In the parable that
Jesus told about The Lost Sheep - some have left the flock. In ,Mt.
18:12-14 we hear about a lost son returning to his father. If you remember,
the father of the prodigal son did not wait for the son, instead he
ran to him. And I believe Jesus wants to run to us, if we are willing
to come to him. Let us understand how we can abide in him.
Hebrew 9:27 says All Must Face Judgment:
According to Rev 20:11, you who do not know Jesus
as your personal Savior will face the white throne, this is where God
will assess your life and say if your name is in the book of life.
- The only way that
you can get your name written in the book of life is through a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ.
- No other way works.
-
In the same way
as if someone else tries to write your name in the book, it is a
forgery, if someone were to use your check book and sign your name.
- The book of life
is the most important place for your name to be written.
- Those whose name
is not written in the book of life, will be thrown into hell because
they rejected Jesus.
We in the church will also, face the judgment seat of
Christ
- According to 2 Corinthians
5:10. For we need to appear before God for what we have done while
in the body as a Christian.
-
Christians we will
be judged for things we have done whether good or bad.
- Living under the
S-U-N in the FLESH leads to bitter fruit!
-
However, living
under the S-O-N in the SPIRIT leads to the better and best fruit!
Therefore, we can choose to live one of two
ways:
- Christians need
to realize that living ‘under the s-u-n’ will always lead to bitter
fruit.
- The
s-u-n or flesh is spiritually meaningless, useless, and does not produce
sanctification.
- We are to realize
that we must live under the S-O-N, not the s-u-n.
- Consequently,
we know we have a personal relationship with Jesus, God’s only Son.
ONLY this relationship with Jesus produces sanctification
.
In Matthew 19:26, Jesus looked at them and
said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible. "Only
Jesus can help us produce the better fruit.
- We have saving faith
and sanctification only in Christ Jesus.
- We seek to know
Jesus and mature in truth and love.
-
Fellowship with
Jesus provides the better fruit.
-
‘It is Finished’
is the believer's primary confidence in claiming this better fruit.
- Only in Christ Jesus
is the victory won, possible.
Lets review some significant aspects of the better fruit.
The Bible explains how to understand whether or not we are in a relationship
with Jesus.
- In 1 Timothy 2:5,
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus.
- Only Jesus provides
salvation and sanctification because he alone paid the ransom for
all men.
The Bitter -
The Better -
The Best -
Fruit Overview -
Sanctification