GOD’S WORD FOR  NOVEMBER 23

Our  book excerpt today, and ongoing,  is from “Chiseled by the Master’s Hand”  Lessons from the Life of Peter, by Erwin  Lutzer.  Dr. Lutzer is  Canadian-born and served as Senior Pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago for 36 years, until his retirement in 2016.   He now serves as Pastor Emeritus of Moody Church.  He’s written many books and has radio and internet teaching programs.

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John 6:60-71

TRUTH IS ROOTED IN EVIDENCE

Second, Christ is unique because of WHAT HE TAUGHT.  Visualize a page with a column running down the middle.  To the left we write all the other religions of the world, and they all agree on one thing:  Every person must earn merit to attain salvation.  Whether it be Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam – human effort is always part of the salvation process.

 You can also put in this column those branches of  “Christianity” that believe that salvation is a cooperative effort between God and man.  God has done His part, we are told, now we must do ours!

In contrast, we must put the teachings of Christ in the right-hand column.  Salvation, He taught, is a free gift given to those who believe in Him.  No one else could make a sinless sacrifice, shedding His blood which is of infinite value to those who believe.

“Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24).

Salvation HAS TO BE a free gift, because all human goodness falls short of God’s holy and perfect standard.  There is nothing we can do to make ourselves worthy of grace, or to accumulate merits whereby we might be saved.  Even if salvation were 95 percent of God and 5 percent human effort, we could never be sure that we had done our part. 

If we are to enjoy an entrance into heaven at death, we must receive a gift that is unearned, WHOLLY dependent on God’s initiative and grace.

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John 3:18~ ~ “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:36 ~ ~ He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 ~ ~  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Titus 3:5 ! !  “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”

Romans 3:28 ~ ~  For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

Galatians 2:16 ~ ~  Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 1:9 ~ ~  Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace.

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