Archive - The Gospel RSS Feed

Hearing This Story Changed My Life

September 12, 2011 in The Gospel, Thoughts with 0 Comments

You and I are sinners who are guilty of breaking God’s law.  You might be a decently moral person but according to God every human being, living or dead, is guilty of offending a holy God (Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23).  Unfortunately, the only punishment for sin is death, which was prescribed by God at the very beginning of human history (Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:3; Romans 5:12).  Many people will spend their lives trying to earn God’s favor or forgiveness by attempting to make up for their sinful deeds so they will perform acts of kindness, become a church member, try to be moral, get baptized, or do any other deed that may get God’s attention.  Although doing these things is admirable, they still fall short of the required punishment for sin (Isaiah 64:6).  Death, not deeds, pays for sin.  Paul plainly writes to the Romans, “…the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  If you are currently trying to be forgiven by God through righteous behavior or good deeds, please stop.  God’s wrath for sin is not satisfied by what you do, but by what has already been done.

Two-thousand years ago God’s love for the human race compelled Him to send His only Son, Jesus Christ, to earth in order to pay the penalty for sin on behalf of sinners (John 3:16).  Since only death could satisfy God’s wrath for sin, He sent Jesus to give His life so that the human race could be saved from death and eternal separation from God in hell.  God did not send His Son to condemn sinners, but so that the human race might be saved from death through Him (John 3:17).  Paul described Jesus’ sacrifice to the church at Corinth with these words, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  An exchange took place on the cross.  Jesus took my sin and your sin upon Himself and gave us His righteousness.  When does the exchange take place?  A person is given the righteousness of Christ at the moment he quits trusting in his own works, confesses his sin, and embraces Christ’s death as sufficient payment for his sin.  Adam’s (the first human being) disobedience brought sin and death into the world, but Christ’s death brought righteousness to many (Romans 5:19).  The story does not end with Christ’s death.  Three days following His death, Jesus was raised to life by the power of God.  His resurrection guarantees that those who believe in Him will also live again (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

Hearing the story of Jesus Christ changed everything for me.  I no longer have to spend my life attempting to earn God’s forgiveness, but He has freely given it to me through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Do you remember when you heard this story for the first time?

The Worst Kind of Abuse

June 7, 2011 in Forgiveness, The Gospel, Thoughts with 0 Comments

One of the greatest events that took place in human history was the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Although it sounds disgusting to relish in a person’s death, Christians throughout the ages look to the crucifixion of Christ as the single event which satisfied the wrath of God upon sin (John 3:16-17, 36).  Without His death there would be no forgiveness of sin.  Even though no one deserves God’s grace, He demonstrated His love toward us by sending His only Son to pay the penalty for sin, which was death (Romans 5:8).  Sin cost Jesus His life.  Your sin cost Jesus His life.  My sin cost Jesus His life.

If Jesus paid the price for sin by giving His life and freely offered His grace to all who believe, does that mean an individual can continue living a life of sin knowing that they’ve been forgiven?  It’s a great question.  Paul writes these words in Romans 6:1-2, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”  A person should not willingly continue in sin because he or she knows that Christ’s death brought forgiveness.  In my opinion, continual sin in the life of a Christian is an abuse of Jesus’ death.  Professing Christians should not be characterized by a lifestyle of sin.

Forgiveness brings freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.

A Not-So-Tragic Death

January 26, 2011 in The Gospel, Tragedy, True Stories with 0 Comments

My kids have good intentions.  They really do.  However, the other day they introduced me to a new show airing on the Travel Channel called When Vacations Attack.  The premise of the show is simple – a person or family goes on vacation, but one harrowing event changes everything.  This show includes real life stories such as a women whose fishing trip goes terribly wrong when a hook catches her in the eye or there was another scenario when an alligator “expert” almost gets his arm ripped off when the powerful jaws of the gator clamp down on his bicep.   Whenever I watch this show I am reminded that ONE action can change everything.  A perfectly enjoyable vacation can be turned upside down with just ONE incident.

If a good situation can quickly turn bad, does that mean a bad situation can quickly turn good?  I believe the answer is yes.  Thousands of years ago, Adam and Eve’s obedience to God was “attacked” in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3).  Satan lied to Eve and told her that she was better off living independent of God’s word.  Although Eve was deceived by Satan and ultimately disobeyed God’s word, Adam deliberately disobeyed God and plunged the entire human race into sin causing death and eternal separation from God (Romans 5:12).  Thousands of years later, God turned this bad situation into good when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for sinners so that they could be forgiven and set free from the power and penalty of sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).

ONE thing can change everything.

Paul said it best in Romans 5:18-19 (NLT), “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners.  But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”

A Few Words from My Heart

September 15, 2010 in Forgiveness, The Gospel, Thoughts with 0 Comments

I never knew how to bring this up without offending you or seeming weird.  I mean…I had every intention of telling you this at some point, but the words never seemed to come together.  I guess I was scared about what you may think of me or how you’d react.  Looking back on all of our conversations, you and I have talked about so many things…our favorite movies and music, our pasts, our likes and dislikes, and we’ve even had some deep conversations, but there is something I have been holding back.  I’ve left out a very important part of my life.  So, here it goes.  I have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Not too long ago, I became aware that my sin and disobedience had caused me to remain far from God and in danger of His judgment (Romans 6:23).  I immediately attempted to justify my behavior by trying to convince myself that I wasn’t as bad as others (Romans 3:23).  I even began doing some good things to make up for my shortcomings.  For a while I felt better about myself, but then I realized that my sin had kept me separated from God and that no amount of good deeds could repair my relationship with Him (Ephesians 2:8-9).  I began to search for something which could remove the guilt and shame my sin had caused, but no hope could be found…that is, until I came across this verse found in the Bible, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  For the first time in my life I realized that Jesus Christ was sent to earth to take my sin upon Himself so that I could be made right with God.  Then I read in Paul’s letter to the Romans which says that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).  At that moment, I abandoned my useless attempts to find forgiveness through my own good works, so that I could embrace the work which had already been done on my behalf by Jesus Christ.

My life dramatically changed when I put my faith in Jesus Christ.  Although I am far from perfect and have countless weaknesses, I know my sins have been forgiven and that I’ve been made right with God.  This forgiveness of sin and right standing before God was a gift given to me by God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and I wanted to let you know that God wants to forgive you like He forgave me.

Why I Blog…

July 27, 2009 in God, Random Thinking, Relationship with God, Sin, The Gospel, Unspecific Ramblings with 0 Comments

I really enjoy writing. Since my journey in blogging began on April 17, 2007, I have published nearly 600 posts which mainly center on two topics: Bible Commentary and Real Life Stories. The Bible Commentary section of this blog started as a challenge to myself about being more consistent in studying God’s word and also developing something for my own kids to be able to use one day in their own journey through the Bible. This personal study of the Bible has been an exciting part of my spiritual growth over the past few years and hopefully into the future. My goal is to finish my thoughts on the New Testament by the beginning of 2010 and then start my trek through the Old Testament, which I’m certain will take several years.

The second part of my blogging adventure began on March 8, 2008, when I created a new dimension to my blog by incorporating random thoughts and real life stories with spiritual applications. This usually turns into an attempt to view everyday life with a sense of humor while providing a chance for personal reflection.

Considering all the reasons I write, there is one particular truth that I hope you do not miss. Thousands of years ago God created people to be like Him and have a relationship with Him (Genesis 1:27); however, the first two human beings were deceived by a fallen angel, Lucifer, and their disobedience brought sin into the world (Genesis 3:1-13; Romans 5:12). God had already warned Adam that breaking His commandment would result in death (Genesis 2:16-17), but Adam ignored the consequence for sin and chose his own way. Because God loved man (John 3:16), His prized creation, He immediately promised them a future deliverer who would conquer sin and death (Genesis 3:15). Thousands of years later God sent His only Son, Jesus, who was born of the virgin Mary to become this deliverer from sin and death through sacrificing His own life on the cross (Matthew 1:18-25). Since death is the only way to pay for sin, man now has two possibilities to pay this penalty: either man can pay for his own sins through physical death and eternity in hell (Revelation 20:11-15) or he can repent of sin and receive by faith that Jesus’ death was in place of his own and that His resurrection guaranteed eternal life in heaven (Romans 10:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus is why I blog. He has provided new and eternal life to all who repent of sin and believe in Him; therefore, I use my words to hopefully point people to the benefits of living life God’s way.

The Church's First Priority

June 8, 2009 in Random Thinking, The Church, The Gospel with 0 Comments

Saturday was full of adventures for our family, but nothing was quite as exciting and exhilarating as our search for a bird bath; of course, I am being sarcastic. My wife came up with this brilliant idea of purchasing a bird feeder for our backyard as well as a bird bath to bathe the winged creatures. We visited our local PetSmart and immediately found what we needed, but the bird bath was a little expensive, in my opinion, so, we decided to check out a couple stores across the street but had no luck. Instead of returning to PetSmart, Leah and I thought of some other stores which may carry bird baths, but no success at any of those either. After driving around for well over an hour, we returned to our starting point and purchased the bird bath. I told Leah, “For all the time it took us to gather these things for the birds, it better attract eagles, hawks, vultures, condors, and penguins!” So far we’ve had no flying fowl quite that size – just a couple sparrows and some robins. I still have my fingers crossed for some bigger birds!

Over the last few days our entire family has enjoyed watching as the feeder has attracted a handful of birds. Although the feeder has not initially brought as many birds as we had expected, we know that time will bring more. We are convinced that the key to attracting more birds is to offer them something which sustains life.

The modern day church has many avenues to “attract” people; however, it must not forget that its first priority is to offer hope and life through Jesus Christ. It was Jesus who said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Unibrows and Fire Safety

June 2, 2009 in Random Thinking, Relationship with God, The Gospel, True Stories with 0 Comments

Lately my son has been coming up with the most random topics of discussion. Apparently at school today, one of his friends was discussing a unibrow. Since he could not remember what it was called, tonight he asked me, “What is it called when a person’s eyebrows are joined in the middle?” As a father, I was proud to have the answer to this life-changing question. I’m not sure where I picked up this useless information, but I know I’ve met quite a few people sporting the unibrow – males and females.

At dinner tonight, we had another random discussion about how he would escape if a fire was blocking all the doors in the house. Initially my wife told him, “Just jump out any window. I would rather you break your legs than not to have you at all.” By the way, our house is two stories and I’m not even sure if I would jump from the second floor, but then again, I’ve never been face to face with a raging fire either. In response to Leah’s answer to his question, he brought up the fact that he doesn’t know how to open the windows. Good point. Personally, I was stumped, but Leah quickly spoke up saying, “I would do anything I could to save you. Don’t worry.” This answer seemed to satisfy him. I guess it’s a good thing to have someone nearby who is willing to give up their life in order to save yours.

Know anyone like that?

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

My Latest Run In with the Law

May 27, 2009 in The Gospel, True Stories with 0 Comments

I got my driver’s license the week I turned sixteen years old and up until last year, I had never been pulled over for speeding. For seventeen years, my driving record remained clean, but everything changed last Memorial Day weekend (2008) when our family skipped town and headed to Columbus, Ohio for a much-needed vacation. We were not even an hour into the trip when I was clocked (from a helicopter) going 70mph in a 55mph zone, which resulted in an $80 ticket. I hated every moment of it especially because my wife was loving the fact that it was me being pulled over instead of her. Let’s just say her driving record is not as clean as mine. The kids were also in the backseat laughing and saying, “Daddy, you got pulled over by a policeman! Daddy, you got pulled over by a policeman! Look at the flashing lights.” Over the last year, I have attempted to speed less, but most of the time I’m oblivious to my disregard for the speed limit.

Well, this past Memorial Day weekend (2009) marked my one year anniversary of being ticket free; however, the celebration was cut short as I made my way to work early Thursday morning. I’m sure I was singing praises to God in the car until I noticed flashing lights in my rear view mirror. Singing praises turned to desperate prayers as I pleaded for the guy next to me to get pulled over rather than me. My prayer was quickly shot down and I reluctantly pulled into a small parking lot. Of course, my prayers resumed as I fumbled around in my glove compartment (anyone know why it is called a glove compartment) to find all the pertinent information. A very tall and muscular officer whose arms were as big as my legs approached my car and asked me a few questions:

1. Do you know what the speed limit is here? Yes. 40mph

2. Do you how fast you were going? I have no idea.

3. When is the last time you got a ticket? One year ago.

Following the brief interrogation, the officer returned to his car as I awaited my fate. A few minutes later he came back to my window with paper in hand and said, “I’m giving you a warning…” blah, blah, blah. After he said that he was only giving me a warning, I didn’t hear anything else he said. The only “pastoral” thing I could think to say was, “That is very gracious of you. Thank you.” In my mind, I really wanted to jump out and give him a big hug, but better judgment overcame me. I figured he wouldn’t understand the bromance.

As I think about the officer’s actions, I am reminded of my own standing before God. The guilty receives grace even though he does not deserve it. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Roadside Mystery

October 24, 2008 in Bible Explanation, The Gospel, True Stories with 0 Comments

On my way home from work the other day, I pulled into my neighborhood and as I was making my way through the streets my eye caught something on the side of the road. At first the only thing which defined it was the color – red. I slowed down and began gazing inquisitively at what seemed kind of odd to be on the roadside. What the heck was a decorative pillow doing on the side of the road? For real…when does a person decide, “I don’t want this pillow anymore, so I think I’ll throw it out the window?” I have to be honest. This is not the first weird thing I’ve seen on the roadside. My favorite roadside object ever is a mattress. Anyone else confused about a mattress being on the side of a well-traveled road? How could you not realize that you just lost a mattress strapped to the top of your car or flying out the bed of your truck? Come on, people! There are some things which are mysteriously out of place.Many times I feel out of place…like I don’t belong where I am. I look around our world and see all the crazy stuff happening – the hotly-debated presidential election, the failing economy, and the insane atrocities happening in other countries such as poverty, disease, and genocide. Is this what I was made for? Am I supposed to feel good about being here? Peter wrote to hurting believers in the early church and reminded them that they would feel out of place. He writes, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12). Although, as followers of Christ, we may feel like we do not belong here, Peter challenges us to live righteous and have gracious conduct before a lost world. How can this be accomplished? Remember that earth is not the final dwelling place for those who have faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for their sins. Our hope is in a place where “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). But while I am here, I want tell others how they also can have forgiveness of sin and hope because “God is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Yes, I Drove with My Lights Off!

October 8, 2008 in The Gospel, True Stories with 1 Comment

Last night I had a meeting with a family who has been attending The Summit for several weeks. After the appointment, I jumped in my car and headed back to my house. When I got on the main road, I thought to myself “I don’t think my lights are on.” Since it was not fully dark yet, I ignored my thoughts and just kept driving. I even turned off of the main road onto the interstate driving another seven miles before I exited. As I got closer to home darkness had set in and now my earlier thoughts were confirmed – my lights were NOT on. I quickly turned them on so I would not end up in the obituaries the following day! When I finally arrived at home the thought hit me that not one person flashed their lights at me as a warning to turn my lights on. I probably passed a hundred cars or more on my journey home.

I know what you are thinking…Tom, didn’t you receive the e-mail about the gang related killings where hopeful gang members ride around with their lights off and the first person who flashes their lights as a warning must be killed. I did receive that e-mail along with other e-mails which declare your hatred for Jesus if you do not forward. DELETE! My apologies if you sent me those e-mails.

I began to think. How many people do I pass every day without warning them? The warning I am speaking of is not an automobile thing, but a Jesus thing. All of us should be witnesses (Acts 1:8) of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross which paid the penalty for sin (1 Corinthians 15:1-7) and His miraculous resurrection which guarantees our eternal life. We are quick to speak about the failing economy, gas prices, presidential candidates, and the new fall season of our favorite show; however, we are scared to talk about the one Person which gives people hope. Don’t get me wrong…I stink at this. I know what it means to be a coward. I know what it means to fear rejection. I know what it means to be fearful of what others may think. Do I really believe that “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” and “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:17,36)? If I do, I need to start warning others. How about you?