Salvation

How do we meet the mark to be saved? 

See this man? We'll call him Stuart for the sake of comedic relief: 🧔🏻‍♂️

Stuart is a good guy, he goes to church, he reads his Bible, he follows the golden rule, everyone loves Stuart. He's charismatic, and he has tons of friends, financially he is well off and he tithes every week. But Stuart is still missing the mark.

The first and greatest commandment is, you know it, "love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul." Well, Ireland, Stuart does all the "Things." Stuart reads the word, goes to church, prays, worships, was baptized, and he even tithes! That proves he's going to heaven right?

Here is the mark:➡️

Here is Stuart:🧔🏻‍♂️(tithing, reading his Bible, going to church, missing the mark, etc.)

The problem is that there is a standard to get into heaven, but none of us will ever meet the standard, or even come close. You can do all the things, or you can choose to not do all the things, but if we are missing the standard we are out of luck. So, how do we reach the standard? Well I have GREAT news. Let's take a look at the man who went with Jesus to paradise.

Here is Jesus, to his right is the thief on the cross: 🧔🏼‍♂️ 🧔🏽‍♀️ 🧔🏾

The thief on the cross isn't going to fit most people's theology. He wasn't baptized, he never spoke in tongues, he could never raise a hand in worship, he was tied to a cross for goodness sake! He never set foot in a Church, he never did a single thing for Jesus, but he was still saved. What did this one criminal have that the other criminal did not? What saved him? Firstly, he admitted Jesus had done nothing wrong, and that he had, he confessed he was a sinner and that he deserved punishment. Secondly, he asked Jesus to remember him when he entered his kingdom. So, we have to admit we are sinners, and we have to ask to be saved. What happened then?

The thief on the cross had his sins in him, but no longer on him, he was saved. Jesus had sins on him, but not in him, he saved sinners. And the other criminal had his sins on, and in him, he went to hell to put it bluntly. (Don't be the other criminal.)

🧔🏼‍♂️-In & On 

🧔🏽‍♀️-On 

🧔🏾-In

Criminal lefty, was going to hell, and criminal righty was going with Jesus. Why live in your sins, when you have the option to chill with God for all eternity? Why would I sit there and pay for my sins with the shedding of my own blood (the moment of my physical death) when by GRACE I can be saved because the creator of everything already paid for it? How stupid of me is that? Now obviously there is nothing wrong with works if they are done with the right heart behind them, but they aren't the high-heels you need to reach salvation. You don't reach the mark by doing the "things," and I'm not going to pretend they are. Sitting in self-righteousness is not fooling anyone important. You don't get saved by going to Church, you get saved by asking God to save you. You don't get saved by getting baptized, you get saved by asking God to save you. You don't get saved by saying long impressive prayers, you get saved by asking God to save you, and admitting you're in the wrong, because WE can never reach the mark. We need help, and a lot of it! Are you searching for love? REAL, raw, intimate love? Well I don't know anyone who loves better than God. He knows every single sin we've ever committed, every hateful word we've spoke, every rebellious thing we've done, every evil thought in our mind, and he still took 39 lashes that ripped his flesh from his bones, still was stabbed through his side, still took the nails that pierced his hands and feet, still took a crown of thorns, was publicly humiliated and stripped of his clothes, just to save us, sinners who deserve eternal damnation. I don't remember who said it first but I would rather see 1 man saved by my words than 1000 healed, and the truth is, you don't get saved by works, you get saved by grace alone. So we can't boast about our greatness, but we can boast about God's greatness and our weakness. Once you realize God's greatness, you can do the works with the boldness of Christ instead of with the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, or the pride of life.

So again...

Here is Jesus meeting the mark for us:➡️🧔🏽‍♀️

Here is the Thief on the cross saved by Jesus:➡️🧔🏽‍♀️🧔🏾

And here is Stuart and criminal lefty not realizing it's simple to get saved, but being more worried about looking good, and being prideful in their works. Good works, or bad works (sin):🧔🏻‍♂️🧔🏼‍♂️

Scripture references...

John 2:15-17

Ephesians 2:1-10

Luke 23:39-43

Romans 3:27-28

Romans 3:30-31

Romans 9:30-32

Galatians 3:2-14