John 10:10 – NIV
10. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
These are two polar opposite paths or choices that are available to everyone
In one of my morning devotions over the last few weeks we had a verse that highlighted an if/then verse in the Bible. It got me to thinking that this could be a cool study. The Bible has many if/then statements in it. Tonight, we will go over some of these verses, and then at the end, we’ll look at a couple of stories with diametrically opposed views. we got a lot of awesome verses to check out:
Romans 10:9 – NIV
9. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
This verse is awesome. We do not gain God‘s righteousness by doing good works. We gain it by confessing and believing in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If we confess with our mouth, it’s the same as saying we agree with this. We agree that Jesus is God. He is the Messiah. And his work on the cross is the only way to salvation.
You also must “believe in your heart“ People can believe intellectually that everything that happened in the Bible is true, but that is not the same as believing in their heart.
What do you think it means to “believe in your heart?“
“We believe everything which the Lord Jesus has taught, but we must go a step further, and trust him. It is not even enough to believe in him, as being the Son of God, and the anointed of the Lord; but we must believe on him… The faith that saves is not believing certain truths, nor even believing that Jesus is a Savior; but it is resting on him, depending on him, lying with all your weight on Christ as the foundation of your hope. Believe that he can save you; believe that he will save you; at any rate leave the whole matter of your salvation with him in unquestioning confidence. Depend upon him without fear as to your present and eternal salvation. This is the faith which saves the soul.” (Spurgeon)
1 John 1:7 – NIV
7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
What does it mean to “walk in the light?“
Is this possible?
“If“ I walk in the light – means I have a choice
“As he is in the light“ – he is already there
I can walk with him, or I can walk on my own. When I walk with him, I’m not just with Jesus, I’m with other believers.
Have you ever been with a fellow believer friend but felt like there was just something between the two of you that wasn’t right?
I cannot live a sinless life. I cannot constantly walk in the light just as he is in the light. But I don’t have to. Because when I try to walk in the light, he cleanses me from sin. Obviously, I still sin, or there would be nothing to cleanse.
John 15:7 – NIV
7. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
This is a biggie, and an entire night could be spent on this verse. To help figure out what’s going on here, let’s flip to:
John 14:12-14 – NIV
12. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Background: Jesus is sitting with his disciples and he is explaining to them that he will be leaving. They are sad, but he is giving them reassurance. That’s when he says these lines.
Jesus basically says that whoever believes in him will continue to do the work that he has been doing. If you ask for something, as long as it is in line with God‘s character, he will do it.
How powerful is that?
Flip back to John 15:7 if you remain in me…
What does it mean to remain or “abide“ in Jesus?
The verse does use these words. “ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you“ what does this mean? Will God do anything you ask? What is the big caveat?
2 Corinthians 5:17 – NIV
17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
This is such a good verse. The first word that stands out is the word. “anyone” this promise, is open to anybody. It doesn’t matter where you live, what color your skin is, who your mom and dad are, what church you go to. Anybody has an invitation to be “in Christ“ if anyone is in, they are a new creation.
To be “in Christ“ meetings that you have placed your faith in him, repented, and have a saving relationship with him.
So not only do you get your sins forgiven, but you get the promise of heaven, but you also are created new.
So, what does it mean to be a new creation in Christ?
I’ll tell you what it’s not: it is not turning over a new Leif, or getting your act together. It’s not like starting a new fat diet. It is nothing you can do. Only God can make you new.
It is something supernatural that happens. And it is way better than you think. When you are made new because you are a believer in Jesus, when God looks at you, he doesn’t see any sin. Your sins have been forgiven. The ones you committed in the past, and the ones you’re still going to commit in the future. When God looks at you, he sees his new creation. He sees Jesus in you. What an awesome verse!
1 John 4:12 – NIV
12. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
No one has seen God. He has shown himself through Jesus, but nobody has seen God the father. He has manifested himself in other forms like a burning, bush.
Why do you think these two lines are placed together?
Matthew 6:14-15 – NIV
14. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Is this an example of needing good work to get to heaven? Will God really not forgive you if you don’t forgive others?
I think it’s more like the way the 10 Commandments are designed. The 10 Commandments are there to hold up a mirror to yourself so you can see all your sins. In this verse, it’s as if it’s saying to you if you don’t forgive other people, then it could mean that you don’t really understand what you have done to God, and you don’t understand how much you need to savior. Because once you do understand the extent of the sin you have given to God, the sins of others towards you can seem minor and easy to forgive.
This is shown in the parable of the unforgiving servant. Matthew 18:23-35
2 Chronicles 7:14 – NIV
14. if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
If you break this verse down, there are four words that stand out:
Humble – you are God, I am not.
Pray – confess to God
Seek – look to him for Lordship
Turn – repent
It looks pretty familiar to the pattern of salvation. Pray for our country, because we definitely need God to heal our land.
Matthew 17:20 – NIV
20. He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” N.A
Little background: this occurred right after Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain. The other nine disciples were left behind, and they failed to get a demon out of a boy. Jesus came down and explained to them that the object of their faith is far more important than “how much“ they can do
They were correct, that they cannot exercise a demon from a boy or move a mountain, but placing their faith in God can accomplish these things.
Do you think that Jesus is speaking literally here. That if we have faith in God, we could actually move a mountain?
Jeremiah 29:13 – NIV
13. If you seek me with all your heart, then you will find me
I love this verse for this reason. God will always reveal himself to anybody who is actually looking. There’s a common apologetics question: can a person on a desert island who’s never heard the word Jesus be saved? I believe that this answers that question.
Anybody who seeks God will find him. God is a perfect judge. a person on the desert island can look to the heavens and see the majesty and wonder how it got there. Everybody has eternity written on their soul by God. (Etc 3:11) Yes, the desert island dweller can be saved because if he’s seeking God, God will reveal himself to that person in his way.
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We will look at two different stories from the Bible that illustrate this point. The world says that if you make lots of money have lots of sex, are famous, then your life will be fulfilled. You’ll have peace, joy, security, fulfillment, and significance.
But a “in the beginning, God“ worldview says that we don’t need to worship these created things, we need to worship the creator.
Matthew 6:24 – no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
I, and I would assume most of you are guilty of trying to balance both of these world views at the same time. But God says we choose.
Look at these two stories:
Genesis 3:1-8 – NIV
1. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2. The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3. but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4. “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
The devil said “if you eat from the tree, then you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Is any part of that true? How do Adam and Eve know good and evil now? Does God give us rules to be a tyrant, or is it for our own good.
John 11:40 – NIV
40. Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
Part of this story:
John 11:38-44 – NIV
38. Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40. Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41. So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43. When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44. The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
This is such a cool story. Jesus could very easily just supernaturally put Lazarus back alive outside of the tomb. But instead, he uses an if/then example so he can help Martha and Mary to witness, and to be part of Jesus‘s work.
First Mary and Martha say there will be a bad odor, which means they know he’s dead, and they have no faith in Jesus. Then Jesus makes one if then statement to them. After that, it says they took away the stone, which indicates that they believed Jesus.
Your choice of who to believe can be summed up in:
John 10:10 – NIV
10. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.