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The Grace of God: An Automatic Ticket to Heaven?
Is God’s Grace so big that we get an automatic ticket to heaven the moment we come to Him?
Does the grace of God mean that Jesus died for all the sins of everyone in the whole world, and all our future sins are also forgiven? Does the grace of God mean that His grace is enough so I can go to heaven without doing anything else?
Watch the video sermon to get the full story or read the sermon message below:
Is God’s Grace an Automatic Ticket to heaven?
Today I want to you to imagine that you are taking part in a race.
But this one is different.
There are no specific guidelines and strict rules to take part, just a beginning and an end.
You can do whatever you want in the race, but in the end, you WILL reach the end.
All you must do to take part in the race is just do life.
Just your daily stuff of thriving, surviving, struggling, happiness, tears, joy, and heartbreak.
Everyone takes part in the race using their own talents, and in the end, all cross the finish line.
The difference is, there are no definite rules on how to play the game, or is there?
At the end, everyone gets a medal for just participating. You know, a participation medal. All the kids in school nowadays get one, just because they took part in the race. It does not matter if they lie, cheat, or steal along the way, they still get a medal for participation, because if they don’t, everyone will be upset. Mommy and Daddy will come to school and throw a huge tantrum because the child is a victim, etc. etc. Then the child gets a medal anyway, and a huge apology from the principle.
But this race is different.
In this race, you are not racing against others, the race is at your own pace. But keep in mind that you cannot quit the race. If you do quit, it means you give up on life. That means that you took your own life.
So, the only way to get out of the race, is to die. It does not matter how you died, but you don’t have to continue the race anymore.
This is the race, or the game of life. Where everyone goes to heaven in the end. You know, where God says, “well done my faithful servant”.
Right?
How big is the Grace of God?
Is that not what the Bible says?
Or you can say what Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”.
Of course you can say that, because you believe in Jesus, right?
And you believe that He died for your sins? All of it, right?
All your future sins are forgiven, right?
So that means that if you gave your heart to Jesus once and asked Him to forgive your sins and you are baptized, you get a free ticket to heaven. Right?
You may say to me now: “I am a Christian. The grace of God is eternal. My sins are forgiven and I will go to heaven”.
That is what my preacher and my Bible says!
Wrong.
Once you have reached the end, you will wait to hear if you get a prize, even if you say that you are a Christian.
But. There is one thing, though…
When the race is all over, at the end of time, you will still be judged by the Grand Judge. Then the grace of God for you has run out.
When final Judgment comes, all the participants of the race, since the beginning of time, will face the Grand Judge, Yes, God Himself, to find out if they get the grand prize.
As I said, not everyone gets a participation medal in this race.
Your medal is your entry to heaven and eternal life with God. Those who do not get a medal, goes to hell.
So, this is All or Nothing.
HUH?
What do mean “All or Nothing”?
The fact that we must choose in life, or give up something to get something else, is hard. So, we try to split ourselves and find a way to balance the two.
So, we find a way to balance our faith in Christ to fit into our everyday life.
You know, God has His place in your life, on a Sunday.
Or before every meal, you quickly mumble a prayer out habit.
But you do realize that if you just say the prayer like a nursery rhyme before you eat, not paying any attention to what you say, you might as well say, Rub-a-dub dub, thanks for the grub”.
This all or nothing stipulation is a bit harsh, because it fir into our daily lives, or we believe God to be.
FOMO. The fear of missing out.
Unfortunately, many believers feel that way in everyday life. The fear of missing out on the fun of the world?
How many times have you convinced yourself that you do not have to give up something that clearly clashes with your faith, or the voice in your head telling you that you shouldn’t? Do you realize that the voice is the Holy Spirit guiding you?
Now,
Revelation 3:15-16 – I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
So you are either in fire for God, or you are cold in your faith, but of you are just lukewarm, and only follow God on your terms, you are lukewarm.
But we sin every day! So we are all lukewarm then!
No, moments of compromise do not make you lukewarm, but a continued patterns of behaviour that shows lack of commitment to God does.
But I have come to Jesus because He died for all our sins on the cross, and when I came to Jesus I asked Him to forgive my sins, and He did, so now I get to go to heaven because I am a child of God, right?
Why do you think it means to repent?
You know, repent your sins?
Many whom Jesus healed in the Bible, HE left with the words, “your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more.
I did tell you previously that the original Greek differentiates between accidental sin and deliberate sin.
So are you even trying to live by then rules?
What rules? Jesus came to fulfil all the Laws of Moses. They no longer count.
Wrong.
Fulfil means that Jesus came to show us how we should live out the laws every day. He was a perfect example of how to live righteously and blameless.
You see, you do not have to do anything to get the Amazing Grace from God. All you have to do to get the grace, is to come to call on His Name through Jesus who died on the cross for your sins.
All of it. IF you accept Him as your Saviour, and ask God to forgive your sins up to that point, and repent from your sinful life.
After you were there, you are expected to strive to life a righteous life, and live by the rules of the race.
Like every race, or game, this one also has rules.
God gave you a full copy of the rule book.
So now some will say that rules are very harsh. So let’s call it Guidelines then.
He shows you that you participate in the race from birth, but you do not get a participation medal in the end. You only get the prize of heaven if you lived a righteous life.
If you tried your very best to live by the guidelines, and repent before God when you did make a mistake, you will get the prize.
Yes, God is Amazing Grace. He is a God of love. His grace is enough to get you to the cross, lay down your old life and follow Him.
But you cannot claim to be a Christian, and claim to know some Bible verses, but do not live by the guidelines in the Bible.
You are a Christian, but why are things not working out for you?
DO you acknowledge God in your everyday life?
Seek Him first in everything your do.
There is another problem we need to address:
Only specific Commandments are addressed and reaffirmed by Jesus in the New Testament.
And the other Commandments are all Old Testament.
The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law and make it honorable.
Or is it?
There are the 10 Commandments, and then there are 613 additional rules given by Moses.
There is no statement made by Jesus that states that only the Commandments He specifically mentioned are binding on Christians.
Jesus said that All the Commandments will remain intact and valid.
In fact, Jesus Himself gave an additional 1050 + rules in the New Covenant, or New Testament, if you want.
In fact, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly said:
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfil” (verse 17).
Jesus said He did not come to “destroy” the law or declare it no longer valid. The Greek word translated destroy (Greek, katalyo) can also be translated “dissolve,” “demolish,” “revoke” , “nullify”, or “deprive of force.” Instead of abolishing the law, He came to fulfill (pleroo) it—which means to “make full,” “fill up” or “accomplish.” Not only did He come to fulfill Old Testament prophecies, He also came to perfectly obey the 10 Commandments and, by doing so, fill them with greater meaning and relevance—just as the Messiah was prophesied to do (Isaiah 42:21).
Synonyms for fulfil are, achieve, accomplish, justify.
So we can clearly see that Jesus came to show us how to live by the guidelines.
“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18).
Jesus used this graphic figure of speech to reinforce His previous statement. As long as heaven and earth exist, not the smallest detail (a jot was the smallest letter in the alphabet and a tittle was a small stroke used in writing) would pass away from God’s law. This reinforces every detail of the 10 Commandments.
“Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (verse 19).
Jesus made it personal by saying that anyone who knows the Laws, but teaches against any of God’s commandments will not be in God’s Kingdom (compare Matthew 5:20 and 19:17).
In Matthew 19:17 Jesus says, “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.”
The Greek word translated “break” means to loose, destroy or dissolve. Sadly, this strongly worded warning applies to many professing Christian leaders who teach their followers that all or parts of the 10 Commandments were abolished.
Is the grace of God enough?
In these three simple but powerful verses, Jesus affirmed that the 10 Commandment. Every single one of them.
All are still applicable in New Covenant times. They would continue to be binding as long as the heaven and earth still existed.
Not convinced yet?
2 Timothy 2 reads:
You therefore, my son, be strong in
the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that you have heard
from me among many witnesses,
commit these to faithful men who will be
able to teach others also.
3 You therefore must endure hardship as
a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No one engaged in warfare entangles
himself with the affairs of this life, that
he may please him who enlisted him as
a soldier.
5 And also if anyone competes in
athletics, he is not crowned unless he
competes according to the rules.
6 The hardworking farmer must be first to
partake of the crops.
7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord
give you understanding in all things.
8 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the
seed of David, was raised from the dead
according to my gospel,
9 for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer,
even to the point of chains; but the word
of God is not chained.
10 Therefore I endure all things for the
sake of the elect, that they also may
obtain the salvation which is in Christ
Jesus with eternal glory.
11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died
with Him, We shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure, We shall also reign with
Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny
us.
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.
14 Remind them of these things, charging
them before the Lord not to strive about
words to no profit, to the ruin of the
hearers.
15 Be diligent to present yourself
approved to God, a worker who does
not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings,
for they will increase to more
ungodliness.
17 And their message will spread like
cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of
this sort,
18 who have strayed concerning the truth,
saying that the resurrection is already
past; and they overthrow the faith of
some.
19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of
God stands, having this seal: “The Lord
knows those who are His,” and, “Let
everyone who names the name of Christ
depart from iniquity.”
20 But in a great house there are not only
vessels of gold and silver, but also of
wood and clay, some for honor and
some for dishonor.
21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself
from the latter, he will be a vessel for
honor, sanctified and useful for the
Master, prepared for every good work.
22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue
righteousness, faith, love, peace with
those who call on the Lord out of a pure
heart.
23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes,
knowing that they generate strife.
24 And a servant of the Lord must not
quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach,
patient,
25 in humility correcting those who are in
opposition, if God perhaps will grant
them repentance, so that they may
know the truth,
26 and that they may come to their
senses and escape the snare of the
devil, having been taken captive by him
to do his will.
Grace of God Bible confirmation
Here are some verses to confirm this morning’s statement on the grace of God:
1 John 2:15-16 – Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
Titus 1:16 – They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in Your name, perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Luke 6:46 – “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
1 Corinthians 13:2 – If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
2 Corinthians 13:5 – Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
Isaiah 29:13 – The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”