NLT | Ro 10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
NLT | Jas 2:1 My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
The Message | Lk 6:46 “Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you?
WHAT JESUS HAS DONE
Although created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6-8). Thus, mankind was plunged into rebellion against God (Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 5:12). This sin and rebellion produced spiritual death throughout the whole human race (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3). Yet God, in His great mercy, even in the garden, promised to send a Savior for all who would repent and trust Him (Genesis 3:15; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4-9). Now, by His death on the cross, Jesus Christ has broken the power of sin over all those who place their trust in Him for salvation (I Peter 3:18). “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
The Message | 1 Jn 3:5 Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program.
When Jesus died on the cross He cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). He was really saying, “Paid in Full!” He had paid the full price to buy us out of Satan’s ownership so we can be His very own. The Bible calls this redemption.
NLT | Is 53:5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
Atonement is defined as “the reconciliation of God and man by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.” It could be said that “atonement” means “at-one-ment.” Jesus’ death brought God and man back together.
The Message | 2 Co 5:19 God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. 20 We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. 21 How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.
2 Corinthians 5:19 says that God stepped into history in the person of Jesus Christ. His desire in doing this was to bring mankind back into fellowship with Him. When we trust in Christ, our sins are forgiven. Now we have the privilege of telling others how they too can be reconciled to God.
The Message | Is 53:6 We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And GOD has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him.
The Message | 2 Co 5:21 How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.
God’s Covenant
A covenant is a promise of faithfulness. Several times throughout the Bible God entered into a covenant relationship. For instance, God entered into personal covenants with specific promises to Abraham and David. Our Bible is divided into two sections described as the Old Testament - or Old Covenant, and the New Testament - or New Covenant.
God promised that under the New Covenant He would write His will, not on tablets of stone, but on the heart. “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in
LORDSHIP
The Message | Je 31:33 “This is the brand-new covenant that I will make with Israel when the time comes. I will put my law within them—write it on their hearts!—and be their God. And they will be my people.
When we are truly born again we enter into a covenant with God. He promises to be ever faithful to us and we promise to be ever faithful to Him. We give Him our lives, He gives us His. This is the greatest exchange in the universe! We give Him our sin and receive His righteousness. We give Him our weakness and receive His strength. We give Him our sorrow and receive His joy. All that we need now is ours because, by covenant, we have become heir to all His wealth.
This wonderful New Covenant was described by the writer of the Book of Hebrews as a “better” covenant (Hebrews 7:22) because, now, Jesus Christ actually lives inside of us, giving us both the desire and the power to do God’s will and walk in covenant relationship with Him. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
The instrument of this New Covenant is the blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:20). Because we have entered into a covenant with a faithful God, we can be faithful in the other covenant relationships of life: our covenant of faithfulness to our spouse, and our covenant of faithfulness to fellow believers.
LORDSHIP CONFIRMED
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was God’s seal of approval on the ministry of Christ. Through His resurrection, Jesus claims Lordship over all people. Romans 1:4 says, Jesus was “...declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” “For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:9).
The Message | Ac 17:30 “God overlooks it as long as you don’t know any better—but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he’s calling for a radical life-change. 31 He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead.”
One day all people will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. But only those who bow to His lordship now are promised eternal life.“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
The word “redeem” means “ to buy back.” Jesus has bought us back from the power of the devil. We now belong to our original Owner. Since we have been purchased by Christ, we now belong to Him. We are His servants and He is our Lord.
TOTAL LORDSHIP
Suppose you purchased a car and paid the full price for it. You shook hands with the dealer and he left to bring you your car. Instead, he brought a box with a steering wheel, a brake shoe and a tire. You would tell him, “That wasn’t the deal. I bought the whole car! I paid the full price and I can demand the full product.” In the same way, Jesus Christ has paid the full price for us. He has the right to demand the full product. Every area of our lives, not just some of the areas, must be under His control.
God understands our needs: physical, financial, emotional, and spiritual. As we yield to His control He has promised to supply all of our needs. “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Remember: God is ready to take full responsibility for the life that is fully yielded to Him.
The Message | Ho 10:2 Their sweet smiles are sheer lies. They’re guilty as sin. God will smash their worship shrines, pulverize their god-images.
In the divided heart, God is a part of the person’s life but only a part. God is placed in competition with family, business, and even church for the person’s time and affection. This is the tragedy of the divided heart.
The Whole Heart
The Message | Ps 119:2 You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.
In the whole heart, every area of the person’s life is under the Lordship of Christ. His stewardship of time, money, relationships, and ambitions are all submitted fully to Jesus Christ and are under His control.
*** What does the Lordship of Christ mean to you?
