| If there were something you could do to live forever, would you look into it? Who in his right mind wouldn't? There is something you can do. Please, give this a few minutes of serious investigation--you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. |
| THE SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST |
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| WHO NEEDS A PARACHUTE? Two men are seated in a plane. A stewardess gives the first man a parachute and instructs him to put it on because it will "improve his flight." Not understanding how a parachute could possibly improve his flight, the first passenger is a little skeptical. Finally he decides to see if the claim is true. After strapping on the parachute, he notices its burdensome weight, and he has difficulty sitting upright. Consoling himself with the promise of a better flight, our first passenger decides to give it a little time. Because he's the only one wearing a parachute, some of the other passengers begin smirking at him, which only adds to his humiliation. Unable to stand it any longer, our friend slumps in his seat, unstraps the parachute, and throws it to the floor. Disillusionment and bitterness fill his heart because as far as he is concerned, he was told a lie. Another stewardess gives the second man a parachute, but listen to her instructions. She tells him to put it on because at any moment the plane's engines will fail and he will need to jump out at 25,000 feet. Our second passenger gratefully straps the parachute on. He doesn't notice its weight upon his shoulders nor that he can't sit up upright. His mind is consumed with the thought of what would happen to him if he jumped without it. When other passengers laugh at him, he thinks, "You won't be laughing when you're falling to the ground!" Let's now analyze the motive and the result of each passenger's experience. The first man's motive for putting on the parachute was solely to improve his flight. As a result, he was humiliated by the passengers, disillusioned by an unkept promise, and embittered against the stewardess who gave it to him. As far as he is concerned, he will never put one of those things on his back again. The second man put the parachute on to escape the danger of the coming jump. Because he knew what would happen to him without it, he had a deep-rooted joy and peace in his heart. Knowing he was saved from certain death gave him the ability to withstand the mockery of the other passengers. His attitude toward the stewardess who gave him the parachute was one of heartfelt gratitude. Now listen to what the contemporary gospel says: "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ; He will give you love, joy, peace, and fulfillment." In other words, He will improve your flight. In an experimental fashion, the sinner puts on the Savior to see if these claims are so. What does he get? Temptation, tribulation, and persecution. The other passengers mock his decision. So what does he do? He takes off the Lord Jesus Christ; he is offended for the Word's sake; he is disillusioned and embittered, and quite rightly so. He was promised peace, joy, fulfillment, and all he got were trials and humiliation. His bitterness is directed at those who gave him the "good news." His latter end is worse than the first - another inoculated, bitter backslider! The apostle Peter acted in misguided zeal when he tried to dismember the Roman servant in the garden of Gethsemane. Many misguided Christians are also cutting off ears - the ears of potential hearers. Once sinners think they have given it a try, they no longer have an ear for the Gospel. Why are sinners turned off and tuned out? Because we no longer preach the full message of the gospel. We have omitted the key to genuine repentance - the Law of God. The apostle Paul said, "I would not have known sin except through the law" (Romans 7:7). LISTEN TO THESE WORDS FROM SPURGEON Lower the Law, and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt. This is a very serious loss to the sinner, rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion...I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary [most powerful weapon] when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ...they will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law. Therefore the Law serves a most necessary and blessed purpose and it must not be removed from it's place. When the sinner sees the awful consequences of breaking the Law of God - that he cannot escape the certainty of judgment - he will see his need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we preach future punishment by the Law, the sinner comes to Christ solely to flee from "the wrath to come." Instead of preaching that Jesus "improves the flight," we must warn men about the inevitable jump. Everyone must pass through the door of death. It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment - Hebrews 9:27. But doesn't Christianity offer the abundant life? You bet it does! Peace and joy are legitimate fruits of the Spirit. But we do sinners an injustice by enticing them with only the benefits of salvation. Our misguided efforts only result in sinners coming to Christ with an impure motive void of repentance. Remember why the second passenger had joy and peace? Because he knew what that parachute was going to save him from. In the same way, the true convert has joy and peace in believing because he knows that the righteousness of Christ will deliver him from the wrath that is to come. "The kingdom of God is...righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Why is righteousness coupled with peace and joy? Because "Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death" (Proverbs 11:4). Now let's take a look at an unfortunate incident on board the plane. During some unexpected turbulence, the stewardess accidentally drops a cup of hot coffee onto the lap of our second passenger. What is his reaction? Does he cry out in pain, then rip the parachute off his back in anger? No! He didn't strap it on for any other reason than the jump. In fact, he doesn't even relate the incident to his parachute. Instead, it only makes him cling more tightly to his hope of salvation and even look forward to the jump! If we put on Christ to flee the wrath to come, when tribulation strikes we won�t get angry at God. Why should we? We didn't come for a better lifestyle. Trials drive us closer to the Lord, and we cling more tightly to Him. Like the apostle Paul, we only stay around to encourage other passengers to put on the parachute. "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Sadly, multitudes of professing Christians lose their joy when the flight gets bumpy. They are the product of "man-centered" preaching. Because the Law is rarely used in modern-day evangelism, many pastors are frustrated and make the gospel "man-centered" in an effort to attract converts. They don�t see men and women embracing the good news, so they turn to man-made methods. Instead of driving the fish to the nets using the Law, they try to attract them by holding up only the benefits of salvation. Let me give an example of a typical altar call: "Come to Jesus. Won�t you give your heart to Him? He loves you and died on the cross for you. He wants to give you love, joy, and peace. He will make your life happy and give you what you've been looking for." Ministers gently woo sinners to the altar with the "every eye closed and every head bowed" approach. Then, as the music gently plays, the preacher asks, "Why not ask the person next to you to come with you so Jesus can make him happy?" (If we realize that tribulations will come, especially once we become Christians. Then wearing the parachute is no longer an issue of comfort, but of necessity). |
| PARACHUTE |
| Forget about �Religion� for religion can�t save you. Forget about being �Good enough� for being good won�t save you. *Forget about believing in God for believing in God won�t save you. We all have amassed a debt of sin to our account. And the payment for this debt of sin is eternal separation from God. However God doesn�t desire that any person should be eternally separated from Him so He has taken it upon Himself to remove this debt of sin from our account by sending His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to pay our debt in full. So you see, salvation is a free gift from God. In order to have this free gift you need only to accept what Jesus Christ did in regards to paying for your debt of sin. HOW DO I ACCEPT THIS GIFT? The way a person accepts this gift is first of all by acknowledging the fact that they have a sin debt that they cannot pay for. You can do this by confessing to God that you have sinned against Him. And that from this point forward you will avoid things that are sinful by turning away from sinfulness and to now live a life that honors God. Then simply tell God that you would like to accept the sacrifice His Son made on the cross on behalf of your own self. Believe in this truth of Christ, and you will be saved. WHAT HAS JESUS REALLY SAID? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18) "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 3:36) "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. (John 6:47) *Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. (John 12:44) (Believing in Jesus is the only way to really believe in God) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name� (John 1:12) SOME FINAL SCRIPTURE FOR THOUGHT "To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.'' (Acts 10:43) *You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble! (James 2:19) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Eternal life is a free gift. You don�t deserve it. You can�t earn it. You can�t beg, borrow or steal it. You can only accept it as you would a gift. And there is only one way to accept this gift. And that is through Jesus Christ. God�s greatest gift to us all. |
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