Yes, He is.
Ever since Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden and was cast out, we have had a sinful, fallen nature (Romans 5:12). This broke our relationship with God and made us His enemies (Romans 5:10).
Jesus lived a perfect life without sin and died on the cross as a spotless lamb, the ultimate sacrifice (1 Peter 1:19). He took God's full wrath that was meant for us, the payment for our sins that God's justice demanded, and freed us from sin's bondage and debt (1 Corinthians 15:3; John 3:16).
Because of this, 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 says that we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Christ is the only One who can repair that broken relationship, and He did it on the cross.
We have no righteousness of our own, just the law that shows us our sins and condemns us. But through faith in Christ and being found in Him, God credits Jesus's righteousness to us so that we are found worthy to enter Heaven (Philippians 3:9).
There is no other way.
Ever since Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden and was cast out, we have had a sinful, fallen nature (Romans 5:12). This broke our relationship with God and made us His enemies (Romans 5:10).
Jesus lived a perfect life without sin and died on the cross as a spotless lamb, the ultimate sacrifice (1 Peter 1:19). He took God's full wrath that was meant for us, the payment for our sins that God's justice demanded, and freed us from sin's bondage and debt (1 Corinthians 15:3; John 3:16).
Because of this, 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 says that we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Christ is the only One who can repair that broken relationship, and He did it on the cross.
We have no righteousness of our own, just the law that shows us our sins and condemns us. But through faith in Christ and being found in Him, God credits Jesus's righteousness to us so that we are found worthy to enter Heaven (Philippians 3:9).
There is no other way.
You are being saved from God and His wrath (Romans 5:8-9). In the day of judgement unsaved sinners will pay the penalty for their sins and God's wrath will be on them forever in a place called Hell (Matthew 25:46) (Revelation 14:10-11) (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." With these words, He's laying out the heavy cost of true discipleship.
Everyone experiences suffering and sorrow, both Christians and the wicked. Worldly suffering, the result of living with a sinful nature in a fallen world, is not what Jesus is referring to here, but rather the suffering endured for believing and following Him.
To pick up your cross, you must first die to self, putting God above all. He must take priority over family, friends, personal ambitions, hobbies and interests. As a believer in Christ, you could be ridiculed, insulted, imprisoned, abandoned by those you love or even put to death.
Some Christians will endure more sufferings than others, but all Christians will go through some kind of suffering because the world hates what Christians believe and live for.
Everyone experiences suffering and sorrow, both Christians and the wicked. Worldly suffering, the result of living with a sinful nature in a fallen world, is not what Jesus is referring to here, but rather the suffering endured for believing and following Him.
To pick up your cross, you must first die to self, putting God above all. He must take priority over family, friends, personal ambitions, hobbies and interests. As a believer in Christ, you could be ridiculed, insulted, imprisoned, abandoned by those you love or even put to death.
Some Christians will endure more sufferings than others, but all Christians will go through some kind of suffering because the world hates what Christians believe and live for.
After salvation, a believer begins a lifelong progression of being separated from the sin of this world by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit initiates this spiritual growth by teaching, guiding and giving the believer an understanding of the Word of God. Over the course of their life, He continually conforms them to be more and more like Christ.
Every Christian will have the evidence of sanctification in their life. Some transformations are drastic, while others are subtle, but there will be a change. Sanctification is the result of salvation (Romans 6:22). If there is no change at all, then there is no sanctification, and with no sanctification, no salvation.
Sanctification is an ongoing, earthly process; it will never be fully completed on this side of Heaven.
Every Christian will have the evidence of sanctification in their life. Some transformations are drastic, while others are subtle, but there will be a change. Sanctification is the result of salvation (Romans 6:22). If there is no change at all, then there is no sanctification, and with no sanctification, no salvation.
Sanctification is an ongoing, earthly process; it will never be fully completed on this side of Heaven.
This is a question every Christian has had at some point in their life. Your conversion is the most important event that will ever take place in your life, so the thought of it not being real is terrifying. You know what the outcome will be if you have just been deceiving yourself and you never were called to Him.
2 Peter 1:4-7 tells us how we can be assured. Peter says 8 things we should do to have assurance.
• Have Faith: Faith is a great possession because it’s a gift from God the Holy Spirit who directs your faith to believe in Jesus’ life, His works and the reason for His death and resurrection. He also begins making you more and more like Christ. The Holy Spirit gives you the gift of repentance, and this is not to be confused with worldly sorrow, which is just a guilty conscience. True repentance is a godly sorrow. It's the realization that you have sinned against God and there is nothing you can do to make it right.
• Gain Courage: In your faith, get the courage to stand up and live for Christ in a world that can’t accept or understand Him. Continue to do what is right in the sight of your enemies.
• Increase in Knowledge: Study the truths of the Word of God to gain knowledge. God’s Word is the most important factor in life because it’s the absolute truth and the reality that will remain when everything else is gone; therefore, these truths are what everything else is measured against.
• Have Self-Control: Watch over the words you speak and the actions you do to make sure they line up with scripture. Don’t be hateful to friends, family or enemies. Keep your pride in check, knowing that whatever you do on your own can never please God.
• Persevere: When trials come, and they will, don’t talk bad to others or about them and murmur against God. You should not be depressed while going through these trials but praise God and count it as joy for going through it (James 1:2).
• Pursue Godliness: Don’t just play the part of a Christian, but pursue godliness. Live as if you are in the direct sight of God always, which you are. Godliness is an inward reality that is demonstrated outwardly. Continue to live the truth of scripture no matter what’s going on or who you are with.
• Brotherly Kindness: Have brotherly kindness for all brothers and sisters that are in God, no matter who or where they are. It’s a big family with every member being called by the Father Himself.
• Embrace Love: Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 13:2-3 that if he had all knowledge, all faith, if he gave all his possessions to feed the poor and sacrificed his life but did not have love, he would have nothing and be nothing. In 1st Corinthians 13:13, Paul declares love is greater than faith and hope. Why would Paul say this?
It’s because through love all good things come. Treat everyone with love, even your enemies. You should help with their needs expecting nothing in return and share the truth with them. If you love those only who love you, what credit is that to you? For even unsaved sinners love those who love them (Luke 6:32).
In 2 Peter 1:10-11, Peter sums up and says, “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”
There is one more thing I would like to add. Do you have any love for Christ at all? Really think about it.
Any true love for Christ did not come from you, since you are incapable of it. This love is a gift given by the Holy Spirit and this is another way to have assurance.
2 Peter 1:4-7 tells us how we can be assured. Peter says 8 things we should do to have assurance.
• Have Faith: Faith is a great possession because it’s a gift from God the Holy Spirit who directs your faith to believe in Jesus’ life, His works and the reason for His death and resurrection. He also begins making you more and more like Christ. The Holy Spirit gives you the gift of repentance, and this is not to be confused with worldly sorrow, which is just a guilty conscience. True repentance is a godly sorrow. It's the realization that you have sinned against God and there is nothing you can do to make it right.
• Gain Courage: In your faith, get the courage to stand up and live for Christ in a world that can’t accept or understand Him. Continue to do what is right in the sight of your enemies.
• Increase in Knowledge: Study the truths of the Word of God to gain knowledge. God’s Word is the most important factor in life because it’s the absolute truth and the reality that will remain when everything else is gone; therefore, these truths are what everything else is measured against.
• Have Self-Control: Watch over the words you speak and the actions you do to make sure they line up with scripture. Don’t be hateful to friends, family or enemies. Keep your pride in check, knowing that whatever you do on your own can never please God.
• Persevere: When trials come, and they will, don’t talk bad to others or about them and murmur against God. You should not be depressed while going through these trials but praise God and count it as joy for going through it (James 1:2).
• Pursue Godliness: Don’t just play the part of a Christian, but pursue godliness. Live as if you are in the direct sight of God always, which you are. Godliness is an inward reality that is demonstrated outwardly. Continue to live the truth of scripture no matter what’s going on or who you are with.
• Brotherly Kindness: Have brotherly kindness for all brothers and sisters that are in God, no matter who or where they are. It’s a big family with every member being called by the Father Himself.
• Embrace Love: Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 13:2-3 that if he had all knowledge, all faith, if he gave all his possessions to feed the poor and sacrificed his life but did not have love, he would have nothing and be nothing. In 1st Corinthians 13:13, Paul declares love is greater than faith and hope. Why would Paul say this?
It’s because through love all good things come. Treat everyone with love, even your enemies. You should help with their needs expecting nothing in return and share the truth with them. If you love those only who love you, what credit is that to you? For even unsaved sinners love those who love them (Luke 6:32).
In 2 Peter 1:10-11, Peter sums up and says, “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”
There is one more thing I would like to add. Do you have any love for Christ at all? Really think about it.
Any true love for Christ did not come from you, since you are incapable of it. This love is a gift given by the Holy Spirit and this is another way to have assurance.
I asked this question because most people treat it like a last name. You can say Jesus Christ, and this is not wrong at all, but I want you to know that while Jesus is His name, Christ is actually His title.
The word Christ is translated into English from the New Testament Greek word Christos. Christos is translated from the Old Testament Hebrew word Mashiach.
Mashiach is where we get the word Messiah and it means the Anointed One. By calling Jesus the Christ, we are saying that He is the Anointed One spoken about in the Old Testament as the coming Messiah. Peter made this confession in Matthew 16:16. Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
I believe it's a good thing for the title Christ, meaning the Anointed One or Messiah to be so intertwined with Jesus of Nazareth that we call our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The word Christ is translated into English from the New Testament Greek word Christos. Christos is translated from the Old Testament Hebrew word Mashiach.
Mashiach is where we get the word Messiah and it means the Anointed One. By calling Jesus the Christ, we are saying that He is the Anointed One spoken about in the Old Testament as the coming Messiah. Peter made this confession in Matthew 16:16. Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
I believe it's a good thing for the title Christ, meaning the Anointed One or Messiah to be so intertwined with Jesus of Nazareth that we call our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I grew up hearing this and believed it, but I haven't thought about it for a long time. It was brought back to memory after hearing it mentioned in a conversation. I was able to connect a medical fact, that men and women do have the same number of ribs, to my old belief.
For those of you who have believed this or still do, here is a very simple and common-sense way of looking at this. If a man were to have an organ removed or lose a limb, and then later in life have a child, would we expect the offspring to have the same bodily loss? Of course not.
In the exact same way, Adam's children didn't inherit the loss of his rib.
For those of you who have believed this or still do, here is a very simple and common-sense way of looking at this. If a man were to have an organ removed or lose a limb, and then later in life have a child, would we expect the offspring to have the same bodily loss? Of course not.
In the exact same way, Adam's children didn't inherit the loss of his rib.
Expository preaching is an approach where a Bible verse or passage is the main focus of the sermon. It's to "expose" the true meaning of the verse by using other Bible verses and passages to support its interpretation, since the Bible is the only completely true measure we have. Expository preaching is often done verse-by-verse through a book of the Bible so the text itself dictates the direction and meaning.