Christianity Explained is designed for the person who knows nothing about Jesus or his Gospel.
Papatoetoe has an estimated 2.8% of its population in Church on a Sunday. Could you or I explain to the nearly 98% non-Christians in Papatoetoe (that’s 49 out of 50 people you see in the street) the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that helped them to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and gave them reason to change what they do on a Sunday morning? This course will equip you for the task.
We are now at Study 4. In the first 3 studies we established the 3 essential foundations to being a true Christian.
The belief that Jesus is the Son of God with all authority including final judgment over us, that his death on the Cross was the only way to forgive our sins and that after 3 days he rose back life, proving he really is the Son of God with even authority even over death itself. These are the 3 foundations to the well known scripture
Romans 10:9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Christianity answers the most important question that we can ever ask. What must I do to be saved? Today we’re going to cover a very important topic - grace not works !
How can we be sure that we are going to Heaven? This is the very question the rich young lawyer had when he came to Jesus
Matthew 19:16-26
Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
The question the rich young ruler had was what did he need to DO. As human beings we are taught from a very young age that in order to get something, we must do something first. At home, at school, at work we have it drilled into us that we must work to earn our reward. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. So Jesus tells him exactly what he would need to do to go to Heaven, emphasis on the word do, which is what the rich young ruler wanted to know.
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
The rich young ruler was an exceptional human being. He had lived an exemplary life and had done plenty of good things. A lot of people see themselves as a good person and they think they will go to Heaven because they are good. Jesus gives him one more thing he needed to do. Sell all his possessions, give it all to the poor and come follow Jesus. But this was something that he couldn’t do and Jesus knew it. He could see inside his heart the same way he can see inside my heart and yours. He can see the things that we simply wouldn’t sacrifice. It might not be the same thing for each one of us as it was for the rich young ruler. The point is, he couldn’t do it.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Jesus wanted his disciples to know that it is impossible to please God by our good deeds but that with God, all things are possible.
There are only 2 religions in the World. The first depends on us, on what we need to DO. The second is Christianity which depends on God alone who grants salvation only because of our faith as Genesis 15 first tells us.
Genesis 15:1-6
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
All the other religions teach what we need to DO to go to Heaven. The Gospel message is the opposite. It’s grace over Ant works we can do. Today we’re going to let RC Sproul explain that better than I can. RC Sproul is a great teacher, you even get the chalk on blackboard. So apologies if this reminds you of school, get out your pens and paper and take notes because he uses some words you might not have heard before.
For further explanation by the Apostle Paul, read Romans 4:1-25
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