Monday, February 3, 2014

Shaking Salt & Shining Light (Part 4)


Some of the greatest words ever put to music come from the pen of Robert Lowry and were published in 1876. You may have sung them before when you sang the song Nothing But the Blood. The song, based on Hebrews  9:22, that “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin,” goes like this:
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh! Precious is the flow That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus
For my pardon, this I see, Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Nothing can for sin atone, Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace, Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
This is all my righteousness, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Now by this I’ll overcome Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 
     These words so eloquently remind us of exactly what the good news of Jesus Christ is—that He died on the cross and took our sin punishment upon Himself, and now we can have hope, peace, righteousness, and eternal life through trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone. This is without a doubt the greatest exchange of all time—Jesus got our punishment and we get His righteousness.
     As I continue Shaking Salt & Shining Light: A Series on Personal Evangelism, I want to take a closer and clearer look at the gospel. As salt and light, Jesus has commissioned us as His followers to have influence in the world. The biggest part of our influence on the world comes when we proclaim the gospel and invite people to respond to it. But what exactly do we need to proclaim? What is the gospel precisely? I will answer these as we look at a few passages of Scripture together, along with explaining what the non-Christian needs to know to be saved. John 3:36 tells us that there are only two kinds of people in the world—those who believe in Jesus and those who do not, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever believes not in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” That’s it! You either believe in Jesus or you don’t. If you do, you have eternal life; if you don’t, you do not have eternal life—you have God’s wrath on you still. What must be explained to a non-believer so they can go from not believing in Jesus to believing in Him and thereby receive eternal life? The answer to this provides for us the most basic, yet powerful message of the gospel. We must be clear on this message and we must share it with the world!
      -Pastor Matt




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