Pastor Wayne continues that the constant factor in salvation is that those who do get saved are all saved by the same process. That process is admitting that you are a sinner, admitting that you have fallen short and deserve Hell, admitting that you cannot make it on your own and need help, asking Jesus Christ coming into your life, take your sin upon Himself on the Cross in your place and to obey and follow His holy Word, Will and Way as a dedicated and devoted disciple. God is on the throne of your heart and Jesus is driving. Can you put your full and complete trust in Him? Do you trust Jesus and not worry about where He is taking you or what you are going to go through because you know that when it is all said and done, you are going to be able to go through it in victory?
Ephesians 2:8-10 explains that, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
This is the importance of a testimony; that we would walk in the good works that God gives us. The grace that God gives us is defined as “unmerited favor”; it is the gift of God. Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him. The favorable influence of God; divine influence or the influence of the spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin. Also, the application of Christ's righteousness to the sinner unto salvation. God’s grace is something that we do not deserve or earn, but is granted to us by and through the love and mercy of God. Many of us do not really realize how much God loves us.
We may know that Jesus died on a Cross from us, but have you ever thought about what Jesus had to go through when He died on that Cross - the pain, the agony, the suffering because of you and your sin. Jesus paid a price that He didn’t owe because you owed a price that you couldn’t pay. He died for you because you needed a Savior. It was worth it all for your salvation, as far as He was concerned. He died for you, then rose from the dead, conquering sin and death; will you live for Him?
Without salvation, there is no good testimony in the Lord. But, once you get saved, the testimony is in. Before Christ was there, there was a testimony but was no pleasure to anyone with any type of common sense. We, as Christians, are to be Christ-like, which means that we are to do the things that Jesus did. Jesus preached the Word of God. Do you share the Word of God? Do you put the testimony of Holy Scripture out for all to hear?
Jesus demonstrated power over nature, healed by His command and exercised authority over Satan. This is still going on today. But, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever more. We still need Jesus today and God needs to come and show His power because we, as individuals, are in the fallen flesh and do not learn from past mistakes. Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat history.
The attributes of Creator God are that He is King of the kingdom of Heaven, He is immortal and eternal, God is spirit, He is just and holy; the only righteous judge, God exists outside of the dimension of time, He is ever-present and all-seeing, God is all-knowing and all-powerful, He is unchanging, God is love and truth, and God is merciful. God’s grace is sufficient for all our needs.
He is jealous and demands that nothing is before Him in importance; because anything that we put ahead of God, anything between His face and yours, is an idol. in Exodus 20:1-6, God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” There is always a price to pay for sin. God’s Word stays truth from the beginning through the end. If you stay true and are at peace with God, then God with follow through.
Let's conclude Pastor Wayne's message on our testimony in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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