It's a very basic doctrine. I almost don't like preaching about salvation, okay, and you go,
why that's crazy? Why don't you want to preach about salvation? It's because I preach about
salvation every week. Week in and week out, we knock on doors. Every door that gives us an
opportunity, we preach the gospel. And on average, I probably get to preach the gospel twice every
time we go out and knock doors, okay, from start to finish. And so, you know, church isn't really
about bringing in the unsaved and getting the gospel and getting the saved. No, church is for
the believers, okay, and then to grow from that point, okay, not to just always be preaching on
the gospel. And I've been to churches where you really go to church and all you really hear is
the gospel. You know, it's preached over and over again. You kind of wonder, hey, we've heard this
for years. I think everybody in the church is saved or if they've heard it, they've been hearing
it for this many times but they still don't get it. I don't think they're going to get saved.
That's the kind of idea you get and you think, look, it's time to move on. But because, you know,
we are starting as a new church, we need to get through our foundational doctrines,
I really want to cover the topic of salvation, okay. That's not to say that I'll never preach
on salvation at church. Of course I will. You know, every now and again, every sermon that I
preach, I'm going to cover something about salvation here and there, usually, okay. But
I just don't want to have to dedicate a whole sermon every week on salvation. And with the
memory verse, you know, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, you know, you could understand probably with
that verse that this was going to be about salvation. Let's look at that verse again.
If you've got your Bibles, go back to Ephesians 2, if you've got it there. Ephesians 2, chapter 8.
For by grace, you guys know what grace is? It's undeserved merit, okay. Grace is something that's
free, okay. Undeserved merit. You don't deserve this, basically, okay. For by grace are ye saved
Well that's good, but how? Through faith. And that's really what I'm going to be driving home
today, that it's received through faith. And then it says, and that none of yourselves.
You cannot save yourself. You know, God had to come and do the works so you can be saved,
and that was through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the gift of God, right. The gift. It's free.
Gifts are free. You know, you receive a gift and you don't have to pay for it. If you have
to pay for it, it's no longer a gift. It is the gift of God. Verse 9, not of works.
Not of works, okay. We'll cover that in detail soon. Lest any man should boast.
So what's the danger that we get from these two verses is that a lot of people
will think salvation is dependent upon themselves, dependent upon their works,
and what happens if they believe that? They're going to boast about it, right.
The fact that it's not of works is so that we don't boast about it. And if you go and you knock
balls at people who are trusting in their good works for salvation, they believe it's by works,
they believe it's by keeping the commandments, they're boasting of themselves, are they not?
Because you ask them, well, what do you think you need to do to go to heaven?
Well, I'm a good person. Well, maybe they are a good person,
but they're boasting of themselves, okay. They're boasting of their ability to be clean and good.
And I've seen this in people in church that ought to know better, that ought to know that
salvation is something to boast in, in Christ. And yet when you ask them, are you saved? Well,
of course I'm saved. I've been going to church my whole life. I grew up in a Christian home.
I'm a good person. Even people that have been in churches say the same thing.
They boast in themselves rather than boast in Jesus Christ who's done all the works, okay.
So this is a very important doctrine. I would rather be wrong on everything in the Bible,
everything on the Bible. If you just pulled out a random chapter, Kevin, what's this about?
I'd rather just get that wrong than to get salvation wrong, okay. And I'd rather be wrong
on everything but right on this than to be right on everything in the Bible but wrong on salvation,
okay. Because this is the eternal destiny of your soul. This is the number one doctrine that
matters the most, okay. Anybody that's unsaved, they shouldn't be wasting their time trying to
understand all these other doctrines in the Bible. They need to understand what the true
gospel is, okay. So let's understand this. We talk about salvation. We use all these words,
being saved. What do we need to be saved? Why do we need to be saved? What's this story about?
So we need to start from the beginning. Please send to Genesis chapter 2. Genesis chapter 2.
We need to understand why does man even need salvation, okay.
Genesis chapter 2 verse 16. Genesis chapter 2 verse 16.
Let's start with the story of Adam and Eve. You know when God created Adam on the sixth day,
he sent him in the Garden of Eden, right. He told Adam, hey, you need to look after this garden.
That's the job I'm giving you. But in verse 16, he also says this to Adam. And the Lord God
commanded the man, say, of every tree of the garden that mayest freely eat.
That's a pretty good deal. I mean, you know when people think about Christianity,
when they think of God, they think of this God with all these rules. This God that doesn't want
us to enjoy our life, okay. They look at the Bible, they see all the commands. They say,
wow, man, you know, I'd rather be without Christianity. I'd rather be without God,
because God wants to enforce all these rules upon us. But yet when he created man, what does it say?
Of every tree of the garden that mayest freely eat. You know, God wants us to live a life of
freedom. He wants us to be, you know, have liberty in our lives. He gives us the ability
to make decisions for ourselves, okay. But here's the thing, and when God gives us commands and
rules, it's to protect us. Because when we do sin, when we do break his law, it harms us and it harms
the people around us. Look at verse 17. God gives us that one condition to Adam. It says,
Adam you can eat of every tree, verse 17, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
Adam, you can eat of every tree. You've got freedom, Adam, except that one tree. You know,
I'm going to test you. I'm going to test you out to see if you're going to be obedient to me,
if you're going to love me and keep my commandments. There's just that one condition,
Adam. You know, you would think, wow, you know, there's no way you're going to mess this up.
You know, you've got so many trees to choose from, except that one. Now when God says,
for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Did they die when they took
of that tree? They did. It wasn't a physical death. It was a spiritual death. Okay. And I
know I've covered some of these thoughts when I preached on the dual nature of man. Okay. But I
do want to just cover some of these things once again, very quickly, because it's important to
understand about our salvation. Now, I'll get you to keep a finger there in first, sorry, in
Genesis. Please turn to first Thessalonians chapter five, first Thessalonians chapter five.
Actually, no, you guys turn to Romans seven. Turn to Romans seven. I'll give you some years to turn
to. Romans seven, keep a finger in Genesis. Oh, you don't really need to keep a finger because
the first book of the Bible is pretty easy, right? But Romans seven, I'm going to read
to you from first Thessalonians five, verse 23. First Thessalonians five, 23. The Bible says,
and the very God of peace, sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and
body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay. So the Bible is very
clear. We have a soul, we have a spirit and we have a body. Okay. Very clear that we're more
than just this physical body that you see before you, right? There's more to me. Hey, if I were to
die, my body's still there, but it's not living. Okay. There's life. There's this spirit. There's
this soul that is in this body. Okay. Now look at Romans seven, verse nine. I know we've covered
this before, but I think it's good to go through it again. Romans seven, verse nine. Paul speaking,
he says, for I was alive without the law once. I mean, this makes no sense if you're thinking
about a physical life or a physical death, because it says I was alive without the law once.
And you got like, well, I mean, that's crazy Paul because you're alive now. That's why this book of
Romans has been written is because you're alive. But then it says this, but when the commandment
came, when the commandments of God came, sin revived and I died because without the commandments
of God, you know, we don't know what it takes to basically be a sinner. Okay. If God never said,
you know, that I shall not bear false witness, you know, we shouldn't lie, then we wouldn't
have the knowledge that lying is a sin. And Paul says when they've understood the commandments of
God, that's when I realized I'm a sinner and I died. Okay. That is spiritually. You died spiritually.
Verse number 10 and the commandment and say, well, why is the commandment like a problem?
You know? No. It says and the commandment, which was ordained to life. God has given us his commands
so we can live an abundant life so we can look after ourselves. God gives us boundaries just
like a parent gives their children boundaries so they wouldn't hurt themselves. They wouldn't harm
themselves. You know, I don't let my kids, for example, run, you know, open the front door and
run to the front of the street. I don't know, in this day and age with the crazy reprobates that
are out there, crazy pedophiles that are out there, kidnappers, you know, I, you know, we
tell the kids, hey, you're not gonna play outside. You can play in the backyard if you want, you know,
you can play at the park when we're all ready to go there and be there. But, you know, we don't let
our kids run wild at the front of the house. You know, we put boundaries in place when we're trying
to protect them. Same thing. He's found that when he broke those boundaries, that God put those
commands, it killed him. It killed his spirit. Verse 11. For sin, taken occasion by the commandment,
deceived me and it slew me. So what killed Paul? Was it the commands of God? No. It was his sin.
It was his sin that slew him. It was what, it's a sin that killed him. Wherefore the law is holy
and the commandment holy and just and good. So I don't want you to confuse the commandments of God
as a bad thing. Okay? It is the commandments that make us realize that we're sinners in the sight of
God and when we realize that we're sinners in the sight of God, just like what was promised to Adam and Eve,
they would surely die when you finally understand your sinful condition before God. Okay? That is
when your soul dies. And I believe this happens at a pretty early age. You know, once a child has
grown up and realizes, boy, you know, I'm not perfect after all. I've done wrong in my life.
I've disobeyed my parents. I've disobeyed God. Okay? And the commands of the Lord are written in
our hearts in the New Testament. You know, you don't need to be someone that knows the Bible
necessarily to know what's right and wrong these days because God has written that on our fleshly
hearts as well. And of course, so we have the commands of God and I'll just quickly read to you
1 John 3, 4. 1 John 3, 4, which says, because what is sin after all? It says here,
whosoever commit of sin transgresseth also the law, or you break the law, for sin is the
transgression of the law. Okay? Means you've broken God's laws. That's what makes you a sinner.
That's what makes you spiritually die. Okay? And we spoke about those three parts in a man,
the body, the soul, and the spirit. And just very quickly, you know, every man,
everybody that lives on this earth has a dead spirit if they're not saved.
Okay? Because they got the commands of God and sin slew them. Okay? But because they're spiritually
dead, if they ever physically die, their soul will leave their body with their dead spirit and
suffer eternity in hell. But if they're saved, they have a living spirit and that soul will go
over the living spirit to be in heaven. Okay? So we must understand the need for salvation.
Okay? Man must be saved. Go to Genesis, go back to Genesis now. Genesis chapter 3.
Genesis chapter 3, verse 7. Genesis chapter 3, verse 7.
It'll take a while to go through the whole story of Adam and Eve, but let's just hit the important
bits here. You guys know the story, I hope, you know, when Satan tempts Eve to partake of that
fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which they were not supposed to, and she does.
She eats of that, then she takes it to Adam. Adam, knowing better, still partakes of that fruit,
and they both have sinned against the Lord God. Okay? Now, once they have sinned, look at verse
number 7. Genesis chapter 3, verse 7. It says, and the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew
that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
So obviously they were naked, you know, and there's nothing wrong with a husband and wife
being naked before one another, but what we see, what's happened here, is once they sinned,
they had the shame of nakedness. Okay? The shame of nakedness fell upon them when their
eyes were open, when they realized they had sinned against God, and they wanted to hide themselves.
They wanted to hide themselves. What do they do? They get the fig leaves, and by the way,
this is man's first attempt to be made right with God. They're ashamed of their sin, they realize
they're naked, then they get the fig leaves, they go to a plant, they get the vines or whatever,
the leaves, and they sew for themselves an apron, right? And they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves aprons. This is man's first attempt to be righteous before God, and what kind of
salvation is that? It's a workspaced salvation, right? They take the leaves, they make these
aprons for themselves, and they cover themselves. All right, now look at verse 21. Let's look at
verse 21. Were these fig leaves too good to God? Did God accept these fig leaves to cover the shame?
No, it's not good enough for God. Look at verse 21. And to Adam also and to his wife did the Lord
of God make coats of skins and clothe them. So when God saw those fig leaves, that wasn't good
enough, okay? Man's work, man's attempt at righteousness, man's attempt to be right before
God is not good enough. There's nothing they can do now that they have sinned against God
to make up for it. And so what does God have to do? Those fig leaves aren't good enough. It
represents the works of the hands of man. God himself had to take an animal, right, because he
had to take the coats of skin, he had to kill that animal, he had to shed the blood of that animal,
and with the coats of skins from that animal, he clothed Adam and Eve. Now we see what it takes
to be made right before God. Now we see what it takes to be able to stand before a holy and just
God. What is it? The shedding of blood. The shedding of innocent blood. Whatever animal that
was and it could have been a lamb, okay, this is the first picture that we get of Jesus Christ,
okay? The ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate Lamb of God. We see that it took the shedding of blood,
the death of an innocent, to cover the sins of man. And that was acceptable to God. That's the
lesson that God had left Adam and Eve once they had sinned. The shedding of blood is so important
in the Bible, okay? Now go to Genesis chapter 4, Genesis chapter 4 verse 4, Genesis chapter 4
verse 4. We now have the story of Adam and Eve having their children, Cain and Abel, okay?
Genesis chapter 4 verse 4. The Bible says, and Adam knew Eve his wife, okay, and she conceived
and bear Cain. So Cain's their firstborn son and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord,
and she again bear his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the
ground. So we can see what professions they get into. Abel becomes a shepherd, okay, he looks
after sheep, he looks after cattle, but Cain is a farmer, he works the ground, he tills the ground,
he grows, you know, fruits and veggies. Nothing wrong with any of those jobs, okay? It's not like
one was sinful and one was righteous, no. They're both just working, making a living for themselves,
following after the footsteps of their dad that was left work to do to look after the garden of
Eden. They take on that responsibility of a man to obviously work and look after their own families.
Verse number three. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of
the ground an offering unto the Lord, and Abel he also brought of the first things of his flock
and of the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. So we see that
both Cain and Abel have this knowledge, I'm sure Adam and Eve passed it on to them, that they would
have to bring a sacrifice before God, okay? And again, what was that sacrifice? It was an animal.
It was a shedding of blood that was needed to be made right with God, to be made righteous with God.
And so we can see in verse number four that the Lord has respect unto Abel for his offering.
Why? Because Abel brought the first things of his flock. He took a lamb and shed the blood
of that lamb, and that was acceptable to God. Whereas Cain, he brings the fruit of the ground.
He brings his works. He brings the labor of him, you know, growing plants and, you know, fruit
trees and vegetables. Look, I'm sure he had, you know, the right mentality. I've got to come and
give a sacrifice to God. What can I give? I can give the works of my hand. But he didn't learn
the lesson. He learned the wrong lesson that Adam and Eve had, putting together those fig leaves,
you know, trying to be righteous with the works of man that's not good enough for God.
You can never be good enough to be made right with God. And that's what Cain's sacrifice reflects,
works-based salvation. And the reason why God had respect for Abel's was because he
was a shedding of blood. Verse number five, but unto Cain and to his offering,
he had no respect. Listen to me, if you think you're going to make it to heaven
based on your good works, God has no respect for that. No respect, not even a little bit respect,
no respect. And Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell. And let me say to you,
this church here believes that salvation is by grace through the shedding of blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ, his death bearing on resurrection, and it's by faith alone, and the sacrifice has
been provided by God, and we fully trust and rely on Jesus Christ. That's what we believe for
salvation. And let me say to you now, people that believe in a works gospel, just like Cain,
their countenance will fall if you tell them that, and they'll become very wroth, very ruffle,
become very angry. You know what, you think it's just believing the Lord Jesus Christ?
Yes, that's what it is. That's what it takes to be made right with God. But for whatever reason,
those that are trying to work their way to heaven, they don't like this message. They don't like it,
just like Cain, they become very angry, okay. Verse number six, and the Lord said unto Cain,
why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance falling? If thou doest well, shall thou not be
accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin live at the door, and unto thee shall be his desire,
and thou shall rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother, look at this, and it came to
pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him. And
that's the story from Cain and Abel till today. True believers throughout the centuries have been
slain for preaching the gospel, salvation by grace through faith on the shedding of the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. From Cain till today, thank God we live in a free nation, thank God we live
in a nation that allows us to have our religious beliefs, you know without the persecution, well
you know for now at least, without the persecution, without being put to death, but there are places
in this world that you take this message there and they'll put you to death, okay. It's still happening
today. Now let me just read to you very quickly, actually you know what, turn to Hebrews 11,
turn to Hebrews 11. I'm just trying to work out what verses to get you to turn to so it makes a
bit, we can get through this a bit quicker, but turn to Hebrews 11 verse 4. Hebrews 11 verse 4.
I want to drive home exactly what Abel was doing when he offered that blood sacrifice, okay.
We get a bit more information here in Hebrews 11 verse 4. The bible reads,
by faith, okay, don't forget those words, by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice
than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts,
and by it he being dead yet speaketh. So even though Abel was murdered,
by his more excellent sacrifice he still speaks to us today, speaks that his sacrifice was
acceptable to God because it was by faith, he was by faith of the shedding of blood
that was going to make him right before God. And you know when people talk about Abraham as one of
the key saints of the Old Testament, let me just read to you something very quickly in Galatians
3 and you say in Hebrews, because I'm going to get you to turn somewhere else, but Galatians 3
exeres this, and the scripture foreseen that God would justify the heathen through faith preached
before the gospel unto Abraham saying in thee shall all nations be blessed. A lot of people
make the mistake and think that the gospel was only, is only preached in the New Testament,
no, and you have some false teachers that would say the way people were saved in the Old Testament
was by works. I don't understand how they even get that idea. When you see what Cain and Abel
presented very early on, the works was rejected, faith on the shedding of blood was accepted,
okay, but it said there in Galatians 3a that through faith preached before the gospel unto
Abraham. Abraham knew the gospel, okay, now he probably didn't know the name of Jesus Christ,
but God himself preached the gospel to Abraham. What is the gospel? It's the death, burial,
and resurrection. I'll just read to you very quickly 1 Corinthians 15 verse 1,
which says, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received and were in his stand, by which also ye are saved. And if ye
keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain, for I have delivered
unto you first of all that which I also received. Pay attention now how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures. So what's the gospel? The death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and the Bible tells us here in Galatians chapter 3 that Abraham was preached
the gospel directly from God. Abraham knew about this death, burial, and resurrection
that was going to make him righteous, and he received that in faith. Have a look at Hebrews 11.
You guys should skip in Hebrews. Go back to Hebrews 11 verse 17. Hebrews 11 verse 17.
Hebrews 11 verse 17 to 19. You guys know the story, don't you, of Abraham, God asking Abraham
to sacrifice his only son Isaac, right? And Abraham gets to the point where he's literally
got the knife to kill his son up in the air, and then he gets stopped, okay? But look what Hebrews
11 verse 17 says. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received
the promises offered up his only begotten son. You might say, Kevin, that's crazy. How can a father,
even if God tells him, I mean, if I heard a voice, Kevin, sacrifice, you know, Nicholas and my
older son, sacrifice Nicholas, I'll be wondering, what is this voice? Is this really the voice of
God telling me to kill my own son? Okay, it might sound crazy, but have a look at this. It's not crazy
to Abraham, because the promises were offered unto him. But look at verse 18. Of whom it was said
that in Isaac shall thy seed be cored. Now look at verse 19. Accounting that God was able to raise
him up. So Abraham knew, if I kill Abel, that God will raise him up, even from the dead.
From whence also he received him in a figure, okay? He said, why? Why did he know that, you know, if he
killed, this is what, so he was okay with it. He said, well, I can kill my own son, because I know
God will raise him up. I said, well, how did he know that? It's because God preached the gospel unto Abraham,
the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And then it says there in verse 19, did you notice,
from whence also he received him in a figure, he knew that his son Isaac was a figure of the
ultimate sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so if his death was going to figure the death of Christ,
then the resurrection of Christ would be figured in his son. He knew the gospel even back then.
He knew it, though again, he probably didn't know the name of Jesus Christ.
I don't think that was revealed until the New Testament, okay?
Can you guys go back to Genesis please? Genesis chapter 22.
Genesis 22 verse 6.
Because I want you to understand this. In the Old Testament, when they shed the blood of animals,
that did not cover anybody's sins. They were not made bright with God because of the blood
of the animals. But the blood of the animals, the picture of Isaac being sacrificed, which obviously
didn't happen, but the shedding of blood, they were all a figure, a foreshadowing. They were all
an object lesson pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ and his ultimate sacrifice, okay?
We today, 2,000 years after the sacrifice of Christ, we can look back and see what Jesus
Christ has done for us. We have the enlightenment of the New Testament. We have that full revelation,
that full understanding. You know, we're better off than the Old Testament saints,
but the Old Testament saints, they knew this promise of God. They knew the gospel at least
in picture form, and so they were looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, though they didn't have
all the information, they didn't have that full revelation that we do have now in the New Testament,
okay? But look at Genesis 22 verse 6. This is, again, back to the story of Abraham and Isaac.
The Bible says, and Abraham took the wood of the bird's offering and laid it upon Isaac, his son.
And look, this is a picture of Christ, you know? This is a picture of Jesus Christ taking on the
cross on his back and carrying that to Calgary. This is now Isaac taking on the wood of the
bird's offering upon his back, okay? And let's keep reading. And he took the fire in his hand
and the knife, and they both went of them together. And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father and said,
my father. And he said, here am I, my son. And he said, behold, the fire and the wood.
But where is the lamb for the bird's offering? It's all ready to go, Dad. We've gone out of
the equipment, but where's the lamb? Where's the sacrifice? And I love verse number 8. And this
only makes sense if you go to King James Bible, okay? The modern versions mess this up. Verse
number 8. And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a bird offering.
So they went both of them together. This is a prophecy of Jesus Christ. Bible says here,
my son. This is only worded like this in the King James Bible. It's not worded like this in your
modern version. I wish I had the modern versions to show you, but I don't. You can look it up
yourself. It says, my son, God will provide who? Himself a lamb. All right? It's not just
who's going to provide it himself, but he's providing himself a lamb, okay? And of course,
and I'll just read to you, you guys know the story, John the Baptist, when Jesus Christ
comes to be baptized, John the Baptist says in John chapter 1 verse 29, it says,
the next day, John, see if Jesus coming unto him and sayeth, behold, the lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. Okay? Behold, the lamb of God. This is the promise
all the way back to Abraham. Abraham knew that God would provide himself the lamb.
It'll be God himself. Jesus Christ is God. You know, it's not just man, but he's 100% God.
God definitely did provide himself the lamb, the lamb which taketh away the sin of the world.
And let me just read to you quickly, you guys, maybe turn to Romans while I read this to you,
turn to Romans. I'm going to read from you, to you from Acts 20 verse 28,
talking to pastors here, it says, take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock
over which the Holy Ghost have made you overseers, to feed the church of God,
now pay attention to the next words, to feed the church of God, which he have purchased
with his own blood. So the church of God, you as saved individuals have been purchased by his own
blood. Whose own blood? God's own blood. Okay? When Jesus Christ was on that cross, when his blood
was shed, not just in the nailings of his hands and his feet, but when he was beaten, when his
bead was ripped off, when he was whipped, when his back was whipped and his blood was being shed,
when that crown of thorns was thrust upon his face, upon his head, all that blood that he shed
was not just the blood of man. The Bible says it was the blood of God. Okay? God's blood was
shed so we can be saved. Okay? This is why the blood of goats and bulls and sheep were never
enough. It was just a picture. It was just an object lesson. So people can be reminded of the
ultimate sacrifice that would come, the Lord Jesus Christ, not just the blood of man, but the blood
of God. Okay? Now Romans 3, 23. So what I want to do now, I hope I've shown you, I hope I've shown
you, first of all, why we need to be saved, because we're spiritually dead when we're not
saved. Right? That needs to be made alive in Christ Jesus. And the salvation that God came,
the plan that he has is the shedding of blood. Okay? Pictured throughout the Old Testament,
but ultimately to point us to Christ. The whole Bible is Christ centric. Okay?
Jesus Christ says, I mean, that all the prophets give witness of him. Okay? Everything in the Old
Testament, whether it's obvious or not, somehow it's pointed us to Christ. A lot of these figures,
a lot of these, you know, you know, just Moses when he goes, they were lacking water,
if you remember, and he had to smoke that rock and that came flowing water. That was a picture
of Jesus Christ being that rock and out of him come in the waters of the living waters
out of Christ. Okay? It's through Christ. The manna from heaven, when the manna, you know,
that bread from heaven descended because the Israelites were hungry, Jesus Christ says,
that's a picture of my body that was given to you. Okay? I mean, there's a lot of things in the
Bible, a lot of imagery, you know, Moses and that serpent, the bronze serpent, when he was lifted
up and people that looked up to him, up to the serpent were hewed by the snake bites. That was
a picture of Jesus Christ being lifted up. I mean, the Old Testament is full of images and
pictures of Jesus Christ, you know. I mean, even Israel, even the story of Israel when they left
Egypt, you know, God looks back at that and says that that's a picture of Christ because if you
remember the story of Christ when he was born, King Herod wanted to kill him and they fled into
Egypt and they came out of Egypt again later on and that was a picture of what Israel did when
Israel came out of Egypt. That was ultimately a picture of Jesus Christ when he would go into
Egypt and come out of Egypt when King Herod... I mean, there are so many things in the Bible
that point us back to Christ and so it's only through Jesus Christ that we can obtain salvation.
It's only through his shed blood that we can be righteous before God. Okay? Now,
nothing that I've said so far is controversial. Any church that calls themselves Christians
okay? Baptists, Protestants, even the Catholics, even the Orthodox churches, even some of the cults.
I mean, it wasn't just two weeks ago. I had a Jehovah's Witness come to my door
and I'm trying to be polite. So, look, I'm not interested, you know, like, you know,
we believe very differently about who Jesus Christ is and the Jehovah's Witness said to me,
yeah, you know, Jesus is our savior. You know, Jesus Christ came and died and shed his blood
for us. You know, everything they're saying, they know, they can train how to speak to a Baptist,
okay? And so there's nothing that I've said here that's really controversial, okay? And so you might
be wondering, well, maybe everyone's a Christian and everyone's saying, well, there is something
very important that they miss, okay? Now, what I'm going to go through now is basically the plan of
salvation that I tend to go through. Well, not 100% exactly. I've got some other passages here
that I go through to explain the gospel to someone door to door, okay? So Romans 3.23,
I'm sure you all kind of start this. Start here. I don't know if you all do, but I would encourage
you, if you haven't got a plan for salvation, this is a good plan to follow. Romans 3.23,
for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Bible says we're all sinners. We've
all broken God's laws and because we've all broken God's laws, we've come short of the glory of God.
You know what that means? It means God's glory is perfect. He's righteous. He's holy. He's without
sin and because we're sinners, we come short of his glory. We can't be right before God on our
own merits because even one sin, even just being a sinner, makes us fall short of his glory.
And of course, Romans 6.23, you can turn there if you want. Romans 6.23 is where I would go next,
which says, for the wages. You know, if you've got a job, you earn a wage. It's your payments.
It's what's deserving to you, right? You go to work, you do the hours, you do the job,
and then at the end of the week or the fortnight, whatever it is that you get paid,
you're deserving of your paycheck. And yet we're deserving of something because of our sins.
It says in Romans 6.23, for the wages of sin is death. We deserve death, okay, for our sins.
That's what God said when they took of that fruit, you know, that they would surely die
on that day. That's the payment. That's the wages of sin. And then where I would normally take
someone after this is Revelation 21 verse 8. Well, actually, probably, sometimes. It just depends
on what I'm speaking to. But of course, I'm sure you guys know these passages. You're very familiar
with them. But the fearful, so it goes through a list of sins, you know, of people that are worthy
of going to the lake of fire, going to hell, but the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable
and murderers. And, you know, in the past, I used to stop here, where it goes, and murderers,
and go, you know, I mean, we've probably never murdered anybody, right? And usually
everyone at the door would go, yeah, I've never murdered anybody. I've stopped doing that now.
I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why now, actually, when I was in Detroit for the
Sony, and I don't know if you all know that, but I went to the Sony conference in Detroit.
Detroit's a pretty messed up city. And I was talking to this one black guy at the door,
and I got to murderers. And I was like, I said that, you know, we haven't committed murder,
right? And he paused. And he was a bit slow, first of all. So maybe he's a bit slow. And I just kind
of said the question again. And he goes, Well, yeah, I have, but it was an accident. You know,
it was just once, it was just once that it was an accident. I was like, Oh, okay.
Talk to a murderer. So I didn't ask that question anymore. Because maybe maybe people are definitely
young murderers out there. He got saved eventually, thank God, you know, he got saved.
And murderers, and homemongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, people that worship idols, and all
liars. And I love that bit, right? Because they say, No, I'm not a murderer. But then you say,
Well, there are no liars. And you know, unless they're lying right now, they have to admit
they've at least told a lie. And if they're really honest, they have to admit they've told hundreds
of thousands of lies in their whole life. Okay, even lies send us to hell. It says,
all lies shall have their part in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the
second death. Okay, because the wages of sin is death, not just physical death, but spiritual
death in the lake of fire. Okay. A lot of Christians today don't even want to talk about
hell. They want to talk about sin. I mean, my mom and dad know this. We went to a Baptist church.
Even my parents would say the pastor would never even mention sin, would never mention hell.
It's not what people want to hear. They just want to hear the nice things, right? God loves you,
God wants you in heaven, whatever, you know? No, you know, we need to show people that they're
going to hell if they reject Jesus Christ. And then usually I'll say to them, Well, you know,
do you think God wants us to go to hell? And they'll say, Well, no, God doesn't want us to
go to hell. Usually that's what they'll say. And then so I'll take you to Romans 5-8. You don't
need to turn there. Oh, I don't know if you guys are in Romans, I guess you can. Romans 5-8. You
guys know it. But God commendeth his love toward us. God loves us. You know, we serve a God of
these amazing extremes. You know, extreme that he would send someone to the lake of fire to burn
for all eternity. But then this extreme love as well, that he would love his enemies. All right.
And that, sorry, what was I reading, 5-8? Love toward us in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. He was able to look down at the earth and not say, Well, they're trying their
best. They're trying to be good. They're trying to serve me. No, while they're sinners, while
they're breaking my laws, while they hate me, while they want nothing to do with me, I'm still
going to send Jesus Christ to die for them. And it's the other extreme of God, right? This amazing
love that he would be able to send his own son to die for the sinful world. While they're sinners,
while they're giving him sin, he's going to send Jesus Christ to die for them.
Okay. And then, I mean, I'll just quickly, this is not usually what I turn to, but I'll just quickly
read to you 2 Corinthians 5-21. The Bible says, For he hath made him, speaking of Jesus Christ,
to be sin for us, who knew no sin, but that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Jesus Christ did not just come to die on the cross and shed his blood.
He lived a perfect life. He kept all the commands of God. He was without sin. Okay. He was the
innocent. Amen. He was our substitute. He took on the payment, just like Adam and Eve. They're the
ones that ate of the fruits. And yet God had to take an innocent animal that had nothing to do
with those events and shed its blood to cover their shame and nakedness with the coats of skin.
Same thing with Jesus Christ. He was the innocent party in this. He did not even sin. And yet all
our sins were put on Christ as though he had done. All my sins, all your sins, the sins of the whole
world, the sins of every generation, all the way back to Adam and Eve, the sins of every generation
to come until the Lord comes back. And even beyond that, right? Because there's still
sinners in the millennium. Even beyond that, Jesus Christ came and died for the sins of every man.
Anyway, obviously Romans 6 23, we read a bit of it. We said, for the wages of sin is dead,
but we didn't finish it. But he ends with the gift of God. The gift of God, guys, the free gift.
Okay. Gifts are free. Gifts do not require you to make a purchase. You're not required
to work for a gift. Gifts are free. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Okay. How did God pay for the gift? Through Jesus Christ our Lord. His death, burial,
resurrection, his sacrifice, his substitution, death, the atonement of his blood that was shed
abundantly for us all. And again, this is a good message. No one really rejects this.
Not even the Catholics reject this. Christianity in general, we see this. Okay. I'm telling you
this because this is very important. You're going to talk to us, someone that calls themselves a
Christian. You're going to talk to someone that says they're saved and you're going to ask them,
well, you know, what did God do for us? You know, what do we need to do to be saved? They'll be
like, well, Jesus Christ came and he died on the cross for our sins. And if you're not trained,
if you don't have the wisdom, you're going to conclude, well, this person must be saved,
right? This person must be saved because they're given the right answers. They're given the right
answers that they're a sinner. They're given the right answers that they can't make it to heaven on
their own. They're given the right answers that Jesus Christ came and died on the cross and shed
his blood for them. This is generally accepted by everybody that calls themselves a Christian.
Even the cults, even the cults would admit to all this pretty much. Okay.
But here's where the controversy is. How do I receive salvation? How do I make sure that
the blood of Christ is placed upon my life? How do I make sure that his righteousness is imputed
upon me? That's where the controversy is. Not what God did, but how do I apply that to my life?
And you have two choices, the way of Cain, you bring your works, or the way of Abel by faith.
Those are the only two options. Biblical Christianity is by faith, and yet others that
are so-called Christians would still say no, it's by works. Even when they still understand this
whole process that Jesus Christ has done for them. Okay. So the question isn't necessarily,
what did God do for us? That's not the controversy. The controversy is, how do we receive
the gift of God? How do we receive it? You guys, I'll get you to turn to John chapter 1, verse 12.
John chapter 1, verse 12. And while you're turning there, I'm just going to read to you,
because I know a lot of you know this anyway, Acts 16, verse 30, the clearest question
that comes out, and brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved?
That's the best question someone could possibly ask you. I'd get excited if someone just came up
to me, Kevin, what must I do to be saved? That'd be such a good question, right? Because you kind
of have to make people want that question. But if they could just come with that question,
that'd be so fantastic. How did they answer? Verse 31, and they said, go to church.
No. Read your Bible. No. Get baptized. No. Stop sinning. Repent of your sins. Turn from your life
of sins. Turn from habitual sin. No. That's not the answer. Keep the commands of God. Keep the
10 commandments. No. Look, everything I'm saying to you right now is what Christians out there say,
that's how you receive it. Do the worst. Go to church. Show a good life. Be a good example.
Give yourself to Jesus. I don't know. What else do people say? Ask God to, I don't know what people
say. You know, people say a lot of things. And over and over again, it's basically keep the
commandments. Keep the commandments. Do the worst. No. The answer is, believe. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved. It's by faith, guys. The receiving of it is by faith.
It's by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not Cain's way. Cain's way is not going to get you
there. Okay. You're in John chapter 1 verse 12. We talk about how do we receive it? How do we
receive Jesus Christ? The Bible says, but as many as receive him, to them gave you power to become
the sons of God. How? Even to them that believe on his name. Right? Does it say even to them that
do the worst? Even to them that keep the commandments? Even to them that get baptized? No.
Even to them that believe on his name. Jesus Christ. Turn to John 3 16. I'll get you to turn
to a lot of John passages right now. John 3 16. You guys know it. For God so loved the world that
he gave, by the way, it's a gift. He gave his only begotten son that whosoever repents from their sins.
Oh. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Believe. Believe. Faith. Go to the verse before that. Verse 15. That whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have eternal life. Guys, how do you receive it? How do you receive the
gift of God? How do you receive salvation? How do you get eternal life? Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Faith alone? Look, that's where the controversy is. Churches today that are filled
with supposedly the right gospel, are preaching the right gospel, let me tell you now, are filled
with lost people. Churches after churches. Churches that you think should know better,
but they don't want to offend the congregation. They don't tell the congregation, hey,
you're still trusting in works. You need to put your faith in Christ 100%. You need to believe
in him. I don't know why. I don't know why people are afraid. Well, I guess I know why,
because Cain killed Abel. That's why. There's going to come persecution if you preach the truth,
that it's by faith alone on Jesus Christ. That's the reason why a lot of churches ignore this.
Go to verse 18, John 3.18. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that what? Have you
condemned yourself? He that believeth not is condemned already, right? That's how you condemn
yourself to hell. You don't believe. You reject Jesus, because he have not what? Believed in the
name of the only begotten son of God. That verse alone, three times, believe, believe, believe.
John 3.36. He that believeth on the son hath, what's half? Present tense,
hath everlasting life. If you've placed your faith on Christ today, you have everlasting life
right now. Right now. Everlasting. Lasts forever. Never ends. You've got it. Doesn't matter how you
mess up your life tomorrow, or the rest of your life. It doesn't matter if you don't keep 10
commandments for the rest of your life. You have it, because it's Christ. It's been paid for by
Jesus Christ. Half everlasting life, and he that believeth not, the son, sorry, not, yeah, the son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Those that are still trusting their works.
Oh, yeah, it's Jesus. I believe in Jesus, but I also think you need to do your part. The wrath
of God still abides on you today. You're still on your way to hell, because you've not put your full
faith and trust on Jesus Christ alone. Go to chapter six, please. John chapter six, verse 35.
Aren't these easy verses? Like, you just read these, and it makes sense, right?
Those that want to corrupt salvation will always find other verses that are just not that clear,
and teach, and twist the scriptures, right? The Bible's crystal clear what it takes to be saved.
John 6 35. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Okay? So you come to Jesus, and you believe
on Jesus, and you'll never thirst again. Look at verse 40. And this is the will of him that
sends me. Who sent Jesus Christ? The Father. This is the Father's will, okay? That everyone
which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up
at the last day. I will. Jesus says, I will do it. You will be saved. You will have those
resurrected bodies at the rapture, guaranteed if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
if you receive the gift through faith. Verse 47. 47, same chapter. John chapter 6 verse 47.
Verily, verily, I love it. As soon as Jesus says those words, truly, truly, this is verified twice.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. Believe in everlasting
life. You have it today if you do that. John chapter 7. Go to chapter 7 verse 38. John 7 38.
You know, Kevin, you're just driving the same points. I mean, yeah, that's what the Bible
teaches, right? But let's make sure this is the one doctrine that we don't ever mess up.
This is the one doctrine we always stay true to, okay? If I ever come and preach another gospel,
then Luke, you're in charge. You got to kick me out, okay? Or you get the other man. If I preach
another gospel, guys, honestly, you kick me out as soon as possible, okay? Because this is, we need
to understand what the Bible says here. John chapter 7. Did I say chapter 7? Yeah? Verse 38.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said. What? As the pastor hath said? No.
As the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, okay?
Believing on Jesus Christ. John chapter 11 verse 15, sorry, 25. John 11 25. John 11 25.
I love John 11 25. It's so good. Look at this. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
So it's believing in him and then verse 26. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me
shall never die. Believe us now this? He's saying, do you believe that it's belief?
That's what it is, right? It's not do you believe it's what? Do you believe it's cleaning up your
life? Do you believe it's church attendance? No. Do you believe? It's belief. Do you believe
that it's belief? It's faith in Christ. It can't be any more simple. That's why I love John 11
25 and 26, right? Do you believe that it's belief? And then say, well, Kevin, you're just showing us
John. You're just showing us the book of John. Look, I can show you, I've got a list at home,
it's on my computer. I can pull it out. No, I was going to have it here. I got it home.
But I could pull out a list of over a hundred verses where it's just by faith. It's just by
belief alone. Okay. Just a memory verse. Ephesians 2 eight and nine. It's throughout the whole Bible.
It's even in the Old Testament. It's found everywhere that salvation by grace through faith.
Okay. If faith is a noun for belief, belief is a verb and faith is the noun because the Bible
doesn't use belief all that much. He uses unbelief, but the word belief you won't find,
I think there's only appears once in your Bible and the preferred noun that's used is faith.
Okay. But these two things are the same. Go to John chapter 20 verse 31. John chapter 20 verse 31.
Just to wrap this up now. So the reason why I'm just pulling out of John number one, just to make
out our Bible, you know, going through the Bible a lot easier, just to prove this point, but also
because the book of John is written for one main purpose. Okay. The book of John is very special
compared to the rest of the Bible because the rest of the Bible is written to the believers.
Okay. That's not to say that the unbeliever can't profit from other books of the Bible,
but the book of John is the only book that's specifically written to the unbeliever.
Look at this in John chapter 20 verse 31. John chapter 20 verse 31. John says, the writer,
but these are written. Why are they written? That ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name. That's why it's written
that the unbeliever would believe. What? That Jesus is the Christ and the son of God, by the
way. Not that he's the father of the Holy Spirit, but Jesus Christ is the son of God and that
believing ye might have life through his name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
People turn around and say, well, hold on, just believe, like, just know the facts. Is that what?
Just know the facts that Jesus Christ died, his blood was shed for us. No, that's what I'm saying
to you. Christianity in general, loving Catholicism and all for that, whatever, they all know those
facts. They just don't know how to receive it. They reject salvation through faith. They like
the idea of God coming and sacrificing Jesus Christ, but they don't like the idea that all
we need to do is put our faith in that to be saved because they still want to bring the works.
They still want to bring the traditions of man. They still want to bring the religion of Cain
and corrupt the gospel. Can you guys turn to Romans chapter 4, please? Romans chapter 4.
Sorry if I'm going a bit long. I only get to preach to you guys once a week, so
you know, I'm not so worried about the time. Maybe I should be. Romans chapter 4 verse 1.
Romans chapter 4 verse 1.
Let me drive this home. This is very, very important. I find that, again, a lot of pastors,
a lot of Christians that have been saved for a long time don't even know this truth.
Go ask the pastor, just go ask a random, I don't know, if you're not a pastor, go ask them,
how were saints saved in the Old Testament? Just ask them that simple question. They obviously
don't know. A lot of them just do not know this. I want to give you the answer straight away.
Romans chapter 4 verse 1. I already gave you the answer. We're talking about Abraham and
he was saved, he knew the gospel. Romans chapter 4 verse 1.
What shall we say then that Abraham our father as pertaining to the flesh have found?
Romans chapter 4 verse 1. For if Abraham were justified by works,
was Abraham justified by works? No, it says, if Abraham were justified by works,
he had whereof to glory, but not before God. Remember that's what Ephesians 2 and 9 said.
If you could be justified by your own works, then you're going to glory in yourself, you're
going to boast in yourself, but not before God. Look at verse number 3. For what saved the
scripture? Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. How were the Old
Testament saints saved? By believing God, by believing what he had revealed to them.
They were saved by faith and when they did that, it was accounted unto him for righteousness. What
righteousness? The imputed righteousness of Christ. Look at verse number 4. Now to him
that worketh is the reward not record of grace but of debt. So if salvation was something that
we had to work for, then God would be indebted to then give us salvation because of our works.
But it's not of debt, it's of grace. For by grace are you saved. Verse number 5. But to him,
now pay attention to the next words because there's still someone out here,
I'm not saying necessarily in this church, but maybe they'll listen to this, will say,
no you're still going to work a little bit Kevin. Look verse number 5. But to him that worketh not,
pay attention to that, him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. In order for you to be saved, you need to stop trusting in
your works. Stop trusting your ability to keep the commands. Stop trusting your ability to stop
sinning. Okay because sin is the transgression of the law and if you think, oh if I'm going to stop
sinning, would that mean you're trying to keep the law to be saved? You're trying to keep the works
of the law to be saved. No. Stop trusting in your works and believe that it's by faith. Okay.
Verse number 6. Even as David, that's King David, even as David also describeth the blessedness of
the man and to whom God imputed righteousness without works, without works. Let's make that
clear. It's by grace through faith. Okay. How are the autism and saints saved? By believing.
Right. Through faith. By grace. Through faith. Without works. Anyone just say to you, if someone
says to you, if a pastor or a church leader says to you, that was saved by works, that is a false
prophet. Okay. That is a false prophet. You need to get away from that person as quickly as you can.
Let me see. Let's have a look. If you guys can turn to, turn to John chapter 6 and I'm just going
to read some verses before you get there. Go to John chapter 6. Let me just finish this.
I'll read to you Titus 3 5. Titus 3 5. And this is a very common verse. The Bible says,
not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us
by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which is shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ, our savior. So not by the works of that, not by our righteousness,
but God's mercy. God's mercy for man. His love toward man is what saved us. Okay. Through Jesus
Christ, our savior. Hopefully you guys got to John 6. I'll just read to you Galatians 2 16.
Before we get there, Galatians 2 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law.
Knowing this, it should be obvious by now, by the time we get to Galatians,
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ
and not by the works of the law. Now are the works of the law good for us? Are they profitable for
us? Yes, they are. We should keep the commands of God, but that's not what's going to save us,
right? We do that so we can, once we're saved, we do that to maintain a right relationship with God,
to be able to fellowship and abide with God, to make sure that we don't destroy our lives on this
earth and do what we can to serve God. That's the reason for the works of the law. Please don't
think that I'm against the works of the law, I am not, but I am downright against it for salvation,
because that's what's going to damn a man if you're trusting the works of the law,
okay? It's by faith. Not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh
be justified. No one, not from Adam, not to the last man to ever be born, will ever be justified
by the works of the law. Now you guys should be in John 6 28.
I love these verses well, okay? I've almost done now guys, I appreciate your patience.
These are some Jews that come up to Jesus and they ask this question,
and they said unto him, they said unto Jesus, what shall we do that we might work the works of God?
All right, they want to do the works, they want to work,
they think so highly of themselves, what do they want to work? The works of God, okay?
Now before we read 29, if you have time you can do this study at home, look up that phrase
works of God or work of God, okay? And if you do that every single time, do you know who does that
work? God. That's why it's called the works of God. That's why it's called the work of God,
because it's a work that only God can do. It's not a work that man can do. And these Jews come
up to Jesus and tell us how we can do the works of God. It's not your business my friend, that's
God's work to do. Let me just quickly show you this in Ecclesiastes 8 17. It says, then I beheld
all the work of God. Now look at this, he's behold all the work of God, that a man cannot find out
the work that is done under the sun. A man can't even figure it out, how to do the works of God.
Because though a man labored to seek it out, just like these Jews are, they're laboring to find out
how to do the works of God, yet he shall not find it. Yea rather, though a wise man think to know it,
there are some men that think they know the works of God, yet shall he not be able to find it.
Hey God's work is God's work. Man cannot work the works of God. And when it comes to salvation,
it was God that had to provide himself the lamb. It was Christ that had to come and keep the laws
perfectly. It was Christ that had to come and shed his blood. Who worked the works of God?
It was Jesus Christ, it was God himself, right? So how does Jesus Christ answer them in verse 29?
Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom thou
have sent. You want to do the works? It's not works. It's that ye believe on him, Jesus Christ,
whom he hath sent. The work has been done. Jesus Christ would ultimately do that on the cross
and his resurrection and all they needed to do was believe on him. But do you notice how they
wanted to work the works of God? No, Jesus says hey believe, believe on me, okay? And you know,
you'll probably say well that's too simple Kevin. And people mock us and they say this is easy
believe-ism. That's all Bible says is believe, right? Now I don't subscribe so much to that
idea easy believe-ism. It was easy for me because I grew up in a Christian home. It's easy for my
children because they grew up in a Christian home. It's easy for me, easy for the people that I know
personally. But for a lot of people it's not easy, you know? It's very hard for some people,
you know? It's very hard for people to reject the lies that they've been told their whole life.
It's very hard for people to reject the idea that their self-righteousness is not going to get them
to heaven, okay? It's very hard, you know, I was thinking of a man that I got to preach the gospel
to. It was very hard. He saw what I was teaching him. He believed it was, well he was saying look,
I can see what you're saying. It seems to be the most logical answer to salvation.
But it was hard for him to believe it because to believe it he would have to accept that his
parents would die and go to hell. It's hard for some people to believe but whether it's easy to
believe for some, whether it's hard to believe for others, whether it's somewhere in between,
it doesn't matter. The important thing is it's belief, okay? Easy believe-ism, hard believe-ism,
believe-ism, somewhere in the middle believe-ism. It's believe-ism, okay? It's believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and it's easy for some. Now whether it's easy or whether it's hard, here's the simple,
here's the fact about it all. It's simple, okay? It might be hard but it's still simple. If it's easy,
it's still simple and I'm just, I'm starting to wrap up now guys but let me just read to you
2 Corinthians 11 verse 3, okay? And this is Paul writing to the Corinthian church. He says,
but I fear, so Paul had a fear, lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve,
Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Paul had a fear that the church would maybe be corrupted in their minds and reject the
simplicity that is in Christ. Salvation is simple guys. It's believe on Christ, it's done all the
work and unfortunately there are churches today that have been deceived by the devil. They have
rejected the simplicity and they've added works to the gospel, okay? And next week if I'm here,
I'm going to go through a lot of these works that are being preached by churches that ought to know
better. I think I'll wrap it up there. Actually let's turn to Hebrews 11. Turn to Hebrews 11
verse 1. Let's just finish with this very quickly as long as my voice holds out. Hebrews 11 verse 1,
because one question that often comes up is what's the evidence of salvation, right? What's
the evidence? And usually when people ask that question, do you know what they're asking? Where
are the works? Where are the works? Because for them the works are the evidence of salvation.
And yet what did we learn? What's salvation? Without the works of the law.
It's by faith. Now think how crazy that is. To say that salvation is without works
and then to say but I don't know if it's safe to be have works. Why? If it's without the works,
what do you need to be saved? Faith, to believe in Christ. So what's the evidence of salvation
that someone has believed in Christ? Is that not common sense? I mean if the Bible says it's not
works, why would you be looking for works as the evidence then? Look at Hebrews 11 verse 1.
Hebrews 11 verse 1. And this is the only time the word evidence comes up in the New Testament.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen.
If I, if you look at me, you, you know, if you just saw me walking down the street,
you wouldn't know if I'm saved or not. You know, if I helped an old lady cross the street,
right, you saw me helping an old lady cross the street, does that prove I'm saved?
Yeah. Because why? Because salvation is not based on works. But if you spoke to me and said,
hey, what do you think it takes to get to heaven? And I said to you, I've placed all my faith,
you know, and I realized that it's not my works of righteousness, it's not my ability to keep myself
from hell, but Jesus Christ came and died on the cross, was buried for those three days and
three nights, rose again from the dead, sacrificed his blood, shed his blood for all mankind,
and he's asked me to put my faith and trust on him. And that's what I've done. I've called upon
the name of the Lord for salvation. If I gave you that testimony, would you not then know that I'm
saved? Yeah, because faith is the evidence. And other people that can lie and say, yeah,
it's probably people that can lie. But look, most often they're not. People that can say that with
a straight face, that it's by faith on Jesus Christ, they're saved. Because out of the
abundance of the heart, the mouth speaker, okay. So please don't get confused. I know this group's
not going to get confused that it's salvation by works. But what can happen, and I've seen happen,
people get confused and think, well, I can judge someone's salvation by their works.
When it's not even by works. That's just the craziest thing to think of, right?
Anyway, thanks for your patience. Let's pray. Heavenly Father the Lord.