Title: Jesus died for me (Romans 4:25)
In light of 1 Corinthians 1:22-25, people's general thoughts about salvation can be summarized into the following three categories.
The first is salvation according to religious and ethical values. I believe that if we learn and resemble Jesus, who lived an exemplary life, and live like him, we will be saved. On the one hand, I believe that if you do good deeds and live ethically, you will be able to go to a good place.
Second, it is the salvation that the Jews think of.
The Jews were expecting miracles and signs to appear when the Savior came, just like the Old Testament prophets. And I thought that the power of God would be revealed and that the salvation of glory would come upon the people of Israel and the Jews.
The third is the speculative salvation that the Greeks had.
The death of Jesus on the cross did not make sense to Greeks, who had developed philosophy and science. How can one man, Jesus, be forgiven of people's sins by death? Why did the sinless Jesus die on the cross? It makes you have doubts. The Greeks wanted salvation in accordance with their scientific logic and reason.
Here, the Apostle Paul said that God's wisdom is better than human wisdom, and God's foolish ways are higher than human wisdom. In verse 21, it is written that salvation is obtained through the foolishness of evangelism, emphasizing that only the cross of Jesus Christ is the only way for us to be forgiven of our sins and to be saved.
Brothers and sisters, do not have faith that only goes back and forth in the church out of a vague religious heart, but have certain faith. I hope you will have victory with the confession of faith that you are saved by believing in our Savior Jesus Christ.
Then, we want to understand why Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation by searching and interpreting the Bible.
First, he is the one who fulfilled God's prophecies.
Indeed, he bore our sorrows and bore our sorrows, but we think that he is chastised, smitten by God, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. His discipline gave us peace, and His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way. gone, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of our group. Isaiah 53:4-6
Isaiah 53 is the <Messiah> chapter. 700 years before Jesus came, God prophesied through prophets is recorded. When the Messiah comes to the people of Israel, this man will be pierced, hung on a cross, suffer pain, and die.
In other words, it prophesied that Jesus Christ would die on the cross to bear the sins of all mankind, of us worshiping here and now. It means that He bore our sins. This is the Old Testament prophecy. According to that prophecy, the Lord accomplished salvation. Today, you must clearly organize the cross. Please believe that the cross was God's method and providence for human salvation.
Second, the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep.
As the Father knows me and I know the Father, so I lay down my life for the sheep. The Father loves me because I lay down my life in order that it may be taken again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment I have received from my Father. John 10:15, 17, 18
It is God's will and providence that Jesus Christ died on the cross. Jesus knew that He would lay down His life to atone for the sins of the sheep. Among the disciples, Peter dissuaded Jesus. However, Jesus rebuked them for thinking only about human affairs, not God's. And you are walking on the path of God's salvation. Thank you for the grace of the cross, who gave his life for us to atone for our sins.
Third, God raises us up and completes all sacrifices.
He was delivered according to the foreknowledge of God's purpose and word, and by the hands of lawless men you crucified and killed him, but God raised him from the agony of death, for he could not have been bound by death. Acts 2:23-24
It was sent by God as the Messiah and brought to life by God.
Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, "Sacrifice and offerings were not desired by God, but a body was prepared for me. He takes no pleasure in burnt offerings and sin offerings as a whole." Then I said, "Look, God, as it is written of me in the book of the scroll. I have come to do the will of God.??Hebrews 10:5
God provided the providence of completing all sacrifices through Jesus Christ.
Fourth, He came according to promise and providence.
Jesus was delivered for our transgressions, and was raised for our justification. Romans 4:25
The cross and resurrection forgive and justify our sins. It is the power and providence of God to make a holy people and to receive salvation.
Abraham in today's text chapter 4 was old and his wife had already lost the womb, so she could not have children. However, they believed in God's promise to make a great nation through Abraham and become a source of blessing. That is what God regarded as righteousness, and he saved and blessed Abraham.
Even today, when we believe in God's promises and revelations and believe in God's saving power, we count them as righteousness. Please believe in the promise of salvation, the promise of the cross, the promise of grace, and the promise of atonement and believe in its power.
Then how can we be saved?
Faith is believing that Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior. If I believe that He died and rose again to atone for my sins, I am saved.
According to Romans 10:8 and below, he who believes in him with his heart and confesses with his mouth will be saved (verse 9). Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (verse 13). If you do not believe, how can you call on the name of the Lord (verse 14). He said that if a person receives evangelism, he or she will hear the gospel and will be saved because faith is created while listening (verse 17).
Dear Chungnam Jeil Church family,
Jesus died on the cross for me on Friday, Holy Week. And he resurrected after three days. There is the cross, salvation, and the grace of redemption. Believe this truth, and I hope you will win and glorify it. As you participate in the suffering of the Lord, I pray that the grace of resurrection, blessings, and grace will overflow in your families.