302. GOD HAS SAID IT, SO THAT SETTLES IT!
(The Abundant Life Series – Batch 3)
God, the Creator of the Universe, of you, the earth and all that there is, has made some STATEMENTS and we are called upon to believe him.
In his Word the Bible, he has let us know that his Son (referred to in the Bible as ‘the Son of Man’ because he came through the passage of a woman) is Jesus Christ, that, by heaven’s design, he came to earth many years ago in the form of a baby, lived a sinless life and that he allowed himself to be captured, tortured and then killed by mankind, so that his blood, which was perfect and sinless, could be shed, as an atonement or satisfactory payment, for the sinful state of the entire world.
Jesus therefore obtained a pardon from God for us, through him dying in our place on the cross.
After he died for us, on the third day, God raised Jesus up from the dead because he is greater than death and all powerful.
NOW he calls upon all men everywhere to repent of their sins (which is everything that displeases him) and believe upon his Son Jesus. He calls upon us to believe his testimony as given in the scriptures, that Jesus came to earth in bodily form, died a sacrificial death for the sins of the world and on the third day, rose back up again from the grave.
He has promised that whosoever believes this truth and accepts the Lordship of his Son Jesus by confessing with his mouth that he is Lord, will also be raised up from the dead unto life everlasting in heaven.
Of his role in reconciling mankind to God and enabling them access to God’s heaven, when Jesus was alive on earth, he stated: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
We must therefore come to God through him. We cannot make it to heaven without believing on Him, that he died and rose again from the grave.
After he died, rose from the dead, showed himself to many people and then returned to heaven, Paul his servant stated (given that believing on the resurrected Jesus is THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN), that: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we MUST be saved.“
Romans 10:9-10 states:
- “That if thou shalt CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE IN THINE HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto ALL that call upon him. For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Do you believe this? This is God’s testimony and it is true.
If you BELIEVE, you will BENEFIT but if you DOUBT, you will be DOOMED. It’s that simple.
You believe his testimony, you partake of his testimony. You don’t believe, you don’t get to partake.
You may then ask, why is us believing so important to God? Well for starters, God never lies. His character and integrity are infallible. He is therefore calling upon us to take him at his Word, for his Word can be trusted EVERY TIME.
Also, it was unbelief that plunged the whole human race into sin in the first place. We learn from God’s Word in Genesis, that God had said something but the devil then deceived Eve into not believing it and instead, to embrace the devil’s lies. As a result, she concluded that God must be wrong, lying or confused, determined within herself that what God had said was forbidden was good to be consumed and she then proceeded to disobey God by partaking of it. She was also instrumental in getting her husband Adam (who knew full well what God had said and knew it was true and therefore was not deceived), to give in to her wishes and to also disobey God, maybe because he loved her so much, he did not want to displease her and so he put her before God.
Mankind therefore fell out of relationship with God and into sin because what God said, mankind did not believe (Eve). Now, to reverse this damage, God has made provision through the death of his Son Jesus for us to obtain forgiveness for our sins BUT he is now calling upon us to BELIEVE him, in order to be redeemed.
The God who created us and the maker of heaven and earth, has given his testimony and his testimony is TRUE. Will you believe it and be saved or will you do like Eve did all those years ago and allow the devil to deceive you into thinking, that what God said is not true or that parts of what he said are not true?
In his Word the Bible, it states of God’s character, which is all about TRUTH:
- “GOD IS NOT A MAN, THAT HE SHOULD LIE; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)
- “…In hope of eternal life, which GOD, that CANNOT LIE, promised before the world began.” (Titus 1:2)
- “That by two immutable things, in which IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO LIE, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:18)
- “For ever, O Lord, THY WORD IS SETTLED in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.” (Psalm 119:89-90)
Of Jesus, Acts 13:28-31 and 37-38 reads:
- “And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people…But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him ALL that BELIEVE are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
In John 3:13-18, Jesus stated of himself:
- “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that BELIEVETH on him is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned already, because he hath not BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.“
In John 5:21-24, Jesus further stated:
- “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and BELIEVETH on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
Acts 17:24-31 lets us know that:
- “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
- Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that HE HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.”
In Romans 1:16-25, Paul, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, stated:
- “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that BELIEVETH; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
- For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
- Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: WHO CHANGED THE TRUTH OF GOD INTO A LIE, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”
Your being received by God into heaven or rejected is therefore predicated or based on one thing: Whether you CHOOSE to believe his testimony of Jesus Christ and to obey his Word or not. How do I know this? Well, God has SAID it, so that settles it!
(Written on 21st October, 2021)
