Emerging Conservative

Hi all….

I just got done with lunch with a buddy of mine that reminded me of what really matters. He is a Christian too and he was saved from a life that was rough, hard, and heading no where fast. When He came to the Lord there was a HUGE turnaround in his life and his joy and passion really reminded me of what matters.

With this in mind, I wanted to drop here something I wrote for our youth group’s Facebook page. This is what it is really all about…..

What is the good news? Let me share with you a few verses from a letter that an early follower of Jesus, named Paul, wrote to the church in Rome. It’s in the New Testament….

To get to the good news, we have to know the bad news. While God created us to have a relationship with us, it doesn’t take a genius to see that something went wrong. Due to what the Bible calls sin (or anything that rebels against God), we were separated from Him. This is true for all of us….

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

Everyone has messed up. Everyone. While we are not alone in rebellion, it does have dire results.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Did you catch that? While we deserve death, God’s gift is eternal life THROUGH Jesus Christ!

In other words, while we walked away from God and He had every right to say “OK, fine! If that’s what you want, see ya!” But he didn’t! Even though He can’t ignore the justice of the result of sin, He decided to pay the price by giving His Son, Jesus Christ. Check this out….

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Unreal! We rebel, we walk away, and He gives His Son! That’s love! He made the sacrifice….He did the work….He made it easy and clear….

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10

Can it be any easier? People try to make it hard and mysterious but God makes it clear; to accept Him as Leader and Forgiver in our lives is a simple of speaking it and believing it!

But maybe you feel you don’t deserve it (none of us do). Or maybe you think it’s true for everyone but you. Look at this…

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10: 13

Let’s say for the sake of argument that you make the decision to accept this great gift from God through His Son. You follow the instructions above in Romans 10:9-10 and are saved. Then listen to these verses and think about what they mean….

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8: 38-39

Talk about good news! Now there are a couple things that we can’t skip over….

- It’s up to you. No one else can make the decision for you. Not your mom, your dad, your spouse, your friend, or anyone else. Now that you know, what will you do with it?

- It’s not always easy and it’s not always fun nor is it boring or disappointing. Accepting Christ is not the end. It’s not just getting into heaven. It’s the beginning! It’s a relationship!

We encourage getting more information on how to learn from the Bible. There’s a lot of stuff people believe the Bible says that is just not there. Dig deeper to know the Bible and not what others portray.

We recommend you find friends and others who will be a support community for you. If you need help with this, contact us and we would love to help out anyway we can!

If you made this decision today, please let us know! We want to celebrate with you! You and those in Heaven as well! In Heaven? Yes!

Look at what Jesus says in Luke 15:7…

“I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

AWESOME!

If you want to accept Jesus as Leader and Forgiver in your life or have any questions about it, feel free to contact me. I’d love to talk more!