[SHORT SHOTS 5th file of 7] ACCEPT THE SUBSTITUTE "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit." (I Peter 3:18 NKJ) In all the universe and for all of eternity, there is only one answer for the Sin-problem, "Christ...suffered once for sins." Jesus Christ died on the cross as a one- time substitutionary sacrifice for sinners, in order to cancel effectively the "criminal records" of every sinner who would trust in Him for salvation. Jesus of Nazareth is the only human who ever walked the earth who lived without sin. He "was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:16) He had not Himself earned the wages of sin, eternal death. (See Romans 6:23.) He died, "the just for the unjust", as a substitute. The Bible teaches that Jesus of Nazareth was/is God the Son, pre-existent Deity, who created the universe and invaded the earth which He had created, to live in it as a man, and to purchase with His blood people from every family of humanity. (See John 1, Colossians 1-2, Revelation 5.) We don't understand the physics of it, but He was raised to life again physically by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was "put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit." And He lives today to call you to Himself. Trust Him now as your Savior and the Lord of your life. Read the first letter of Peter and the Gospel of John for yourself. The Lord Jesus died in your place for your sin so that by faith you might share in His Resurrection LIFE. His purpose was "that He might bring us to God." He is the only one who ever paid the sin-debt. He is the only one ever to conquer death and the grave. He has the right to say, "I am the way,...no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6) That's what He WANTS, to bring us to God. Put your trust in Jesus Christ as your sin-bearing Savior and the Lord of your life. He is your Creator and Sustainer, and He calls you to be His redeemed one, a member of His Bride, a sheep in His pasture, and His eternal friend. [Clyde Price SHOT26] OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE The message which the apostle Paul preached was rooted deeply in the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Covenant. He stressed that the mission which the Messiah had fulfilled had been clearly prophesied in the Old Covenant. He wrote to the church at Corinth, "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (I Corinthians 15:3-4 NAS) "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures..." We read in the prophecy of Isaiah, "Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:4-6 NKJ) "He was buried." And they made His grave with the wicked-- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth." (Isaiah 53:9) "He was raised" from the dead. "When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, HE SHALL PROLONG HIS DAYS, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:10-11) The death and resurrection of the Messiah as an atoning sacrifice for sin was prophesied clearly by Isaiah, centuries before the star shone over Bethlehem. Jesus of Nazareth was revealed first as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." He may return at any time now as conquering King. God's salvation in Jesus the Messiah was not a last- minute emergency operation. It was agreed on by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit before the foundation of the world. That's pretty solid planning. You can put your trust is Jesus. [Clyde Price SHOT27] WHAT ABOUT "GOOD WORKS"? A lot of folks will tell you frankly that they are trying to get to heaven by doing good works. Salvation by works DOES NOT WORK. Some who say that they are trusting in Christ alone for salvation disavow ANY "religious" works at all, and have an unholy kind of Christianity that doesn't affect their lifestyle at all. This kind of "greasy grace" is also a poisonous substitute for the gospel. The apostle Paul gives us the balance between these two deadly extremes, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10 NAS) The gift of God is free but not cheap. It cost God His Son. He offers the gift of salvation freely to all who will receive it by faith in Jesus Christ. This does not make FAITH the only acceptable WORK. A beggar gets no credit for reaching out his hand to receive a handout. Read Paul's letter to the Ephesians for yourself. In it you'll not only find how humans can get to heaven, but God's purpose for the entire universe. There are no "works" or "good deeds" that we do to earn salvation; and after we have received salvation by grace through faith in Christ, there are no "works" that we do to STAY saved. However, because we are now God's children and His ambassadors and servants on earth, He has some things which He wants us to do. We do THESE works because we ARE saved, not to become saved or to stay saved. Our motivation is our love for Jesus Christ, our desire to please Him. We want you to get to know Him, and we are positive that you'll love Him too. Put your trust in Jesus. [SHOT28 Clyde Price] JUSTIFY YOURSELF? Have you ever done something stupid, then given a dumb excuse for it, and had someone say, "Well, you're just trying to JUSTIFY yourself!"? When you justify lines of print on a typesetter or a word processor, you are putting the print in the RIGHT PLACE, where it is supposed to be, as the author or editor intended it. Being "justified" before God is a matter of coming into a RIGHT STANDING before Him, without the condemnation of sin. Too many people try to justify themselves before God by pointing to "good deeds" or religious rituals that they have done. Some trust in their race or nationality, or lodge ritual, or some other mistaken idea about what it takes to be "right" before God. The apostle Paul says that people are "justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24 NAS). Trying to follow a list of do's and don't's won't work, because Paul says in the same chapter, "by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight." (3:20) Read the letter to the Romans for yourself, and also the Gospel of John. This is the simple, but widely misunderstood teaching of the New Testament. People can only receive "right standing" before God through the redemption Christ Jesus purchased on the cross. We sinned and earned death; He never sinned, and died, so that all who put their trust in Him would be "put right" with God, receive His forgiveness, and have eternal abundant life as a free gift. Someone has spelled GRACE as an acrostic: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. We receive this gracious gift through faith. Someone has spelled FAITH: Forsaking All I Take Him. Receive God's gift. Put your trust in Jesus. [SHOT29 Clyde Price] "GOD O' MERCY!" "He [God] saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit," (Titus 3:5 NAS). God does not save people "on the basis of deeds...done in righteousness." The BASIS for salvation is not anything that we did or were going to do, but entirely in what the Lord Jesus Christ did: He died for sinners on the cross as an innocent substitute, and rose again from the dead to give eternal life to everyone who trusts in Him. God has chosen to save sinners "according to His mercy," because He is a merciful and loving God. He is indeed a GOD OF MERCY. But HE CAN ONLY save those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is also a holy and just God who MUST PUNISH SIN: either at the cross of Christ or in the lake of fire. As a sinner comes to Christ, the Holy Spirit is working in the sinner's heart, "making alive" the gospel to the person, and enabling the person to trust in Christ alone for salvation. "By the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit," the Holy Spirit applies the cleansing blood of Christ to the heart of the new believer and washes completely clean from all sin. This "regeneration" is also called "the new birth". There is a place for "good deeds" in the life of the believer, but these are as a RESULT of being saved, and NOT IN ORDER TO BE SAVED. Paul wrote in the same letter, "Christ Jesus...gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." (2:14) Paul says later, "And let our people also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful." (3:14) We Christians are commanded to care not only for people's souls and their eternal destination, but also for their practical needs, especially in emergencies. We Christians should also not leave out of our gospel message that the Lordship of Christ over your life will involve some changes in your lifestyle. Laboring for King Jesus is more exciting and fulfilling than ruling over any other Kingdom. If you who read this are not yet a Christian, we invite you to read the Gospel of John for yourself, and ask God to show you directly in your own heart the Truth. We confidently expect the Holy Spirit to bear His witness to the message. We would like to meet you and try to answer your questions. [SHOT30 Clyde Price] A FAMILY FOREVER Do you know of a family that is split, or maybe even shattered? Have you experienced yourself the pain of alienation? The Lord Jesus understands all about that. The first chapter of John teaches that Christ is the Creator of the universe, and that He became a human being to live personally among the people He had created for Himself. "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him." (John 1:10-11 NAS) He came as a virgin-born baby to the planet that He had created for a fellowship-place with mankind, but He was rejected by His people, betrayed by a very close friend, accused and convicted in an illegal trial, and executed as a criminal. He rose again from the dead in victory to offer forgiveness and eternal life to all who put their trust in Him. Maybe "His own" in v.11 refers to the Jewish nation to whom He was specifically sent in His earthly ministry, and who rejected Him as their predicted Messiah, or John may have meant mankind in general. Some however have received Him, and you should receive Him, too. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born...of God." (John 1:12-13 NAS) All who receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are born spiritually into God's "Forever Family." We invite you to read or listen to the first chapter of John, and see if it really says this. This isn't some strange and weird new teaching. We want to introduce you to what the Bible says about the Lord Jesus Christ. We trust that if you examine the Gospel of John with an open mind, that you will become convinced that this is the Truth, and that Jesus Christ is the living Son of God. We are praying that you and many of your family and friends will "receive" King Jesus into the throne room of your heart. Just picture your family "infected" with an "epidemic" of forgiveness, reconciliation, and love. Put your trust in Jesus. [SHOT31 Clyde Price] [end of 5th file of 7]