J O H N  4 v 1 - 45

Jesus was travelling to Galilee and was taking the shortest route, which meant passing through Samaria. This way was usually not taken by Jews, as Jews and Samaritans were not fond of each other, meaning the Jews faced defilement if attacked.

Jesus and His Apostles stopped in the village of Sychar to rest as He was tired, which revealed the human side of Him. Some people in John's day were denying that Jesus was truly human. He only "seemed" to be human, they said. Others were denying that Jesus was "divine". John makes it clear that Jesus was truly man and divine- God come in the flesh. He grew tired; he wept; and he was thirsty, as we are.

The Apostles left Jesus to go and find food, so He sat near a well which Jacob had given to His son, known as Jacob’s well. Women would go in the morning and evening to draw water, but one immoral woman went at noon when it was really hot. She did so to avoid meeting other women. Jesus took the initiative and spoke to her, and asked her to get Him a drink of water. He ignored culture and tradition.

The woman was astonished at her, a Samaritan woman, at being asked by a Jew. Jesus told her if she knew who He was, He would have given her living water. The woman was puzzled as Jesus had no means of drawing or being given water. She would have had in mind living water as being spring fresh water, whereas Jesus was meaning the gift of the Holy Spirit, which would give eternal life.
The conversation went on to talk of her husband, and her stating that she had no husband. She was startled when Jesus pointed out the man she was living was not her husband, and she had had five husbands before. She was obviously worried about the sinful state Jesus reminded her of.

Jesus was indicating that people living together, was not marriage. A marriage requires some form of official sanction and public ceremony, in which man and woman commit to the obligation of marriage  .Sexual relationships outside marriage were then considered wrong.

The mountain where they were was Mount Gerizim, a sacred place where Samaritans had built a Temple, but Jesus was saying neither there nor Jerusalem, which Samaritans despised, be necessary for worship as people could worship wherever they were.

But Jesus also stated the fact that the Jewish nation had a special place in God’s plan and salvation, which was from Jews, for all of the Old Testament was from Jewish people, and Jesus Himself came from Jews.

The woman decided Jesus was a prophet, but referred to her people worshipping on the mountain, and not as Jews in Jerusalem. Jesus told her salvation came from the Jews, and in future worship will be true to God from wherever one is, and will be in spirit and truth.

God has a wonderful kind of existence that is not confined to one place, and having created the world, has dominion over all.
This story offers a lesson in evangelicalism as good as anywhere else in the Bible; the teacher is the Lord Himself. He and His Apostles had reached a part of their journey across the country at the hottest part of the day, and He was tired. Left alone whilst the Apostles sought food, He approached the Samaritan woman, a double act in offending tradition and culture, and seeks a favour.
This is often a wise approach, for a lot of people feel someone needs them, and are ready to make friends. This gives Jesus the opportunity of speaking further, in which He reveals who He is. The principal purpose of Jesus is to preach the gospel, that above all else, for that is what God sent Him to do.

He the Savior of the world, yet is prepared to speak with a woman of immoral character, who is also from a people at great enmity with Jews, something a Rabbi would never even consider thinking of doing. But, the woman went out, and told people who she had met, and how well He had spoken to her, and many of the people turned to follow Jesus. You may never know how much good comes from telling an ordinary man, or more so a woman, about your faith and/or Church.

I met a lady, an ordinary wife and mother, and invited her to attend Church, which she did. She had I found, a captivating personality, and soon other mothers came with children. Unfortunately her husband, who worked away from home on a North Sea oil rig, found out she was attending Church, and gave an ultimatum, Church or him, so because of fear of losing her children we lost her. This was not in my experience an unusual case.

Many men consider religion is a woman’s subject and selfishly object to their wives and children to attend. Just notice in your Church, women occupy more seats, revealing a more intelligent mind.

 I cannot understand why it happens, as Muslim men are more intent on attending their places of worship than the women. It has to accepted, the |Muslim faith has a more moral base strongly practised than, we  do. You never hear Muslim clergy challenging their Holy Book, nor let it be abused.

The Church of today is more interested in getting non-believing parents to have their children baptised and confirmed.  As I do not believe in very young children being baptized based on the belief of parents, who never attend Church nor keep the promise to bring the child up in he Church. There has to be a confession of faith

And repentance of sin for a Bible baptism

Jesus did not prioritise, he made it clear He was here to preach the gospel, and when the Church does the same, we may see the Church growing rather than falling apart as it is doing. Baptizm does not need to be neglected, but in the mind of Jesus, preaching  and was more important and necessary.

 Contrary to what Church leaders may think, the majority of people in the country do have moral beliefs, and it is offensive to them to hear leaders of the Church calling for traditional marriage to be abandoned, and they are not able to understand any purpose in coming; even clergy who still believe in Scripture are leaving, and brilliant men are amongst them. Women Ministers appear to be either more liberal .

We lose valuable opportunities in holding Summer and Christmas Fairs, in which we have a collection of stalls offering goods, but we don’t post, or vocally encourage details of the Church services, We have Church magazines with details of what has been happening, which pleases members, but I cannot understand how or why we don’t include a bible teaching page, and urge people to attend. In other words, have an external outlook as well.

Politicians make sure we know how wonderful their Party is, and all it will do (mostly overstated)This must be successful or they wouldn’t bother.  Let it be taken from this reading the lesson Jesus showed us, of speaking for our Church and faith; may the leaders be moral like Jesus; and members make known the services are for all, who will be welcome.

 

Give thanks to God for His Holy Gospel.   Praise the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Matthew 16. V18

I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross. 

’,When Jesus used the word ‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in worship.  The Church has a special place in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within that plan.

The Church which Jesus promised to build, is the company of all faithful people.  This first Church set a form of worship that fully embraced the Christian faith,  The people met regularly, praised God in words of hymns ,and  prayers.

It does not belong to any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in faith.  It is a Church with one body, one heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ

Over the years. Men formed groups of Christians and formed several denominations, disputing over Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians.  It does matter where we have worshipped, if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.   It is however, still true, that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not administer Communion to non-Catholic people. the Apostle Peter preached the first sermon to Jews and Gentiles, after which 3,000 people asked Peter what they should do.  He told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy spirit.  They did so and devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles, which is the foundation of the New Testament.

Acts 2, we find the early Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon that teaching.  God blessed that Church and added to their number.

When Jesus stated the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not destroy the people of Christ.  In the two thousand years since His birth, time and days have been calculated on that day; nations have fought against each other, Monarchs and Emperors have come and gone, but Jesus is the same Savior who lived only to die on a Cross, in order to forgive the sins of all who accept that His death was for their forgiveness, Those who accept that Jesus died and was raised from death, will receive salvation. Those who do not make this confession, will, despite false teaching, will not live in heaven.  

The mystical body of Christ shall never perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will be cast away. Having delegated first to Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.

From the first days the Church has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church,  and we can rely on the fact that he does not retreat om his word.

 It is generally considered, that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel, but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.

Every Christian who values and loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending   I accept that numbers are not the be all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship offered is as worthy as it ought to be.  In many cases I do not think it is.

When we pass through Easter and Christmas, in those times especially at Christmas, services of carols, a large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than normally.  But the same thing happens at Easter and  Remembrance day,  also reveal that a large number of people are still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious alternative.

If, when you decide to go out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food well prepared, so will enter.  If you find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.

Cast your mind back to 1954 when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena.  Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks. Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1st March to 29 May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken to cities beyond London.

People who would never have thought of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did not stay.  They faced Morning Matins, with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had attended.   However, the most important part is that between the coming and leaving.  Services, should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type.  I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish Communion is not my idea of the right place. 

I don’t think it is generally recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves the heart.  In every Crusade, from Sankey and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades, the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement the inspirational preaching.

If the music is tuneful and well played people like to sing.

The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.

The sermon has been relegated in importance, where once it was a central feature.  Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to tell the good news about Jesus Christ.  How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the Church fails to tell?  This is our business first and foremost.  The pulpit is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to respond cannot justify its reason for being there

.  Ministers are to be messengers from God, bringing God message to congregations. Sermons often lack teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless.  One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.  This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear him. 

In the Church of England we have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks, and we are still losing members..   At one time every village and neighbourhood, had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations were strong enough to maintain them.  This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system going.  To do so we have Vicars fleeing from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any good, or a local preacher  who however well- intentioned, often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own hobby horse, not the Bible.

It would be far more sensible and realistic to prune the number of Churches.  We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship.  People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers, the Church could be in a like position.            The Bible states attending Church is not optional.  Some people may not be able to attend  for reasons of health or age, but every Sunday services are published on television, especially those from Churches in the United States of America who transmit to the United Kingdom, but also, elsewhere.

 The Bible assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church, where they live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity, cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers, He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered  Jesus is amongst us just as  when He was present with His Apostles. 

A problem has arisen of late; the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture, and approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.

I cannot tell you what the Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you live.  Any true Bible based Christian, must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin Luther, the great protestant revivalist, .’ If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen’.

The Bible uses several terms to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender.  This family extends right across the world, so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers. 

Of course, the Church does not exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological and procedural problems quickly and quietly.  For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood for.  Then the Conservative party followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public.  So indicating clearly, that people have no respect for anybody, which cannot state positively what it believes in and stands for. 

It has to be faced there are men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church. How much better it would be

if we followed the example of  the Anglican Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain, based on the same foundations as of our American friends.

In the meantime, each Church should strive to be true to its calling with vows honored, and work independently of the national scene.  I firmly believe that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.       May more individual Churches turn back to firm Bible teaching, and put forward nothing which is contrary to the teaching and commands of our Lord.

Martin Luther stated, ‘the truest  treasure of the church is the most holy Gospel of the glory and grace of God.                                           

 

Give thanks to God for His glorious Gospel            ‘

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

 

 

  

 Matthew 18 v 21/35

 

The Gospel message for Sunday, is the parable of the unforgiving servant.

     The Apostle Peter features often in the Gospels, and gives the impression of being of an impetuous man with a quick tongue, rushing into speaking, so moving Jesus to teach.

      Peter thought he was being considerate, even generous, in forgiving a sinning brother, and sought the opinion of           Jesus, as to how often he should do so, and suggested seven times.  It was the custom of Rabbis, that three times            was sufficient and not four.  This procedure was based on the prophet Amos.  who had declared three times God would not punish, but after that God would punish the sinner, and  man could not be more generous than God.     Peter thought he had done well in doubling three and adding one on for good measure.

    Jesus told him the story of a servant, who had incurred a huge debt to his master, amounting to hundreds of     dollars, and  when asked to pay back, was unable to do so . The master ordered him to Pay or he and his wife and     children would be sold until he did pay  The servant pleaded with his master to have patience and he would pay everything owing.  The master took pity for the man, released him, and forgave him the debt.  

 The servant went out and met a fellow servant who owed him a small amount of a hundred denarii, and without any mercy, seized the man and tried to choke him. He was told to pay, the man plead he couldn’t and asked for mercy, promising to pay back, but he was refused and was sent to  prison until he could pay

When the other servants saw what had happened they went and told the master what had happened.  The master reminded the man how he was set free, only to penalize someone else, the master sent the cruel servant to prison until he paid the debt that  he had been forgiven of.

This parable, is to teach lessons, which Jesus often taught, and is repeated in the New Testament.

 to bring people to forgive in order to be forgiven, and if forgiveness is not offered, God will not forgive the man for failing to do so.  This is the message of the Beatitude, blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy.  Forgiveness is a Christian virtue; it is not an optionable part of Christian life.

   No sooner had Jesus taught this man his own prayer, He went on to say ‘if you forgive men their trespasses, your       heavenly Father will forgive you, but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you, and He will have judgment without mercy to those that hath not shown mercy.’  Divine and human forgiveness go hand in hand.

One of the great points of this parable, is the contrasts between the two debtors.  The first servant owed his master the equivalent of ten thousand pounds, and his own debt was less than five pounds.  The contrast is vast, but the point is, nothing men can do, can compare in what has been to God, and if God is ready to forgive us the debt we owe to Him, we must forgive our fellow men the debt they owe us. 

Remembering the debts  that Jesus gave His life for on the Cross, for all the sins of people whom He never met, we see the enormity of real forgiveness, which should be a help for all others to  be generous. The crowds who were            at the last Passover, and following events mocked Jesus and call for His crucifixion, and His reply was, ‘Father forgive them. When God forgives it should make it easier for you to forgive.

.I have noticed a version of the Lord’s  Prayer in the English Standard Version of the Bible, has become recognized as the version most used in churches, especially in the United States, replacing the traditional verses of ‘forgive us our trespasses’ to ‘ forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.’

   We live in an evil world, so we can  depend on problems arising, however we may try to avoid. Peter was told to forgive more times than he felt necessary.  Jesus did not mean to allow people immunity easily, He meant to show a spirit of mercy and forgiveness.  We are to put up with much rather than quarrel. We are to lay aside malice, strife and retaliation. However, I think it is necessary to let these aggressive and often arrogant people to know in a firm but quiet manner that their rudeness will not be tolerated.

I was once in a Welsh village and in a shop window there was a small item with words on, which said, ’don’t get even, smile at your adversary, it will make him more annoyed.

 What a happier world it would be, if mercy was displayed rather than ill-feeling.  Think of the law suits avoidable, the bitterness, the trivial personal rights of so many, which could be changed if forgiveness and a desire for peace shown. Jesus is calling for good as opposed to bad, blessing not cursing, friends not foes.In the Christian way of living, there is need to fulfil certain duties, and one which is not recognized as it should be, is forgiveness.  There is no point in thinking all is moonlight and roses in all our churches.  I have seen what is more like open warfare, too    often by people with enlarged opinion of themselves.  Indeed, I have been personally attacked by men with liberal minds, who have expected me to accept verbal abuse and tender an act of penance. Fortunately I have led a full and varied life, so have become immune to such bad manners, but I have seen the misery they caused to pastors of lesser experience. There are people who think they can exercise whatever feelings they have, and let loose their opinions on clergymen. This has to be stopped.

   There people who are trouble makers by choice, and seem to get some weird pleasure at ,making other people     upset, and this is cruel and causes misery, especially when those who are victims of such abuse are normally of gentle nature. If you are abused in any way, think of the abuser as a lesser person than yourself.  Don’t let it upset or annoy you, especially of older age, as it could cause your blood pressure to rise unnecessarily, which could be  

   Dangerous.  People will get upset by trivial matters .but life is too short for such.  We see years ahead when  youngbut too quickly we wonder where they all went as there was little left.

It is sad to see such bitterness and unkindness, even to see the satisfaction displayed when they have upset someone. Yet the Bible tells clearly how we should live our lives. A problem is such people have never known much from the Bible, and have not been taught it properly.  May this parable give us the means to act with peace to God, strengthened by the spirit of Christ, and as by       adoption, children of a heavenly Father by grace. If we feel injured, may we have the strength to influence others, and cause them to see the benefits of a true Christian.

 

Turn with me to the 10th Chapter of Romans. (v 1/20)

We hear  of people being assailed with the question ‘are you saved brother/sister?’.

Whilst we may recognize the commitment of those who indiscriminately ask others

 this question, there is as much lost than is gained.  The mass of people will have no

 understanding what is being asked, and so offence is caused regarding am essential

 part of the Christian faith, which reflects on Christian believers.

 I read of one man’s experience in a theatre, when another man pointed to an empty seat and asked if it was saved.  The first man replied, ‘no, but I am’, and the person      asking quickly moved away.  

Paul speaks of people who have a zeal for God, but such does not lead them to salvation.  The problem is so many people do not believe they need Jesus’ sacrificial death to make them right with God, they can earn that by their own efforts.  Just be honest, be a good citizen, etc.

  In a gospel passage we read of Thomas doubting the telling by the other Apostles of having seen Jesus in his absence.  We should be able to understand the reaction of an ordinary man who had seen Jesus crucified a few days earlier and was now told that in his absence Jesus had appeared physically alive and well.  When Jesus confronted him    later, he made that tremendous confession, ‘my Lord and my God’.

   Such reluctance to believe in the power of Jesus to come alive is mirrored in the lives of so many people to day, who will not accept that a man who died on a Cross 2,000 years ago in a land on the other side of the world was raised from the dead.  More so, that people actually believe he lives on by His Spirit in their lives today and influences their way of life. Even some clergy fail to accept the facts of both His birth and physical resurrection.

  Belief demands commitment and faith and trust, which is not given by the majority, and it is that lack of faith that Paul writes about in his Letter to the Romans.

Paul was specially and uniquely called by God to be an Apostle to the Gentiles, but he never forgot his own Jewish people.  This Letter was directed to the Jews who were        carrying a mistaken belief, but its teaching is equally applicable to us, as all Paul’s Letters are.

   Verses 6/8 show the contrast between the righteousness based on faith, and that which comes from the law, now fulfilled in Christ. There is no need to travel to heaven to bring Christ down. for God has already done that, and no case of bringing Him from the realm of the dead because God has done that too.

The Jews believed all they had to do was obey the Jewish Law which God had given them, and that made them righteous in God’s sight.  The Law however was given to the Jews to show them that is not enough, for no one can keep all the Commandments, and just as with a chain if you break one link the chain is totally broken, so as no one can keep every commandment perfectly, the lot are broken.  The Mosaic Law was given anticipating the coming of Christ, and when Paul states Chris the end, it means the law is no longer binding and is replaced by Christ Himself as the means of salvation.

.       From verses 9/15 is the main thrust of the passage. 

Verse 9 states, ’if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved’. The whole Christian message is close to hand, on the lips and in the heart.

  We are in fact at the doctrine of justification by faith; ‘by grace you have been saved through faith, it is not your own doing, it is the gift of God and not by your own works.’  God in great mercy is ready to pardon all who accept that Jesus died on the Cross as a penalty payment for all our individual sins, and God raised Him from the dead.  If we confess that we believe this God grants us His righteousness.

Why do we need God’s grace?; because all men and all women are by nature spiritually dead and separated from God.  Grace is the unmerited favour of God

Grace saves us through faith; nothing more, nothing less. than salvation is by grace.” Something in us always wants to add to God’s free grace. It’s humbling to admit that we can do nothing to earn our deliverance from sin. Grace must be free or else it is not grace at all. Three words; grace, saved, faith. Grace is the source, Faith is the means, and Salvation freely given and received by faith alone is the result. We are saved by grace through faith:

Think what heaven would be like if you had to earn your way there. People would be trying to outbid each other and probably boasting how important they had been in the world.

When I was being inducted the Rural Dean who was a real traditional English gentleman (and there’s not many of us about), introduced me to a man and mentioned some of the position he had held in his Church, and the man was really indignant because some obscure committee was omitted.  There really are people who join the Church for egotistic reasons.     Heaven would be just like that if you had to earn your way there. But it won’t be like that, when Jesus died on the cross, he paid the full price for your salvation. God alone gets the glory in your salvation. Jesus did all the work when he died on the cross.

ace also means that some people may be too good to be saved. That is, they may have such a high opinion of themselves that they think they don’t need God’s grace. They may admit they are sinners but they don’t admit they are spiritually dead. They may think they’re sick because of sin but not truly dead. God’s grace cannot help you until you are desperate to receive it.

We have admit to the fundamental fact that we live in an evil world and we all become tainted and lost, but by the grace of God He gives us an opportunity to come to Christ and be saved. The majority of people do not consider they need saving as they think their lives are already safe.  The thought they are sinners is mortally wounding, as one Vicar discovered when he put a notice outside his church saying this Church is here for sinners; half his congregation were absent the next week.  Sin is not just murder, theft and immorality; it includes pride, jealousy, envy, anger and hatred.

Salvation is never gained by earning it, or by trying to be good, or by the good outweighing the bad, but simply by acknowledging that Jesus Christ has done it all on your behalf.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." The important thing, therefore, is to bring people to that place. It is not just a routine matter, it involves our whole being. The heart must be involved, that is, the inner consciousness, the deep conviction of the will. Then the mouth must acknowledge it. There must be a willingness to consciously confess that Jesus is Lord,

 

Thank God for His holy Gospel and Praise the Lord Jesus Christ.