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You may be surprised to learn that doing good things, or doing good works, or having good intentions can never make us righteous in God's sight. See Titus 3:5 & Ephesians 2:8-9
The Bible teaches that by nature we are all sinful and self-deceived. As a result, we often do things (even good things) with the wrong motives or to get the approval of other people. Or, we may fool ourselves into thinking that we are sincerely devoted to God, or fully committed to Christ, because of a prayer we prayed, or a promise we made to serve God or make Jesus the Lord of our life. Or, at some point we may have felt truly sorry for our sins and convinced ourself that our sorrow or repentance (or penance) would somehow help make us acceptable to God. See Jeremiah 17:9 and Isaiah 64:6
In reality, we are completely devoid of the righteousness that God requires and we all fall infinitely short of God's standards revealed in Scripture. The truth is that the best of our commitment, dedication, and good works are totally unacceptable and even offensive to God! Simply put, He is good and we are not, He is righteous and we are not, He is holy and we are not! See Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23 and Ecclesiastes 7:20
The fact is, doing good things can actually prevent us from getting right with God because it can cause us to rely on our own effort or obedience (self-righteousness). What we need to understand is that we can never be saved from God's judgment and wrath by our devotion, submission, or promises to do better. We can never be saved by giving something to Jesus or by giving something up for Jesus. Anything we do and any sacrifice we make is defiled and utterly worthless in God's sight. There is only one sacrifice that removes our sins and guilt forever and that is Christ's once and for all sacrifice on the cross for us! See 2 Timothy 1:9 and Romans 4:5
On the cross, Jesus suffered for every sin you have ever committed or ever will commit! Now, if you will simply put your faith in Him alone, God promises to give you full forgiveness of sins and a permanent righteous standing before Him. This righteousness is the perfect righteousness of Christ that God will credit to you the moment you believe in Him. God offers eternal salvation freely and without cost to you, because Jesus already paid the full price by shedding His blood on your behalf. See 2 Corinthians 5:21 and 1 Peter 3:18
How can I know I am forgiven and will go to heaven? Why is Jesus' death called a 'substitutional sacrifice'? What was the purpose of animal sacrifices? How can I be freed from generational curses? Is there more than one way to God? For answers to these and other questions, go to our Q&A Page
"The Purpose of God's Law"
(Part 1)
(Part 1)
How to find meaning, significance, forgiveness of sins, and freedom from guilt and shame... Click on 2 above to continue
The Bible makes it clear that we are all sinners in desperate need of a Savior. Having no righteousness of our own in God's sight, we can only be made right with Him by putting our faith in Jesus Christ alone. Motivated by love, Christ came down from heaven and willingly took our sins upon Himself, suffering the justice and punishment we rightfully deserve!
Romans 3:22-25
"We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for anyone who believes [in Him]. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Yet [when we put our faith in Christ alone], God graciously forgives all our sins and declares that we are 'perfectly righteous forever' in His sight! God offered Jesus as the sacrifice and payment for our sins. On the cross He suffered the full penalty in our place [as our substitute]. A person is made right with God the moment they believe that Jesus shed His blood for them..."
By His death, Jesus provides complete forgiveness, removing all of your sins once and for all! As a result, He offers you eternal life, a fresh start, and a new identity in Christ. It all begins the moment you believe in Jesus Christ, trusting only in what He fully accomplished for you by His death and resurrection!
EPhesians 1:7, Acts 10:43
"In Him [Jesus] we have redemption [rescue from the penalty for our sins] through His blood shed on the cross for us. This includes full forgiveness of all our sins... Anyone who believes in Him, receives forgiveness of sins through His name... Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."
The Bible makes it clear that we can never become righteous by being religious, devoting our life to God, or serving others. Things like going to church, getting baptized, tithing, keeping the 10 commandments, giving up a sin or bad habit, or making a commitment or promise to live for Jesus, can never take away our sins or save us from God's judgment. Its not that these things are bad in themselves, its just that they are completely unacceptable to God as a means of receiving forgiveness and eternal life! The only way you can ever be made right with God is by putting your faith in Jesus Christ who has already done everything God required to save you!
Ephesians 2:8, Romans 4:5-8
"God saves you by His undeserved grace when you put your faith [in Jesus Christ alone]. This salvation does not come from us. It is the free and unmerited gift of God given without cost, and not by our own effort, devotion, or good works. It is truly a free gift and not a reward for anything we do... To the one who does not work but who trusts God who justifies the ungodly, his/her faith is credited as righteousness. King David also speaks of the happiness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.'"
When you trust in Jesus Christ, who died and rose for you, God places you in an honored position in His royal family. He treats you as pure, precious, and perfectly righteous in Christ! This becomes your new, unchanging, and eternal identity!
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Galatians 3:13-14
(Audio: 2 min. 2 Sec.)
(Audio: 2 min. 2 Sec.)
"The Purpose of God's Law"
(Part 2)
"No Matter Who You Are"
3 Minutes Could Change
Your Life Forever!
(Video: 3 min. 25 sec.)
3 Minutes Could Change
Your Life Forever!
(Video: 3 min. 25 sec.)
Have you ever heard someone say, "Salvation is free, but it will cost you everything" or "If Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all"? These clichés have been repeated so often, many people assume they are true. Click on 2 above.
These clever sounding sayings are actually misleading and unbiblical because they imply that we are saved, not by faith in Jesus Christ alone, but by making a personal sacrifice, paying some kind of a price, or promising to being submissive and obedient. When a preacher, teacher, or evangelist tells an unsaved person that they need to submit, surrender, or promise to be obedient, they are asking them to do what they are entirely incapabable of doing! Even worse, they are asking them to do what God has not asked them to do!
The Bible makes it clear that an unbeliever is utterly powerless to do anything righteous or pleasing to God (see Romans 8:8, Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9-10). If personal righteousness, submission, and devotion are necessary for a person to be saved, then no one could be saved, because "There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who does good, no one who seeks God..." (Romans 3:10-12).
"All of us have become as an unclean thing and all our righteousness is as filthy rags..." (Isaiah 64:6). Our best attempts at submission, devotion, and obedience are not only inadequate, but they are tainted and polluted by our inherent and inborn sinfulness. They are also offensive and utterly unacceptable to God! The only one who who can save us from our sins (including the sins of self-righteousness, self-deception, and pseudo devotion) is Jesus Christ. Only His death on the cross is accepted by God the Father as payment for our sins and it is the only means by which anyone who believes in Him will be declared 'perfectly righteous forever' in His sight!
The Bible is clear, we can only be made right with God by simple childlike faith in Jesus Christ alone - totally apart from our submission, devotion, obedience, and good works. It's is only after we have been saved by grace that the Holy Spirit begins to produce His fruit of good works in our lives (Ephesians 2:8-10). Read another article about this subject Here
Is it possible to lose your salvation? Will God ever turn His back on one of His children? Click on 2 above.
The words "eternal" and "everlasting" occur 120 times in the Bible. By their very definition they mean that which lasts forever, never ends, and can never be cut short or lost. God Himself is eternal and everlasting, His Word is eternal and everlasting, and His unchanging promise to those who simply believe in Jesus Christ alone, is eternal and everlasting life as a permanent possession!
"God, who cannot lie, promised us eternal life before the world began [and you can be sure He will never go back on His Word!]... Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life... Whoever comes to Me I will never drive away... This is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but will raise them up on the last day... My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day." (Titus 1:2, John 3:16, 6:37, 6:39-40)
"The one who believes has eternal life... He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will never face judgment, He has crossed over from death to life... My sheep hear my voice, I know them, they follow Me. I give unto them eternal life and they will never perish, neither can anyone pluck them out of My hand..." (John 3:15, 5:24, 10:27-30)
"Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Neither death or life, neither angels or demons. Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below— indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
"The Bible's Greatest Topic"
(Video: 4 min. 58 sec.)
(Video: 4 min. 58 sec.)
"All the other leaders of the world's religions have died, never to be heard from again..."
ISLAM says that Jesus was a prophet, but inferior to Muhammad. BUDDHISM says He was a wise teacher, but not God. HINDUS say He was 'a god' but only one of many gods. JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES and MORMONS say He was an exalted angel, but deny His claims of Deity. Click on 2 above to continue.
Referring to Jesus Christ, the Bible says that all things were created by Him, including the universe and everything in it! It also says all things were created for Him - i.e., for His purpose and for His glory!
John 1:3, Colossians 1:16-17
“All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being... By Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible. All things have been created through Him and for Him."
All of the leaders of the world's religions have died, and stayed dead, never to be heard from again! Jesus also died (to take away our sins), but then He came back to life three days later! His resurrection sets Him apart from anyone and everyone in the history of the world! It also demonstrates His divine glory and deity. The resurrection also shows us that God the Father fully approved, affirmed, and endorsed Christ's sacrifice on the cross as the full payment for our sins.
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 , Romans 4:23-25
"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [as prophesied by the prophets in the Old Testament], He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures... He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time... He was delivered over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification."
The Bible says emphatically that Jesus Christ is "GOD" (John 1:1), "GOD with us" (Isaiah 7:14), "GOD revealed in a body" (1 Timothy 3:16), "GOD overall" (Romans 9:5), "the Mighty GOD" (Isaiah 9:6-7), and "the True GOD and Eternal Life" (1 John 5:20). Speaking to Christ, GOD the Father said, "Your throne, Oh GOD, is forever and ever!" (Hebrews 1:8). Jesus Himself said, "I and My Father are One" (John 10:30), "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:7-9), and everyone must honor the Son just as they honor the Father who sent Him" (John 5:23-24). Jesus also said, "Unless you believe that I AM, you will indeed die in your sins (John 8:24)." Note: The term "I AM" that Jesus used of Himself is exactly the term that Jehovah God used of Himself in Exodus 3:14.
hEbrews 1:8-9
About the Son, GOD the Father says, "Your throne, O GOD, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of Your kingdom..." Speaking to the Son, the Father also says, "In the beginning, LORD, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but you remain... Your days will never end!"
Approximately 2,000 years ago, Jesus - God the Son and Creator of the the universe - took on a human body and died as a sacrifice for our sins on the cross. He loved us so much that He willingly suffered the punishment we deserved, in our place! The hundreds of miracles that He performed (seen by numerous eyewitnesses) and His resurrection from the dead, prove conclusively that He was (and is) THE MESSIAH OF ISRAEL; THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD; GOD THE SON; GOD REVEALED TO MANKIND!
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100% Accurate Bible Prophecies!
Several hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophets of Israel miraculously foretold His coming with perfect accuracy! There are over 400 prophesies about Jesus in the Bible! Click on 2 above to continue.
500 years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Micah announced the exact place where Jesus would be born, His future rule over the nation of Israel, and the fact that He would be a shepherd to His people. "But you, Bethlehem... though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God..." (Micah 5:2-4).
700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah announced that He would be born of a virgin. “The Lord Himself will give you a sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God with us.’” (Isaiah 7:14)
700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah also spoke of His birth, His divine Sonship, His future government, His eternal kingdom (when He will reign on the earth) and His many titles. "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward and forever.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah also wrote about Christ's suffering for our sins. He wrote about the fact that He would be pierced for our transgressions and that He would be offered as a sacrifice, bearing our iniquities. “Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all... You make His soul an offering for sin. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities... He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53 excerpts)
The author of the book of Hebrews quotes several prophesies from the Psalms that were written 1,000 years before Christ came to the earth! Here are just a few examples. “[And God said] 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father...I will be His Father, and He will be my Son.' And again, when God brings His Firstborn into the world, He says, 'Let all God’s angels worship Him.' ...About the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:5-9)
Worth Reading: John 3:14-18
"Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] must be lifted up [on the cross], so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in Him stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
Worth Reading: Romans 3:19-25
"The purpose of the Law of Moses [the 10 Commandments, etc.] is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God [because everyone has broken the Commandments!]. No one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law and the Commandments simply show us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the Law and the Commandments... We are made right with God only by placing our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This is true is true for everyone who believes, no matter who you are! For we have all sinned; we all fall short [infinitely short!] of God’s glorious perfection. lory His glorious standard. Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us righteous in His sight [the moment we put our faith alone in Christ alone]. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God offered up Jesus as the sacrifice for sin [our sin!]. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding his blood for them."
"The Real Purpose of
the 10 Commandments"
(Video: 11 min. 58 sec.)
the 10 Commandments"
(Video: 11 min. 58 sec.)
Most people start in the book of Genesis, but when they get to Leviticus or Deuteronomy, they often give up. What they may not realize is that there's a better place to begin! [Click on 2 above to continue]
Every book of the Bible was written to a specific audience, for a specific purpose, at a specific time. As a result, some books are more pertinent and relevant to us than others. Two of these books, the Gospel of John and the Book of Romans, are primary and foundational. These two books hold the key to understanding the message and meaning of the entire Bible.
The Gospel of John was written to present an accurate and easy-to-understand biography of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. John records several personal interactions Jesus had with people just like us. He also includes word pictures and illustrations that are simple to comprehend and yet profound in their meaning.
The Book of Romans was written to explain the most essential truths of the Bible. As a result, it helps us understand the Old Testament, the four New Testament Gospels and the Book of Acts. Therefore, Romans is the starting point for all Bible study!
Here is a simple 21-day plan for reading the Gospel of John. Just read one chapter of the Gospel of John each day. If you miss a day, just pick up where you left off the next day. If you have difficulty understanding a chapter, read it twice.
Our 21-day plan for Romans is a little different. Start by reading Romans 3:19-31 & Romans 4:1-8 once a day for the first five days. Note: These two passages are most important! Then, on day six, begin with chapter one and read one chapter each day until you finish chapter 16. If you have any difficulty understanding a chapter, read it twice. If you have any questions, let us know. The Gospel of John and the Book of Romans are life-changing! If you follow through and complete both 21 day plans, I assure you that you will experience God's grace and power in new and dynamic ways.
Our 21-day plan for Romans is a little different. Start by reading Romans 3:19-31 & Romans 4:1-8 once a day for the first five days. Note: These two passages are most important! Then, on day six, begin with chapter one and read one chapter each day until you finish chapter 16. If you have any difficulty understanding a chapter, read it twice. If you have any questions, let us know. The Gospel of John and the Book of Romans are life-changing! If you follow through and complete both 21 day plans, I assure you that you will experience God's grace and power in new and dynamic ways.
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The Savior of the World
(John 4:3-26 excerpts)
The Savior of the World
(John 4:3-26 excerpts)
"Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well [Jacob's well]. It was about 12 o'clock noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (Click on 2 above)
The Samaritan woman said, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well...?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
...The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am He.”
The "living water" that Messiah offered this woman without cost represents forgiveness of sins and eternal life. "I will give to the one who is thirsty, the fountain of the water of life freely... Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life." (Revelation 21:6, 22:17)
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"A Counterfeit Gospel"
Audio Message by Rob Armstrong
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Audio Message by Rob Armstrong
(Missionary Bible Teacher & Evangelist)
Length: 51 min. 30 sec.
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