Sermon Central
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Game Of Chance
Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jul 9, 2010 (message contributor)
GAME OF CHANCE
A person recently said to me as they were dying that the Bible was just a series of myths and stories, and if I want to, I can choose to live my life assuming that it is. I can choose to treat heaven like a GAME OF CHANCE and the Bible as something less than a sure thing. I can wager all my GOOD WORKS against the WORK OF CHRIST on the Cross. Even when my chips are down I can throw the DICE OF DEATH on the chance that I will win.
Or perhaps it's the Roulette Wheel. As the marble dances on the roulette wheel, I am saying in effect "I have not sinned to any great extent. Why should I repent and accept the work of Jesus Christ as He paid the penalty for my sin by dying on the Cross." I can place all I have on the highest number of GOOD WORKS that I can, but as the wheel spins I will inevitably LOSE EVERYTHING - my life and any chance of eternity with God. The only sure thing is that I will lose.
In John 14:5-7 (NLT) Jesus gives me the winning tip that I need if I am to STAKE MY LIFE on winning the incredible dividends of going to heaven. Jesus said this. "... I am the way, the truth, and the life. NO ONE CAN COME TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME."
WANT ANOTHER TIP? Ephesians 2:8-9 puts it this way. It says "For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favour) that you are saved (delivered from judgment) through (your) faith (in Christ and what He did on the Cross, paying the price for your sins). And this (deliverance from being judged) is not of yourselves (It is not of your own doing, or your own good works), but it is the gift of God; Not because of works (no matter how good you may be), lest any man should boast. (Heaven is not the result of what anyone can possibly DO, so no one can pride themselves on how good they are or take the credit of getting into heaven on the basis of their good works. It is entirely dependent on faith in the work of Christ.)
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