True Legacy – Randy Long

Bob Dylan’s song…”You Gotta Serve Somebody,” declared to the world this message:  “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody.” So whether you serve the Lord, the Devil, yourself or any number of other pursuits in life, you will serve somebody.  So whom do you serve?  This is a very important question, because your answer will determine your eternal future.

As a young boy, I remember clearly hearing a message one Sunday morning about how God will one day judge each of us for our sins.   The Pastor made it very clear that there were basically two roads we could take.  We could either trust in Jesus for our salvation, the one who had died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, or we could reject Him and put our trust in something or someone else for our eternal future.  I knew he was giving me a clear choice.   I understood my decision would have eternal consequences, so I should choose wisely.   I chose Jesus that day and though I have not always pleased Him with my thoughts and actions, the clear direction of my life has been to follow and serve Him.  I am endeavoring to finish my time on this earth drawing ever closer to Him and serving Him.  I just want to finish the journey strong.

Jesus also made it a clear choice in the Bible when He declared in John 14:6, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”    That is a very politically incorrect thing to say about yourself.  Jesus doesn’t tell you to embrace your own truth and live in that.  He wants you to embrace The Truth and only The Truth, which is Himself. 

You cannot just believe logically that Jesus was only a great teacher, if what He taught was true.  Based on his own teaching, He is either the Son of the Living God or he was a lunatic.  For who but God can claim to be God, unless he is a lunatic.  In Isaiah 9:6, the Prophet foretells the coming of Jesus: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Jesus made a very clear claim to deity in Mark 14:61-62, after being arrested by the Chief Priests and the whole Sanhedrin, Israel’s religious leaders.  Caiaphas, High Priest at the time, asked Him: " Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”  A normal person might have understandably missed the importance of Jesus' words. But, Israel’s religious leaders did not. They knew that in saying He was "the Son of Man" and that He would come "on the clouds of heaven," that he was making a direct claim to the title, Son of Man, referred to in the Book of Daniel 7:13-14.  Daniel tells us about a vision from God of things to come: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.  And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

See, Jesus was not only claiming to be the preexistent and everlasting Sovereign God of the Universe, He was also prophesying that He would one day prove His words by judging this kangaroo court that was now judging Him.  Jesus was claiming that He would sit upon the throne of Israel's God and share God's very glory. The religious leaders rightly understood that this was the height of "blasphemy."  Therefore, as it says in Mark 14:64-65, they declared him worthy of death and began beating Him for it. For anyone else, it would have been blasphemy to claim to be God, but not for Jesus. 

The simple truth, according to the Bible, is that every other possible person or thing you could choose to follow, besides Jesus, leads you to the same destination at your death – Hell.  Yes, a literal, eternal, lake of fire.  Judgment is coming after death for all of us.  Revelation 20:12-15 says, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

So, on that day you will be judged by the Lord God and you will surely hope then that you had chosen to trust Jesus for the gift of salvation offered to all.  He sacrificed his blood and his body on that cross for your sins and mine so that all who would believe and serve Him would be included in his family on the day of Judgment.  For without the righteousness granted to us by Jesus when we accept him as our Lord and Savior, we will stand before the Lord God with no hope of anything but Hell.  

Many of us think that we are already Christians because we were born in America, or because we go to church.   Some think that at the day of judgment their good deeds will outweigh their bad deeds and Jesus will allow them into heaven.  In other words, many believe they can work or earn their way into heaven.  Others just think that they are good people and God will let the good people into heaven.  But what does the Bible say about all that?  In Ephesians 2:8-10 the Bible says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”   

It is clear that it is impossible for you to work your way to heaven.  Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  The good works we might do for Jesus only have eternal value after we have trusted the Lord for our salvation.  Our service to God thereafter is simply an expression of our love for Him.  But we do not trust in those good works to get us to heaven, for trusting in our own works would lead us to hell. 

SO, WHAT MUST YOU DO TO BE SAVED?  Becoming a Christian is a simple act of faith, yet it is not a simple thing.  To accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you must recognize that:

Understand you are a sinner – that is, you have, by your actions, words and attitudes, offended the Lord God of the universe.   Romans 3:23 says that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”   That includes everyone.  Romans 3:10 says “There are none righteous, no not one.”   If you happen to review the 10 Commandments given by God in Exodus 20, you will quickly see how you have failed in pretty much all of them.  But the failure of just one would still make you a sinner.  So yes, you are a sinner and you need to understand and own that.  My dad used to say that “you have to get someone to understand that he is a sinner before he can see his need for salvation.”  

Therefore, those who see themselves as fundamentally good people or believe in something or someone else to provide them entrance into heaven have chosen another way and will not submit to the Lord Jesus.  According to the Bible, they will die in their sins.

That the consequences of your sin is death.  Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!

Hebrews 9:27-28 says, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”   You are going to want to be in that group when he comes to save.

That you must repent of your sin and turn to trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  Luke 13:3 says “ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”  Repentance is not based on any merit or work of your own. It is an inward response to the conviction of God in your life. Genuine repentance pleads with the Lord to forgive and deliver from the burden of sin and the fear of judgment and hell. It is the attitude of the publican who, fearful of even looking toward heaven, beat his breast and cried in Luke 18:3, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" Repentance is not merely behavior reform. True repentance involves a change of heart and purpose and will inevitably result in a change of behavior as you trust in the Lord.    

That God demonstrates His love to us by providing a way of escape.
Romans 6:23 says: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." That’s right, Jesus Christ died for us and in our place! His death paid for the price of our sins. There was only one person in history who could pay that price.  Jesus suffered death in our place for all who would trust Him for their salvation. His resurrection three days later proves that God accepted Jesus' death as the full payment for our sins.

So, only God has what we need but don’t deserve — righteousness; and we have what God hates and rejects — sin. This leaves humanity in quite the predicament. What is God’s answer to this problem?

God’s answer is Jesus Christ, His Son, who died in our place and bore our condemnation. II Corinthians 5:21 says: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  So Jesus bore the condemnation for the sins of those who would believe in Him.  

This “trade” is sometimes referred to as “The Great Exchange.”  This is the Gospel — the good news that our sins are laid on Christ and his righteousness is laid on us, and that this great exchange becomes ours not by works but by faith alone.  Our sin on Christ; his righteousness on us.  The best deal in history.  Do not let it pass you by.  I can only ask, “How can it be?”  It just sounds too good to be true.  All of our forgiveness, all of our justification and all of our righteousness is in Christ, if we accept His gracious gift of Salvation. 

That you must receive him as your Lord and Savior.   John 1:12 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”  This is how you establish a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Repent of your sins, believe that Jesus died for your sins and receive Him into your heart as Lord and Savior, fully believing that He is able to do all He has promised.  II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

 Failing to accept this gift of salvation offered freely would be a grave mistake. Without the salvation offered by Jesus, you will spend eternity in hell, sometimes referred to as the “second death.”  Revelation 20:11-15 says, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” But I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

You must fully and irrevocably give your heart and your life to Jesus Christ, understanding that He is Lord of your life ever after.  Romans 10:9 says that: “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, you must believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for your sins - and you will be saved!  John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue all who would believe from eternal death.

You will have peace.

 Once you have submitted your life to Jesus, He sends the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower you to live for Him.  My favorite verse to explain this new life is Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God.  And Romans 8:1 teaches that, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. Finally, we have the promise of God from Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

It's time to decide.

II Corinthians 6:2 says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

If you are ready to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, understanding all that is written above, then here is a simple prayer to help guide you.  Remember, the words themselves will not save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation!

"God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But I believe your Son, Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and took the punishment that I deserved, so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. With your help, I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness - the gift of eternal life! Amen!"