the whole holiday season. But especially as born-again believers, those of us who have put our trust in Jesus Christ, we have the best gift available. And it's the gift that we've already received. Finding ways to have that conversation is one thing, but understanding the significance of the gift and how it is described in Scripture I think helps us share it. If you're in your Bibles there, Romans chapter 5, look in verse number 1. therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." This is what you call a positional statement. The Apostle Paul is writing here, we are in the position of justified. There is not something that we're waiting for, for something to come to pass so that our justification is complete. We have our justification as a result of faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 2, by whom also we have access This is also something I think very important for the believer to recognize. It's not just a positional standing with limited access, you have full access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice. Now, while times are going good, you might not think about how you have to actively rejoice because things are going well. When times are bad or when you have doubts or when others cause you to doubt your position in Christ, you remember, I have access. That access is because of my justification which is a result of accepting what Christ did for me. Hold your spot here for just a moment and go to the book of Hebrews in chapter 4. Hebrews builds on this thought and it's a little more personal in Hebrews because we are, I'm not saying that the audience, the Roman church was not, you know, void of persecution. I'm sure they were going through persecution, the believers there in Rome. But I think When we look at the book of Hebrews we see persecution as more of the forefront runner when it comes to why the book is being written. And of course Hebrews is all about, hey Jesus is better. He's better than all these things that you came out of. You're talking about Christians who have a Jewish background. All these examples that you look to, He's better than those things. And in many ways He is the fulfillment of some of the things that those people said, like what Moses said. But in Hebrews chapter 4 you see this in verse 14, seeing then we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. stay rooted in which you have believed. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." Meaning Jesus looks at you knowing what you have endured, He has endured it as well. But as in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. That's the difference between us and Jesus. In our temptation we fail. We have the ability to do that because of our sin nature. With Jesus as we studied on Wednesday night, perfect in every way. Let us therefore, so that therefore is building off of what is said in verses 14 and 15. We have a high priest, Jesus, stand firm. He's not like the other high priests who had to make sacrifices for their own sin before they could make a sacrifice for the people. He was tempted in every point that you and I have been tempted, but he was found without sin. Therefore, because of those things, come boldly unto the throne of grace. This is, I believe, to be understood confidently. Not cocky, not prideful, but knowing that when you push on the doors into the throne room, they're gonna open. Right? We don't have to petition that. We have access. Therefore, let us come boldly unto the throne of grace for a purpose that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And I think we've kind of built this expectation within our culture today that there's a lot of sources of information that we can run to that will solve our fears. Now I'm not here to say that everything about Google is bad, but it can definitely build some bad habits. We were just in the board meeting and there was a conversation that came up, a question was asked, and I Googled it. And I typed in what I thought was a clear search query, right? And then the answer he gave me was wrong. I didn't realize that though because it was, have you guys seen this? Your first response on Google Now is AI generated. You can't turn that off. So I'm reading through here, and the numbers I'm looking at are doubled. And I'm like, when did this change? Because this is a significant impact on what we're planning on doing. I'm looking at this. I'm reading it. And I had to click on the little link icon to look. And I'm like, oh, this is for a certain type of employee thing. So then I modified my search query, got the right answer. Well, if I was in a rush and didn't pay attention, I would have possibly changed the whole direction of a conversation on wrong information. There's a certain level of trust I have with Google. It's very little. I mean, I don't say this to be funny, but most of the time I doubt the answers that come to me. Especially when you consider that most of the results for artificial intelligence right now are sourced by public forums. Do you guys know what a public forum is? It's like people watching at the mall and listening to different thoughts and opinions. And then taking those as real verifiable facts. It's really concerning. So you have to look into everything. And I think sometimes Christians can build this very similar relationship with information. We think like this, the more information I have, the less I have to doubt. Okay, what kind of information? That becomes the question. Who has the authority behind the information? What kind of authority do they carry to make sure that comes to a logical conclusion? The real danger is when we start building a dependence on things outside of God for an informational authority. Go to 2 Timothy, you're still holding your spot in Romans there. 2 Timothy chapter 2, or excuse me, chapter 3. In verse 14, Paul is talking to Timothy here, he's trying to encourage him, to remind him of the departure that is going to come over the process of time. People are going to be more susceptible to fables and illustration fatigue. He says in verse 14, but continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures. So I would put an emphasis there. Maybe if you like to notate in your Bible, draw a little anchor. A little anchor there. That is what Timothy is being called back to remembrance. The scriptures. Know that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Theonoustos, God-breathed. That's how we get that word, inspiration. And is profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. To this conclusion, 17, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. The Scriptures for the believer are all that we need as far as authority goes. And what I think happens, especially during times of chaos or uncertainty, is people build a very unhealthy relationship with information outside of the Bible. I'm not saying all information outside of the Bible is bad, right? Air conditioning is great. I'm not going to go against that. But I think there can be a dependence built on any kind of information outside of the Scriptures because we're living in a culture today where it's very easy to just trust things. People are selling you how reliable it is and all that. Sometimes I see these commercials for these companies that do data management. You ever look into what that really is? It's hard to find out exactly what it is. You go and look and you see there's a lot of words and phrases that make sentences in English. You look at it and you're like, I don't really know what they do. Do they really know what they do? Well, they got, I think Idris Elba is one of them, and he's, wow, look, he's in the ad, so it must be good. You gotta know what you're trusting. You gotta know what this information is. Go back to Romans chapter 5. For us, we're justified by faith, we have peace with God, we have access, we stand, we rejoice. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Difficulties teaches you how to be patient. I cringe sometimes when I hear the phrase, don't ever pray for patience, because then he's going to make you want it, or whatever. It's like, I don't think you need to pray for patience. I think the Lord will naturally mold you through difficult times. That's why I think it's important when you see lessons like Job and others who went through a lot of difficulties and trials, what's the conclusion there? We need to trust the Lord. Not that we need to come to more knowledge of everything. We need to trust in what He's already said. But look at this pattern here. rejoicing in our salvation because it gives us our position. But not only that, the difficult times... Knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience, verse 4, experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. That's the joyful anticipation. We're not talking about, I hope, I hope, I hope I'm in a right standing. I know that I'm in a right standing. That hope and how it's used there is an anticipation of something that is true. And I have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's been given to me the moment that I put my trust in Jesus Christ. That's sourced in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 13 and 14. The Holy Spirit there is described as an earnest, a down payment that the Lord is going to come and He's going to know who I am. I'm sealed with the Holy Spirit. Six, for when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. So before we could even do anything of merit or value, He died for us. When I'm soul winning and I'm talking to people who are coming from a works-based background, this point becomes very strong for them. Because I think sometimes we need to remember this, my friends, those of us who know the gospel and we're staunch defenders of it, not everybody who believes in a works-based gospel is there by choice. This is what they've been taught. It's all they know. And sometimes if we get really high-minded and lifted up in our knowledge, we can come across very cold to people who have never heard the freeing news of Jesus Christ and faith in Him alone. That's why I love, when I'm talking to people, I love to ask questions. I'm more excited to ask questions than I am to jump into an illustration because I want to find out, where is this person coming from? What things do they already understand? How can I present certain portions of Scripture that will be impactful to where they are right now? Never forget, I was with Ryan Pasternak who's moved up to Ohio now. We were out at Brandon Mall and I was witnessing, we were witnessing together. We're both big baseball guys. We really enjoy watching baseball and stuff. And we would always talk about how sometimes it's like the Lord has put the runners on the base, you know? Like we'll start talking to one person and all of a sudden two or three people will come up and start having a conversation. It's like, oh, it's a bases loaded situation. We were talking to a young lady at Blondie's Cookies and it was just about closing time so we were the last people in there. And Ryan wanted to get, he loves just a plain sugar cookie, so got that. So we started talking to this young lady. We're talking through, sharing the gospel with her. And you can really see it starting to make an impact on her. I have no idea where she's coming from. She could have had the best day, the worst day, I don't know. But as I'm sharing with her how God showed His love for her in the offering of His Son Jesus Christ and how if she just simply trusts in what Jesus did she can be forgiven. When I said that word forgiven it was at that moment I knew this is a significant thing for her. So she trusted in Christ as her Savior and I walked out of there and what was interesting in the discussion with me and Ryan, and this was years ago but I can still remember this, it wasn't the traditional method of how I would have shared the gospel, even before then. But as we were going through the conversation with her, picking up on verbal cues, picking up on the way she's answering questions, And it led to, what I think, a more precise method to present the gospel. Now, the power is in the gospel, but I think we're called to be wise. Folks, people can tell when you're just on a sales pitch. When you don't really care what they think, you're just doing your responsibility. I mean, that is a way you can do it. There's a better way to do it. You listen to Dr. Arnold's classes that he's doing? Soul winning can really become an art. The art of discussion. Doesn't mean you have to be a great orator, doesn't mean you have to be a wonderful public speaker, or be the most handsome man alive. I mean, I don't have to struggle with that. Just kidding. My mother-in-law laughing a little too loud at that one. You don't have to have all these external skills But I really think it goes a long way when you have a genuine concern for the people you're trying to reach. I think about this with family members. You know for a fact you're gonna have some aunts or uncles, cousins around you over the next few weeks that you haven't talked to in a whole year. And a lot's happened in the last year, has it not? And people are gonna be asking questions. you should be preparing for natural departures into a gospel conversation. I mean I remember with COVID I'd hand out tracts to people, am I going to heaven when I die? And it was just that alone was a conversation starter. We're not in the business of trading lives for people based on how good they are. I mean, I think we're all out here in the business of self-preservation, trying to live as long as you can. There's not a readiness to give up your life for somebody. But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Sinless, perfect, he made the sacrifice for us. And look at our position. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. A better way to understand that word commendeth, it's a little old style, but it means demonstrated, right? A lot of worship songs today are trying to capture the essence of God's love. I'm not here to knock it, but sometimes it just comes across as like a ooey-gooey feeling, you know? No, God's love is real in the sense that He offered His Son for us. That is how God demonstrated His love. Verse 9, much more than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. I think that wrath is twofold. We're saved from the wrath that will come upon the unbeliever. Let's go to John chapter 3. Hold your spot in Romans 5. John chapter 3 and verse 36. We looked at this verse this morning when we were studying some of the ministry of John the Baptist. John chapter three and verse 36 says this, he that believeth on the Son hath life, he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. So there's something that we're learning here. The unbeliever, up until the time that they believe, the wrath of God is over them. And I believe at the moment of their death, that comes down on them. Ultimately, God's wrath will be demonstrated at the Great White Throne Judgment where everybody who has died rejecting Christ as their Savior, having never believed on Him, will stand and give an account as to why they rejected the Son. And the Bible tells us there will be nobody with an excuse on that day. Nobody. And I know there's so many people that are like, well, what about this situation? What about that situation? Well, the Bible says there's no one without excuse. I believe if God is gonna hold people to the standard of belief, there's gonna be a possibility for people to trust Christ their Savior. Sometimes the people that ask those questions and they're just not satisfied with the answer, I tend to ask them, if there is an unreached people group who does not have the gospel, Why don't you go reach them? Now I know that sounds a little pointed, but it's a great question. Why not be the one who can introduce the gospel? And how about this, before we go to the unreached people group, let's try our neighbor. Let's try those in our family who do not believe. He that believeth on the Son hath life, he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. We, go back to Romans chapter five and verse nine, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." The second part of this is one of the reasons why I think it's pretty clear the believers, the church, won't go through the tribulation period. That wrath is for Israel, prophetically. Verse 10, for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, reconciliation is removing something that is in the way. That reconciliation between man and God happened because of the death of Jesus Christ, much more being reconciled, we are now in the position of reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received the atonement. So I'm not waiting for a well-done comment or an evaluation of my Christian life to receive the forgiveness of my sins. I have it right now. That atonement is a proper covering. Here's where I wanna get to our focus. This is the only portion in Scripture that describes salvation as a free gift. And I think it's very important to see why it is described that way. There's a discussion that starts in verse 12 and goes through the rest of the chapter. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. President Obama made a funny video when he was in office. about all the problems, the little problems in his life, like down to, you know, he dropped a pencil and it was out of reach. And at the time, everybody was blaming America's problems on the president. Nothing has changed, right? And he would look at the camera and he'd say, thanks, Obama, because he couldn't reach his pencil. He had a big cookie and he went to go dip it in this nice big glass of milk and, boop, wouldn't fit. He looks at the camera. Thanks, Obama. It was kind of funny. I thought it was funny to kind of go after your enemies like that. But we can really look in the camera of life and go, thanks, Adam. That's how sin came into the world. And that is who is being discussed here. One man, sin entered into the whole world, and death, separation by sin, and so this separation, this death, passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Now, in the moment of Adam and Eve's sin, they did not physically die. They started the process of physical death, but they did die spiritually, separated. I believe every single individual who's born into the world has a spirit, it is dead. The significance of this is being made alive in Christ, that's described, that's actually worth looking at. Look in Ephesians chapter two. The word is quickened. I think in Ephesians 2.4 it actually says, made alive. Look in Ephesians 2.1, and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation, our behavior in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. That is what Romans is talking about. One man brought sin into the world, death by that sin, and so death passed to all men. Look at verse four of Ephesians chapter two. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us, boy, that sounds like what we just read in Romans five. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you saved. And I kind of like, if you look at the scripture there, there's a little winky face emoticon. You notice that? Some of you do. Quick in there means made alive. In Adam, we were born spiritually separated. Go back to Romans chapter five. This is discussed further in verse 14. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned, after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. You say, well, I wasn't in the garden. I didn't make that personal choice. Well, this is how sin works. It is passed down to every individual. You see this in the discourse between Cain and Abel, right? I believe there was a standard, a blood sacrifice had to be made. Excuse me, there was a blood sacrifice that had to be made because Cain's sacrifice was of the fruit of his hands. It wasn't a, this is something I think we should focus on too. Cain's sacrifice visually was probably incredible. I mean, he tilled the soil, the fruit, all of that. He brought it together. Think of like a cornucopia maybe. But it was not the shedding of blood. And God had already set that standard when he replaced Adam and Eve's coverings for their nakedness, fig leaves, product of the earth, of the ground. What did he replace it with? The coats of an animal's skin. That required the shedding of blood. Setting the example, Cain's sacrifice was rejected because it was the work of his hands. It did not have a blood sacrifice. Abel's accepted. Why? A lamb was slain. What happened as a result of that? Cain learned his lesson and offered a proper sacrifice. No. He killed his brother. He went out into the field to talk with his brother. Deception is there, and then he slew him. And it's so interesting, there's a description of Abel's blood as it is spilled out on the ground. It cries out. You ever seen that show? I'm sure you've seen it. If you've ever had a sick day in your life, you've seen 48 Hours. You've seen that show? Where they try to solve the mystery in 48 hours, you know, all that? It's almost like God said, be sure your sins will find you out. And there's little breaks in the cases here and there that lead to eventually what happened. Now there's cases that go cold too, so that illustration doesn't go as far. But from Adam to Moses, death reigned. Sin on every single individual. 15 is where we go to the contrast of this Adam character. We have Adam who brings in sin, and you and I born under sin. We have this second Adam who has no sin and offers something. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. You almost don't have to call it free because that's what a gift is. If somebody came to you and said, I have a gift for you, you would automatically be looking to receive it, right? If they had the gift for you and a card reader, right? That's not a gift anymore, that's a product, right? Okay, here's your free gift after minimum qualifying purchase. It's like, well, now we're not, you know, we're not really getting a gift, you know? This is, you don't really have to call it free, because that's what a gift is. There's emphasis here on the nature of the gift. It is freely received. For if through the offense of one many be dead, who is that? I was talking about Adam. Much more, the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." Go back to verse 8. But God commended His love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, much more than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him. Look at verse 1. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's all about one person, Jesus, and what he has offered in his death, burial, and resurrection, which is a description of something called the gospel, the good news. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift. So Jesus, we see when we looked in Hebrews chapter four, he knew no sin. The gift comes by what he has offered. Adam, he sinned. And as a result, there was a burden, a penalty put on him in the human race. For the judgment was by one to condemnation, that's Adam. But here it is described again. The free gift is of many offenses unto justification. So now you have two contrasting figures, Adam and Jesus, and you have two contrasting results. Adam brings in what? Condemnation. Condemned. What does Jesus bring in? Justification. A positional standing. Declared righteous. Go to Romans chapter 8. Excuse me, I'm sorry. Getting over a cold here. Can you get me some water please? I didn't bring my water up here. Thank you. Look in verse 31. Romans 8.31, what shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that what? These two ideas are contrasted with one another. What are the two ideas? Condemnation and justification. If I only have my sin nature, I stand before God condemned. The law condemns me. I'm told I have to keep it all, and if I offend in one point, I'm guilty of all. It's like dangling off the edge of a cliff, and you're holding onto a chain link. How many chains have to break before you're done? And on what position on the chain link do they have to break? Right, doesn't matter if it's one on the top, It's not like all of a sudden all the other ones are gonna break and I have time to figure it out. I'm going down. The law condensed me. I've offended in one point, I'm guilty of all. James chapter two and verse 10 says that. But now in Christ, I've moved from condemnation to justification. And that's a result of a free gift. I could not earn that. I could not earn that. It is God that justifies. Go to Galatians chapter three. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 21. No, actually, I'm sorry. It's Galatians 2.21. My apologies. We find this statement from Paul here in Galatians 2.21, I do not frustrate, and that's, again, a word that is not used that way today. Frustrate means, in this instance here, to make vain or make void. I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness, which is justification, come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. That means he died for nothing. So if there's any gospel that describes the gift of God as something you earn, it means that Jesus did not have to die on the cross. Hello. His death was significant, and it was for a purpose, to bring us from condemnation to justification. That's a gift, and the scripture has described it twice now in Romans 5 as a free gift. Go back to Romans chapter 5. Verse 17, for if by one man's offense, death reigned by one, much more, they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Where are you and I in this process? We're just people who either get to receive it or reject it. I could not control the fact that I was born into this world, all right, I'm here. But I believe through the Holy Spirit drawing me just as he draws every individual to the point of a choice, I responded and chose to believe the record that God gives about his son. From that moment and into eternity, I have now gained life, eternal life, because I have believed what God has said about his son concerning my sin. On the opposite of that, if I only went with what I have naturally, which is death from Adam, sin from Adam, and I die in that position, I am found without a proper covering before the Lord. And I have to give an account now of why I am in such a condition. Therefore, as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, Adam again, even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. Condemnation to death, Adam. Justification to life, Jesus. Look in John 5. You can hold your spot there in Romans. coming to the end of our study tonight. John chapter five, Jesus uses that word condemnation. John chapter five and verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that hath sent me hath everlasting life. Every tense of the believer's life is addressed here. half everlasting life, present tense, shall not come into condemnation. What is that? It's a future guarantee. Because I pass from the one man Adam to the one man Christ. I was born under the curse, now I am born again with a seed that is incorruptible. Are you with me tonight? Is that not a great gift? Is that not the best thing you could ever receive? Kyla asked me yesterday, what do you want for Christmas? I'm driving down the road and I'm kind of thinking like, I'm good. You know? Little things here and there, you know, signs of affection, stuff like that, you know, you get that. Something in my stocking, you know, something. We can't put anything in the stocking anymore because our dog, at 14, she has new life. She finds, you know why it is? Because we have a three-year-old who feeds her everything, everything. Junie, our dog, has turned into an animal. I mean, she always was, she is an animal, but now she's like, you have a little plate or something, it's like, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, and a bowl of oatmeal, and I'm like, look, these are the seeds you have sown, my child. Remy turns her head in one thing, boom, Juni's in there, and Remy, oh! I'm like, well, there you go, don't feed her. Later that night, you know. Kids, you know. Shall not come unto condemnation, that's a future guarantee, but is passed from death unto life. That's something that has already happened. Go to John chapter three. Verse 17. Oh, thought I was going to 16, huh? 17, for God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned." These are positional statements. They have nothing to do with your condition in Christ. They have to do with whether you're in him or not. I have passed from that condemnation to justification as a result of the free gift of everlasting life. How do I receive that? I believe. That's it. And if there was anything I could do to earn it, it no longer, you cannot, by definition, in any court of law, that would be a misleading statement to call it a free gift. Right? You guys know that Geico commercial? Where the old guy's sitting in the corner of the bait shop, right? He's got the dollar hanging on the fishing pole, you know? And the guy walks by and he's like, goes to get the dollar, he's like, oh, gotta be quicker than that. That's not how God works. Oh yeah, whosoever believeth. And then you go to believe, whoa, are you going to church this week? Is that a 20 in the plate? Come on. Well, we'll see if you have a life of faithfulness. God means what he says when he says whosoever believeth in me. And those are contrasted with the guarantee. God said, if you do these things, Adam, Eve, consequences. And they came to pass. And even in Genesis chapter three and verse 15, we have the first prophetic statement about Christ. that he was going to have a bruised heel, but bruise the serpent's head. Isn't it interesting that the method of crucifixion requires to push up all of your body weight on your heel? Coincidence, right? Or maybe God knew exactly what he was talking about. Finishing up here, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. Why? Because I was born under condemnation. I was born under that one thing, Adam. That's it. I was born already condemned. Now I need to be born again. Which is exactly where this discussion comes from. Look at the beginning of John 3. John 3 in verse 1. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi. Well he's probably whispering, why? He's coming to Jesus at night. Doesn't want anybody to see that he's talking to him. We know that thou art a teacher come from God. for no man can do these miracles except thou doest. Except God be with him. What's the response? I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? He's missing it. I'm not talking about physical. I actually appreciate that from Nicodemus. Just straight shooting. Hang on a minute. There's another answer that is given. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water, physical, which Nicodemus already understood, and of the spirit, now that is what he lacked. That's the understanding that he lacked. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Verse 14, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up. That's recalling from Numbers 21, is that right? I think it's Numbers 21, where Israel was snake-bitten And all they had to do was look and live at the brazen serpent that Moses had constructed. All they had to do was look and live. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Go back to Romans chapter 5 where we're going to wrap these things up here. Verse 19, for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, Adam, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Notice the obedience for justification is not on you. Now people will go, well are you telling me that I can live however I want and just because I've put my trust in Jesus I'm going to heaven? The answer to that question is it's factually true. Look at chapter six in verse one. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin? Shall we continue to sin? That grace may abound? What's the response? Sure! Is that what it says? That's why every time someone comes on our channel, they're just like, this is just a license to sin. I'm like, no, we are of this position, God forbid. We even have a little sound clip on our board, on our podcast, we're waiting to use it, where I can drop the God forbid, you know, sound bite. There's nothing here that indicates. As a matter of fact, he argues from the position of the believer. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Does it happen though? Yes, it does. Why? We still have a free choice. We still have a free choice. I didn't finish chapter five, so let's do that real quick. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And for that, we say hallelujah, amen? That there's nobody unreachable. That makes my missionary work easy, doesn't it? I don't have to go to somebody and say, oh, I don't know. They look like they vote a certain way, so we have, no, we don't talk to them. You notice people that really say that? Hot-headed pastors who just think they're so slick Certain parties, certain people of certain political dispositions, they're not worthy of the gospel. You don't know the gospel. And if anything, you have now become a respecter of persons. Ooh, that's not a good thing. Read James 2, Colossians 3. Grace did much more abound, verse 21, that as sin hath reigned unto death, Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. It's always gonna be sin equals death, and as this is described, grace, specifically the grace of God through Jesus Christ, eternal life. And these are contrasted to the other. That's real gift giving. And you can put that in a little package. We got those Christmas cards back there. whatever you'd like to donate. But those Christmas cards, one of our elders, Gary, every year he prints those on nice card stock and it's got a great explanation of the gospel. You can close your Bibles. Not saying if you got a different Christmas gift this year for somebody that's not the gospel that you're a bad Christian. I'm not saying that. We can take advantage of this time though, can we? You know, Remy's three. I love starting to explain these things to her. You know, why Christmas is such a great time of the year. She already knows. Boy, we got a little blow up snowman. She loves that snowman. She'll have conversations with it. You know? Dad, that snowman's not out because it's good morning time. You know, because it's on a timer. And the timer goes off during the day. When we get home tonight, I'm not going to be there because we're doing the show in an hour. She's gonna be talking about stuff. Hey, snowman! You know, you put the little things on there, you know, counting down to Christmas, all this stuff. It's a really, really good opportunity to explain to her why we get to celebrate in this way, this time of year. She's three, so she doesn't understand everything, but she's understanding a gift. I mean, look, the girl's birthday is in the middle of six others. She thinks her birthday lasts a whole month. She understands. And she understands also how to give a gift to somebody else. I can't remember which one of the kids she was talking about. I think it was maybe Zekiah or Eliana. She got something somewhere and she's like, I'm going to give this to them. I'm going to give this to Eliana. Those are things that I'm glad as a parent to be able to introduce to her because when she's old enough she'll understand God has given you a wonderful gift in His Son Jesus Christ. You have to take advantage of this time. We can't just expect people to figure it out because, well, there's Christmas songs playing, they'll figure it out that way. You know? We have to be the ones that bear the news as an ambassador, one who goes before as a representative of Jesus Christ. If you're here tonight, and you're not sure that you're going to Heaven, you can have that assurance. Let me illustrate that to you now. This hand represents you and me, this represents sin, I put it on top of my hand because the Bible says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. God loves us, He hates our sin, this sin separates us from Him. In order to get to Heaven we have to be sinless. We have to keep the law perfectly and it condemns us. It's actually designed that way. We all fall short. The wages of sin is death, eternal separation from God, and a literal fire burning hell. There's no amount of good deeds or reformation that I could do to pay for this sin. I need someone to die in my place. Not only do you have to be sinless, but without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins. And it's not the blood of bulls and goats as described in Hebrews, those things could never take away sin. Jesus Christ is the only one who could take away sin. This hand represents Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man. For God so loved the world, that's you and me, that He gave His only begotten Son, that's Jesus Christ, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And just like we talked about today, condemnation, justification. The moment that you believe you're passed from that condemnation, you're justified before God. Why? Because I'm such a good person. No, no. Christ died for my sins. That's why. And if you're here tonight and you have any other position, you say, well, I don't know if I'm good enough to get to heaven. Well, we're not good enough. That's why we need a Savior. I ask you to change your mind and put your trust in Christ alone. Would you pray with me please? Heads are bowed, knives are closed. A moment of privacy here. If you're here tonight and you say, Pastor, that makes sense. I walked in thinking I was good enough to get to Heaven, but I see now that what Jesus Christ did was sufficient. And I have therefore put my trust in Him tonight. I know I'm going to Heaven now. And I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He died on the cross, was buried and rose again to pay for my sin. I'd love to pray for you. This is not a pressure point. I just want to pray for you. Would you just slip your hand up and let me know that that made sense to you tonight and you've trusted in Christ? Anyone before we close? I'm familiar with almost all of you here. I just want to let you know. Find a way to get this news into somebody else's sphere this year. Maybe you got a new neighbor. Maybe you got that one family member that you're going to be talking to. Don't delay. Take some tracks on the way out. Be active in the attempts to win others to Christ. and be encouraged. We have been justified because of the blood of Jesus. Nothing can change that. Father, we thank you so much for everything that you've done for us today. I personally, Lord, I love the rain today. It was a nice thing. I haven't seen that in a while. It reminds me of how you have designed this world I just pray for people that are still looking for the truth, that they'd find Calvary Community Church, that they'd find the good news of Jesus Christ here. We pray for the live show to follow in about an hour, for the AWANA program wrapping up. And bring us back here safely for prayer meeting on Wednesday. In Jesus' name we pray these things, amen.