What a beautiful gift it is to be SAVED by the Blood of Jesus. It is such an amazing thing that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ willingly humbled Himself to come to earth to become our Sacrificial Lamb.
How was this the case? Christ Jesus did this by willfully shedding His Holy Blood on the Cross at Calvary in either 30 AD, 32 AD, or 33 AD, on the day of Passover.
Why did Jesus, also known as Yeshua by the Messianic Jews (i.e., the Jews who believe Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah), do this for us? He desired to, once and for all, SAVE us from Sin.
Who is this 'us' whom Jesus desired to SAVE? He desired to SAVE every single one of us, past, present, and future. Wow!
What do we have to do in return? We need to believe. We need to have sincere Faith that:
* Jesus was the one and only Messiah.
* Jesus is one part of the three-part Trinity. He is God the Son. The other two parts are God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. There are not three Gods. They comprise the one God made up of three distinct Persons.
* Jesus died to SAVE us from our Sins. In other words, because each of us is a sinner, as it states in the Bible, we each merit to be on death row, destined for an eternity in Hell. But if we sincerely repent, turn away from those sins, ask God to forgive us, and do our best not to repeat them, then an incredible exchange occurs.
* Jesus was fully God and fully Man.
* Jesus was Crucified, Resurrected on the third day, and Ascended into Heaven on the 40th day. About 500 of His Followers, including His 11 Disciples, witnessed Jesus' return to Life. Many of his Disciples and Followers also witnessed His ascent into the clouds, leading to Heaven.
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Imagine this little thought experiment. We are eating our last meal in prison before our permanent exit from this human life.
We bow our heads and sincerely state, "Dear God, please forgive me for every Sin I have ever committed, knowingly and unknowingly. I believe that Jesus died for me on the Cross. I believe that I am SAVED. I believe that Jesus was Crucified, was Resurrected on the third day, and Ascended back to Heaven on the 40th day. Jesus, you are my Savior, my Lord, and my King. Even at this late date, I invite You, Jesus, into my Heart. Because I am SAVED, I plead the Blood of Jesus to protect me. I pray this in the Holy name of Jesus. Amen."
Romans 6:23 (NLT) For the wages of Sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
From our prison cell, we hear a door opening.
John 10:9 (AMP) Jesus states: "I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security)."
We hear two sets of footsteps down the hallway.
We look up to see a prison guard and our Lord Christ Jesus.
The guard opens the prison door. Lord Jesus steps in. The guard says to us, "You are free to go since He has volunteered to take your place."
You stutter, "What? But, Jesus. You have never sinned. And I am indeed a sinner. Why would you do this for me?"
Lord Jesus places His hand on your shoulder and states, "It is because I love you."
John 15:13 (NIV) There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.
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Here is one example of a SINNER'S PRAYER. You can pray this prayer to be SAVED as a Christian who will, thereby, be deemed worthy to spend an eternity in Heaven instead of Hell. We are not worthy because we did anything to merit this Reward. We are worthy simply because the Holy Spirit inspired us to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, Savior, and King.
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What does it mean that Jesus Christ is one person of the 3-person Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?
These two examples show how some of us describe ourselves.
Example 1. Me, Myself, and I.
Example 2. Each of us has a body, a soul, and a spirit. The soul is the part of us that goes to either Heaven or Hell. The spirit is the breath that we breathe in and out, in and out.
Does that mean there are three of us? No. There are three parts to each of us, making up one unique whole.
A scene in the Bible helps us conceptualize the Trinity. In Matthew 3, we read that Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized. John, the Baptizer, was reluctant to have the Savior of the entire world, a man who had never sinned, submit to be baptized to repent of his sins. Jesus did this to fulfill Prophecy from the Old Testament.
Right after the conclusion of this Baptism, see what happened next.
Matthew 3:16 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, Heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from Heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (NIV)
Notice that God the Father spoke from Heaven. God, the Holy Spirit, chose to represent Himself as the image of a Dove. God the Son was baptized by His cousin John.
The Book of Matthew ends with these words that also highlight the Trinity. Before Ascending to Heaven, Jesus gave these directions to His Disciples and Followers.
Matthew 28:18 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
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Pentecost, also called Shavuot or Feast of Weeks, took place 50 days after the Resurrection of Jesus. On that day, a group of 120 people, comprising the 11 remaining Disciples and other Followers, received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
From that day forward, when a Christian accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit indwells us, offering comfort, help, friendship, and the wisest advice you could ever receive.
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What does it mean to be a SINNER? The Greek word for SIN means 'missing the mark.' For example, if you missed making a bullseye when shooting an arrow at the target, the Greeks would say you had SINNED. You had missed the mark.
As a teenager, I was appalled at the idea of calling myself a SINNER. After all, I was a good person. Sure, I had sometimes gossiped. Sure, I had told a lie sometimes. Sure, I had sometimes disrespected my parents and teachers. Sure, I had sometimes held a grudge when someone had 'done me wrong.' Sure, I had blurted out an occasional curse word. But I had never done any of the enormous transgressions like murder, stealing, drugs, alcohol, etc.
It is not enough to just be a good person with a moral compass who does their best to live an ethical life.
The Bible states that if we have SINNED even once, we merit an eternity in Hell.
The Bible states that there is only one way to receive the Reward of spending an eternity in Heaven.
John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Accepting Jesus into your Heart is the ONLY way to be freely given that ticket to Heaven. There is no other way.
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Upon taking your last breath on earth, you will open your eyes to find yourself standing before Jesus.
Step 1. Jesus, or perhaps the Recording Angels, who make a record of every thought we have ever thought, every word we have ever spoken, and every action we have ever done, will look to see if our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Let's cover the BAD NEWS first.
Step 2. If we never chose to accept the Free Gift of Salvation by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then Jesus will NOT find our name written in that Holy book.
In that case, Jesus will state the scariest words ever.
Matthew 7:23 (AMP) And then I will declare to them publicly, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME [you are banished from My presence], YOU WHO ACT WICKEDLY [disregarding My commands].' Revelation gives a complete description of what happens to those who refuse to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Revelation 20:11-15 (NLT) The Final Judgment 11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
None of us is guaranteed tomorrow. At the moment you close your eyes for good, if you never made the time to be SAVED, you will undergo the Great White Throne Judgment.
Won't you change your mind, before it is too late, to accept the Free Gift of Salvation by praying the SINNER's PRAYER? I am including the prayer again, for your convenience.
You may protest, if God is so good, why would He decide to do such a horrible thing?
God is pure and good. He has given each of us FREE WILL. By our free will, we can choose to be SAVED. By our free will, we can decide not to be SAVED. There are only two destinations after we die: Heaven or Hell. If you don't accept Jesus, then Heaven, by your willful choice, would not be your destination. After all, God did not create us to be robots. He longs for our love and worship, but He is too much of a gentleman to force our choice.
God did not create Hell for humans. He made it for the Devil and the Fallen Angels, who became demons.
But if you don't choose to love and worship God, then it would likely be boring or abhorrent for you to spend an eternity in a place where everyone is dedicated to doing that very thing. Therefore, since you do not choose Heaven, there is only one other place for you to go.
I like to imagine there are different levels of Hell, depending on the kinds of sins you committed in your life.
2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Revelation 21:27 (NLT) Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
So that concludes the BAD NEWS.
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Step 2. Now, for the excellent GOOD NEWS. If you used your FREE WILL to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then it is smooth sailing for you.
If you are SAVED, then Jesus will find your name in the Lamb's Book of Life.
In that case, you get to stand in front of the Bema Seat, and the main topics will be your Rewards, rather than all the ways you missed the mark while on earth.
If you are SAVED, every one of your sins will be blotted out by the Blessed Blood of Jesus. In that case, ...
Psalm 103:12 (NLT) He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
In that case, if you are SAVED, you get to stand in front of the Bema Seat Throne. It will not be a matter of listing and justifying every Sin we have ever committed. No. It will be a matter of determining what rewards we will get based on the work we were inspired to do by the Holy Spirit, because we were SAVED.
Picture this. After taking your last breath on earth, you open your eyes to see the smiling, welcoming face of Jesus. The Lamb's Book of Life is already open. There in bold letters, you see your name written. Phew! Thank goodness you made the wise decision to use your FREE WILL to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
You can PLEAD THE BLOOD of Jesus. In other words, every part of you is covered, sanctified by the Holy Blood of Jesus. God the Father will not be able to see me or you, who have sinned repeatedly throughout our lives. Instead, God the Father will see Jesus, who paid the price for the sins we committed, whether accidentally or purposely.
By the way, this does not mean we can get SAVED and then purposely and intentionally live a life full of Sin, Sin, Sin. It is not a free pass to Sin on purpose, time after time.
If we are truly SAVED, then the Holy Spirit indwells us, inspiring us to live a life in which we use our moral compass to do and be good. Naturally, we will mess up from time to time.
In that case, we should turn to Jesus, sincerely repent of those Sins, and do our very best to not 'rinse and repeat' those Sins, on purpose, again and again.
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So, let's talk about the Rewards we can earn when we find ourselves in Heaven. The Bible actually describes five crowns we can earn. If interested, you can research that for yourself, as I don't wish this Blog post to be any longer than it already is. Lol!
So, you have lived your life. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, you likely will have performed some good deeds.
By the way, if you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, it does not matter how many good deeds you have done. You could do thousands of good deeds or donate thousands to charity. But if you do not accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will not merit a life in Heaven. Accepting Jesus is the one and only way to reach Heaven.
So, let's discuss how you should approach those good deeds the Holy Spirit inspires you to do.
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 (NLT) 12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person's work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
In other words, let's say you performed a good deed on earth, like helping the homeless, tithing, or making charitable donations. If you make a big display of those good deeds, then you will receive zero rewards in Heaven. Why? Because you already received your Reward by having people praise you for what you did.
Even if you never did a good deed, but you were SAVED, you would still get into Heaven. You would simply receive zero rewards.
So, how do we receive rewards in Heaven?
Matthew 6:1-4 (NLT) 1 "Watch out! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the Reward from your Father in Heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don't do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the Reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
So, that is the good news. That is the one and only way to be SAVED. You are SAVED by your Faith. But out of the overflow of this Saving Grace, many of us are inspired by the Holy Spirit to "be the hands and feet of Christ" by helping others.
1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
Thanks for reading. Have a lovely day!
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