I’ll Just Take My Chances
Romans 7:14-25
Intro:
1. Death is simply a transition into another life.
2. The Bible says you will live forever either in heaven or in hell.
3. Nearly everyone wants to go to heaven, of course, but are not sure how to make that happen.
4. The Bible points out to us 2 possible ways & divides our Bibles into 2 sections, the Old Testament & the New Testament, to point out those ways.
Ι. The Old Testament Way
Α. How most people think about getting to heaven.
1. People are divided into two categories: good guys & bad guys.
2. Good guys go to heaven, bad guys go to hell.
3. Since God is a God of love most people will probably get in.
B. What's the standard that determines which category you fit? Where's the line where when you step over it you're a bad guy?
1. Well, it's kind of a relative thing - basically if you're not a criminal & treat other people reasonably well, you're a good guy.
2. Hell is reserved for the real sick 'os who mow people down in high schools & burn down homes & chase folks out of their country.
3. But who set those standards? Your parents? The government? Who says those are the standards?
4. The truth is - you decide if you're a good guy or not & most of us have determined that we're in the good guy category.
C. The first possible way of getting to heaven considers this type of thinking — it gives us some very absolute standards - The Law of Moses!
1. ILL: Moses getting the Law.
2. The Law is what God determined to be the standard! Obey the commandments & go to heaven; don't obey & go to hell.
3. The 1st half of the 7th Chapter points out what this Law could & could not do.
a. v7-8 - The good news is it points out what the standards are.
b. v9-11 - The bad news is once you fail to obey one command you've blown it - there's no provision in the Law for forgiveness!
c. Jam 2:10 - For whoever keeps the whole law & yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it!
D. SO - according to the Bible, if you choose to try to get to heaven simply by being a good guy - you aren't going to make it!
1. Perfection is the minimum standard for entrance into heaven. You've got to know the Law of Moses & then obey it to perfection all of your life & never goof.
2. Only Lord Jesus ever lived a perfect life.
3. If anyone else lived a good guy life it would have been the Apostle Paul & he's the one who wrote this biblical book!
a. Rom 3:10 - There is no one righteous, not even one.
b. Rom 3:23 - All have sinned & fall short of the glory of God.
c. Rom 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death.
II. The New Testament Way
A. Jn 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His one & Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1. You & I are filthy rotten sinners no matter how much of a good guy we try to be.
2. God sent Jesus on a mission to help us out of this sin problem.
B. This is the way He did it!
1. He paid a price He didn't have to pay. Rom 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death.
2. Jesus lived a perfect, sin free, life. He didn't have to pay that wage.
3. But He volunteered to pay it anyway. He took your place on the cross!
4. The cross fills in the gap between your life & God's standard for getting into heaven. (Rom 4:5)
C. How do I respond to this?
1. Surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus - let Him call the shots in your life.
2. Trust Him to save you & give you a place in heaven forever.
2. Spend the rest of your life loving Him & expressing your appreciation to Him by living for Him.
The OT way: obey the rules perfectly &
I will be your God & you will be My people.
They flunked!
The NT way: Lord Jesus paid your debt for you so you could go to heaven forever. So identify with Him. Trust Him. Appreciate Him.
You win!
http://biblelifemessages.org/