Jehovah Shalom: The God of Peace in the Dangers

If you go on Youtube or other streaming services, you can find livestreams from nature centers. Something I like to do is watch live streams of eagles. The nature preserve will set up cameras pointed at the nest, and you can just watch the birds hanging out. And last night I put on the livestream from the BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre, Sydney Olympic Park. Sure enough, there was a beautiful eagle sitting in her nest, caring for her young.

The tree was blowing back and forth in the strong winds. And I settled in to watch thinking ah, wonderful, perfect to reflect on our message for dinner church today, the name of God Jehovah Shalom, which means God our peace.

But then I noticed there was an unwelcome visitor to the nest area. This big black and white bird began swooping back and forth, from one branch to another, swooping over the eagle. It kept cawing and swooping over, hoping to draw the eagle off of her young so it could get at them, I assume. So instead of a peaceful scene, instead, there was conflict. This bird did not give up, it kept swooping over and over and over. And the eagle had no rest, it kept striking with it’s beak toward the bird as it flew over again and again and again. It would turn it’s head and watch the bird, careful not to move from the protective position over it’s young.

We see a similar situation in the context of the name of God Jehovah shalom. It had been 200 years since God had revealed himself to Israel as Jehovah jireh and Jehovah rophe and Jehovah m’kaddesh. Moses was gone. Joshua had long since died. Israel was in the promised land. They had made it. But all was not well.

You see the generation that saw God’s miracles, saw God leading Israel, they served God all their days, stayed close to Him. But the generations after, having never seen the miracles of God, they drifted away from God. They went their own ways. And eventually they had abandoned God all together.

That’s where we meet Gideon. And to illustrate just how far they had gone from God, there is a statue to other gods over the city he was in. The people were serving the idols and false gods of the people who had originally inhabited the promised land.

How terrible!

And living in the United States today, we could say the same thing. There are many idols, and Michigan has forgotten the God who planted us here in this land. We worship at bars and clubs and theaters and marijuana shops and party stores. We worship money, and influence, and power, and entertainment. Yet there are still many churches, and many believers even in our city. There is a faithful remnant. It’s similar to Gideon’s day.

A faithful few still knew Jehovah God, and followed him, but most had abandoned Him.

We see in Judges chapter 6, God sends his messenger to meet with Gideon.

It says, in Judges 6:11-24, “The angel of the Lord came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.”

13 Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”

Gideon is wondering, where is God in all our struggles and difficulties? Where was the God of peace and provision and healing? Gideon was right, God was not with them. Because they were not with God. They had abandoned Him. And when a nation abandons God, there is no peace. There is no rest.

Just like the Eagle whose nest was being harassed by a bird, so Israel, having left God, were being harassed and attacked by a foreign enemy called the Midianites.

It continues in verse 14, “14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!”

15 He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.”

16 “But I will be with you,” the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”

There we see the solution in verse 16. God says, I will be with you. That is the solution. God will be at the center, and all will work out. And if we keep God in the center of our lives, not on the side, but at the very center, then we will be victorious in our Christian lifestyle.

It continues, “17 Then he said to him, “If I have found favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me. 18 Please do not leave this place until I return to you. Let me bring my gift and set it before you.”

And he said, “I will stay until you return.”

19 So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from a half bushel of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat with the unleavened bread, put it on this stone, and pour the broth on it.” So he did that.

21 The angel of the Lord extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

22 When Gideon realized that he was the angel of the Lord, he said, “Oh no, Lord God! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites today.”

Gideon asks for a sign, and God gives him a sign. Gideon gives an offering to God on a stone, and fire consumes the offering. Then the angel disappears.

Gideon is terrified because he realizes he’s been talking with the living God.

But God says to him, peace to you.

And Gideon built an altar to God, and called it Jehovah shalom, The Lord is Peace.

This idea of peace really gives us a picture of the state God wants us to operate in. And the purpose for which he gives life. The purpose of the universe, the purpose of the garden of eden was truly, peace, a Hebrew word often translated as perfect, or whole, or finished, or completed, or to pay or to fulfill obligations, but it’s best stated as peace, rest. “The greatest possible measure of contentment and satisfaction in life” -Nathan Stone, Names of God, p. 113.

That’s what we all long for isn’t it? We all long for peace. For rest. For sabbath. We long for a peace that transcends all understanding. And God knows that. That’s what God made us for in fact, God made us for Eden, a place of rest, of peace, a permanent peace.

But we know things went wrong. Now we very much lack peace. But we find peace again in Jesus Christ, the prince of peace.

Gideon had found his purpose in life in God, and so he declared “The Lord is Peace.” Gideon would go on to win great victories against the Midianites and bring the people of Israel back to God.

Our desire for peace is good. And we find it in Jesus. But, we know the fullness of perfect peace doesn’t come until the New Jerusalem, heaven, the next life. That is the dream realized.

But we can also have peace now with Jesus Christ in our heart. We can find shalom, rest.

But for the wicked there is no peace. There is only restlessness, which is the root idea of the word often translated in the Hebrew for “wickedness.” Restlessness. There is no rest there. And for those who go to heaven after they die, they will receive perfect shalom, peace, but for those who go to hell after death, they will receive permanent restlessness, sorrow, suffering, torture.

In 2nd Chronicles 15:2 the word of the prophet to the King of Judah was, “Jehovah is with you, while you be with him, if you seek Him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

Israel had forsaken God, but Gideon found favor with God, and restored that connection once again, and God again became Jehovah Shalom to his people, since they sought after Him.

Have you sought after God? Have you named Jesus as your personal messiah? You can have that peace that comes from knowing the Prince of Peace.

From W.H. Griffith’s The Power of Peace, from a sermon outline he put together: “An exposition of 2 Thess. 3:16, "Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means." His outline should prove helpful to Christian workers.

I. The Nature of Peace

1. Peace of a quiet conscience (Rom. 8:33-35; three questions)

2. Peace of a restful mind (Phil. 4:7)

3. Peace of a surrendered will

4. Peace of a hopeful heart (Isaiah 50:7)

5. Peace of loving fellowship

II. The Source of Peace

1. Peace with God (Rom. 5:1)

2. The God of peace (Rom. 15:33)

3. The peace of God (Phil. 4:7)

4. The Lord of peace (2 Thess. 3:16)

III. The Channel of Peace

"The Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means" (2 Thess. 3:16)

IV. The Duration of Peace

"...give you peace always."

V. The Secret of Peace

"The Lord of peace Himself give you peace..."
-W.H. Griffith, The Power of Peace.

Today, do you understand this peace? If you’re a Christian today, apply this peace to your life. Live in it. Soak in it. Soak in God’s presence which is perfect peace.

If you don’t know Jesus today, maybe you’re like the eagle trying to fight off the bird attacking it’s nest. But you can have peace, turn to Jesus, and he will give you rest and peace over your nest.

I turned back to the livestream later on, and God had blessed the eagle and it’s nest. The intruder had been driven off, and the mother eagle had brought a fish from the river and was serving it to the two chicks. The father eagle was guarding the nest, having returned just in time. Beautiful picture. If we trust God, and we do not forsake him, he returns to us, protects us, he drives off evil from us, and gives us peace, and feeds us from his abundance of peace. Amen.

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard: The Ranking System of the Kingdom of God

Today we’re in the vineyard. We’re in the grape fields. Very important in ancient times. Very important today, the wine and juice industry is huge. But we’re in the vineyard again. Last few weeks we’ve been in the vineyard. Jesus as we know very often used common practices to explain deep spiritual truths.

So we’re in the vineyard. You can smell the dirt. You can taste the cool in the air. It’s like 6 in the morning. You’re tired but awake. It’s quiet as you approach the fields of the vineyard and you know a long day of work is ahead. But you’re kind of excited. That’s how I am in the morning.

I’m drinking my coffee, kind of trying to decide how I’m going to respond to the day, usually it’s a struggle of the mind between I don’t want to do this, and I’m excited for what God is going to do.

So we go out on the fields, and the foreman is there, we punch in on the sheet, and we grab our work gloves slip them on, and we get to work in the vineyard, watering the crops, caring for the vines, as the sun slowly rises and the day begins

Today we’re looking at a parable from the beginning of Matthew chapter 20. But first, flip back to Matthew 19, to the end of the chapter. This is a classic moment in scripture, a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to receive eternal life. And in the end, Jesus tells the man to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor, and the young man left sad. Jesus then tells his disciples how hard it is for a rich person to inherit the kingdom of God.

The disciples then exclaim in Matthew 19:25, “Who then can be saved?”

And in verses 26-30 it says this: Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

That is the context of our parable today.

Secondary indication about the context today, right after the parable is the incident where the mother of James and John asks Jesus for her two sons to sit at his right and left hand. And Jesus tells her, those seats are not for me to decide but for God the father to indicate.

This incident is from Matthew 20:20-28, but in particular here is what it says is the response to this request, “24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Both of these incidents are outlining the kingdom of God order, how the order works in the kingdom of God. For the wealthy it’s hard to enter. But if you give up everything for the messiah, you will certainly gain an incredible inheritance. Also, don’t try to be great in this life, don’t try to show how awesome you are in this life, don’t try to lord it over others, which is apparently what James and John wanted, instead be a slave to all, which is an imitation of the messiah himself who did just the same.

Keep those two contextual incidents, they outline the parameters of the kingdom order of greatness. Many who seemed to be first will be last and many who are last will be first. So time to dig in and get to work in the fields, as a servant.

Our parable today, is in Matthew 20, beginning like this:

Matthew 20:1-16 NIV ““For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.”

The value of a denarius was one days wages. Fair enough. This landowner apparently doesn’t have workers, so he’s seeing these people standing around, and he hires them to work for the day.

Fairly common in the country, you might hire someone for the day, my dad did that with me when he would flip properties, one time he owned a farm, and he paid me to help him get it cleaned up and ready to sell.

Another time I got hired for a day, temp, to set up tents for an event happening. Got done, paid me out of pocket, off I went.

It continues, “3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.”

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

As the day goes on this landowner sees more people just standing around and he invites them to work in his fields for pay.

So OK pause here for a second. What is this actually talking about? What did Jesus mean? Well, Jesus is the landowner. And the people he hires are lost sinners who God brings to Jesus, and Jesus saves them, and puts them to work in the world winning people to salvation in Christ. The vineyard is the world and the people who need salvation.

That’s what I do each day. I’m living my life, and God prompts me to do things for Him and his kingdom on a daily basis. Does God do the same in your life? If not, you might not even be truly participating in the vineyard. Maybe you’re still on the side and you need to get hired, which is getting born again through Christ. Because if you’re of Christ, and in Christ, he’s got you working in his fields, loving people, meeting needs, blessing others, praying with and for others, and guiding people to Jesus.

In the parable we’re going to see that the passage of time of the day, is correlating to the amount of time someone works in the field, so if they started at 6am, well, they got saved very early in life and serve God long in the fields. Think of someone who gets born again when they’re 7, 8, 9 years old. If they get saved later in life, at 5pm, they’ll be serving in God’s vineyard field for less time, think of someone like the thief on the cross, for who gets saved literally an hour or two before his death. Or someone who is maybe very elderly, I recall, I led a bible study at a nursing home in the U.P. for a while. And a saw an elderly woman get saved in that group, in her 90s, and she was super excited. But obviously she wont be working in the fields as long, until her time of service ends.

So the work day has ended, and let’s see what happens next:

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

So next we see those who have worked longer upset because they’re paid the same as those who only worked an hour. It’s not entirely odd to wonder at it, is it? If you’re working a shift at your job, and you work 8 hours, and then another person works 1 hour and you get paid the same you might ask yourself what’s the deal here? So they are complaining against the landowner. Not a smart thing to do since the landowner happens to own the universe.

It continues, “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

This really indicates the attitude of mind that we should have as Christians. And as much as we can intellectually hear the concept that we are “servants” it’s amazing how quickly we forget we’re servants. As I’m driving and people are driving slow, my attitude is often not that of a servant. When I’m done with work and someone stops me to ask for help, sometimes my attitude is not that of a servant. When someone wants to talk after dinner church and I’m really tired, where is my servant attitude?

The rich young ruler is not willing to be a servant and give up his wealth. So he leaves. Additionally James and John are not interested in being servants but instead want the places of highest honor in the kingdom of God, just below Christ’s seat.

Rulers of nations lord it over citizens, America is no exception. Our rulers lord it over us. Other nations are much worse of course. But even pastors here lord it over their congregations. Bosses lord it over their employees. Organizations lord it over their workers. But where is our servant attitude?

That is the mystery Jesus reveals to us in these three portions of scripture. In the parable the workers are told, listen, it’s God’s kingdom, he can do with it what he wants, and he will certainly do right. So listen up, even if they were saved in the 11th hour at 11:59 seconds before they died, they will still receive the same eternal life you will. So deal with it. Even if you got saved very young, and then had to serve for 95 years for God before you died, working to share the gospel day and night, still, same eternal life as one who believed 2 seconds before death.

Sometimes we probably wonder, I know I’ve wondered, maybe once or twice, man, maybe I should’ve waited til the very end, and then got saved. Because living as a Christian in this world is not easy. It’s a challenging life. I don’t want to say it’s hard, his burden is easy and his yoke is light, but how often we yearn for salvation for the lost, we fight off temptations and sins, we share the gospel without much success, we get discouraged and feel lonely. So you think well I could’ve just partied and done whatever I wanted and get saved the last minute. What a stupid thought that is, but sometimes we’ve probably had it.

Why is it stupid? Because it’s an honor to serve God for one. And we’ll be rewarded for our labor in heaven, above and beyond eternal life, and because a life of sin is 10 times more miserable than the difficulties of being a Christian. That’s the truth. Sin is miserable. Not knowing God is miserable. Those are all reasons why it’s a stupid thought. But probably the biggest reason that it’s a stupid thought is that there is no guarantee if I were to wait til the last minute, what if I die the day before I get the chance to believe? And what if on the last day I’m not able to believe in the right way, or fully repent, because my heart has been hardened against God from a life of sin? Then what? I’m a big trouble.

But I think we’ve all had that thought, hey that’s not fair, the thief on the cross didn’t have to get baptized, didn’t have to live out good works, or overcome the world, or become a church member, or die for his faith, or do any of those things, how is that fair? We’ve probably had that thought.

This parable reminds us, hey, listen, you’re a servant in the creator’s fields. If God wants to do it this way, believe that it’s right. And it is right, because how else would God do it? Say alright you can only get saved when you’re young, after you turn 25 it’s too late because that wouldn’t be fair to people who got saved when they were younger? Praise the Lord that he didn’t set it up that way because I got saved when I was 27, it would’ve been too late for me.

It's a timing issue. The door is open while you are still alive. As long as you are sucking oxygen in and out you can still believe in Jesus and receive eternal life. However, once you die, it is officially too late. There are millions and millions of people in hell at this moment who would give anything, anything at all, for just one more chance to believe in Jesus before it’s too late. But they can’t. The door is closed.

Sometimes I get upset with God when I think about that. I was bike riding the other day saying Lord, what about all the people in hell can’t we get them out and get them saved somehow? No, there’s no way. Why? Why can’t be let them out? Give them another shot. It’s too late for them. Too late, too late. Why? Because the door is closed now. That’s it. I don’t fully understand it. But maybe that’s why the opportunity before us is so vital. Believe now, and continue in that belief to the end. It’s such a big deal. And a whole life, all those years, isn’t that fair, that’s enough time to believe in Jesus isn’t it? The average life expectancy is 77.3 years. That’s 28,233.83 days. Enough is enough. Believe in Jesus.

But it’s more than a timing issue, it’s a servant mindset issue. That is the key to our parable for today, is the servant mindset, which is really, the mind of Christ. And if you take a look at what Jesus does in Matthew 21, 22, and 23, he then models the servant mindset.

At the end of chapter 20 he heals two blind men. Healing. He clears the temple in 21. Boldness. We might see the clearing of the temple and say hey that’s not being a servant. Yes it is, a servant of God does that. He teaches several parables. Teaching the truth. And of course later, he gives his life up on the cross.

The mind of Christ, we have as believers, we live in that reality, which the Holy Spirit builds in us. But here is what it looks like, Philippians 2:5-11

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Now that is the pattern. Take the form of a servant in this life, just as Jesus did. So then when Jesus was resurrected and taken to heaven, he received great glory and power.

In the same way, if you take the form of a servant in your lifestyle as a Christian, when you are welcomed into paradise, you’ll be one of the first of the kingdom of God, because you lived a servant life. But if you lord it over people, live like an American, smug, entitled, you may still enter the kingdom of heaven, maybe, but you’ll be one of the least of the kingdom of heaven.

The first will be last and the last will be first. Amen.

What is OSAS? Backsliding and Salvation Security

OSAS stands for "Once Saved Always Saved." This is a common doctrine taught by many non-denominational churches, some Baptists, Provisionalists, and mainly Calvinist churches. It tends unfortunately to be the more mainstream view in evangelicalism today. What this doctrine suggests is that once someone puts their faith in Jesus Christ and genuinely receives the gospel and is born again, that this person can never backslide, fall away, or lose their salvation eternally. Scriptures used to back up this position include John 10:28, Romans 8:38-39, Philippians 1:6, and other scriptures that point to an assurance of salvation. However we should be careful, because the scriptures call us again and again to stand firm to the end, and to remain in Christ always. 

The word of God indicates that falling away is a possibility for genuine believers. We're told those who stand firm to the end will be saved (Hebrews 3:14). We're told to remain (abide) in the vine, for the branch that does not remain is cut off (John 15:6). If you're standing firm make sure you don't fall (1 Cor 10:12). Five virgins were wise, five were unwise and didn't receive the inheritance (Matthew 25:1-13). Take care, brothers and sisters, lest you have an unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God (Hebrews 3:12). After preaching to others don't disqualify yourself (1 Cor 9:27). If after we receive the truth we go on sinning deliberately there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:26-27). You who would try to be justified by the law have fallen away from grace (Galatians 5:4).

And of course from Romans 11:19-22 ESV "Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off." Seems pretty cut and dry to me.

But why dispute over it? Does it really matter if someone can lose their salvation or not? It's worth having a discussion about it. 

Is it really not worth having? If I tell someone that they can't lose their salvation, look at what I've removed: They can sin as much as they want, they can never lose it. No need for the fear of the Lord. No need for evangelism either, they can never lose it. In fact, they can ditch the body all together and go sit on the beach or watch tv, because hey, they can never lose it. When we say OSAS, we're cutting off the genuine motivation for believers to live like believers. So perhaps we think well, the motivation is love, not fear, right? Love is great yes, but more often than not we have to be motivated by a genuine reverent fear for the Lord. When we say OSAS, we remove all of that and more... and we wonder, why do we see so many Christians living just like the world, so many pastors addicted to pornography, so many lazy believers who don't evangelize? Well, we've taught a theology that leaves no urgency to keep living as a real Christian.

Yes, it's very important. 

"Calvinists, who deny that salvation can ever be lost, reason on the subject in a marvelous way. They tell us, that no virgin's lamp can go out; no promising harvest be choked with thorns; no branch in Christ can ever be cut off from unfruitfulness; no pardon can ever be forfeited, and no name blotted out of God's book! They insist that no salt can ever lose its savor; nobody can ever "receive the grace of God in vain"; "bury his talents"; "neglect such great salvation"; trifle away "a day of grace"; "look back" after putting his hand to the gospel plow. Nobody can "grieve the Spirit" till He is "quenched," and strives no more, nor "deny the Lord that bought them"; nor "bring upon themselves swift destruction." Nobody, or body of believers, can ever get so lukewarm that Jesus will spew them out of His mouth.

They use reams of paper to argue that if one ever got lost he was never found. John 17:12; that if one falls, he never stood. Rom. 11:16-22 and Heb. 6:4-6; if one was ever "cast forth," he was never in, and "if one ever withered," he was never green. John 15:1-6; and that "if any man draws back," it proves that he never had anything to draw back from. Heb. 10:38,39; that if one ever "falls away into spiritual darkness," he was never enlightened. Heb 6:4-6; that if you "again get entangled in the pollutions of the world," it shows that you never escaped. 2 Pet 2:20; that if you "put salvation away" you never had it to put away, and if you make shipwreck of faith, there was no ship of faith there! In short they say: If you get it, you can't lose it; and if you lose it you never had it. May God save us from accepting a doctrine, that must be defended by such fallacious reasoning!"

-John Wesley on Once Saved Always Saved

Why Should I Believe in Jesus?

Why should we believe that Jesus is really real and alive? Well there are several good reasons to believe this. 

Once again we can mention how Christianity rapidly spread from Jerusalem and into the ancient Roman empire, being preached by the same disciples who fled into hiding after Jesus was crucified. These same terrified disciples became as bold as lions to travel as missionaries across the ancient world when they encountered the resurrected Jesus. 

The example of the Apostle Paul is also telling. He encountered the resurrected Jesus on the Damascus road and he went from being a persecutor of the early church to one of its most ardent heroes (Galatians 1:23). 

Jesus appeared to over five hundred witnesses, and it was recorded by the apostle Paul that while he was writing his letter many of these people were still alive (1 Corinthians 15:6). He in effect invited readers to go and ask these eyewitnesses about when they saw Jesus. 

Jesus of course also showed himself to his disciples on the Emmaus road, along the sea of Galilee, and to James, after his crucifixion. Given the spread of Christianity from a few thousand persecuted Jewish Christians to being the most prominent religion in the world today, the empirical and historical evidence is strong that Jesus did in fact resurrect from the dead.

Additionally, even today billions of people testify to the fact that Jesus has changed their lives. This all forms a cumulative case that we can indeed believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Now it’s time for you to make a decision that will affect the rest of your life as a human being. This is a huge decision. This is something God is also drawing you toward, helping you understand and receive.

It’s one thing to see Jesus Christ and his life and think well that’s nice. But what if you jump into it. What if you decide to respond to it, and become a Christian?

Have you given your life to God? It’s pretty simple. You can do so right now.

What we want to do is this: Believe in Jesus Christ. Believe that Jesus Christ is our personal savior. That when he died on the cross he was dying to pay off your debt of sins, all your wrong doings. And believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, and that Jesus is alive and in this room right now.

So you want to respond like this… confess your sins right now to God, the ways you’ve sinned, lied, cheated, stole, hurt others, bullied others, spoken evil things, confess your guilt before God right now.

And then believe that Jesus Christ took the penalty for those sins, for you personally on the cross.. Ask God’s forgiveness for those sins right now.

Kneel down and confess your sins to God and repent of them, say Lord, I’m not doing that anymore, I’m believing in Jesus Christ as my savior now. And when you do, you’ll receive the Holy Spirit, and be born again.