We Believe that Salvation is by Faith Alone

Hope everyone's doing well this evening we are going to be talking about the gospel tonight on so most of you already know this verse but if you have your Bibles you open your Bible to John 316 and I will be honest with you home just as I take a look at John. Just as I took a look at John 316 over the weekend I started wrestling when this grab a hold of my heart and I don't think I fully grasp. John 316 but we can wrestle with huge theological issues. We can dabble in the depths of the holy Scriptures, but I don't think we fathom God's love for us. I don't think we've grasp it in as I've grown older, I know when my teenage years I really struggled with what is the love of God look like and being a committed follower of Christ, and I was a good good boy. I went to church every Sunday morning I went to church every Sunday night was a church every Wednesday night, heavily involved in the youth group, but I didn't understand the love of God. I did everything right on the outside. I look perfect, but inside there was a love for God inside of me is when you start getting glimpses of what this love of God, looks like and begins to radically change just how you view life like and just as a grown 30-year-old man. I'm starting to understand it more.

Today is my one year anniversary with my wife. I just had a I don't need a coffer that I just had a son five weeks ago is of God showing me what love looks like in a different way than I've ever experienced in how he views me and how he views the church and how he views the city and how he views all of us in this world so it's radically changing me. When I look at my son and I just stinger out of my goodness gracious guy wanted to give me this baby to take care of it overwhelms me, but my I would do anything for this child anything.

So when you look at John 316. Let's wrestle with this just for a moment the this look in the depths of it for God so loved the world he loved the world you guys watch the news you watch, which transpiring all around our country all around the world have you seen video footage of what's Taking Pl. in Syria. He loves us. He loves the world, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. You don't understand the bad news you can't grasp the good news, so I have to before we go to the gospel go back to Genesis chapter 3. So if you turn your Bibles to Genesis chapter 3, I would greatly appreciate it. God creates the earth and it's very good. He creates almost a little heaven. Inside the garden where he dwelled without needing walked with him. He had communion with them. There was fellowship. Everything was perfect. Adam and Eve didn't know anything that we know today regarding evil they only knew it was good. Then you goodness of the Almighty created her father. They had perfect communion with him, something our hearts along for desperately long for new common to Genesis chapter 3 Something Takes Pl. just shakes the foundation of the earth that takes the foundation of the world transformed everything that very moment points us to everything that's wrong. So Genesis 31. The serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field, the Lord God had made. Yahweh had made.

He said to the woman under this did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden. The first thing Satan attacks is God's goodness is the God really say to you, Eve. You can't eat of any of the trees.

Any withholding from you, how dairy. What kind of God is that in the woman at this point has a chance to defend the character of God and the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the tree in the garden we may eat of the fifth of the fruits of the tree in the garden. But God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die, she forgets she points to a location but she forgets the significance of the tree has so we can even touch it. So instead of defending God's character, she falls into a trap and Satan Bates are she begins the downward spiral. Open your heart up to the temptations of the evil one, for God knows that when you eat out of the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die if you eat of this he downplays the consequences will God really kill you if you eat of the street kind of God would kill you for breaking a simple command for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and will be like God, knowing good and evil.

So when the woman saw the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to her. I and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of it in a that moment very moment right there. She looked at the tree. She said God is holding back for me. I deserve this. I'm over this. She let Satan. Satan never tells her to eat.

He just lures her and temps are she decided that she wanted to rebel against the Almighty God. And that's what we've been doing from the beginning of time and look what takes place.

Their eyes were opened in verse seven. They were new they were naked.

They knew something had gone horribly wrong so they so fig leaves together and make themselves loincloth to begin to hide it begin to feel shame and guilt and the sound of the Lord God walking the garden in the cool of the day which the usually will look for to make your heart tremble in the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

From this moment been running from God been hiding from severe calorie church.

We believe all of us are sinners. Here's the statement we believe that all who received by faith alone Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You confess him as such before their fellow man are born again of the Holy Spirit and therefore therefore become children of God. We wrestle with you for a moment. Just bear with me.

I'm going to walk you through the significance of the gospel. Give your Bibles turn Colossians 115 through 18 so we send we fractured the world. Sin entered the world and devastated each one of us at some now as we go about life we understand there something horribly wrong.

We can see it, we can feel it.

We can since it is all around us. It's in our homes and our communities. It happens in the midst of earthquake tsunami hurricanes is all around us.

So God address this rebellion. We Jesus Christ in Colossians 1.

I want you to understand who Jesus Christ is. So you understand the significance of what he did on the cross and Colossians 115 it says this he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him for him to run past that everything was created for Jesus, everything your sons or daughters your homes or cars. The trees outside. Everything was created for Jesus, everything is held together by Jesus. He is preeminent. He is what it's all about and we from the beginning of time have been pursuing things that do not matter, and when I take a look at this verse. He is the image of the invisible God, so God in the form of Jesus Christ came to earth, the King of all Kings. He left his heavenly domain and in minimal terms and be like a king like the Queen of England. Moving from her castle into the ghetto dwelling with the people living all authority or power or wealth and coming for the sake of love and he is before all things and in him all things are held together and I want you to understand verse 17. I want you to put that in your brain. Everything is held together by Jesus Christ, and he is the head of the church, the body of the church to have Jesus Christ supreme God of the universe comes down to earth, born in a manger in a bar, I would not have my son born in the barn ever goes through life comes the end of his life. As John Monroe spoke about so eloquently long on Easter Sunday. He was abandoned by everyone. Jesus stands in the six trials free legal people spat on him, beat him the crown of forms on his head whipped him and ripped his flesh off his back, put a robe, a purple robe on him and left him the split that she allowed to mustard was spat in his face. The nails that he created nailed into across the tree that he created hung his body to die and he did that for the sake of obedience to the father and love for you. So when we read the passage for God so loved the world he loved like we don't understand the love that we can't comprehend and we tried to wrestle with this.

Often we try to do good works.

We tried to give back to this Almighty God, but we have nothing to give him like when you read acts 1724 through 26 and it says this the God who made the world and everything in it being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needs anything since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything Abraham Cooper said this, there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ to resolve an overall does not cry mine.

Everything is his still willingly died for you why I don't know, and it blows my mind and you look over to Romans 1135 or who gives a gift to him that he might be repaid seek we have nothing to bargain with God. I cannot go to God. Once I die and stand before him and say I did this I did this I did this and I did this so let me into your presence.

He will look at me and said I sent my son, my only begotten son, whom I love and you rejected him. The here's the beauty of the gospel Matt Chandler uses an illustration, change it a little bit but I want you to picture yourself is this Rose and what happens in life we begin to do our own thing and see what I find out a lot about American Christianity as we don't think we're that bad. We don't think we need save some of you have been sitting in the SKU for 20 or 30 or 50 years and you justify your actions because you compare yourself to your neighbor or your wife or your coworkers and you fail to realize your depravity.

And so overall this Rose and I lost takes a piece of me. I covet I lie. I gossip and you can go on and on with sins. I steal I hate I don't forgive. I hold grudges.

I'm not thankful for God's given me and I become bitter I have idols in my life. I run around chasing my children soccer games and I neglect church and community. I made my children, idols, and we can go sin after sin and eventually or this broken Rose so I took this Rose my anniversary and I said… Happy anniversary which you take it made but there be a lot of questions I need to answer. So, in a sermon illustration. Who wants this Rose Jesus does he want your brokenness.

Once all of your brokenness to Romans five turn their you be so kind, verse six for while we were still weak. Still not a strong man.

I'm not strong I can put on the front. But when I lay in bed at night and I wrestle with who I am in the grievous things I've done in life. I have a hard time forgiving myself and I know what I'm capable of.

I'm not a strongman of awakening I fears. I have insecurities that sins that haunt me as soon as I wrestle with that Satan attacks me on a consistent basis and at the right time so I'm week. I need something to pull me out of this weakness and at the right time Christ died for the ungodly died for me.

He died for you if you know yourself here ungodly you been married for any point of time you know your ungodliness for one will scarcely die for a righteous person right. There's few people in life you will say that you will die for. You can probably count them on one hand, and some of you say I wouldn't die for anyone, though perhaps for a good person who would dare even die. But God shows his love for us, God the Almighty God created heaven and earth. Who needs nothing from us who we cannot bargain with does not need our offerings or does not leave need our life needs nothing from us, but God showed his love. You see this thing for us in that while we were still sinners.

He didn't die for a future version of you. He died for the sinful.

You will let you know why you try to hide the one that you try to math but no one sees God for that version of Khalil Adib are you cats love because it my entire life. I try to hide my ugliness so that people will accept me so that people will love me and many of us go to the gospel like that we go to God like that. I'm going to show you why you should love me and he goes, why don't you show me I just want you to love me.

And Christ died for us.

Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God to the gospel was simple, but it's difficult. Turn with me. So what do I do with this Khalil turn with Mr. John 112 through 13, but to all who did receive him who believe in his name you receive. You believe he gave the rights to become children of God, you are saved into a family.

See our culture. What we do is we pray a prayer I'm good with God made him a good. I prayed to God did something radically in the Gospels. Jesus Christ did something radical in the gospel, she created a family unit called the church or family are all children of God.

So when I believe when I put my trust in Jesus Christ. I become his child.

I become an heir to the inheritance of heaven where we were once again it's a like we been in church for a while so wait one second I'm a broken Rose not only do you send your son to die ruthlessly on a cross that only do you abandon your son.

You make me your child, you insulted me you just give me away. You bring me into your family that's that's the difference then just giving somebody a dollar and say hey I hope you're good no.

This is radically different. This is true authentic, beautiful love to Romans 10 nine through 10 says this because if you confess with your mouth.

If I proclaim with my mouth that Jesus is Lord.

That is Lord beside skip over that term. Lord, that he is Lord high.

Confess with my mouth that I said God on yours, my passions, my love, chores, uses illustration, often with my college and young adults. So I love illustration and revelation were talked about Jesus stands at the door knocks when you have a guess that your home, maybe a telemarketer comes or somebody comes and starts knocking on the door trying to sell something. Look to the people and you act like you're not home. Some of you have done that with Jesus been knocking for a while on your heart you look through the peephole. When you see him keep the door closed.

Some of you have open part of your home, you let them in your living room, but he doesn't dwell there. See the beautiful thing with children when they come into your life. They completely take over. I've learned that the hard way right they completely take over everything becomes.

There's still waiting Jesus, you led him into your life.

There's no spare bedroom that you don't let him go into is not a storage room. He said you can have anything but stay out of that room know you led him to you, let him be Lord of everything you let him dwell let him change what he chooses. The change you submit, you will obey love and you do it willingly, you do it with joy. So only take a look. If I confess with my mouth God your Lord for Lord of my life and believe in your heart like I truly am our interchanges. I believe with my heart with my being with everything that I am God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses say if I say in my heart. God on the center, really bad center, broken Rose, how you know why you want me to why you would send your son to dine across for me. I can't stand before this holy God who have nothing to offer have rebelled against you committed idolatry have nothing to offer but I believe that your son son of God, the sustainer of everything, died on the cross and rose again on the third day, to save me. It will radically change radically fuses 289 for by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not your own doing. There should be no pride in the church.

None should never look down upon anybody. We should not snub our nose to the unbelieving world should be. Not an ounce of pride in any of us should not be a judgmental spirit amongst any of us because we did not save ourselves. Jesus Christ did the work we understand that church. He did the work on the cross for each one of us for the sake of love and this is not around doing it is a gift of God's simple gift that you receive.

Not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Jesus Christ takes all the boasting away from us.

See, when I was a kid I thought if I didn't do my devotions if I didn't pray if I didn't go to church. I didn't do all these things.

God didn't love me. We have churches all around America who either preach the prosperity gospel that God loves you if he does this. If you have this we have churches all around America who don't preach social gospel we have churches all around America who preach legalism church. We did nothing to deserve the love of God, I love Romans 816 the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, you know without a shadow of a doubt your child of God, you, since it when you read this you believe it or you claim the day God so loved the world that he gave his son can imagine taking my son and sacrificing for anyone.

I did the changes us the most beautiful story has ever been written should radically change how we act, how we treat people how we pray, how we view life and the meaning of life. God doesn't want you to perish.

The supreme God of the universe, who holds all things together was tortured and died because he loves you. Do you receive that gift. I don't care if you been sitting here for 50 years and everybody around you thinks you're a believer.

Don't leave here tonight without taking this beautiful gift and make Jesus Christ Lord of your life. Let's pray