THE GOSPEL IS OUR ONLY HOPE

(THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH)

READ

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

-Ephesians 2:4-7

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person

is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

-Galatians 2:15-16

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

-Romans 5:1

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

-1 John 2:4-6

THINK

So we’ve seen our condition before God (dead in our sin), and then we’ve seen God’s saving plan (Jesus death & resurrection), now we want to see how we move from death in sin to life in Christ. According to both Galatians 15-16, and Romans 5:1 how do we stand right before God?

As we mentioned early on in our study, too often we stop at what we believe is the point of salvation then we may miss Jesus altogether. 1 John 2:4-6 tells us that what must be present to say that we “know” God?

Why is doing what Jesus tells us to do an important part of faith?

Jesus’s actions on the cross and through the resurrection opens the door to us to move from death to life and if we will place our faith in Christ, repent from our sins, and walk in His ways we will be transformed, both in our eternal destination and on this earth.

So then the whole answer of how we enter from death to life is?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Pray that your faith will grow in such a way that you will walk in the ways of Jesus.

Pray that as we desire God we come to better understanding of the gospel and its role in your life.

DO

Take a minute and write out the gospel in a way that helps you clearly understand it.

Download the guide here

embedded by Embedded Video

THE GOSPEL IS OUR ONLY HOPE

(THE JESUS FACTOR)

READ

“7 Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle—all from the king's own possessions.

8 His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God's temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle.9 Also Konaniah along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.

10 The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions as the king had ordered.11 The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals.12 They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle.13 They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people.14 After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.”

-2 Chronicles 35:7-14

“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”

-1 Peter 2:22

“9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

-Romans 5:9

“9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

-Colossians 2:9-15

THINK

We know that the point of the Passover was to celebrate the saving goodness of God, particularly in the way he led them out of Eygpt, we see through our other verses that Jesus is now responsible for our salvation. What does Romans 5:9 tell us about how Jesus saves us?

1 Peter 2:22 shows us that, all the while He was on the earth, Jesus was without sin. That He lived a human life just like ours and yet displayed the righteousness of God. What does that mean to you? The fact that Jesus came to demonstrate what a holy life looks like should hopefully encourage us.

Without the resurrection we’re all just wasting our time. Why or why not is this a true statement? Colossians 2:12-15 talks to us about the importance of us being raised from  the dead. According to yesterday what are we dead in? And then if we are dead in our sin, then we, through Jesus are made alive by the power of His resurrection.

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Praise God that He loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you.

Pray that today you would not take for granted what Jesus did for you and will allow that memory to lift Jesus up among those you come in contact with.

DO

Contact the last person who’s name is on your list. Just let them know that you are praying for them. Then do it.

 Download the guide here

embedded by Embedded Video

THE GOSPEL IS OUR ONLY HOPE

(THE SIN PROBLEM)

READ

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

-Romans 6:16-20

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”

-John 8:34

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

-2 Corinthians 4:4

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

-Ephesians 4:18

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned …

-Romans 5:12

THINK

In the first three chapters of the Bible we watch God create a perfect world where humans and God walk together in sweet fellowship and then in an instance humans disobey God and bring sin and death into the world. Our passages today help us better see why, as a result of this, it is huge in our understanding that the Gospel is our only hope.

The Bible tells us clearly in both Romans 6:16-20 and, from Jesus Himself, in John 8 that we are slaves in sin. What comes to mind when you hear the word slavery? Could slaves just choose freedom? Could they just will their way out of slavery? Seeing the comparison what does that tell us about our condition concerning sin?

Likewise it gets worse and we read on to see that we aren’t only slaves to our sin but in fact we are dead. (Romans 5:12)

 What can dead men do about their condition? Fortunately God has not left us without a way out of death, think about in your life if you were physically dying, and someone you knew possessed the knowledge to restore you into life. Even better life than you experienced before you nearly died. How desperate would you be for that life? In the same way shouldn’t our knowledge of being born into slavery and death change how we reach out to this generation around us? Why is this most important?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Acknowledge your sin before the Lord today.

Confess your failures to God and dwell on the fact that alone we are helpless

DO

Take your list from a few days ago and contact another member in the same way you did the first name. Just let them know that you are praying for them. Then do it.

 Download the guide here