God is Good - Be Reconciled to God

Here's my message from tonight:

Hi friends, my name is Keith and I’m a born-again Christian, and I’d like to share the Gospel with you this evening.   Gospel is an old Bible word that means Good News.   It’s good news about how to go to heaven when you die.   It’s a message of reconciliation; in other words, it’s about how to be made right with God.  The Bible says we’re all alienated and estranged from God because of sin.   We're separated from God because of sin.  The message of the Bible’s has been described as a love story… The greatest break-up-and-get-back together again love story the world has ever known.   The message of the Bible is that even though we're ungodly and unholy, God demonstrated His love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

I know when I say the word “sin”, or “sinner”, you might react by turning me off, tuning me out and ignoring me; or the hair on the back of your neck might bristle and your teeth might grit and your fist might clench.   But I’m willing to take that chance, to be able to share this great news with you. I'm willing to risk it because I care about you enough warn you about the grave peril you're in.

I really want to focus on the message of reconciliation for now.  

2 Corinthians 5:19 that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation

That is the good news; the Gospel again is how we can have eternal life when we die.   It's a message of God’s goodness.   The Bible says a lot about how immensely, wonderfully good God is and what he did to demonstrate His goodness.   I’ve heard a lot of people say that all you have to do to go to heaven is believe, sincerely, and you will be accepted by God; he’ll just overlook your sins; if you say sorry or something.    When people say that kinda thing, they’re depending on God’s goodness.     But it's a misunderstanding of God’s goodness, because God's goodness comes with absolute justice, righteousness and holiness. God is so pure He cannot dwell with sin or even look upon sin.

Then there are some who believe, that you shouldn’t believe.   My Atheist friends believe that believing in God is a ‘bad’ thing.   But do you hear the contradiction in that statement?  Their slogan is “Just be good for goodness sake”.   How will that pan out in the end though, when that statement is based on a false presupposition?   The Bible says that there is none good but God alone.  It says there is none righteous, no not one, there is no one who seeks after God, everyone has gone astray, each one to his own way.   The Bible says there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.

Then there are some who say “all religions lead to God”.    That statement is partially true; Every person from every religion will stand before God and give an account of their life on Judgement Day.   But not all religions are true.   They can’t be, because they contradict each other.   Jesus claimed to be the only way to God.   He claimed to be the embodiment of truth and the giver of life.  The Bible says there is salvation in no one else, for no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.

So I want to talk about this man named Jesus. Everything he taught and everything He said was with authority.   He made some astonishing claims;

• He claimed to be God in the flesh.   
• He claimed to have stepped into time from eternity.
• He claimed to have the authority to forgive sins.   
• He claimed to be the fulfillment of all the laws and rules and morals in the Bible.   
• He claimed to be the Judge of all mankind, before whom every person from all of history would have to stand and give an account of their life on Judgement Day.

Those would have been audacious claims, except Jesus life and his actions backed them up, so I want to take a moment and look at just how unique Jesus Christ is, among the whole of mankind.   He stands out, head-and-shoulders above any other person who's ever lived in all of history.   His birth, His life, His death and what followed his death were extraordinary.   He did some remarkable things; weird, strange, miraculous things.   To begin with, His very conception was without sexual involvement.  He was conceived in the womb of his mom by the Holy Spirit.   Ok, he was born of a virgin.   His life was exceptional; never in history has there been anyone who did the things Jesus Christ did.   The Bible says he went around doing good.  It’s not just that he went around doing some good things; it’s that he only, always did good things.   Everything he did was good.  

• He fed the hungry.  
• He gave sight to the blind.  
• He made the severely disabled to walk.   
• He healed people with various diseases.
• He gave the deaf their hearing.   
• He brought dead people back to life.
• He freed people who were being held captive to demonic spiritual possession.
• He preached the good news preached to the poor.
• He was completely morally pure. He was righteous, sinless, innocent.  He never even so much as told a lie, the Bible says.   
• He walked on water.
• and He commanded a storm to stop and it ceased.

Mark 7:37
People were astonished, beyond measure and said, He has done all things well: he made both the deaf to hear, and the mute to speak.

I can tell you how great things the Lord has done for me, and how he had compassion on me.

Knowing all that about Jesus life, you’d think he would have been accepted by his own people, but no.   He was rejected by his own countrymen.   Jesus was opposed by the religious folks of his day.  And He was hated by the governing authorities; all because of ENVY.  It was because of his claims that he was taken and killed.   They took him away on trumped up charges.  They mocked him, spit on him and beat his back bloody.   The hit him in the face so hard and so many times that he was literally unrecognizable as a man.   They shoved a crown of thorns on His head.   But they weren’t done with him, the took him and nailed his hands and feet to a wooden Roman cross, where he bled and died a horrible death.   After he died, they buried him in a tomb, and rolled a huge stone over the entrance to the tomb.

FREEZE FRAME: you remember I told you I was going to talk about that thing called sin.   I want to explain why Jesus was crucified.   I'm going to make it very personal, but I’m not going to  bawl you out.   I'm not not here to scold you, but I want you to examine yourself, and understand what Jesus did for you when He died on that cross, because of this one, simple fact ; God is good, and you and I are not. God is perfectly good, and we aren't.  Now like I said, I'm not here to brow beat you, but I'll let you judge yourself for yourself.

The Law…

The Gospel…

The Response…

The New Birth…

Mark 7

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Luke 16:15 , “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Numbers 32:23 you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Romans 5:9 we shall be saved from God's wrath and anger because we are declared innocent because of that bloody death on the cross. 10 For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,how much more, since we're reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.

2 Corinthians 5:20… be reconciled to God.

Ephesians 2:12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Exodus 33:18-23 KJV
... and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. [20] But we can not see the Lord’s face: for there shall no man see Him, and live..

Exodus 34:6-7 KJV
...The Lord , The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, [7] Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation .

Psalm 25:1-9 KJV
Unto thee, O Lord , do I lift up my soul. [2] O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. [3] Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. [4] Shew me thy ways, O Lord ; teach me thy paths. [5] Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. [6] Remember, O Lord , thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. [7] Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord . [8] Good and upright is the Lord : therefore will he teach sinners in the way. [9] The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

Romans 2:4-8 KJV
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? [5] But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; [6] Who will render to every man according to his deeds: [7] To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: [8] But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Romans 5:6-10 KJV
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. [8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. [10] For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Romans 11:22 KJV
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Colossians 1:19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith,