Lie #2: Jesus Is One Among Many Part 2

Doings raising his voice looking to Jesus phone number of drives and ran away on a one-way street and soon you will face the glare of oncoming headlights.

Not only do we need the right road. We need to be going the right way when it comes to salvation. Nothing is more important than being certain God will accept you stay with us from the movie church in Chicago this is going to win with Dr. Sir, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line dilutes or help our listeners focus on the real Jesus and not the numerous big ones out there that you're absolutely right. There are many think Jesus is out there. People come to the Scriptures, they want to make up a Jesus that they like so they'll think of Jesus as being love as if he's the kind of Jesus who would never judge anyone or that Jesus is a mere man a wonderful man, but only a man it's always been an interest of mine to be able to help people to defend the faith. That's why I've written the book entitled slandering Jesus six lies. People tell about the man who said he was God and the reason for this book is to help you to understand our culture to help you to be able to witness to people who believe that Jesus is just one way among many. If you're interested in receiving this book as a resource for a gift of any amount.

It can be yours. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for slandering Jesus and now we go to the pulpit of Moody church were we defend the fact that Jesus is not just one way among many others. Now day dad than a bike you sons of Aaron each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it, and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them in the night before the gods is your dad. We rated in two moderns.

I mean this is such an overreaction. I was God thinking. I mean after all, these are the sons of Aaron, the high priest there just seminary students. I mean they were there doing an experiment.

They said you know that altar of incense. There, let's go ahead. God says that he wants to lighted and then there are prescriptions as to how the priest is going to do it. Who cares. We got her own matches. We got her own light going there and do it. Got your dad. No second trial.

No leeway, no warning on since your day, Aaron is worked up about it and if you read the next part of the text. God says through Moses to Erin, you had better accept this because if not your next that's basically what the text says, and they had to go in and they retrieve their bodies and they brought them out in the world is God thinking I mean is this the God of American spirituality re-come bouncing into his presence, no matter who you are, no matter how much sin you've committed and you don't look after the right way and what's going on here in the text.

God says this he says in verse three. Among those who are near me. I will be sanctified that is made holy and before all the people I will be glorified. You say where's the glory in this, saying, when you come into my presence, you had better come in the way in which I have prescribed only I know what I will accept as proper. You had better find out what that requirement is the reason that we believe that there are many ways to God.

Did you know that the reason is because we have lost our capacity to despise our sin. If we saw our sin, then we know hey we better come to God in the right way. So here you have been a dad and a bike you I love the words of David McCullough. He says one may appear before the God's plural with a sense of confidence with no sense of being threatened, they will stay put. They don't stray from the path assigned to them by human egos, desperately trying to maintain control. But the God revealed in Jesus Christ is holy and a holy God cannot be contained or teamed God says I want to be seen is holy I want to be seen as glorified you come to me you come in the way prescribed. We can't relate can wait on five or six occasions I've stood where Martin Luther stood when he performed his first mass, and because it was believed in still is in some circles that God comes there and does a miracle. Luther was stupefied. You can go today to Erfurt and stand behind the table as I done many times and usually I get it to remember to read what Luther said. Behind that table is set at these words. I was utterly stupefied and terror stricken. I thought to myself with what time shall I address such majesty. Seeing that all men ought to tremble in the presence of an earthly prince, much less this Prince who am I that I should lift my eyes or raise my hands to the divine majesty angels surround them at is not the earth trembles and shall I miserable pig may say I want this and ask for that I am dust and ashes and full of sin and I'm speaking to the living and the eternal and the true God. He expected to be smitten down three things like that, we say that's medieval that's good theology. Thinking about who God is. That's what that is but we lost it. Heavenly another passage that you need to turn to.

Now the 10th chapter of the book of Hebrews, you say well nay Devon a by you were smitten down when they came into the holy place the fire that they brought in as the fire with which they were consumed. What about us. Can we enter the holy place, and by the way, if you're asking the question of why God doesn't smite people like that today.

That's a separate question. It's not that he's changed his mind. I've written about that.

It's not that he's changed his mind. It's just that under grace the penalties and the consequences are deferred.

But God is not changed his mind, but can can can we come, well look at what the text says and I'm beginning here in chapter 10 verse 19 therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus while we can enter the holy place we can go where nay dab and advise you were smitten down if we go the right way, namely confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus see this is based on the teaching which begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation that God cannot be approached without a sacrifice and God says that if you want to approach me in the Old Testament God allowed them to based on the coming of Jesus. He knew Jesus would come, but if you want to approach me. You have to understand that there has to be a sacrifice for your sin that I accept and because God is infinite, there's a sense in which every sin is infinite.

Therefore, every sin, being infinite needs an infinite penalty so that we might be forgiven and the only person qualified to be able to get that infinite penalty that the father would accept is the son what God says is that I demand a holy complete sacrifice for sin. But if sinners are going to have it I have to supply what I demand God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and no human being can bear that penalty only the God man could member a cab. Some of us were in here in the city dropped us off here at the Moody church were telling him about Jesus being a Savior in this Muslim said I have to pay for my sin is that I'm not supposed to get drunk, but I drink, I'm not supposed to sleep with women but I do. So he says I'm going to hell and after I have suffered for my sins and paid for them all. I'll go to heaven. First of all, I should let is wrong I should let is run.

Even if you could pay for your sin.

Even if you were paying for your sin, it would be an infinite penalty because all sin is infinite against a holy God, I'm so glad that we don't have to pay for sin.

But you see this is why Jesus is the only Savior it's because he was God. God is supplying what God demands. That's why the text doesn't read. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter into the holy place by the blood of and then you can put in whether it's Christian Oregon day or several asters or in later years, Mohammed, no, no, no, no, they don't qualify to bring us into the presence of God is not the way that God is prescribed. God says it has to be my son is the only one who can bring a sin and by the way isn't that a privilege that today we can be brought into the holy place where in the Old Testament, the priest could, only on one day a year and then according to Josephus, they kept the rope on his leg so that if he did something wrong. Behind the curtain and was struck down, they could pull them out without going in and now we can enter with confidence. Some translation same boldness met wonderful if we come by the prescribed way the blood of Jesus that we continue to read by the new and living way really means freshly slaughtered way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is his flesh. He saying that that curtain in the Old Testament that kept the worshipers from the holy of holies actually represented the body of Jesus because Jesus himself was like a curtain to keep us from God, at least from seeing the glory of God veiled in flesh the Godhead see and so just as when Jesus died. Go the curtain was split into member that so God says now the way to the holy place is made available through his sacrifice. Now in the Old Testament, priests offered sacrifices. Interestingly, here in the text. Jesus is both the sacrifice and the priest. Notice it says we have a great high priest. This is verse 21 we have a great high priest over the house of God. Now if you had an argument with them a friend. You might bring a mediator to kind of mediate the dispute. But if you had an argument with the president of the United States, you wouldn't bring your friend along as a mediator wouldn't say now look W you and I had a disagreement here, and I brought my friend along and and he's going to be a mediator between us. The president has to supply his own mediator.

God says in order to come into my presence. You need a sacrifice. You also need a priest and Jesus is both the sacrifice and the priest and the only reason that he qualifies is because he's the one that I supplied, namely he himself is God and here's where the Trinity comes in and again God is supplying what God is demanding which is the good news of the gospel that God got so gracious to us. How right you say pastor Luther come on now come on, you made a promise that you're going to answer Oprah Winfrey's question.

Her question was does God care about your heart, or does God care whether you call his son Jesus. That's the question. Well, we continue to read the text will notice it says in verse 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. Now this is Old Testament imagery in the Old Testament, the priests, they sprinkled various things with water. They wash themselves with water so is using the imagery the differences now this is an actual thing that happens, namely our consciences and our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. The outer is washed and the inner is washed and that's because we've come boldly unto the throne of grace to receive mercy and time of need and we have a high priest who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities who stands in for us and because of that we come directly into God's presence and and it is there that we are cleansed and our hearts are purged. One day a woman called me on the phone and she said you know I just listen to a certain preacher on the radio is good preacher, but she said he gave the impression that if I ever failed in the Christian life. I go to hell because it showed. I wasn't really saved my don't know whether or not the preacher was saying that exactly.

But there are preachers who say things like that so she's crying. She's in a nursing home and she said that a number of women sat around listening to the radio and that's what they heard and now she's calling me and she's weeping sale pastor Luther I received Christ as Savior.

At the age of 19.

I let my children to the Lord, but all God knows I failed them so much. Could it be that I'm not saved. So I said to her.

I said tell me what is it that you are trusting and she said I'm trusting the blood of Christ.

She said I cannot take steel wool to my heart and scrub it is not beautiful.

You can't take steel wool to your heart and scrub it and I said, my dear lady friend. The blood of Christ is enough.

The blood of Christ is enough.

I prayed with her on the telephone and she said as soon as I hung up. I'm going to tell all the other women were listening that the blood of Christ is in praise God. What about Oprah's question. Let's not lose sight of it. Does God want our heart or does he want us all that he wants is to declare that Jesus is his son. Of course God wants our hearts, but we cannot have a cleansed and true heart until we've come to God by Jesus Christ the prescribed way you say all but there are people who belong to other religions were kind to her generous sewer, dependable, and the answer is yes, thanks to common grace is found everywhere, even in those who don't believe in Jesus, but what a person like that does not have is a heart that is been cleansed by God. That's the difference that's the difference how often this is been a blessing to my own heart. It says in the book of Hebrews chapter 9. For if the blood of bulls and of goats in the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. How often I've come to God with a polluted conscience and I've confessed my sin, and if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every single unrighteousness and I have left the presence of God with the guilt gone with the sin taken away, purged, set aside so that I can be in fellowship with God again can only have that through Jesus. There is nobody else out there that qualifies I'm sorry because yesterday God he has to be perfect sinless yes to be a sacrifice, God accepts the mediator got excepts and there is nobody else out there a few things. In conclusion, first self salvation doesn't work for sinners is you know that self salvation just doesn't work for sinners when we're out in the farm we had this cistern and it was kind of broken and so forth and it was so full of mud and the water was always dirty with eventually close the thing up. What we do, said hey you know the waters dirty in this cistern. What we need to do is to find a bucket and scoop down and bring that water up so that we can all see it, because if we can all see it, it's going to be pure that's what's happening in our therapeutic culture. Today people safe. I can go on TV and confess that I've done this this this let the whole world know how wretched evil. I've been I'm going to feel a lot better than maybe they will, but their hearts will not be cleansed by God. You don't have your heart, cleanse myself salvation and secondly as I've already emphasized. Only Christ is qualified to save salvation is of the Lord because God does the saving and God does the providing of the mediator and I say to those of you are listening today. I hope that those of you have never trusted Christ as Savior. I hope that you have a good sense of sin and fact, I sometimes pray that some of you will not be able to sleep at night because once you begin to understand the holiness of God, you will know your sin and then you will understand I can't come into God on my own unless I come the prescribed way through Jesus to the holy place and we can't save ourselves all that we can do is take advantage of the wonderful offer of cleansing and forgiveness earlier on we are telling about the homosexual community homosexual said to a friend of mine recently. Well, you think I'm going to go to hell just because I'm gay. It's a total misunderstanding of the gospel. Nobody goes to hell per se because they're gay or because there this or that men were all sinners. The other question is how can I be received, accepted, welcomed by God to come the way that the rest of us, through Christ through his forgiveness and have your heart, cleanse from an evil conscience. Augustine's top lady had it so right when he says, could my tears for ever flow could my zeal, no rest spike nope all for sin could not. Her tone thou must say, and that all alone there's nobody else out there like Jesus. Let's pray our father we ask in the name of Jesus and you'll help us to understand this, and may many who have listened to this message, who never trusted him as Savior. See now that if they come through Christ. They can be welcomed and forgiven and cleansed and brought into the most holy place. We pray father for a culture which is so confused at this point and ask in Jesus name that you will help people to understand that Christ is the way no man can come to the father except by him. Thank you father for your love and grace and for your death and resurrection that redeemed us in Jesus name Amen my friend you realize the uniqueness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is nobody out there like Jesus.

Today we have people who save alignment to spirituality, but not necessarily into religion or we see that there are people who come to the conclusion that I believe in love so doesn't matter whether or not I believe the Nicene Creed. What we need is clarity as to who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Would you like to receive this sermon series so that you can listen to it again and again shared with your friends.

The title of the series is slandering Jesus. It's about lies that our culture believes about the man who claims to be God.

If you're interested in. Thanks in advance for your generosity as you connect with us here is what you do you go to RTW offer.com's RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 ask for the series slandering Jesus and you'll be encouraged to defend the faith once delivered to the saints, 1-888-218-9337 you can write to is running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. Some say the disciples of Jesus invented all sorts of stories to turn a simple teacher into the Messiah. In other words, Jesus of history was given the role of Christ by his followers. Next time I'm running to win more on slandering Jesus will look at 1/3 major live being propagated by those who reject the real Jesus live. Jesus became the Christ. Thanks for listening. This is Dave Alister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church