To listen to Nancy’s answer recorded from Moody radio with Kelli and Steve, click below.
God is a giver of great gifts. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” In verse 4-7 He writes, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.”
Jesus extended His grace to us, that keeps us from eternal death and torment. He willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty of all of our sin, past, present and future. When we put our trust and faith in Jesus, and choose to live to His glory and not our own, we become His child and are set free from the desire to ignore God and do our own thing.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
When Jesus Christ says to us, “Come, believe in me,” He is not saying that it is time to get rid of some of the bad practices from our life or to add religion to our daily routine. He is saying that it is time for a totally new beginning, new life, new hope, new strength and a new vision. God looks on our heart, and when we are ready to turn away from our old self and embrace God He makes us into a new creation. He gives all believers a new identity; we become His child. No longer does sin have a hold on us; we now, through Christ, can resist the devil and live as God’s child to His glory.
Geoff Thomas wrote, “That means, for example, that we have been delivered from sin in the sense that it no longer dominates and lords over the Christian dictating to him how he is to live. Once it did, and it told him to ignore God, forget about Jesus Christ, never pray, don’t even think of going to church, ignore the fact of death, don’t bother to read the Bible and forget you have a soul. There was a time, before the Christian was converted, when he obeyed sin in all those details. How different things are now! Sin rages within him – yes – but it does not reign as a dictator. It is absolutely impossible for sin to be king in the Christian believer. It is no longer in control. The tyranny of sin over the old man has been broken. The influence of sin has not been totally eradicated but its lordship has ended.”
“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).
Jesus gave us a new identity. Yes, we are still temped with sin, but our hearts are sealed in Jesus as God’s guarantee or pledge that we do indeed have eternal life with Him!
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13–14).
Jesus was the only perfect man to have lived on earth. He is fully God and never sinned but yet he died for us. All human beings are sinful, selfish with hearts that are deceitfully wicked. We deserve of God’s wrath. We owed a debt we could never repay on our own. We were enemies of God.
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10)
In our culture today, many believe, including some of those who identify as Christians, there are many ways to God. They might believe that Jesus was a good person, a savior, but not the only Savior of the world.
John 14:6, “I am the way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to God but through me.”
Jesus is the Truth in whom we should believe. He is reliable and trustworthy, and He has the power to redeem us, to save us, and to give us true freedom. The law does not give grace. Either does religion; Nor our performance. Jesus is the One who saves. It is God’s grace that draws us to Him. When we believe, our lives change. In us, the Holy Spirit of God gives us the desire to live for God’s glory as we love and serve others. That is what it means to be free!
“As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him. So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:30-32).