Question: Hope for what?
Answer: SALVATION –
to be made right with God, receive eternal life,
and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
"Without God, destruction is sure.
Those who have not personally accepted
God's love and forgiveness
will stand before him with no appeal.
Be sure to avail yourself to
God's love and mercy
while you have the opportunity."
Footnote from Joel 1:15-19,
New Living Translation Life Application Study Bible
Copyright © 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996
by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL. 60189.
All rights reserved.
Jesus took the punishment
of God's wrath on sin that
our sins deserve.
"He was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God's paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
Isaiah 53:5-6 (NLT)
WE are the reason that Jesus Christ,
the one and only Son of God,
suffered and died on the cross at Calvary
– so that WE could be made right with God
and receive eternal life.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Most people are aware of John 3:16;
you've undoubtedly seen signs stating "JOHN 3:16"
held up by people at sporting and other public events:
"For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life."
However, verses 18-20 provide the full context
which are skipped over by many:
"He who believes in Him is not condemned;
but he who does not believe
is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation,
that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light
and does not come to the light,
lest his deeds should be exposed."
John 3:16-19 (NKJV)
Question: What does that mean?
Answer: That means since the Fall of Man
after Adam chose to ignore God's warning and
disobeyed Him, sin and death entered the world
and we inherited a sin nature that is
bent against God.
(Results of the fall of man are listed in MP4 or
PDF)
And Romans 5:19 & 5:8 informs us:
"For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so also
by one Man's obedience many
will be made righteous."
Romans 5:19 (NKJV)
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8 (NKJV)
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the
New Living Translation Life Application Study Bible."
Copyright ® 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, IL. 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version.®
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Accessed from BibleGateway.com
Jesus paid a sin debt He did not owe because
we owe a sin debt we cannot pay. It is through
Jesus Christ that God, in His grace and mercy,
provided us with the only way
to be made right with Him.
GOD DOES NOT SEND ANYONE TO HELL –
people choose to go there.
One's eternal destination, be it Heaven or Hell,
is solely the consequence of the choice
each person makes to accept or reject salvation
through Jesus Christ.
Very sadly, majority of people will choose to remain
in darkness and not embrace the Light that came
into the world to save them, which will result in
the second death – eternal separation from God
and being cast into the Lake of Fire condemned for
eternity. There is no annihilation.
And why?
Because they steadfastly refuse to believe in the
only Truth that can save them.
Amplified Bible (AMP).
Copyright © 2015
by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations were accessed from BibleGateway.com
Jesus sacrificing His life on the cross at Calvary
clearly shows us how serious God views sin.
Sin separates us from God –
it cannot be in His Holy Presence.
It also shows us how much God loves us
by providing the way to become right with Him
through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
God did not have to extend his grace and mercy to us
through His Son.
He could have just let us be
condemned to an eternity in the Lake of Fire...
burning and burning but never burning up.
But God does not want anyone to face
His judgment and perish, as
Hebrews 10:30-31 (NKJV) informs us:
For we know Him who said,
"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
And again, "The Lord will judge His people."
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God."
God wants us to repent and live.
Repent means to change your mind, to turn away
from the world's way of doing things
(self-centeredness, wickedness, evil, darkness),
and believe in Jesus Christ and accept His
gracious gift of salvation — to be made right with God
and saved from eternal condemnation in Hell.
Jesus rose from the grave on the third day
after the crucifixion - just as He said He would -
(Bible Ref. Matthew 12:39-40)
and conquered spiritual death and now offers you
the gift of salvation and eternal life.
This gift has to be accepted BY FAITH,
it cannot be earned.
The man-made religions of the world falsely believe
they can earn their way to Heaven through "good works"
or by following the law — WRONG.
See to it that no one takes you captive
through philosophy and empty deception
[pseudo-intellectual babble],
according to the tradition [and musings]
of mere men,
following the elementary principles
of this world, rather than following
[the truth ‐ the teachings of ] Christ.
For in Him all the fullness of Deity
(the Godhead)
dwells in bodily form [completely
expressing the divine essence of God].
Colossians 2:8 (AMP)
Scripture marked (AMP) are taken from The Amplified Bible.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation,
La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations were accessed from BibleGateway.com
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
God hates man-made religions and rituals.
"Quit your worship charades.
I can't stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths,
special meetings
– meetings, meetings, meetings –
I can't stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that.
I hate them!"
Isaiah 1:13-17 (MSG)
Scripture marked (MSG) are taken from The Message,
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson.
Scripture quotations were accessed from BibleGateway.com
God wants a relationship with you
through His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ.
He does NOT want you to perform empty rituals
and going through the motions of some man-made religion
thereby deceiving yourself into thinking you're "good to go."
Without Jesus, you're not good to go, you're headed
for eternal damnation in the lake of fire.
Not everyone who says to Me,
Lord, Lord,
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father
who is in heaven.
Many will say to Me on that day,
Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name
and driven out demons in Your name
and done many mighty works in Your name?
And then I will say to them openly (publicly),
I never knew you; depart from Me,
you who act wickedly
[disregarding My commands].
Matthew 7:21-23 (AMPC)
Scripture marked (AMPC) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition,
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by
The Lockman Foundation.
Scripture quotations were accessed from BibleGateway.com
BELIEVING BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST
IS THE ONLY WAY
TO BE MADE RIGHT WITH GOD.
HOPE IS FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE.
THANK YOU, JESUS!