salvation

Three Steps to Knowing God – Grace – Grace – Grace

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For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT

Back in 1976 one church organization launched a media campaign called, “I Found It.”, that included, T-shirts, buttons, and bumper stickers (I know we had one). Though well-intentioned, it missed the point that in fact according to the Bible, we don’t find God – He finds us. The prodigal son wasn’t lost. He knew exactly where his father lived, and when he came home, and the father commented, “He was lost but now is found,” meant that the father had restored the relationship by grace when the boy returned.

In today’s verse when Paul refers to the first words which God spoke at creation, “Let there be light!”, he didn’t mean that the darkness was searching for the light. In the same way, the Apostle Paul hadn’t come to Christ because he was searching for God, rather he was persecuting Christians. But then God shone a light so bright around him, that he fell to the ground and his life, and our world was forever changed. If we know Christ as Lord and Savior, it all began with God: not us. Yes, of course we had to respond. The prodigal had to repent and return; Paul had to humble himself and ask what to do next and we have had to take steps to obey Jesus. But before any of these things, God had to first speak a word, shine His light, and graciously welcome us home. All of this can feel immensely intimidating, because it takes things out of our control and confesses that it all began with God. But when troubles come, we fail or wander far from home, the love of God still shines in the distance. We have hope, to return to Father’s house, an action plan to follow and a glory to be found as we follow the light of the star of grace all the way to the feet of Jesus Christ!

Bigger than an Earthquake!

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Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Acts 16:29-30 KJV

On first reading the story in the book of Acts of Paul and Silas singing in their cell at midnight, we might come away with the idea that the climactic moment was the earthquake which God sent. But the biggest event that night wasn’t a geological one, and here are three important details that tell us why. First, the jailer must have been listening in while Paul and Silas were singing and praying. Because when he comes running in the first question he asks is not, “What is going on?” but instead he cries out, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas had hoped that the prisoners would respond to their message. Little did they know that the jailer was listening too! The second detail rarely mentioned is that the jailer took Paul and Silas somewhere in the middle of the night to wash their wounds and be baptized. We don’t know the exact location, though possibly it was the river which ran through Philippi. This jailer’s response to the gospel was no hesitant walk down to an altar while music is quietly played. Instead, He took a huge risk leaving his duties at the jail while the prisoners sat unshackled, and the doors lay in ruins from the earthquake. But what he wanted most of all was to wash the wounds of those men who had been beaten the day before and for them to baptize him. The most important detail of this story: is not the songs or the earthquake but the jailer’s baptism by torchlight at midnight. Paul and Silas didn’t tell them to wait for a six-week class on Christianity and baptism. Instead, they followed through on the very reason that God had sent them to Philippi, by spreading the Gospel of Jesus with the very people they thought least likely to listen!

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The Great Commission Has Not expired!

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Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

The pastor has tattoos and preaches in flipflops, the music is too loud, and the crowd is too big. are just a few of the items on the laundry list of reasons people today give to turn down an invitation to church. Ironically, the list we heard thirty years ago was, all they sing is old hymns, you have to wear a shirt and tie, the pastor is boring, and only a few old people go there. The church has faced pushback, ridicule, and even outright persecution, in every generation. It may feel discouraging, pointless, or old-fashioned to continue presenting the claims of Christ and asking people to make a decision to follow Him. But the presence of opposition in no way invalidates the necessity of continuing to do the job that Jesus gave us to do.

The Great Commission has no expiration date, and even in this age of an AI Jesus and slick marketing, a simple, person to person, gospel message is still the most effective way to lead a person to Jesus Christ. It isn’t hopeless, someone else’s job, or a forgone conclusion that the church will fail. God’s word, honestly and fearlessly spoken, still has power. But we don’t need to start knocking on doors or even begin preaching on street corners to reach lost souls. God will put individuals in our path or will arrange for us to be in theirs. Our only job is to tell people about God and share what He has done in our life. Keep inviting anyone who will listen to come to Jesus and keep believing that what the Holy Spirit has done for 2,000 years, He will continue to do till Jesus returns!