Ps 119:18
INTRO: From time to time Mom would say to me, Son, if youd just open your eyes, youd see it. I have a strong feeling that I am not the only person who heard that from a mother or father ... or wife. There is none so blind as one who will not see. Note Mt 13:14-16. We mis so much by not seeing. Our lives can be so narrow and restricted by our not seeing. Well, we might think, I have no problem sing. Really? We may have 20/20 vision ... and not really be seeing wondrous things!
I. TO SEE THE WONDER OF GODS POWER
A. God questions Job ...
1. Job 13:3 and 23:2-5 Job had questions for God!
2. but listen: Job 38:1-7 have you seen my power?
3. Jer 32:17 there is nothing too hard for thee
B. Deut 4:9 ...lest thou forget ...
1. note Ps 106:7-13
2. in the scriptures one can see the wonder of Gods power over nature, over enemies, over Satan
3. with open eyes we can see ... and believe - and continuing to seek in scripture, our faith and only grow
II. TO SEE THE WONDER OF MANS SIN
A. In its ingratitude
1. Gen 1:29,30 and 2:8,9 all that God did for man!
2. Gen 2:16,17 freedom ... but one prohibition
3. having received so much from God, one wonders how anyone could disobey, rebel
4. but Gen 3:6 they did! what ingratitude
B. In its effects
1. Isa 59:1,2 sin removes us from God
2. nothing about Gods power keeps this from happening when sin enters our lives
3. Eph 2:1 with 1 Tim 5:6 and Rom 5:12
4. what comes into this world pure is horribly defaced by sin - Ezek 28:15
III. THE WONDER OF GODS LOVE
A. Jer 11:6-10 this to ungrateful, sinful people!
1. mans love would very likely simply walk away
2. ungrateful wretch! Ill have no more to do with you
3. no, God has continued His pleading
B. Rom 5:8 ...while we were yet sinners ...
1. this verse so beautifully speaks of the wonder of His love ... could I have been so gracious?
2. 2 Pet 3:9 ... not willing that any should perish ...
3. we can find no more wondrous love than this
IV. THE WONDER OF THE CROSS
A. What can overcome the separation sin causes?
1. the law of God is violated - the holiness of God cannot abide with sin - the justice of God cannot overlook our guiltiness
2. a penalty must be paid ... must I bear my sins?
3. 1 Pet 3:18 here is the wonder of the cross
B. The cross: Gods justice satisfied
1. His sinless Son died as the penalty for our sins ... a penalty was required
2. Heb 10;12 one sacrifice for sins forever
3. the cross was justice, mercy and grace meeting together to demonstrate the wonder of Gods love
V. THE WONDER OF FORGIVENESS
A. A wonder passage? Isa 1:18
1. why would anyone not want this forgiveness?
2. answer? Isa 1:19 Gods expectations
3. still, God expects nothing of us that is not compatible with his lvoe and our benefit
B. And Heb 10:15-18
1. remission ... to appear as without sin!
2. sins forgiven are sins forgotten
3. by His love, by the cross God deals with our sin
CLOSE: To see wondrous things from Gods word is a true delight. However, to act on those things is true wisdom.
Cecil A. Hutson
16 July 2000
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)