Certifying that God is
Truthful
"The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies
to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his
testimony. The man who
has accepted it has
certified that God is
truthful." (John 3:31-34)
As I
read this text recently, it occurred to me that if the one
who accepts Jesus' testimony certifies that God is
truthful, then the one who rejects Jesus' testimony is
calling God a liar!
Wow.
That's a powerful statement! I
certainly would never want to call God a liar,
would you?
But
what does this really mean?
It
means that if we believe what Jesus taught, then we
certify that God is truthful, but if we do not
believe what Jesus taught, then we are calling God a liar.
If we believe what is in the Word, we certify that God is
truthful. But if we do not believe what is
in the Word, then God is a liar.
And
what has Jesus taught? Now that would be a list too
lengthy for this mini-sermon, so let's just zero in on a
concept that many Christians, sadly, still have trouble
accepting: Salvation by Grace! Jesus clearly
teaches that the "law was given through Moses; (but)
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John
1:17-18) Jesus says: "For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes
in him shall not perish
but have eternal life." (John 3:16-17), and
that: "Whoever
believes in him is not condemned" (John
3:18). The Word teaches that our own righteousness
is like "filthy rags" (Is. 64:6), and that "ALL
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom
3:23). If Salvation were to come from our own works,
no one would be able to enter Heaven! But the Word
clearly says: "For it
is by grace you have been saved,
through faith-and
this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God- not
by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph
2:8-10)
Yet
so many Christians still have trouble with this.
While most accept the concept of Salvation by Grace in
their words, their deeds often show otherwise. Many
still cling to a specific denomination, believing that you
must belong to that church to be saved. Others cling
to matters of doctrine and law, still others to the
traditions of men.
Now
I'm not suggesting that belonging to a church is wrong,
nor am I suggesting that we shouldn't follow doctrines or
keep the law. However, we should not be
doing things as an avenue towards Salvation! For
when we trust in anything except Jesus for our Salvation,
then we are, in essence, rejecting the testimony of Jesus
that says we are only saved through Grace. And do
you remember our text? When we reject the testimony
of Jesus, we are calling God a liar!
My
friend, do you trust Jesus explicitly for your Salvation?
Or are you clinging onto some childhood belief? Some
church's doctrine? Trying to work your way to Heaven
through good works? Don't call God a liar, my
friend! Put aside all other mindsets and accept
Salvation through the merits of Jesus' blood! Answer
the Savior's Call. To do so, just click on the following
link: Click
here
(http://www.answers2prayer.org/saviours_call.html)
Lyn Chaffart
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org ,