Message for Good Friday

Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” If you were to die today and God judged you, would you go to heaven or hell?

What is it that makes you a Christian and assures you of your salvation? Are you relying on your profession of faith? Did you pray a prayer to accept Jesus into your heart and then you were saved? Did you pray this prayer but continue to live the same way you did before you prayed this prayer? Was it your baptism?

Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” These are people who called their selves Christians. They were people who prophesied in Jesus’ name, cast out demons in His name, and did many mighty works in His name- yet they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Not everyone who calls their self a Christian is saved!

Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Does praying a prayer to accept Jesus into your heart and then continuing to live the way you did before sound narrow to you? Does that sound like a hard way? You may look to people who are “consumed” by Jesus and call them fanatics for Jesus. Jesus said those who enter are few. Let me ask you- who are there fewer of? People who made a profession of faith, “accepted Jesus into their hearts” and continue to live the same way they did before- or the fanatics? Remember- Jesus said few will enter- not a majority. Majority does not equate with validity here!

Jesus commands us to surrender our lives to Him. Luke 17:33 says: “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” If you seek to hold on to your life and control it, you will lose it, but if you surrender your life to Jesus, you will gain eternal life. Once you give your life to Jesus, you won’t have any more decisions to make- they are all up to God.

From Luke 9:59-62: To another He (Jesus) said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

When you surrender your life to Jesus, you have to completely abandon your old ways and not look back. Jesus tells us that if we look back, we are not fit for the kingdom of God. In 2008, I thought I had surrendered my life to Jesus, but I realized I was far from it. I believed Jesus was my savior and I repented of some of my sins- the ones I was comfortable with. There were sins I thought I couldn’t overcome- and as long as I thought that- I never did.

When you surrender your life to Jesus, you need to repent of all your known sins- not just the ones you are comfortable with. It will be different for each of us- perhaps for you it is lust, dirty language, dirty TV shows and movies, gossiping, lying, coveting, and the list goes on.

So, what must one do to inherit eternal life? In John 3:3, Jesus tells us that we must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean to be born again? It is to completely surrender your life to Jesus, repent of your sins, and place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus makes it clear in Luke 13:3 that unless you repent, you will perish. When you are born again, God will give you a new heart that will no longer desire your old ways and will desire to worship and praise Him. Your heart wants to serve Jesus. Not only do you read the Word of God, but you delight in it.

Jesus says in Matthew 7: 24-27, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” The foundation of rock here is repentance and surrendering one’s heart to Jesus. A profession of faith lacking repentance and surrendering one’s heart to Jesus is the sand. How many Christians, when they come under personal attack for their faith, back down and succumb back to the world? Instead of proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Savior and losing their friends, they put Jesus in a corner so they can keep their friendships.

The problem is all the church goers who proclaim to be Christians who do this. Another Christian looks at them and thinks this is the norm. It is ok to act this way because everyone else in church does- and since they profess to be Christians and are “saved,” I am perfectly fine to act the same way. I again ask you, who are there fewer of- people who act like this, or people who proclaim Jesus “in season and out of season” and have lost their friends and family? Jesus said in Mark 13:13, “And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Look around you- are those people hated for proclaiming Jesus, or are they still friends with everyone in the world?

Jesus even said himself that division in your family would happen. Jesus says in Matthew 10:34-38, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” I have a relative in my family who would rather have family harmony than for me to talk about Jesus- even among people who all call their selves Christians!

One is either a Christian or they are not. Either they fully follow Jesus or they don’t. There is no grey area. We love the grey area- because that way we can be both part of the world and be a Christian. 1 John 2:15-17 makes it clear for us, though: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Jesus hates lukewarm Christians. Revelation 3:16 says, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Do you want to be spit out on the Day of Judgment?

Let me ask you this- would you consider yourself to be a “good person?” Most people will say yes without hesitation, even to say they are a “very good person.” Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments? Would you say you’ve kept them? Let’s see how you stack up using God’s rules:

Have you ever told a lie, even a small, white lie? That makes you a liar.
Have you ever stolen something, no matter what value? Ever taken anything from work, downloaded an MP3, copied a CD? That makes you a thief.
Have you ever had hate or anger in your heart? Jesus says in Matthew 5:22 God views this the same as murder.
Have you ever lusted (sexual desire) after another? Jesus says in Matthew 5:28 God views this as committing adultery in your heart.

Based on those standards above, you are a lying thief, and a murderer and adulterer at heart, and you have to face God on judgment day. If God judges you based on those standards, would you be guilty or innocent? Everyone would be guilty. If you say innocent because you do more good than bad, consider James 2:10 which says if you have broken one commandment, you have broken them all. It’s like hanging on to a chain with 10 links and one breaks. It only took one break for you to fall.

Still not convicted? Have you ever taken the Lord’s name in vain. God gave you life and you used His name as a cuss word- He calls that blasphemy. Have you always remember to keep the sabbath? Have you always honored your mother and father? Have you ever coveted (desired something that isn’t yours)? Have you always honored God with all your mind, soul, heart and strength?

If God judges you based on His standard you would be guilty. So would I.

So, would you go to Heaven or Hell? You should say Hell. I am just as guilty as everyone else and would have been destined for Hell. If you say Heaven because you think God won’t judge you because He is a god of love, you are breaking the second commandment- you shall not make a graven image- a god to suit yourself. A god not of wood or metal made with your hands, but in your mind. An example would be a god that is contrary to what the Bible teaches or worshiping money. You may say you do more good then bad. Consider how many people someone needs to kill to be convicted of murder. Just one.

You may say, “I go to confession.” We are called to confess our sins (1 John 1:9), but confession alone won’t save you. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:13, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” Consider this: a husband cheats on his wife and confesses to her he has committed adultery. The husband says he is sorry, but the next weekend he goes out and cheats again with a different woman. He again confesses to his wife what he has done. Unless the husband stops cheating and turns away from his cheating ways (repents), his confession is worthless and his wife will leave him. In the same sense, we have to do more than just confess our sins- we need to repent and stop our sinful habits.

There is a way for you to go to Heaven, though. God did something wonderful for you. In place of your being sent to Hell as punishment for your sins and suffering eternal judgment, He sent His one and only Son to die in our place for our sins. 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ died an excruciating death on the cross for your sins. Then He rose on the third day forever defeating death. If you repent of your sins (stop living in your sinful way and turn away from them) and place your trust in Jesus Christ as your savior, you, too, can have eternal salvation (Matthew 4:17, Luke 5:32, Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3; Luke 24:47).

Imagine you are in a court of law and you are facing sentencing for a crime you committed. The judge tells you that your sentence is either a one million dollar fine or life imprisonment. You tell the judge you do not have one million dollars. He is about to pass judgment on you and send you to jail for life when someone comes in the court and places one million dollars in front of him to pay your fine. The judge looks at you and says, “Your fine has been paid, you are free to go.” You may say you will never be in that situation. In this lifetime, you may be correct. What happens when you die, though?

Ten out of ten of us die- we are all part of the oldest statistic. When your judgment comes, where will you go? Don’t delay, place your trust in Jesus Christ today and repent of your sins! Confess to God your sins and ask for His divine forgiveness. Then, repent of your sins and place your trust in Jesus Christ, His one and only Son, as your savior. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” -1 John 1:9.

The crime you have committed is sin and your judgment is life in Hell. Someone paid your fine, though. His name is Jesus Christ and His suffering on the cross was the sentence for your sins. If you repent of your sins and place your trust in Jesus Christ, the fine and judgment for your sins will be met and you, too, can have eternal life. How would you feel towards someone who paid that fine for you?

Forgiveness is available, but it is not automatic. You have to ask for it. Surrender your heart and your life to Jesus. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Nicodemus asked Jesus in John 3 what one must do to be saved. Jesus replies in John 3:3: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus continues in John 3:5-6: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

What dwells among you and controls your life, thoughts, and actions? Desires of the flesh or the Holy Spirit?

Imagine you are on a plane 25,000 feet in the air that is about to crash. There is a parachute under your seat which can save you. Simple declaring “I believe the parachute will save me” will not save you. You have to put on the parachute and jump from the crashing plane to be saved. In the same sense, you have to leave your old self and “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14) like a parachute and jump from your sinful lifestyle that will leave you dead if you don’t abandon it (”to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” -Ephesians 4:22-24; “You were dead in the trespasses and sins” -Ephesians 2:1).

It is my prayer, if you are reading this and you are not saved, that you ask God into your life this moment. I pray that you place your trust in Jesus Christ as your savior and repent of your sins. Make sure you read your Bible daily and feed on the Word of God. Obey what you read. Start with the Gospel of John and see if what I have said is true. God will not let you down.

One final thought: please don’t confuse confession and repentance. Jesus told us we must repent to be saved (Luke 13:3). Confession merely means acknowledging guilt. Criminals only confess when they’ve been caught, and even then most of them won’t. We are all criminals against God. You may be offended by that statement. If you are, please reread this article and see how you have broken all of God’s commandments (moral laws). Repentance requires a turning from your sin and abandoning your old ways. To be saved, we must turn from our sin and dedicate ourselves to Jesus Christ. God will give you a new heart with new desires.

You can not earn your salvation. Nothing you do will ever save you- regardless of what a church or a certain religion may teach you. “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” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 1 John 5:13 tell us that we can have assurance of our eternal destiny: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” What a wonderful thing!

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done” (Matthew 16:26-27). Who will be the payment for your sins? Yourself or Jesus Christ?

Again, Jesus first words preaching were, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” That's what you have to do to be saved- repent and believe that Jesus died for your sins. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Are you ready to be judged by God? Today is the day of salvation.