Jesus, The Way To Forgiveness - Part Two

Jesus, The Way
Jesus, The Way To Forgiveness - Part Two

In our last lesson we defined what sin is and that it separates mankind from God. We made note of God’s supreme holiness and how serious the problem of sin is. In this lesson we are going to look at how Jesus makes The Way possible for God to forgive us and how we can be reconciled to God. Please note that not all religious groups teach the way to receive forgiveness of our sins the way the Bible presents it. This is due to religious teachings that came from the Reformation and are still being taught today. Let us look at what the Bible teaches and only what the Bible teaches.

JESUS, THE WAY TO FORGIVENESS OF SINS
God has provided the way by offering Jesus as a "propitiation" for our sins:
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10)
The word "propitiation" originally referred to an act or sacrifice that a man offered designed to appease a god. As used in the Bible, it refers to that which God has done (not man). In other words, what man cannot do for himself, God has done! He has offered His Son Jesus on the cross as a means to appease His justice. Such was foretold by Isaiah nearly 700 years earlier:
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6)
"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the
transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:10-12)
Notice that by the act of Christ’s suffering the punishment due us for our own sins, we are forgiven of them. As Paul would later write:
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." (Ephesians 1:7)
Through Christ’s death on the cross, we can come back to God, having been forgiven of our sins! In this way, God is able to:
w Preserve His holiness when we are in His presence (for our sins have been forgiven by the blood of Christ)
w Maintain His justice (for our sins have been properly punished by the death of Christ)
w All the while demonstrating His love, grace and mercy!
And so, Jesus is The Way to forgiveness of sins, for He has been made a "propitiation" for our sins! But how does one receive the wonderful blessing of having Jesus as the propitiation for our sins?

RECEIVING JESUS AS THE WAY TO FORGIVENESS
After His death for our sins, and following His glorious resurrection from the dead, Jesus charged His apostles with the commission to spread the good news:
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16)
We read in the book of Acts of how the apostles carried out this Great Commission. In chapter two, just ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven, we find Peter proclaiming the gospel for the first time. After presenting evidence that Jesus has truly risen from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God, Peter comes to climax of his sermon:
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)
Yes, this same Jesus they had crucified only fifty days earlier was the actual Lord and Messiah they had been looking for. Evidently many people believed what Peter said, for we read next:
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37)
"What shall we do?", they cried. What can anyone do, who has realized that they are sinners in need of salvation? What Peter told them is what we should tell anyone today:
Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)
Peter told these people who evidently believed (as evidenced by their question in verse 37) that they needed to repent and be baptized. In similar fashion, when Saul of Tarsus (later known as the apostle Paul) had seen Jesus on the road to Damascus, and had been praying and fasting for three days afterward, he was told by Ananias whom the Lord had sent to him:
"And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16)
Just as Jesus commanded in Mark 16:16, when someone wanted to be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, in the New Testament they were told to be baptized for the remission (forgiveness) of their sins upon their believing in Jesus and repenting of their sins. Faith (which includes confessing Jesus as Lord, Romans 10:9-10), repentance and baptism were the conditions by which one could receive Jesus and enjoy the blessings of forgiveness of sins!
Receive Jesus in baptism? Yes, so the apostle stated in his letter to the Galatians:
"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3:27)
Note: "as many of you" (no more and no less) "as have been baptized into Christ" (as Jesus,
Peter, etc., commanded) "have put on Christ" (have received Jesus and all the blessings He offers). Thus, in obedience to the Lord in faith, repentance and baptism we can take advantage of the wonderful grace of God, Who offered Jesus for our sins!

I leave with you the fact that Jesus is The Way to forgiveness; indeed, the only way, for no other way has been offered by God by which we can be reconciled to Him. As Jesus said:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

And no other way devised by man solves the dilemma between man’s sin and the holiness and justice of God! Have you accepted Jesus in the way He commanded and His apostles taught? Have you trusted in Him for salvation (faith), made the decision to turn from your sins (repentance), and been immersed for the forgiveness of your sins (baptism)? If not, why not? Let Jesus be your way to forgiveness today! If you are ready to make this decision and need any assistance of any kind please contact me at jnlnewsted@nts-online.net

This material is from ExecutableOutlines.com, a web site containing sermon outlines and Bible studies by Mark A. Copeland. Visit the web site to browse or download additional material for church or personal use. The outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2002

God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year
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Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
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