Filmed at the Worship God ’09 Conference.

If you’d like to hear more, you can download the whole sermon from Resolved.org — look for ‘God is the Gospel’ in 2007.

…And as an fitting conclusion to what Piper said at Resolved, hear him describe what we are called to.

Answer:

Erick

“The Gospel shows us that we are more sinful and flawed than we would ever dare admit and yet – at the same time – in Christ we are more loved and accepted than we ever dared hope.”

Spiritual health would be to believe both of these things about ourselves. God’s love in acceptance is not based on our worthiness but on the worthiness of Jesus. This security gives us a humble confidence that self-esteem never can never produce. For more on this, read Tim Keller’s article on the Centrality of the Gospel.

Answer:

Peter

When God saves a person, the Scripture says that He draws them to Himself, makes a dead heart alive (Eph 2:1-3) and gives them “saving faith.”  What is “saving faith”? Saving faith is that “gift of God” which brings a person into intimate relationship with Christ (Rom 10:9-10). It is based on God’s grace alone rather than a person’s efforts to “make themselves right” with God or ”earn favor” with God (2 Tim 2:25).

So, based on the finished work of Christ, every true believer is brought into a personal relationship with God (aka saving faith) by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for God’s glory alone!

So how does that answer your question? Well, oftentimes a person who has been granted the gift of saving faith may display a Christ+ something else life. That does not mean that they are not saved.  For example, frequently after we’ve  been saved, we become acutely aware of our utter depravity and sinfulness. As such, we have a deep passion for personal holiness — “to them that are forgiven much, love much” (Luke 7:47).

It is quite natural to deeply desire to please God for His mercy. When we are  truly aware of the sacrifice that was made for us, we will deeply desire to work hard for Christ.  That is good and perfectly normal, but over time can lead to a misplaced emphasis in our lives; it can lead us toward what is commonly referred to as the “performance trap.”  In our zeal to please God and pursue obedience to Him, we work hard to please God by our efforts.  This performance trap can often be  manifest as Christ + ministry, or Christ + parenting, or Christ + missions.  We need to be reminded that it’s a “person” — Jesus Christ — whom we are to preeminently love and worship!  Not a ministry or our families or even our church!

Because we are saved by grace, the quality and continuance of my relationship with Christ is not based on what I do for Him.  On the contrary, because of  who He is and what He’s done, we are freed from the performance trap!  The just shall live by faith (Rom 1:17) Amen!

Nothing else pleases God more than that our  pursuit of a fervent, grace-based, love-relationship with Him (Rev 2:1-3).  So we need to always check to see if that is true of us.  If we drift into Christ+ anything, we need loving encouragement, by means of the Word and shepherding, to continually embrace the power and purpose of God’s grace alone.

Now…if you mean Christ+ idols, then we are dealing with a heart issue of a different order and impact.  If , with my lips, I say I love Him but my heart is far from Him, then I will struggle with letting that idol go!  It will become increasingly  obvious to me as I’m confronted by the Word and led by His Spirit that something is competing with my love for Christ!!   It may be  Christ+money or +sex, or +possessions or +prestige or +anything.  Believers can struggle with idols!  That’s why John wrote, “my little children guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).

True believers (those indwelt by the Spirit and the gift of saving  faith) will recognize and turn from idols (ie, 1Thess 1:9-10).  Those without God’s Spirit and saving faith will not, no matter what they may profess. The only way out  for you or I or anyone who worships themselves and the things of this life is to hear the gospel of the  “good news of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), repent and trust in Jesus Christ  alone!

Erick

The Heart of Evangelism (book), Jerram Barrs (his free podcast with the same content)

The Reason for God (book), Tim Keller (audio book) – Great book directed to unbelievers where he explains the Gospel and answers objections

Who is This Jesus? (free audio) and Prodigal Sons (free audio), Tim Keller

The Prodigal God series (free audio), Tim Keller

Objections to Christianity series (free audio), Tim Keller

• In light of Jesus’ death on the cross, I’ve been gifted with the power to love my husband when he sins, speak about Christ’s love to the world and daily rely on His saving redemption as I reprove my depravity despite my best attempts at righteousness.
• He died to save me from my sins and to save me from a life of sin and hurt.
• MM – The cross was a perfect act of obedience to the Father. A perfect act of love for His neighbor. It was full payment for sin. My sin. Thank you Jesus! I did not deserve it.
• JM – The cross means a lot to me. It means that when Jesus died on the cross He saved my sins and yours.
• KM – The cross means freedom from all the sin in this world and I can run to God. I am no longer separated from Him. Amen!
• Freedom to live a life that will glorify Him!
• That Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
• Redeemed, forgiven, grace, mercy, freedom from sin and death, eternal life, hope
• The cross means I will be forever with my Jesus in heaven. Yeah, I can’t wait!
• The cross means to me that Jesus suffered all the things just so we can spend eternity with Him in His holy new earth. I love Him!
• The cross is what Jesus Christ was punished for our sins on so that we would not have to suffer for them and so that we could spend eternity with Him in heaven.
• CH – Everything
• JR – The crucifixion is my God, my Lord suffering for my sins. Even if I was the only person on earth, He would still die for me.
• SK – The service was very impactful. Jesus reigns!!
• The cross is everything to me. The cross is where my perfect Lord died for my sins. And because of His sacrifice I will forever be with my Lord and savior.
• I’m in awe of His humility, kindness, and mercy. So thankful that even though I don’t deserve it He took it all on for me. The perfect example. I have a very thankful heart.
• The cross means to me that we are saved because Jesus paid the ultimate price for my sin.
• Before the cross I walked in darkness, lost and without hope. Because Christ died and took God’s wrath toward my sin on Himself, I now walk in light, can enter the presence of God Almighty and have an eternal hope. It is where I daily find forgiveness and hope.
• Need Him more now. He is the only way.
• VC – I pray that God will help me to be a Christian.
• JS – Jesus died for me!
• VR – I am wretched – I deserve death and His holy wrath. Because of Him I am saved! I can never repay my debt.
• The cross means His redeeming sacrificial love for me. His desire to have me spend eternity in this presence in heaven
• The cross means life to me as Christ gave His life so that I may live with Him in eternity.
• VR – Jesus dying on the cross means so much to me. Love, thankfulness, everything, He suffered great pain that we deserved and He didn’t. He felt that full wrath of God that we deserved.
• CB – Undeserving, unworthy, guilty of sin, thankful for His pure, full of grace heart, that gives me hope
• Love, forgiveness, freedom. To me it resembles a beautiful but yet scandalous thing. Beautiful because through the cross I am free, and can live now through the power of the Holy Spirit. Scandalous because an innocent man was crushed on my behalf. Through the cross sinners are set free, how awesome that is and I praise God for that!
• The grace of Jesus Christ means everything to me!
• I feel happy that Jesus died for our sins also that He rose again.
• AB – I feel happy, glad, and joyful that He died for our sin.
• SB – immeasurable gratitude
• The cross represents God’s love and mercy. Because of what Jesus Christ did at the cross has given me the chance to spend eternal life with Him in heaven and to keep His wrath from being placed upon me for my sin.
• The cross fulfilled the requirement of the law that was otherwise unobtainable. To me it represents hope, love, grace, mercy, forgiveness
• All my hope is in Him for truly He is the Son of God.
• The cross is the ultimate symbol of love. A means of torture and suffering became a gift of righteousness that I could never have on my own.
• I am so grateful, and I keep thinking of the family we invited to come to this service. They missed it and didn’t come. I wanted them to come to Jesus so badly. But I am also full of gratitude and joy for His grace to me and my family.
• DD – The cross means that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that He suffered through the crown of nails and thorns.
• RD – the cross was the necessary act to provide a way for my sins to be paid for! Praise God!
• Forgiveness, love
• Love and Power
• HA – the cross to me means hope, faith and love. Without God’s forgiveness I would not have the wonderful marriage I have today and for that I am forever thankful.
• KA – unexplainable love
• Mercy
• Sacrifice
• Love and mercy
• Christ rubbed out sin
• Jesus’s death = my life thank you!
• The cross means forgiveness and salvation for all eternity
• It means that I have eternal life with God. That Jesus took all of God’s wrath for my sin upon Himself.
• Jesus is the bridge for me to get to God.
• RF – the cross means that I don’t have to endure the overwhelming wrath of God that I deserve for my sin!! Thank you Jesus!
• The cross is painful to think about yet without it I would be lost. Thank you, Jesus. It is hard for me to comprehend the love that Jesus had for me and the world when He bore my sins and endured the separation from God and pain for me. It is the second chance to spend eternity with Him such a wonderful free gift. How can anyone refuse!
• Gratefulness for His design planned from eternity past. Creating us out of love and desiring us to know Him so much that He chose to also redeem us at the greatest price.
• BR – What “my Jesus” did for me on the cross…He endured the scourging of the flesh not only to show the ugliness of sin but to show me the glorious picture of the death to the flesh. He put sin to death in the flesh that they may have no power over me because His death allows me His Holy Spirit to indwell me that He would daily live in me. May all see Him and not me.
• MC – Jesus who was perfect, sacrificed His life for me, a sinner who deserves God’s wrath which gives me joy knowing I will live eternally with Him and in this life I have an intimate relationship with Him.
• AC – the cross shows how Jesus, who was perfect, took all our sins away although we are undeserving.
• DC – Peace with God
• To ask God for forgiveness
• For more people
• Jesus is my redeemer I thank Him for His sacrifice
• A God’s unending love and sacrifice provided me with everlasting life with our Savior.
• I’m so grateful to know the Lord. I’m blessed. One day my whole family will come
• Salvation – the free gift of Christ which was made possible for us through Christ sacrificial death on the cross.
• CM – It is my only hope for heaven and to be with God that Jesus paid for all my sin.
• I don’t completely understand or grasp it but I know by His dying on the cross Jesus Loves me!
• JB – The cross means to me that Jesus died on the cross so that my sin can be washed away and I can live in heaven with Him
• SB – salvation from a life spent separated from God and knowledge of how wretched I am and how perfect God is.
• The cross is the symbol of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He died for everyone’s sins and I love him forever.
• JM – Love
• That Jesus loved me so much that he would die and go through all that pain, suffering, and humiliation for me.
• God is so good for giving us life. We are able to spread the word of God and share His enduring love for us. I love that God never changes He is always the same always and forever.
• Christ paid it all on the cross for the sins of the world. All to Him I owe.
• Gratitude, gratefulness for the overwhelming love shown by Christ for me, who is completely undeserving. In that moment to be chosen, saved, and unconditionally loved.
• The cross represents to me love, compassion, mercy, and He wanted to save us and for us to be in heaven with him.
• The cross means God to me and I love Jesus
• GH – Jesus died a horrific death for me to save me from eternal separation from God – thank you Lord Jesus
• GH – the cross means my salvation means I am now accepted and loved by God.
• LT – a life of hope and joy verses a life of hopeless despair.
• Thank you Lord – you are enough.
• The cross means just like this blank sheet of paper – Wiped clean.
• God was willing to die because of love.
• Christ’s death means to me that by His pain that He endured and love He has for me I am able to live life in Him, with a choice instead of what I deserve.
• The depth of our sin and the wrath of God against sin – this I understood at a deeper level, even after many years of being a Bible – believing Christian. Thanks for being a blessing.
• Jesus made me whole. The price was His life, His blood, and His sufferings.
• NS – God giving His Son for me and everyone else on this earth so our sins could be forgiven
• The cross means the way to our Father in heaven. His selflessness covers our selfishness! Thank you Lord!
• GB – the Cross to me presents a love I can’t comprehend
• JS – Jesus bridged the gap in dying on the cross for us the lamb of God was obedient going to the cross laying His life down for us for our sins – but we need to believe and pick up our cross and walk daily asking the Lord (Sprit) to strengthen us. Praise Him.
• AS – I want Jesus to save me and my family.
• It is the cross that saved me and it is the cross that daily sustains me.
• It makes me feel sad
• EK – It makes me feel scary
• The cross means everything to me. It reminds me of my sin and how incredibly grateful I am for what Christ did for me.
• Through the cross, even though I am wicked and dirty I can have a relationship with Christ, my loving yet unrelenting, savior and friend.
• Bewilderment, mystery, relief, gratefulness, thankfulness, humility, horror
• The cross means my forgiveness
• Cross is the only cure for the sin disease
• MD – to me, the cross symbolizes God’s passionate love for me. It amazes me that He would suffer for my penalty – Sin.
• Forgiveness
• DD – hope, life, grace, peace, strength, pain
• HS – love, freedom, forgiveness, life with Chris, grace, mercy, compassion, redemption, savior
• QB – ask God for the strength to change my evil ways.
• DD – love so amazing
• God is Almighty and Merciful and Holy and He died for our sins
• AS – The cross saved me from eternal torment in hell. The cross is the only reason I stand in this room, and the only way to heaven is through the cross.
• My deserved fate, became my salvation – now my hope – now my joy. Thank you Jesus!
• Sad that Jesus had to die and suffer. Happy He saved me!
• How wonderful God was for me. Thankful!
• The death of Christ and the shedding of His innocent blood is what has saved me! I am thankful because I do not want to spend eternity in hell.
• Broken, knowing that it’s my sin that put Him on the cross and have to take the cup that was meant for me.
• JS – without the cross there is suffering, mourning, and death. But the mercy and love of God gives us eternal life.
• Jesus is my Lord and my God!
• That He keeps forgiving me as I still sin.
• DD – What the cross means to me is Christ coming and taking the blame for my sins so I could spend eternity with Him.
• It means God is holy and He saved us and loved us.
• LV – from God’s holy display of faith in God He showed of His complete holy and divine commitment to God and showed me of what a wretched sinner I am and that I need Christ.
• Thankful God loved me more than I could ever love Him.
• I am always reminded that Jesus gave it all and that I have done nothing to get what He gave (He did so much for us)? It brings me to praise Him Jesus our Lord.
• I have a way to follow. I have recognition of God’s love and care for me!
• RC – everything. I am unbelievably wretched and yet unbelievably precious to Him.
• The cross is my undeserved salvation – life
• RS – the cross represents my sins payed for on the cross with Christ’s life.
• Safety
• I don’t know why but it just occurred to me that many did terrible things to Jesus but they were just doing what they were supposed to. It was God’s plan.
• Freedom
• Cross = life
• Immediately, when I reflect upon the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ I bow my head in shame. I can’t help but think that it was my very sin, now-today that he hung there for. He thought of me and chose to save me. Why?? Secondly, I respond only by saying praise to the Lamb who was slain. “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty!” All praise belongs to Him. More than anything I long to see the one who saved me face to face. All glory be ascribed to Him! Everyone must hear this. Lord help me.
• CB – Jesus is life, love, and compassion.
• KH – the cross means to me is unconditional love & mercy. God’s love for us is so undeserved and I am in awe – His love, grace and mercy.
• KA – thankful and in awe of God’s grace and mercy toward me a sinner. Glory be to God!
• RM – sinless for sinner, righteous for unrighteous, by believing in His death for my sins and His reservation as acceptance by God, I am now a forgiven child of God adopted into His family. Praise the Lord that my children and grandchildren know Him, too.
• The cross is the place where SK should be placed for His crimes against God, but where Jesus is instead paying for not only my sins but the worlds. The place of greatest love towards me and I desire to respond with thanks.
• GB – on the cross when Jesus died the sky turned black and my sin’s turned white. What can I say but yes Lord wash me, thank you my Lord.
• I thank God for the cross and what His Son did for me. I love you Jesus.
• Jesus Christ is my salvation. I am not worthy, but His grace has set me free. All praise to my Lord and King Jesus Christ!
• SS – the cross is very important to my life and should be for others.
• JS – Jesus loves us because we love Him.
• He is the one who lives deep inside my heart. The cross is, Jesus Christ, the only way for me to live.
• NS – The cross is my debt paid by an undeserving perfect sacrifice to pave my entrance to heaven.
• To me Jesus means that I’m saved
• Jesus – savior, comforter, understands pain, way to life eternal
• The cross is the only hope – hope that I stand before God clothed in Christ’s righteousness. Christ sits at God’s right hand pleading for me. I can rest in God’s grace and mercy – not because of what I’ve done, but because of Christ.
• EK – God has saved me from the pit of hell. He has written my name in the Lamb’s book of life. The cross.
• RF – thank you Jesus for freeing me from the bondage of sin so that I can live a life pleasing to you! I love you!
• JT – it means that all the sin I have done and will do God has taken the punishment.
• CB – I am so unworthy. I praise the Lord Jesus and thank Him for everything and choosing me to be His child. Thank you, Jesus for your great sacrifice for me. I love you.
• LT – relationship restored – He’s passionate about a relationship with me, forgiveness – I’m forgiven just as Jesus ask the Father to forgive those mocking Him, not knowing what they were doing, joy and peace, thanksgiving – thank you Jesus for enduring the Father’s wrath against my sin and depravity, while I was an enemy. You’ve made me your friend.
• The cross is glorious – it means life, glory, eternity with my Savior, it’s the only way.
• AM – the cross of Christ is where my sin was taken and paid for forever and completely by my loving Savior so that I could have His righteousness and have a perfect relationship with God!
• God’s grace and mercy are truly amazing. Praise God for the indescribable gift of His son. What an amazing love.
• The cross to me is my hope and assurance of living eternally glorifying my Savior, praising Him for all He has done for me for saving me and making me a new creature, and my hope of seeing my loved ones who have gone home to the Lord already. The cross is truly pure love, to be loved so much that God would give His only son for a wretch like me.
• PG – Jesus saved me from drugs and alcohol.
• GS – Without the cross and what He did I would be nothing. He took all my sin and conquered death.
• CG – My sins are forgiven even though I do not deserve it. God’s grace and mercy sets me free to live with Christ forever.
• AG – everlasting life with Him
• MW – I am constantly amazed that a Holy God who is perfect would pave the way for a lowly sinner like me. Yet through His Son, I have hope. For that I am truly in awe. Now I stand in Christ’s righteousness! Praise the Lord!
• ZP – the Lord died for all our sin and He stayed them for 3 hours that our sins were left there.
• Jesus died on the cross for us.
• IP- the cross means faith to me. It is the greatest item in the world
• He love’s me
• Thank you for blaming Jesus for my sins. Jesus, thank you for taking all the blame. Help me never to take my eyes off you.
• DM – the cross is amazing because Jesus died for our sins so we can be with Him in heaven.
• LP – the cross to me means that Jesus died for us and our sins, and when I look at the cross it fills me with hope, joy, love, compassion, and forgiveness to others.
• DM – the cross is like the way God paid our price of sin. He payed all of our sins on the cross.
• KG – 14 years ago this week, I came face to face with my sin as I realized that I would have been part of the crowd that crucified Jesus. I was broken and Christ forgave me. I didn’t look for Him; He called me to Him and by His grace I am His.
• TS – love, grace, forgiveness, sins forgiven
• LM – the cross means that there is something worth living for, but I am still trying to get all my ducks in a row
• The Lord died on the cross for my sins and yours. That is what it means to me.
• NP – the cross signifies acceptance to me – of me.
• TP – the cross means life, significant life, eternal life, self-denial to glorify God death to myself so I may serve Him and my heart break for the things which break His heart. Absolute surrender, whole hearted service, humble obedience, forgiveness of sins
• Thankful, unworthy
• The cross is my life.
• NM – Love, forgiveness, and acceptance
• The death of the sacrificial Lamb that forgives all at all times if accepted as truth
• Peace and comfort
• The cross is defined to me at this moment as complete and utter sacrificial love. Ultimately it is the greatest act of grace that could ever be bestowed on me. Praise God for redemption!
• Everlasting life with my Lord and Savior – I love the Lord
• IS – love
• NS – God’s love, forgiveness, and someday reconciliation with loved ones
• I am so thankful for Jesus because of Him, my sins are forgiven. I do not have to experience the wrath of God. Someday I will be in paradise with my beloved Savior and my heavenly Father. It is more then I deserve, but I love Them for loving me.
• He died for our sins. He was truly the Son of God. He paid the penalty.
• I believe the cross is the milestone of Christ and that I represent the suffering Christ endured for our sins.
• Makes me feel filthy of my past, but looking forward to heaven
• Not being treated as my sins deserve! God’s riches at Christ’s expense
• The cross – “A love incomprehensible a mind cannot conceive” Pure Love!
• Two things that I think of in regards to the cross – life and love. Life – that is what I was given when I became His eternal life forever with Him. Love – unconditional love. He loves me no matter what. That is the love He had for me. For all mankind when He died on the cross. But oh thank you Lord. Because you are not dead – you are alive.
• EL – I can’t help but weep at knowing the love that I so often reject as Gomer did to Hosea. I know that I’m saved, but I finally am ready to cast down the idols that I so often turned to over Christ’s love. In response I want to be baptized and dedicate entirely the goals and aspirations in my life to the service of Him.
• The cross = LIFE Jesus’s unending grace and love for His people
• Jesus died on that cross for me and no words can describe how much that means to me. The cross means life with Jesus for me forever
• CU – The cross means “life” to me a life I couldn’t have apart from God. The cross made it possible for me to be “whole” for my life was nothing and heading to total destruction when God reached down and saved me from this world. All I am and will ever be is focused on what Christ did for me on the cross. Thank you God for your love!
• The cross means sacrifice – the ultimate form of sacrifice to me.
• MU – The savior and God I serve died and shed His blood to cover my sin so that I may be holy in the sight of God so that one day I might have fellowship for eternity.
• The cross of Christ has given me hope in all things knowing I am redeemed from my acts of evil and my heart that still as tempted to rebellion.
• Jesus is thank you Lord Jesus Messiah, Savior is the Gift of Grace
• I am so very blessed to know Christ. He died for all my sin humble to have Him to care that much.
• New Life!
• The cross means to me: freedom, forgiveness, unexplainable love, redemption, wife, eternity with God, the ultimate gift one could ever receive. I am so blessed that He chose me.
• I am so thankful that Jesus did died on the cross and forgives my sins – I deserve to die for them but He saved me from that eternal death.
• For me that I don’t fight with my brothers, neighbors, my neighbors are moving tomorrow
• CC – The only way that anyone can get to heaven
• Hope, gratitude, unspeakable
• Hope, gratitude, unspeakable, unimaginable, love
• On going forgiveness, everlasting hope, eternal daily grace, light in our lives, His faithfulness forever
• AS – I can have eternal life. My sins are forgiven.
• SS – that my filthy rags can be completely cleaned. That Jesus loved me so much that He endured mocking, torture, death, and complete separation from the Father so that I might respond and cry out for forgiveness and receive His mercy. Praise God!
• BS – The cross is the symbol of love undeserved. Final payment paid in full.
• The cross is truth and a perfect picture of grace, and love so I can be made right before a Holy God.
• The cross means that Jesus Christ loved me and gave His life for the world, His great amazing love so awesome. Those who receive Him have eternal life. Thanking Him for dieing for me.
• JC – I am grateful! I am grateful! You are good always!
• MC – the cross is so important to me because it means that Jesus took the punishment that I deserved. He bore my sins in His own body. I don’t deserve it!!! But He loved me enough anyway. I am grateful.
• I am a wretched sinner. I deserve death because of my sin against a Holy God, Christ paid the price for my sin on the cross.
• Jesus paid for all my past, present and future sins. I am not worthy of it, but by His grace I live.
• God loves us a lot, so much that He would die for us.
• LM – the cross means forgiveness and a hope of a better life in the future in heaven.
• SM – the cross is my bridge from death to life, from separation from God to eternity with God in heaven.
• He died on the cross a horrible death to take my sin upon Himself and wash me white as snow. Jesus will you remember me in paradise?
• The cross means forgiveness of my sins – salvation and eternal life a life of hope and praising God.
• The cross means to me mercy.
• HT – Jesus is my only Savior and the ruler of my life.
• He took my sins and in their place left His righteousness in the eyes of God.
• To me the cross means that Jesus was willing to get on it and took the punishment for us because that’s how much He loves us.
• EG – the cross represents for me love and forgiveness of my sins if I repent.
• My eternal life with God!
• I crucified Christ. I nailed Him to that cross. He took my punishment. He was crushed so that I might live. I’m alive in Christ today because He bore the penalty that was meant for me. I am amazed at His love for me. What a sacrifice. What a gift. All given to me freely. Amazing grace!!!
• RR – amazing love that Christ shows to me everyday.
• Thank you, Lord for nailing my heinous sins on the cross. For dying and suffering in my place. You know what it’s like to be me because you took my sin and replaced it with Your holiness that I don’t deserve.
• The cross means life to me.
• The cross means everything to me because by the cross of Christ I have been forgiven, set free, given new life, hope, and opportunity to share this same message of love and forgiveness to others. I can live in such a way that I carry my cross and put to death the flesh in my life and strive to live a life of holiness without Jesus and the cross none of it possible. The cross means everything.
• The gift of eternal life, that Jesus died on the cross for all of us.
• I think the cross is a symbol for us to remember about Jesus dying on the cross for us.
• TB – The cross is my life and my death. The point where Christ laid down His life – died – so that I can live! The old man (me) died there with Jesus and this new man (Him in me) rose with Him in victory – all because of His love, mercy, and forgiveness that I did not deserve.
• JB – the cross changed and continues to change everything.
• SU – the cross = a total undeserving symbol of love! I daily need to remind myself of the pain and blood poured out for me a great sinner in need of a great Savior!
• DG – Lord save me like you saved the criminal on the cross. Change my heart and take away my debt so I can live for you.
• HT – I believe that the cross is a symbol of just how much God loves us. He died on the cross for everyone just so that we wouldn’t have to face eternity in hell and spend eternity with Him instead.
• KT – the cross is an awesome mystery that allows me to be forgiven for my sins, and to approach God directly.
• MS – I will never understand why Jesus died on a cross for ME…ME!!! I will never be worthy…praise God for that! Jesus is what I will never be today but by God’s grace, strength, and love will move towards being like. I see strength when I imagine Jesus on the cross…strength I need to rely on and not my own. I imagine the cross and realize I fall extremely short!
• MS – I cannot begin to comprehend God’s love for me in my sinful state. I know that despite my sins and failures to obey Him He looks upon me with great love. That is what amazes me about God and the cross. I now love Him who I once hated because He loved me enough to send Jesus to pay my sin debt.
• The cross of Christ means that I am a far worse sinner than I ever thought, and God is a far greater God then I ever hoped; my life is not my own.
• RW – the cross shows me how sinful I truly am and what hope I have in Jesus.
• EVERYTHING
• Undeserving
• Everything I get because of what He has done I don’t deserve. I should get God’s wrath upon me not Jesus.
• Security
• He died on the cross for a reason.
• Amazement – how could someone so perfect care about “me”. It is amazing that I can be loved by the Lord.
• The cross shows us the unconditional love Jesus Christ gives us.
• The cross means God’s love to those who believe. The ultimate sacrifice so God can share His love.
• BK – the cross means to me new life because Jesus died for me.
• The cross is where you go when you have nothing or no one, where you find love or purpose.
• DQ – Faithful, forgiveness, grace
• The cross is a place to lay down all my sin and find joy
• Love for eternity!!!
• The cross is the greatest evidence that Jesus loves us and is the only means whereby we have any hope for eternity with Him. Praise God for His unspeakable gift and grace!
• Jesus is my hope, love, peace, my all!
• The cross means life. I was dead in everyway before the cross, but God through Christ has given life.
• Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins which was undeserved. He suffered and faced Gods wrath so that I may be forgiven of my sins, the pain I deserved was endured by Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.
• The cross to me has given me the freedom to be loved…loved fully by God no longer dwelling in my guilt but excepting His embrace for who I am. He took me just as I am!
• The cross gives me purpose, as well as direction.
• The cross means Jesus loves us and died for our sins.
• MT- I realize how ungrateful I am for what God has done for me. I know of it but don’t apply it enough to my life. I pray for the strength and patience to do that.
• Christ Jesus, ransom from heaven, overcame my sin, secured my salvation – the cross means that is where Jesus died and took my sins on Himself. He gives me forgiveness of my sins. Now I’m God’s child.
• The cross means that Jesus has taken the wrath that I deserved so I can escape eternal punishment and be with God forever.
• JH – I have been forgiven of all my filthy sin by Jesus who hung on a cross for me.
• When I think of Christ on the cross I think of the love and obedience Jesus felt towards His Father. He loved the Father and he loved me enough to endure separation from God to make a way for heaven for those of us who don’t deserve heaven because of our rebellious nature. Christ on the cross is our gift of grace. I’m so grateful to Jesus!
• The cross to me lets me know that I am justified and that I now have the chance to live my life again, in obedience to God so that now I can live eternity with Him and the church.
• An expression of love, identification with sinners, and God’s disapproval of sin
• When I see my sin I know that people like me should die. God in His justice agrees, saying “yes, I have killed him.” So it is that Christ died and I now righteous can live. This if far more than I deserve. Praise God.
• I am thankful that the full, unrelenting, holy anger of God has been removed from over my head having been placed on His holy head. Thank you Jesus!
• I being a wretched sinner who deserved death has been made forgiven and pure in Christ’s blood so I can be with God eternally.
• The cross means freedom
• The cross is where Jesus Christ was separated from the Father and took on His wrath for my sin, He paid my debt. The cross is my only hope for salvation.
• Cross = immeasurable grace and mercy encompassed by an unbelievable and unconditional love!
• JH – overjoyed that a wretched sinner like me finds love and kindness and mercy in Jesus Christ that He would take what I deserve and give me His perfection.
• NT – the cross is the most wonderful thing just like Jesus.
• Forgiveness and mercy
• The cross means to me to be forgiven for our sin and mercy.
• AD – how amazing His love for us…
• DS – the cross the instrument God used to do for me which I can not do for myself – bridge the gap.
• BD – what Jesus did for us on the cross just really shows how amazing He is. How much He loves us all. He is such an amazing God. To send His Son to live a perfect life and then to take the death we all deserve.
• LD – it means to me Jesus paying for our sins from God the ultimate gift that we could ever get.
• VT – Jesus died on the cross for my sins. And I am growing more in Christ which is the most amazing thing!
• Wow love. No longer tied up to sin (picture it) true death; true life
• Jesus gave me life; He broke the chains of bondage I was caught in for I was a slave to sin. Praise be to God my Lord and Savior.
• Grace = Jesus on the cross and His love washed away our sin
• The cross to me means hope and forgiveness
• The cross means Jesus Christ suffering for my sins.
• LM – the cross means the ultimate gift eternal life! God took my sin and I am grateful
• The cross is not unusual as a means of death – many others have endured worse. None other though has faced the eternal wrath of God (yet). Christ suffered immeasurably in those 3 hours on the cross. Compounding His pain was His separation from the Father. I deserve eternal punishment, but the cross symbolizes my forgiveness and hope of eternity.

John

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“The first order of business is to know the gospel.  This seems so obvious that stating it can feel silly.  But, in point of fact, many professing and believing Christians possess a shallow understanding of the gospel as a result of years of hearing short “gospel presentations” tacked onto the ends of sermons.  Still others who know the message of Christ find themselves feeling awkward and incapable of sharing the good news clearly with family and friends.  Taking steps to be sure we know the gospel with some clarity and depth, then, is necessary.

It’s helpful to rule out some ideas frequently presented as the gospel.  The gospel is not simply that (a) we are okay, (b) that God is love, (c) that Jesus wants to be our friends, or (d) that we should live right.  Neither is the gospel simply that all our problems will be fixed if we follow Jesus, or that God wants us to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.  All of these ideas may be true in some sense, but only in a partial sense and never as a solely sufficient statement of what the gospel is.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is literally “good news.”  As news it contains statement of fact and truths derived from those facts.  As good news the gospel holds out hope based upon promises of God and grounded in the historical facts and truths that vindicate those promises.

The gospel or good news of Jesus Christ is that God the Father, who is holy and righteous in all his ways, is angry with sinners and will punish sin.  Man, who disobeys the rule of God, is alienated from the love of God and is in danger of an eternal and agonizing condemnation at the hands of God.  But God, who is also rich in mercy, because of his great love, sent his eternal Son born by the Virgin Mary, to die as a ransom and a substitute for the sins of rebellious people.  And now, through the perfect obedience of the Son of God and his willing death on the cross as a payment for our sins, all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ, following him as Savior and Lord, will be saved from the wrath of God to come, be declared just in his sight, have eternal life, and receive the Spirit of God as a foretaste of the glories of heaven with God himself.

It is this message — briefly stated here — that we must imbibe and delight in if we are to be healthy church members.”

– Thabiti Anyabwile, What is a Healthy Church Member?, p.40-41

Erick

“What do you want so badly today that it is making you depressed, anxious, covetous, bitter or angry? What is making you sick of soul? That is the idol you need to repent of today! Pray and confess it to your Father.”

I wrote that on the back of my Bible in a time of deep anxiety, depression and covetousness. It has been something I frequently use as a reminder to repent and receive the peace and joy that is should always be mine in the Gospel.

Enjoy!
Erick.

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols”
1 John 5:21

Answer:

Peter

Scripture teaches that God has written His law on the heart of every person.  Conviction over sin, a guilty conscience, and experiencing personal responsibility for violating God’s righteous law are present in all people (Rom 1:1-32) — the saved and the unsaved!  So the key question is ‘what does the Bible say genuine salvation looks like?’:

How do I know my life has been transformed by God’s grace, that I’m really a Christian? How do I know if I’m  just a “professor” or a real “possessor” of genuine saving faith?

The Bible states that a person can know if they are truly born-again (Gal 5:16-25)!  It exhorts us to examine ourselves to see if we truly “possess” genuine, saving faith in Jesus Christ (2 Cor 13:5 ).  The Bible gives ample descriptions of the nature and specific type of  ”God-given faith” that resides in the heart of a true follower of Christ (Matt 5:3-12; Col 3).

Listed below are some, but not all, of those key heart attitudes and actions that “possesors” of genuine faith display as the pattern of their life:

1. Manifest love for the God of the Bible – an undying desire to  worship, please, sacrifice and serve the triune God (Ps 42:1ff; Rom 8:7; 1 Pet 1:8-9; 1 Jn 2:9-11).
2. Humility – an unwavering recognition and conviction of your total sinfulness and inability to be accepted  by and please God, apart from Christ (Matt 5:3).
3. Heart desire for righteousness – a deep passion for personal purity, a “hunger and thirst after righteousness.”
4. Submission to God’s Authority – a heart’s desire to fully embrace the Lordship of Christ and the absolute authority of Scripture (Matt 7:21-27;  Jn 14:15).
5. Heart-driven obedience to God’s Word – a  passion and pattern of obedience to Scripture because He  has changed you.  You obey because He is sovereign, worthy, your Creator, Savior and you love Him (John 8:31, 14:15, 23-24, cf. 15:10).

So “conviction over sin” alone, or any other perceived transgression, does not prove one “possesses” true salvation.  The “proof” is provided by a changed heart and life that displays, at a minimum, the Spirit-generated characteristics presented above.

If you believe that you do not possess “genuine saving faith” in Christ  and you desire to, then I humbly encourage you to speak with me or anyone faithfully serving at FBC.  (It would be a joy!)

Remember, the Bible says ”faith” comes by hearing (or understanding) and understanding comes by the Word of  God!  (Rom 10:17)