While the Christmas story may inspire us for the moment, unless that Baby was, in fact, the Savior sent from God to redeem us from our sins, that event that happened 2000 years ago is insignificant to the predicament in which we live. However, contrary to contemporary thought, Jesus didn’t come to earth to create a holiday! Jesus was born to die for sinners, and if His death was sufficient payment for the sins of all who believe in Him, He had to be more than a man.

In 2 Peter 3:12-13, the Apostle said at the end of this age, the current heavens will be dissolved, and the current earth will be cleansed by fervent heat, “Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

  According to Barna Research Group, while most Americans still believe Jesus was a real person who lived 2000 years ago, they find it hard to believe He was the sinless Savior sent by God to redeem us from our sins.

 According to a recent survey, 2/3rds of American adults over the age of 18 identified themselves as Christians. However, as we see the sinfulness of our culture today, we must question the validity of those conversions. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
   Sadly, some have confused the Pure gospel with:
The Prosperity Gospel – believing in Jesus is the way to health, wealth, and financial prosperity, for God wants His children to have their best life now. In other words, if they are prospering financially, they must be saved.
The Personal Gospel – this can also be called the “self-help” gospel; that Jesus died to meet our needs and to make our lives better, because life is all about me, my, and mine, never about others.
The Political Gospel – this false gospel says it is possible to proclaim Jesus as our Savior, but put our hope for the future in a political party.
The pure gospel is to believe the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ provided the way for the lost man to be forgiven of his sins and reconciled to God. Anything we add to that or take away from it belittles God’s grace.
We will explain this further in our next sermon, “This I Believe: Saved by Grace – The Power of Salvation.” 

Recently, one of man-stream media outlets published an article entitled “Rapture Anxiety,” They defined it as a type of “religious trauma” expressed by those who once believed in the return of Christ for His Church, but who have now left, or who are questioning their faith in the essential doctrines of the Christian Faith. That is very interesting in view of the latest surveys that said only 27% of those who claim to be born-again believers believe Jesus will return to the earth.

The truth is, the Lord’s return has two parts. The first is the Rapture, to which we refer as “Our Blessed Hope,” (Titus 2:13), when Jesus will come for those who received Him as their Savior and Lord, and the second part is His physical return with those He ransomed and redeemed, to establish His kingdom upon this earth for 1,000 years, and then reign in the New Heaven and New Earth forever, world without end.

We will explain this further in our next sermon, “The Age of Apocalypse: The Return of Christ,” based on our study of Revelation 19-20.

When it comes to our salvation, eternity is too long to be a little bit wrong. Sadly, much of what we hear as “gospel” today has nothing to do with God’s plan for our redemption. Today’s gospel is about following our dreams, using God to overcome our weaknesses, and believing God wants us to have our best life now!
Beloved, the Bible says, God chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, so we should be holy and blameless before Him.” He redeemed us from the penalty of our sin, and reconciled us with Himself through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, so that He could adopt us as His children. And God did all of this according to the good pleasure of his will, and to the praise of his glorious grace.
We will explain this further in our next sermon, “This I Believe: We are saved by Grace – God’s plan of Salvation.” 

In Revelation chapters 16-18, the Apostle John describes the Lord’s step-by-step victory over the beast and his evil empire.
His first step will be to defeat all the armies of the world that have come against Jerusalem.  The Bible refers to this as the “Battle of Armageddon” because the Valley of Har Megiddo is where the armies of the world will assemble.
At that same time, the Lord will release the seven bowls of wrath to destroy all who refused to believe in Him as their Savior and Lord.  Those seven bowls of wrath will render the earth nearly uninhabitable until Jesus removes the curse and restores it to its original condition.
Then, having destroyed the city of Babylon, which will serve as the capital of the Antichrist during the tribulation, He will destroy the New World Order Satan used to rule the world.
Once Satan’s false religious system, corrupt political system, and dishonest economic system are destroyed, Jesus will set up His kingdom on this earth as it now is in heaven, and He will rule the earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords for 1,000 years, and then in the new heaven and new earth forever, world without end, and that is what we have to look forward to in the future.

The term “cheap grace” can be traced back to a book written by German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, called The Cost of Discipleship, published in 1937. In that book, Bonhoeffer defined “cheap grace” as “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”

As we look at the world tonight, we can’t help but wonder how much longer the Lord will put up with such disrespect towards Him, and such inhumanity toward others. As the Psalmist asked, “O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.” (Psalm 94:1-4)

   While there is sufficient evidence to prove we are already under God’s judgment, a greater judgment awaits those who refuse to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. We will explain this further in our next sermon, “The Age of Apocalypse: “Voices from Heaven,” based on our study of Revelation 14:1-16:21

What separates Christianity from all religions is the fact that Jesus rose from the dead physically and visibly, and that validated His deity.

In Romans 1:4, Paul said Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
In Acts 2:32-36, Peter said, “Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God…God has made Him both LORD and CHRIST, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

 So, when the translators found the English word to describe the One to whom all respect and honor is due; the One to whom was given all power and authority in heaven and earth they gave it to Jesus of Nazareth, for He is LORD, MASTER, ADONAI, JEHOVAH GOD, so that:

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10,11).
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9).