the suicide rate is through the roof uh with young people with veterans with with all groups of people are things are going very badly in people’s minds and they they have no reason to live but when a person comes to Christ they have a a gospel a sure hope now an atheist has a reason why they don’t believe but no hope for the reason a hypocrite has hope in what they believe but no reason for their hope a Christian has a reason for their hope and a hope for their reason see they have a sure hope in fact with the scripture we read this morning I mean this this this evening in Matthew it says very specifically that Christ came in this to this world to save his people people from their sin see that’s what the Lord came to do so what do those who come to Jesus find that they will not find in any other religious system in the world what will they find well they will find hope the gospel offers hope in fact if we just pulled out some scriptures we’ll find out in the Psalms it says and now Lord for what do I wait and This Is The Answer My Hope Is In You My Hope Is In God then in the New Testament says to Hope in Christ the Apostle Paul said this he says according to the Commandment of God our savior and of Jesus Christ who is Our Hope and then of course the Bible also says we have hope in the work of the holy spirit for it says through the Spirit by faith we are waiting for the hope of righteousness and then Paul the Apostle Paul standing before a group of people giving his testimony on what happened to him when he came to Christ he said this I am standing now trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers and what was that hope what was that promise that there would be a resurrection unto life that somebody could actually know they have eternal life while they’re here on this Earth see he knew that he had that hope and then of course there is in the Psalms 2 The Hope in the mercy of God where the Bible says behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him on those who hope for his righteousness and that word righteousness is a Old Testament Hebrew word that also can be translated goodness or kindness or mercy and now Mercy is God not giving you something you actually deserve and what what do we all deserve we deserve the wrath of God but the mercy of God is saying I’m not going to give you what you deserve because I gave Christ what you deserve on the cross so see the hope of the Gospel might be summarized like this we were outside of Christ so we needed to be redeemed in order to be brought in Christ and the reason for us to be outside of Christ is because our righteousness is insufficient to make us right with God so that means that Jesus came to live in this world in order to provide the righteousness that you and I lacked and could have never obtained on our own no matter what we could do in Scripture it tells us this in Romans even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe and then again it says in Philippians and may may we be found in him not having a righteousness of our own derived from the law but that which is through Christ through faith in Christ the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of Faith now so that means we’re going to receive a righteousness from God that’s not our own it’s God’s given to us that’s Based On Believing but there is a righteousness that’s based on the law or based on works and that is a righteousness that you cannot get saved by but my friends that is the righteousness we depend on the mha usually in this world see people remain outside of Christ because they think as long as they are sincere in their beliefs and or part of some religion that somehow they are safe and that they will be accepted in the day of judgment well that’s not true because if we just think about what what actually is a religion there’s millions of religions but you know that the Bible itself we if we just looked at scripture the Bible uses the word religion five times uh once it uses the word religion and twice it uses the word religious in each case it’s always associated with works ceremonialism and ritualism it’s not re connected to Faith so that means in fact Paul uses the word in Colossians where if we were to narrow it down it would be more like saying that it’s self-made religion it’s self-imposed worship ship and its self-willed observance of whatever we want whatever we think God is or what God should be or what our God whatever God we make up in our own imaginations yet the Apostle Paul wrote this in Colossians 223 these are matters which have to be sure the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion there’s that word and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body but are of no value against fleshly indulgences in other words this is this is made up religion so the term religion is really derived from a word meaning to frighten or to whail or to have trouble so that means that religion is connected with ceremonial Services caused by fear and trouble fear of what fear of deities that are cruel fear of death itself fear of the unknown trying to somehow find a way that you soothe your conscience to know everything will be all right when it comes to the point when I die so if that meaning of religion is contrasted with the gospel message of Salvation which brings peace and which brings joy and which bring brings happiness and assurance and hope to the heart hey ask any person who has religion are you saved and this is the answer they’ll give you I hope so that’s the answer I gave I hope so ask a person who has salvation in Jesus Christ the same question and he or she will answer you yes thank God and they will then reiterate what the Apostle Paul said he says for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day what do we entrust to him our very Soul our very Eternal Soul the soul that cannot die because it’s created in the image of God so it will either go after this life into the presence of God if a person knows Christ and has Christ righteousness or they will go to a place where they’re separated from God in in the place the Bible calls hell where they will be separated there because they did not trust in Christ as their own Lord and Savior so the shity and confidence is not in self when somebody becomes a Believer but in God our savior that’s why Jesus came because there’s really there’s two kinds of religions there’s the a good religion and there’s a bad one religion which becomes fanaticism and connected with bigotry you know condemning and persecuting those who do not agree with it that’s bad religion and there’s a lot of those out there you hear it all the time on this these religious groups that do radical things in the name of God the writer though of the Book of James which is James James is the brother of Jesus mentions another religion which he calls pure and undefiled in the sight of God and Father that is to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world see that’s good religion It’s associated with good works and it is the only place in scripture spoken of in a good sense all other places religions are associated in scripture with Hollow empty formalism and mere ceremonialism so this is the big deception here’s the big deception of Satan who is the enemy of our souls he his trick is to make people religious without salvation that’s his trick he lures people to be satisfied in their own works and righteousness and then he blinds them to the truth of the real gospel helping them to rest in their own goodness hence aiding them to reject the work of Christ because they see themselves as not as bad as others and so no further help is needed and they go on and live their whole life like that trusting in that but that is a a very shallow thing to trust in because there are also two kinds of gospels there is the gospel of works and there is the gospel of faith God’s word said salvation is done and it’s done by God Satan says salvation is doing instead of people calling on God for mercy and Grace in Christ Jesus they seek salvation by works of their own hands humanity is incurably religious and because they are so incurably religious they are blind and they are are dead in their sin they are outside of Christ The Gospel of works is a different gospel with a different Jesus every relig every religion in the world has a works-based gospel you have to do something to get saved or to be right with God or to have your sins forgiven or to hope that God accepts you after you die but here are three things I want to share with you to understand in order to have gospel hope and here’s the first one the first one is this that all human righteousness is rejected by God all of it the Apostle Paul brings to our attention that God had given the law of God and the law condemns every human being in sin for Paul wrote this in the Book of Romans now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law and then it says this so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God that that’s that means every human being doesn’t matter if you’re Jew or G or whatever wherever you belong in that that every single person is accountable to God and then it says this in scripture for by The Works of the law no human being will be justified in his side that’s God’s s why because it says since through the law comes the knowledge of sin now what are we talking about we’re talking about the Ten Commandments that the law condemns every human being both Jew and Gentile and every man is a sinner as a result of God’s law The Ten Commandments for example take the first one what does it say in the first one you shall have no other gods before me and yet most most of us have many things that take precedence over our relationship with God and because of that we’re condemned by that commandment a second commandment says you shall have you shall not make for yourselves any carved or Graven image now that could be either literally or in your own mind and yet we create all types of items that we idolize above God you shall not take the Lord your God in vain the name of the Lord your God in vain how many of us have done that honor your father and mo mother now when the Bible talks about these Commandments it’s talking about keeping them 100% of the time all the time who can do that the answer to that question is nobody can do that so God forbid stealing in those Commandments lying and coveting that these laws continuously point to our sinfulness the Lord does not make us sinners it reveals that we are sinners and that we are condemned and accountable to God that’s what it does that’s the way it was created that’s the way it was designed Because by the Deeds of the law no flesh will be justified so the Bible gives us the knowledge of sin and an awareness of how sinful we really are until you come to the place where you realize how sinful you are you cannot be saved you must understand that first and that’s where the law of God brings us now the law of God is also written but it’s also says it’s written in our heart we have a sense of right and wrong that God’s put in our heart we have a conscience that God’s given us and that conscience tells us whether we do something right and wrong and the more we decide in our decision making to say no to our conscience when we know it’s the wrong thing to do we end up having a seared conscience like a callous hand we don’t feel it so much when we sin anymore so the Bible gives us the knowledge of sin and the awareness of how sinful we really are and even the the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God that the standard is not 80% or 90% the standard is 100% of the Holiness of God all the time so the law points out that we have fallen short and we may not be the worst of Sinners ever but we are as bad as the worst because we are sin ful human beings and one sin will condemn us forever and no human being will be made righteous by the law because the law was not designed to make anyone righteous the Des the law was designed to make people know their sinners now one one example could be something like this uh suppose a person committed a murder and then felt terrible about it and decided to do many many good things as many as possible for the rest of their life how many Good Deeds would it take to undo the murder you know the answer to that right nothing can undo the murder no amount of Good Deeds can undo the murder the person would merely become a good intentioned murderer and by the same token the best we can be is good Sinners we are Sinners by Nature we are Sinners by deed we are Sinners by word and as a result God must reject us because he is Holy and just and cannot let sin in his presence so our Good Deeds cannot remove our sin and make us right nor can they relieve us from the guilt that’s connected with sin now that’s all the bad news but thank the Lord the gospel means good news so this is the second thing to understand to have gospel hope and it’s this within the gospel God demonstrates his righteousness in other words God’s righteousness has been demonstrated to us here is where we see the good news of God the good news of what Jesus Christ has accomplished and this good news is factual and historical and recounting real events that really happened in real places with real people this is not a fantasy story this is this is this is truth this is reality this is history and the Lord did it that way because it’s very hard to refute if you want to be honest that Jesus did come into the world he was a real man he did walk the earth as a perfect human being because he was the god man he did go to the Cross he did die there he did rise from the grave he did Ascend into heaven he did do all those things and that’s all historical facts see God Jesus God the son took on human flesh so that he could die in our place and that was a demonstration of God’s righteousness I like the word demonstrate because that is what God did toward Humanity he demonstrated his love toward Humanity in that while we were yet under the condemnation of our sin and separated from God because of it he died in our place God demonstrated his love toward us while we’re yet sinners he died for us so God’s righteousness was demonstrated apart the Bible says from the law that righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ for it says this from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe for There’s no distinction other words the Bible is saying there we need God’s righteousness to save us we have no righteousness of our own to save us so through it we may partake of the righteousness that we could never have manufactured on our own through the law Jesus manifested God’s righteousness which is available as a gift and here’s the good news it’s a gift of his grace he wants to give it to us and why is that because we can’t earn it ourself we can’t buy it we can do we can’t can’t do enough good things to receive it that’s why that famous passage of scripture for by Grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is what a gift of God not of Works lest anyone should boast so here’s the greatest thing we could ever hear it’s it’s the grandest gift we could ever receive that God’s righteousness comes to you and I as a free gift through faith in Jesus Christ through believing in Jesus Christ through trusting in jesus’ death burial and Resurrection on our behalf that Jesus came into the world to make atonement for sin and that means when his sacrifice is applied his sacrifice removes sin and makes available the gift of eternal life thus the Apostle Paul said in Romans 326 that God would be the just and the justifier of those who have faith in Jesus that’s what he does this is how he saves people from their sins this has always been the message and this is the good news but but there’s a a last point that I want to share with you that things to understand to uh to have gospel hope and here’s the last one that God’s righteousness must be applied there’s the message it’s out there now now what are you going to do with it you have to do something with it you just can’t get up and walk away say well that was great I’m going to go I’m going think about that no it has to be applied the good news is that God’s righteousness is applied as a gift of God’s grace that’s why the scripture says where is the Bo where’s the boasting then who can boast it’s excluded by what law of Works no but by the law of faith those who have received Jesus as their personal savior have been born again into God’s family and have no right to boast they know they can’t boast anymore why can’t they boast well they didn’t earn it they didn’t earn what they reive they received it as a gift from God and really you cannot pay for something that is a gift that’s an insult you give me a gift at Christmas time we’re GI we’re giving a lot of gifts right and I say well let let me let me reach in my pocket and give you 10 bucks for that gift well that’s an insult no the the best thing you can do when somebody gives you a gift is receive it with Grace right thank you amen and that’s what God is offering to us he’s offering to us the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ forgiveness of Sins Not based on anything you could ever have done based on everything Jesus has done see it’s that means salvation is free so apart from apart from the gift of God’s grace we have no hope the gift of God’s righteousness is applied by God’s grace and his grace is available to anyone who will enter into a relationship called faith in Christ see that’s what he does so God’s righteousness is available to you and I as a gift through true faith in Jesus Christ see that’s the Christmas message that is the message sometimes we get lost in Jesus being in the manger and a little baby and old Mary and all the Shepherds and all that stuff we can make that everything cloudy as to what the real message is I didn’t want to do that I wanted to say this is the message there’s a hard part of the message and there’s a good part of the message you got to get get the hard part before you get the good part you got to see yourself a sinner so the law was good but it could not make us righteous and if the law condemns everyone then everyone needs to be born again everyone needs to be born again we must all be born again or we will die in our sins and that’s what God doesn’t want us to do he doesn’t want us to die in our sins see either you die in Christ or you die in your sins anyone can be saved anyone can be saved if you’re saved today and you know it you’re anyone there’s nothing special about you there’s nothing you could have done before God to make you cute before God or likable before God the only thing that makes you accept cable to God is if you have Christ if you’re in Christ see so it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done the free gift of God’s righteousness is available for you if you will take it it has to be received if I offer you a gift and you leave it right there and walk out well then then you you didn’t receive the gift so God is offering to us a gift but have you received it and a lot of times what happens is that if you around the Christian Community around the church you have a lot of Christian lingo and just because there’s a lot of lingo going around you know some terms you heard some things you you know some passages of scripture it doesn’t mean a person’s a Believer it just means they know some things I’m asking you at this point have you applied it have you received it have you taken it to be your own and do you know right now that you’re in Christ so if you have never received Jesus as your savior you must you may provide excuses and resistance but in the final analysis faith in Jesus is the only way to enter into the presence of God there’s no other way so where I started off why is the biblical gospel offer the only offer that provides hope the gospel offers hope because let me just leave you with five things to ponder here’s the first thing because the Salvation offer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is without Deeds it’s without works Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone believes who believes and it said and it what that tells us is that the sinless Son of God Jesus Christ came to Earth as a man and kept every law completely 100% that no other man could so why he became our obedience he became our righteousness something we could have never accomplished on our own and that makes Christ the only perfect man and the only way to know God and to be brought into his presence and to have confidence of spending eternity with him forever here’s a second thing to ponder because salvation offered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is without difficulty and what I mean by that is that it says in scripture the word is near you it’s in your mouth it’s in your heart the word of faith which we preach it’s right there you have to receive it by faith you I’m not asking you God’s not asking you to do anything but believe it to turn from your sin what you are trusting in and turn to Christ Jesus I don’t know why that’s doing that well anyway a third thing to ponder is the Salvation offering the Gospel of Jesus Christ is without deception and what Ian what I mean by that is that God who brings us this gospel is one of such a nature that cannot lie and that’s one thing God cannot do he cannot lie it it actually says in Titus Chapter 1 it says Paul a bond servant of God and the Apostle Jesus Christ for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to Godliness and then he says this in the hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie promised long ages ago so God tells us the truth so that when he makes a promise it is one that will be kept it is one that will be kept so that when one hears the gospel and responds in confession of sin with repentance and Faith confession is evidence of belief so that you can know you are saved whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved that’s something to ponder number fourth the fourth thing to ponder is because salvation offer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is without disappointment or distinction iction without distinction it tells us in the word of God everyone who believes in him will not be disappointed another way of course to translate that is is is will not be put to shame before God and it’s for everyone it’s without distinction and then the last thing that we could Ponder is because salvation offerer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is without discrimination no raal or E ethnic group is excluded from the gospel as it says in scripture there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all abounding in riches for all who call on him so you have to believe you have to respond you have to call Upon Jesus Christ to save you you know when I heard the gospel in 1977 I was in RH to Spain and I thought I was a good religious kid but one thing I never did is I never called on Jesus to save me and to ask him to forgive me of my sins and when I did that day everything changed in my life I came alive spiritually I began to understand the word of God see you have to come don’t don’t just leave this message all in your head let it get to your heart if you believe in your heart that God raised them from the dead you’ll be saved see that’s the confidence that God gives us in the word of God all over scripture says come to me it says come to me and drink come to me and believe don’t just stand there come and be saved so what is it going to be this holiday season religion or salvation there are only two ways the way of man and the way of God man’s way is religion make it up do what you want think that you have the answers and oh that’s too private to talk about this is my My Religion this is how I worship there’s too many people like that no you can’t be there see God’s way is simply by Grace God’s way is one of sacrifice and the blood of the Lamb man’s way is by works God’s way is by faith so are you religious or are you saved are you in Christ or are you still outside of Christ still depending on your own righteousness with no real hope if you merely have religion and have never come to God by way of the blood of Christ you are still in your sins yet scripture says there’s none righteous no not one so ask yourself what is your Hope Of Heaven now you may say I live a good life and I do the best I can but that can’t save you and that can’t make you right with the holy God all you need to do right now if you have never done it before is admit that you are lost in your sin and that you need a savior you know why because Jesus came to save his people from their sin it seems like this sin thing is the big problem but jesus takes care of that problem so here’s the good news in a nutshell God sent his son Jesus into the world in the power of the Holy Spirit in order to live a perfect life to die a substitutionary death to rise Victorious from the grave the gospel is offered to everyone that means you so that all who believe the message are saved from their sins and I give and praise God for that message so I pray that this holiday season that you will have gospel hope because you have heard the truth truth of God’s word on how to be right with God and you took the gift the gift of eternal life offered to you only by faith in Jesus Christ the Savior see that’s the message of this holiday and I pray that if you hear it and you know it live it and go tell somebody else about it amen let’s pray Lord tonight we thank you thank you Lord that you didn’t leave us alone that you answered our deepest needs and you took care of things that we could have never taken care of thank you Lord Jesus that you came into this world you became a man took on human flesh you were the God man and showed us who the father was by by The Authority you had over creation over disease over death over demons and thank you Lord Jesus that you went all the way to suffering in our place and then being nailed to an all cruel cross so you can be the Lamb of God the perfect Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world and that right there on the cross the Wrath of God your father was poured out on you in our place so we can be saved thank you Lord Jesus that you not only finished that sacrifice once and for all but you Rose from the grave to defeat Satan and death and that you have the authority to give eternal life to all who come and believe in you and then Lord you ascended into heaven and are even now praying for your church you’re praying for your bride to keep us and you’re preparing a place for us that where you are we may be so I pray Lord that we would have the confidence in gospel hope today and that Lord as we trust Christ that we would know we have eternal life and I thank you for this