Proclaiming the Truth to Hecklers & Encouraging Believers to Witness

By Justin Edwards

These two videos from Tony Miano are very instructive. In the first video, Tony completes the reading from 1 John, calling for people to examine themselves in light of the Word of God. If one does not believe in the God of the Bible as defined by the God of the Bible, then one has created a god in their own image. If one does not believe in Jesus as defined through Holy Scripture but instead cherry picks particular verses to form their religious dogma, then they have created a false jesus - one that does not exist. I call such people to consider what has been presented in the following series: Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath

In the second video, Tony speaks with Oscar, a fellow believer who has struggled in openly sharing his faith with strangers.  Listen to Tony encourage Oscar, and if you find yourself in the same shoes as Oscar, pray that God would give you the courage and help you overcome your fears in witnessing to strangers.  You may find the resources at The Speak:Truth Project helpful.

Citylight Baptist Church - The Say Yes! Project

By Justin Edwards

My friend Brian Norris and his family are moving to Charlotte, NC to build a church that is Gospel-centered and Christ-focused, and he needs your help!  Beginning today, July 1st through July 3rd, Brian is launching a fundraiser for financial support to build the church that God has called him to pastor.  I'll let Brian tell you a bit more about the vision for Citylight Baptist Church:

I am so excited for what God has in store for Citylight.  As one who is on the streets of Charlotte weekly proclaiming the Gospel, I can tell you many people are open to hearing the truth of God's Word, and so often they ask about a local church to attend. Most of the people we speak with in Uptown Charlotte are poor or homeless and have no means of transportation other than the public transit system.  What Citylight will provide is a biblically grounded church, rooted and faithful to the essential truths of Scripture, located just outside the center city along major transit routes.

The Norris Family

As you learned in the short video above, Citylight will be a church whose primary purpose is building up the Body of Christ to go out and make disciples of all nations, whether they be found in one's own backyard or halfway around the world.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ will be faithfully proclaimed while practicing the life-changing implications of the Gospel through serving and ministering to the local community. Citylight will be a church that does not compromise its biblical convictions, and will shine brightly in the midst of darkness that has so corrupted many American churches today who aim to conform to the world instead of God's Word.

Brian has been commissioned by Eastside Baptist Church of Greeneville, Tennessee, where he served as youth pastor for seven years under the leadership of Pastor David Fox.  Citylight  is accountable to their sending church, Eastside, in addition to a board made up of three church pastors and their churches' leadership teams. These churches function in an advisory role and keep Citylight morally, financially, and doctrinally accountable.  Please see the following link to learn more about Citylight's statement of beliefs:  Beliefs.

The Say Yes! Project is asking you to prayerfully consider joining the Norris family in their pursuit to build a Christ-exalting, New Testament church in the heart of Charlotte, NC.  There are 6 ways you can partner with Citylight:

1. Consider giving monthly - no gift is too small.
2. If you are a blog-owner or social media user, write a post about the campaign.
3. Repost the following link on social media: www.citylightbaptist.org/yes .
4. Ask your friends to link to this post. (Please ask them to ask their friends to do the same.)
5. Make the “say YES!” image your facebook or twitter profile picture from July 1-3.
6. Share the vimeo video.

Citylight's goal is to partner with 200 donors giving $5, $10, $20, $30, or $40 a month for a period of three years.

Without further adieu, I'll let Brian tell you a bit more about the campaign July 1-3 in the video below.  If you are led to financially contribute to Citylight Baptist Church, the Say Yes! logo will be posted in the sidebar through July 3rd for you to click and donate.  I am honored with the privilege to share this new ministry with you and invite you to join my family as we support Citylight Baptist Church for the next 3 years.

You Do Not Believe Because...

By Justin Edwards

You do not believe because you are not part of my flock. - John 10:26

Last Friday's post Atheists Hate Jesus, but Some Don't Realize It has created quite the stir in the comment section.  Many Atheists have commented asking many questions about "the Christian God" (as they say), but the answers given have not satisfied them.  I do not blame them since the Bible clearly states it is impossible for them to understand:

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. - 1 Corinthians 2:14

My experience has been that quoting such a verse only serves to make them more angry.  Not only does it anger Atheists, but it angers professing christians who do not accept the Bible as the infallible Word of God.  Such would be the case from a fellow that goes by the name of Former Conservative (FC) who runs a blog titled Confessions of a Former Conservative.  Most, if not all, of the commenters came from his blog, which serves to attack Christian websites/blogs of whom he disagrees with ridicule and snarkiness.  FC holds much disdain and contempt for fundamental evangelical Christianity, and the fruit that he shows can be described in no other way than this:

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. - 1 John 4:20-21

Examples of this hatred have come through many blog posts at the Former Conservative website.  He has ridiculed many of my own blog posts, in addition to posts by Tony Miano, Defending. Contending., Trisha Ramos, and Steve Sanchez.  FC abhors the Holy Bible and Jesus' command to "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15).  Although I have never mentioned FC on airō before now, he has been the inspiration for a few blog posts including Jesus Died for Me and the recent 4-part series Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath.

The reason for this post is to address in more detail a comment from one of the commenters (named "depizan") from Friday's article, who said:

"All of His sheep will hear His voice and follow Him, and all who come to Him He will never cast out."

Some of the people questioning your take on the Christian God are, er, His sheep. Are you really that certain that your take is correct and not theirs? How can you say they haven't come to him? I'm pretty sure only God would know that, yes?

I assumed "depizan" is referring to FC, and perhaps one or two others commenters on the post who share an equal disdain for fundamental evangelical Christianity as FC.  Ultimately this is a disdain for the God of the Bible.  Whether admitted Atheist, liberal christian, or anyone else who does not believe the God of Scripture, there is a reason for this given by Jesus Himself (who liberal christians claim to believe yet oftentimes reject or seek to deconstruct the rest of Scripture.  Some call themselves "red letter christians").

Jesus did not shy away from the doctrines of grace (commonly called "Calvinism" today), but rather He was bold in their proclamation.  Take, for instance, the verse posted at the top of this article where Jesus said,

You do not believe because you are not part of my flock.

Note that this does not say,

Because you do not believe you are not part of my flock.

It is important to understand that Jesus is saying the reason they do not believe is because they are not one of His sheep, for if they were one of His sheep, they would indeed believe.  The verse follows Jesus' parable of the sheepfold and the testimony of the Good Shepherd.  In John 10:26, Jesus was speaking to the Jews who rejected Him and accused Him of blasphemy by claiming to be God.

Going back to the beginning of the chapter, Jesus gives the parable:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers (John 10:1-5).

The thieves and robbers Jesus is referring to are the blind Scribes and Pharisees who do not exalt Christ, but rather exalt their own self-righteousness and promote their man-centered agendas.  This would also apply to any modern/postmodern preacher whose motives are anything but of God.  To this end, J.C. Ryle comments,

The false shepherd of souls is he who enters the clerical office with little or no thought about Christ, from worldly and self-exalting motives, but from no desire to exalt Jesus, and the great salvation that is in Him.

These false shepherds will scatter the sheep.  When a sheep, a born again believer, hears the truth of God's Word, he is drawn by it in such a way that it soothes his soul.  When the Gospel is proclaimed, they are stirred and excited, never growing tired of hearing about the love of God to save men and women from their sin.  These do not follow the voice of a stranger, but rather they know and follow the voice of their shepherd.  

Jesus continues in John 10:11, 14-15:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep...I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Here Jesus makes the unpopular claim that He, as the Good Shepherd, laid down His life for His sheep.  He did not lay His life down for all, for all are not His own.  Christ laid His life down for those the Father gave Him from eternity past (John 6:37; Ephesians 1:4).  Christ laid His life down for His sheep, and He knows them each by name (verse 4).  When they hears His voice, they will follow Him without exception, and they will love Him and obey Him, being sanctified in the truth of God's Word (John 17:17).  Amazingly, just as the Father knows the Son and the Son knows the Father, so too does the Son know each of His sheep the same.

Speaking of these truths found in the Gospel of John (in addition to pointing out that God's sheep have been commissioned to call His remaining sheep through the proclamation of the Gospel), my friend John Samson comments,

From John’s Gospel, we can make the following scriptural statements: All that the Father has chosen to be His from eternity, He has given to the Son (John 6:37); and all whom He has given to the Son, the Son knows (John 10:3); and calls (John 10:3-5); and all whom He calls, know Him (John 10:14) and recognize His voice (John 10:4-5) and they come to Him (John 6:37) and follow Him (John 10:4, 27); and the Son lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11); and He gives them eternal life (John 10:28) and keeps them in the Father’s word (John 17:6), so that not even one of them is lost (John 6:39), to glorify the Son forever (John 17:10). This is the indestructible foundation for an infallible salvation that rebounds in the end to the glory of both the Father and the Son.

None of Christ’s sheep finally reject His word. Though He allows some of His sheep to resist the word for a long time, never do they reject it finally. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.” (John 6:37). What a promise! And what a privilege we have in sharing the Gospel with people, as we witness the Good Shepherd rounding up His sheep.

So what of those who are not part of Christ's flock?  Returning back to John 10:26, they do not believe because they are not of the sheepfold of the Good Shepherd.  Even more bluntly in John 8:39-47, Jesus said of those who do not believe:

...Now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God...If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here...Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires...because I tell the truth, you do not believe me...Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

What is the cause and effect?  People who reject the God of the Bible and do so until death do not understand the things of God because they cannot hear the voice of Christ.  They are spiritually deaf.  Because the truth is spoken, they do not believe.  It is because they are not of God, but of the father of lies, Satan.  They are in bondage to their sin and the devil has blinded them so they cannot see the Kingdom of God (2 Corinthians 4:4).  It is only those who are of God, who are of His sheepfold, who can hear the words of God and be changed into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When praying to His Father in John 17:1-26, Jesus interceded for His sheep:

I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

According to Christ Himself, the world hates you when you love the truth, namely Jesus and His Holy Word to us, which includes the infallible writings of the Old and New Testament.  Believers were given by the Father to the Son, and it is these for whom He laid down His life.  Jesus does not intercede for anyone other than the sheep of His flock.  He guides us and guards us and will sanctify us in and by His Truth found in the inerrant Word of God, the Bible.  The world hates us because we are not of the world, but God has called us out of the world to no longer be like the world.  

This leads me into a biblical warning for "Former Conservative":

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. - John 15:18-19

FC, it is clear the world loves you as its own.  I say this for no other reason but to call you to examine yourself per 2 Corinthians 13:5 through the Word of God. I encourage you to begin in the book of 1 John. You have managed to build a following of people who reject, deny, and hate the God of the Bible, and they commend you for your attacks against born again believers.  Satan has further deceived you into thinking you are journeying a worthy cause.  Not only is this confirmed in your hatred for the Body of Christ as evidenced in your writings, but it is further established by the following from 1 John 4:5-6:

They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

The world listens to you and loves you, FC.  That is a major red flag, one that you must heed.  Whether or not you will heed the warning I do not know - that will depend upon whether or not you are of God for God's children love the truth, love the brethren, and love the holy and righteous God of love and wrath.  Plead for mercy from God, FC.  Until you know you've been born again and have received eternal life, plead with Him day and night that He would make His truth known to you, that He would sanctify you by His Word.  Plead with Christ to give you eyes to see and ears to hear that you would love all of the attributes of God, to receive Him as your Lord and Savior, that you would receive God Himself to spend eternity with Him in glory.  

Back to the original question posed by "depizan", a conclusive question might be asked:  

is Former Conservative one of God's sheep?

At this point, FC may be one of God's sheep, but his fruit indicates he has yet to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. I pray God does indeed call FC by name that he would repent and follow the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible.

In closing, I post the following message to any of the sheep who frequent Former Conservative's website or any other person who is not yet born again.  Perhaps there is only one of you reading, but know this:  the Good Shepherd knows you by name and He is calling you to come into the fold.  Listen to His voice and follow Him.  He declares for you to repent and trust in Him alone for your salvation, and when you do, He promises you abundant life (John 10:10).  The world loves its own, and they hate the Lord Jesus Christ and His sheep, but the Good Shepherd is calling you out from among them.  He did not die for the world, but He did die for you.  God stepped down from His throne in heaven that you would be reconciled to Himself through the blood of Jesus Christ, that you would receive the riches of His mercy and grace and reign with Him forever! 

Listen to the voice of your Shepherd as He calls you forth from among the spiritually dead.  Forsake everything that has kept you from the Lord.  Leave the crowd behind, lay down your pride, and never look back.  If you desire to know who Jesus really is, if you feel the draw of the Holy Spirit, if you want to know exactly what Christ did and why He did it for His sheep, then please read about The Suffering Servant.  If you have any questions about anything, I offer you the same as I offered Jon in the comment section of this post. 

One of God's lost sheep is out there somewhere, perhaps amongst the readers of Confessions of a Former Conservative.  If that is you, come to Christ.  Come to the Lamb and be healed.  Come to the King and receive the reward of your inheritance.  Come to Lord of the Harvest, and live!

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. - Revelation 22:17

Oh little sheep, fix your eyes on the cross: 

Rebellion or Reconciliation?

By Justin Edwards

Find out who you really are. Voddie Baucham gives us the questions and the answers to:

1. Who am I
2. Why am I here
3. What is wrong with the world
4. How can what is wrong, be made right.

Will you continue to rebel, or have you been or will you be reconciled to God through the Lord Jesus Christ?

Atheists Hate Jesus, but Some Don't Realize It

By Justin Edwards

I received a comment from an Atheist on a post regarding friendship evangelism at airō yesterday, and wanted to share it here with you.  Cary seemed honest in his inquiry so I was happy to reply to him candidly.  His comment was a bit lengthy (read it in its entirety HERE), so I will just post the crux of his question:

Why do evangelists always seem to think that the only reason I’m not a Christian is because A) I hate Jesus or B) I’ve never heard of him?

Below is my response to Cary.  Keep in mind that when engaging Atheists, we are not mandated to convince them with arguments (although argument certainly has its place), but rather we are to proclaim the truth as it is written in the Word of God.  We must be honest and true to Scripture, no matter how difficult these truths might be to the hearer.  Proclaiming these truths, we trust that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit,

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication… that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. – Ephesians 6:17-20.

——————————————————————–

Hi Cary,

Thanks for the reply and I appreciate your honest and amicable tone. It seems some of your reply was directed at the girl who wrote Tony the letter, so I will reply to points where I may be able to answer biblically and theologically.

Firstly, I can empathize with your feelings toward Christians whose motivation for evangelism seem to be about numbers or winning arguments. The biblical mandate, however, is to proclaim the Gospel biblically without concern for numbers or winning arguments. This should naturally lead to witnessing encounters rooted in genuine compassion and concern for the lost soul, thus taking however much time is necessary, if possible, to convey the truth of God’s Word regarding salvation.

To your first question, non-Christians may not openly profess to hate Christ, but their not loving Him by acknowledging Him as Lord or submitting to the Law of God is rebellion against their Master. Further, professing Christians can and often do hate God as revealed in their lifestyle of sin and love for the world. Jesus is clear that the world hates Him, and as a result will hate His chosen ones and the truth:

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. – John 15:-18-19

We find in James 4:4:

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

These are just a couple of examples for why the Bible says you hate Christ. You may not hate Him as much as you possibly can, but you are naturally an enemy of Him because you do not worship Him. According to the Bible, this would make you in violation to the 1st Commandment because you have placed yourself on God’s throne to live your life according to your will, instead of submitting to the Lordship of Christ and acknowledging His rule and reign in your life. This holds true for the Christian false convert who professes to know God but by their deeds they deny Him (Titus 1:16). Paul also talks about them in Philippians 3:18-19:

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

I was one of those false converts for many years. So whether false convert or Atheist or idolater, the Bible defines these types as enemies of God because they do not love Him. You might find the following article helpful that contrasts the difference between a child of God and a child of the god of this world (Satan):  Who Am I According to God?  Who Are You?

To your second point, you say you and “we” already know “all of this”, but what you fail to understand is head knowledge does not equate to salvation. My experience has been, even here in the “Bible Belt”, is that most professing Christians do not have a biblical understanding of the Gospel. We do not, then, operate on assumptions when evangelizing that everyone already knows the Gospel. I have heard it said by 2 or 3 different foreign missionaries asking when American churches will be requesting missionaries to come to the U.S. to proclaim the Gospel in America. It is truly a sad state of affairs in a country that was so rich in Christian heritage, but has now fallen into grave rebellion against God.

Biblically speaking, the reason why you are not a Christian, perhaps at least not yet, is because you are still dead in your sin (Ephesians 2:1). Not only are you born condemned in sin (John 3:18), but the god of this world has blinded your mind so you cannot see the light of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). Therefore, “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Moreover, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Speaking of childbirth [as you mentioned], the Bible says you must be born again to see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). That is why you cannot see. You can no more cause yourself to be born again than your child can cause himself or herself to be born from the womb. No intellectual argument, no matter how convincing, can convert you. It comes “…not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). However, the Bible also says in John 6:37, “whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

So the question for you, Cary, is will you continue to suppress the truth of God (Romans 1:18), or will you exercise faith and trust in Christ? God says in Hebrews 11:4 “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Perhaps God will use this discussion to draw you close to Him by seeking the truth in His Word. Perhaps He will have mercy on you and reveal Himself to you in greater measure that you might turn to Him and be set free from the bondage of your sin and the god of this world. Perhaps you will hear the voice of the Son of God and He will call you forth from the spiritual dead to give you eternal life. Perhaps you will recognize Christ calling you to come eat from the Bread of Life and drink from the Living Water, that you may never hunger or thirst again. Perhaps God will produce in you a contrite heart that you will grieve over your offenses against Him, which will produce repentance leading to salvation. Perhaps you will hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, who calls His sheep by name, that you may respond to His irresistible call of grace to follow Him. Perhaps your soul will be awakened that you might receive the reward of your inheritance as an adopted son of the Most High and a co-heir with Christ to rule in His eternal kingdom.

But then again, perhaps you like your life just the way it is and would rather be left in your trespasses and sin. God is rich in mercy and grace, and the door is open for you to walk through. We are told to strive to enter through the Narrow Gate, meaning we must do everything in our power to be sure we are on the narrow road that leads through the narrow gate to eternal life. Are you happy with the status quo to continue doing things your way, or are you honest enough in your search for truth that you would embark on a journey to investigate the claims of Christ? The truth is there for those seeking it, so the ball’s in your court. I suggest you start in the Gospel of John or the book of Romans.

I hope to hear from you soon, Cary – I’ll be praying for you and thanks for taking the time to comment.

This article was originally posted at The Speak:Truth Project

Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath - Part 4

By Justin Edwards

Last week I posted the first three parts of this series that outlined some of the attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only true God.  In Part 1 it was shown that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament; that He is unchanging; that He is the Alpha and the Omega; and that He is a God of love, mercy, and grace.  Part 2 outlined that Jesus is a holy and righteous God; and Part 3 showed that He is a just judge who will pour out His wrath on those who have rebelled against Him (those who reject the Gospel or live a lifestyle contrary to it).  Yet, for those with ears to hear and eyes to see, there is Good News!

Despite His terrible and just wrath against the wicked - all born into this world who have a sinful nature - the Lord Jesus Christ is rich in mercy.  He has provided a way out for sinners to escape the wrath to come.  If you have a penitent heart for having sinned against God, pay attention to what the Bible says about the Savior.

The Suffering Servant

The prophet Isaiah gives the most detailed account of just how much Christ suffered for His people.  From a human perspective, yes, it was the Jews who murdered Jesus, and it was the Romans who washed their hands of this crime, but ultimately, it was not they who crushed the Son of God.  It was His own Father who crushed Jesus.  God killed His own Son, and it pleased Him to do so.  Why?  Because this was God's plan all along - to redeem a people for Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 2:14).  Let's turn our focus to Christ's sufferings in Isaiah 53:1-12, which was written over 700 years before the 1st coming of Christ:

Who has believed what he has heard from us?  And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 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.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Listen to C.J. Mahaney portray the account of Christ's sufferings from the 2007 Resolved Conference message titled The Suffering Servant.

The Redemptive Savior

Why did Christ come?  He most certainly did not come to give you your "best life now", nor did He come to merely give us an example for which to live by. Scripture tells us He came to shed His blood, without which there can be no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22):

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. - Matthew 1:21

Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. - Romans 4:25

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, - 1 Corinthians 15:3

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Hebrews 9:28

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. - 1 Peter 2:24

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Love of God

Why did Christ have to die?  As shown above, the shedding of blood is necessary to atone for sin.  There is no other way.  Why is this the case?  The only answer I have is it is the infinite wisdom of God that decreed it necessary, and our thoughts are not God's thoughts, neither are our ways His ways (Isaiah 55:8).  If He said it is good and necessary, then it must be good and necessary and I accept that by faith.  But what was the motivation behind it all?  The Good News is based on love:

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. - 1 John 3:16

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. - John 10:11

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. - 1 John 4:9-10

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:6-8

Ironically enough, Love epitomized is the most hated person in the world.

Jesus the Only Way

You have no doubt heard that Christ said in John 14:6,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Whether you have heard it once or a thousand times, it remains true.  You must go through Jesus Christ by faith in order to receive eternal life.  There is no life found in Buddha, Allah, Mother Earth, New Age philosophy, the Catholic jesus, the Mormon jesus, the liberal jesus, the social justice jesus, or any other jesus who is not the Narrow Way Jesus.  This is what He says, 

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthew 7:13-14

Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. - Luke 13:24

Only those with contrite hearts will enter the kingdom of God as the Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 7:10,

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

If you want Life and to escape God's wrath, this is what Jesus says to you:

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. - John 6:35

Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. - John 4:13-14

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? - John 11:25-26

Do you want this Bread and Water?  Do you want Life?

Jesus Is Worthy

The Son of God is worthy for you to come to Him.  

He was crushed by His own Father to demonstrate His love toward sinners.  Are you a sinner?  

God killed His own Son, who willingly laid His life down for His sheep.  Are you one of His sheep?  

Jesus refrained from saving Himself so that He could save and heal the sick.  Are you sick from the disease of sin?  

Beaten, cursed, afflicted, bruised, scorned, mocked, tormented, and brutalized - is He not worthy of your worship, praise, devotion, allegiance, love, and surrender? 

A perfect man, the only one to ever grace this earth, became sin so His Father could punish Him as our substitute.  He bore the iniquities of His children.  Are you one of His children?  Is He not worthy for you to come home?  To receive your inheritance?

The angels know He is worthy and sing,

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! - Revelation 5:12

The saints exalt Him by singing,

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. - Revelation 4:11

The glorified creatures of heaven proclaim, 

Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!...Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” - Revelation 7:10-12

Is the Lord Jesus Christ not worthy of you to join the heavenly choir?

Purchased to Be Set Free

Jesus tells us in John 8:34-36

Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Dear friend, do you want to be set free?  Do you want to know and have true freedom?  Freedom from the bondage of your sin, freedom from the god of this world, freedom from your enslavement to your flesh, freedom from the love of the world and the things of this world?  Do you want this freedom?  This is why Christ purchased His people with His own blood - to set them free!  He bought us to set us free!

Jesus, a holy and righteous God of love and wrath, will set His people free.  If you are of His people, and you are weary from the chains, cry out to Christ to be set free.  Don't wait any longer, today is the day of salvation.  To illustrate this point, that Christ bought us to set us free, listen to Paris Reidhead below.  Truly, when our freedom is purchased by One so worthy, we will want nothing more than to be His slave.

Won't you be a slave to Christ?  That is the Good News, dear friend.  The freedom is yours for the taking - become a slave to the worthy and glorious risen King.  Yield your life to Christ, and be free. 

Salvation - Ian Thomas

By Justin Edwards

"Salvation involves the reoccupation by God of a guilty sinner in such a way that Jesus Christ has the unchallenged, absolute, perpetual right to dictate the terms whereby that individual henceforth will run his life." - Ian Thomas