Did you lock the door the last time you left the house? Are you sure? Maybe you should go check. Are the water faucets all turned off? Are you sure? Maybe you should go check. Are the doors locked? Are you sure? Maybe you should go check. Is the garage door closed? Are you sure? Did you turn the oven off, the stove? Are you sure? Curling iron? Sure? Really sure? I’m sure everything’s fine. I’m sure, but are you?
Let’s imagine a far more important scenario. Imagine that you die and arrive at the entrance to heaven. You are greeted warmly, "Welcome home, child of God! You've run the race, you've relied on Christ and his blood, you are saved by grace alone/faith alone/Scripture alone! Come on in!"
As you walk through heaven’s gate, someone holding a file filled with paperwork stops you. "Sorry, your salvation has been put on hold. There’s some question as to whether or not Jesus' blood actually paid for all your sins.
“There were some things you did back in your teens and 20's that are being re-evaluated. There is grace and lots of it, but you really pushed God’s grace to the limit. Remember the time you ________________ (fill in the blank from your own experience) and how you kept on doing/thinking/saying that? You were a living, breathing example of perhaps the most disgusting and descriptive proverb in the book of Proverbs: ‘As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.’ (Proverbs 26:11)
“Also at issue is the validity of Jesus' onetime sacrifice on the cross. Does the blood of Christ really save? Does it cover the debt of all sin? In your case, we’re not sure. Just sit tight while we re-evaluate your status.”
Whoa. Are you saved? Are you sure? Can you be sure? How? Shall we follow the world’s advice?
Place these statements at the top of a list of “things Jesus didn’t say.” Follow them, follow your heart, and experience fully the truth of Jeremiah’s statement: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
Are you sure you’re saved? Can you be sure? Let there be no doubt:
“By this will, we have been sanctified once and for all, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ. In the one case, every priest stood ministering day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which are never able to remove sin. In the other case, this priest (Jesus Christ!), after he offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. Now where these sins are forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. (Hebrews 10:10-12,18 EHV)
You’re forgiven. You can be sure. It’s Christ’s work, not yours. Believe it. Rejoice in it. Share it.
Confident in Christ,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand
Let’s imagine a far more important scenario. Imagine that you die and arrive at the entrance to heaven. You are greeted warmly, "Welcome home, child of God! You've run the race, you've relied on Christ and his blood, you are saved by grace alone/faith alone/Scripture alone! Come on in!"
As you walk through heaven’s gate, someone holding a file filled with paperwork stops you. "Sorry, your salvation has been put on hold. There’s some question as to whether or not Jesus' blood actually paid for all your sins.
“There were some things you did back in your teens and 20's that are being re-evaluated. There is grace and lots of it, but you really pushed God’s grace to the limit. Remember the time you ________________ (fill in the blank from your own experience) and how you kept on doing/thinking/saying that? You were a living, breathing example of perhaps the most disgusting and descriptive proverb in the book of Proverbs: ‘As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.’ (Proverbs 26:11)
“Also at issue is the validity of Jesus' onetime sacrifice on the cross. Does the blood of Christ really save? Does it cover the debt of all sin? In your case, we’re not sure. Just sit tight while we re-evaluate your status.”
Whoa. Are you saved? Are you sure? Can you be sure? How? Shall we follow the world’s advice?
- Follow your heart.
- Be true to yourself.
- Believe in yourself.
- Pursue what makes you happy.
- Live your truth.
Place these statements at the top of a list of “things Jesus didn’t say.” Follow them, follow your heart, and experience fully the truth of Jeremiah’s statement: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
Are you sure you’re saved? Can you be sure? Let there be no doubt:
“By this will, we have been sanctified once and for all, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ. In the one case, every priest stood ministering day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which are never able to remove sin. In the other case, this priest (Jesus Christ!), after he offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. Now where these sins are forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. (Hebrews 10:10-12,18 EHV)
You’re forgiven. You can be sure. It’s Christ’s work, not yours. Believe it. Rejoice in it. Share it.
Confident in Christ,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand
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