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Jesus spoke of the wide gate and the broad path that
lead to destruction, commenting that ‘many go in this Reformed Congregational Church
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way.’17 On the other hand He spoke of a small gate
and a narrow path that leads to life. Though there be
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few that find it, He exhorts all who hear His message
to ‘strive to enter in.’ This is the way to saving faith.
Strive, seek, call on God’s name. Never rest until you
know that salvation is yours.
What is a Christian?
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n a word, a Christian is someone who has been
‘saved.’ Now ‘saved’ is a bit religious sounding, so
we need to provide a definition. If you were an
Israelite or a Greek living in the time of Jesus, it would
Coram Deo currently meets to you be quite an ordinary word that meant to be
at the Dana Point Youth Facility ‘delivered’ or ‘rescued.’ Now if a Christian is someone
who has been delivered or rescued the question needs
34451 Ensenada Place to be asked, ‘From what?’
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wrath to come,’4 is spoken of, or alluded to, many times hrough Christ, and Christ alone. The Bible tells us The writer to the Hebrews provides the following
in the gospels, particularly marking the beginning of the that everything necessary to deliver us from the definition:
preaching ministry of John the Baptist,5 Jesus,6 the twelve well-deserved wrath of God has been done for us in
Apostles7 and the seventy disciples.8 The most the Person of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
‘theological’ Epistle on salvation, Paul’s letter to the Colossians,11 the writer tells us that this Christ, who is, evidence of things not seen.13
Romans, opens with the same fearful truth, ‘… the wrath with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Eternal and
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of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness Everlasting God, left His glory in heaven and became fully his is very precise language. The writer is
and unrighteousness of men …’9 human, while remaining fully God. That having taken determined that we understand that faith is
upon Himself human nature, He submitted Himself to the certainty, and that on a level which exceeds what
As to the cause of this wrath, it is found in man himself. Law to keep it perfectly (as we ought to have done), and may be known at a natural level, what we can
The world around us likes to speak of the human race in then died taking the punishment due our sins (taking the understand by reason, logic and deduction. Given the
rather generous terms, and constantly seeks to excuse the death that we deserve). In doing these two things Jesus common understanding among many who call
bad things we have done - together and as individuals - in satisfied the wrath of God. themselves Christian this definition is surprising. Many
terms of ‘mistakes,’ or ‘deprived social conditions,’ of us have been taught that faith is ‘a leap in the dark,’
‘educational ignorance,’ ‘bad experiences,’ and so on. The that it is hoping that something is true when we are not
Bible bluntly denies any and all excuses for our bad “…if you don’t have sure, that it is an act of surrender or commitment, that
behavior, calling such things sin against a holy God, and it is something we do to close the gap that exists
explaining them in terms not of man’s depravation, but
man’s depravity. In the Bible God doesn’t pity man
faith, you are as much between us and God.
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hostility towards every single one of us, the question of didn’t die. Without faith you are still ‘a child of wrath,’ f faith is what happens when God speaks to me, it is
salvation or deliverance seems quite an important one - to still ‘condemned,’ still a God hater, still His enemy, still pretty obvious that Paul got it right when he said,
say the very least! It is at this point that the Bible speaks hated by Him, still going to hear those words, ‘Depart ‘Faith … is the gift of God.’14 Faith is something
of God’s love, for God’s love is seen in the truth that man from me you who are cursed, into the lake of fire prepared that God gives me. Paul says something else in this verse
may be saved, but it needs to be asked, how? for the devil and his angels.’12 that is very important concerning our understanding of
how to obtain faith, ‘it is by grace …’ Grace declares
All that Christ did has no value for us until we have faith. God’s willingness to give freely, without reference to our
In this context, the questions, ‘What is faith?’ and ‘How works, to any of the bad things we have done, or (as
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Matthew 3:7 may I have it?’ are the most important that could be asked. importantly) to any of the ‘good’ things. All that is left
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Luke 3:7
6 for us to do is ask for this gift, ‘All who call upon the
Luke 13:1-5
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Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:7, Luke 9:1 continued on back panel…
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Luke 10:1-20
9 11 13
Romans 1:18 Colossians 1: 15-22 Hebrews 11: 1
10 12 14
Romans 3: 10-12 Matthew 25:41 Ephesians 2: 8-9