Anchorpoint Radio

The foundational difference between Christianity and all other world religions is the fact that the restoration of man's relationship with God is based entirely on God - not in any way dependent on who we are or what we can do. We cannot get right with God by doing good works of our own nor by a cooperative effort between ourselves and God. Religions and spiritual philosophies require us to work at it, to offer something of ourselves. This is not what the Word of God tells us. No, Christ came to pay our debt when we were bankrupt in our sins. God makes it clear that "By grace are you saved through faith." Faith is the means by which we can avail ourselves of God's wonderful gift of eternal life. Simply taking God at His Word.  

On today’s broadcast, we’ll be considering making the necessary reservations for the most important journey we could every make – the journey into eternity. Nobody finds themselves in heaven without a prior booking. Are you prepared for that trip? Your certainly need to be! The old hymn says, “My passport to the realms of bliss is Jesus died for me.” Have you made YOUR reservation? 

Perhaps the most well-known of all the verses in the Bible is John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life." It has often been called the 'gospel in a nutshell' because through it a person can know all the elements of the gospel message. Today we will be looking specifically at this wondrous verse. It contains a number of superlative things - the greatest power, the greatest passion, the greatest people, the greatest provision, the greatest person, the greatest plan, AND the greatest purpose! What a marvellous verse! 

What exactly is the gospel? Well, as we shall hear today, it’s been described as the “greatest possible blessing”, given by the “widest possible invitation”, based on the “highest possible authority”, and received on the “simplest possible terms”. What a wonderful message! We’re sure that every Christian will enjoy this simple and clear gospel message and trust that any unsaved person listening today will drink in this wonderful message for themselves.

The gospel message is not complicated. It is God's offer of grace to sinners who don't deserve it. It's a simple extension of pardon to anyone willing to accept the guilty verdict and come and receive it. Why is it then that multitudes are not lined up at the door wanting to get it. The answer is simple. Most people don't take God seriously when He says that we need salvation. They also think that there is something that they can do. The gospel message is that you need to have your sins forgiven and that God has provided the means to do that.

In the Gospel of Mark Chapter 10 we find a very interesting story of an encounter that a young man had with the Lord Jesus Christ. He asked, "What do I need to do to inherit eternal life?" Today’s message looks at what was fundamentally wrong with that question. But we will also learn about the tragic truth that it is usually only ONE thing that keeps a sinner from trusting Christ. How foolish it is to trade eternal life for one fleeting thing that you may hold so dearly today. Come to Christ today won't you, and be sure that you will never face an eternity of regret and sorrow at making the same wrong decision that this rich, young ruler made.

There was a story that Jesus told about a man who prepared a great banquet feast – and the invitations all went out. “Come for all things are now ready!” But there were many refusals. A lot of them! Jesus said the man became angry and sent his servants out to bring in other people to his banquet instead. Well, His point was simple. The gospel message goes out to all – but then the refusals come in - excuses that will not hold up when placed before God. You see, God has also prepared a tremendous banquet as it were - filled with good things – eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, a life with Christ, peace, purpose, endless fulfillment and joy – to name a few! We hope that you will not come up with excuses for rejecting the call of God for salvation.

Many people know something of the Exodus story in the Bible – the story about how God delivered the Israelites from slavery by visiting Egypt with ten formidable plagues, the last of which was the death of the first born of all those who refused to obey the Lord’s instructions. But God told the Israelites to slay a lamb, a perfect lamb, and to put the blood on the lintel and side posts of the door to their houses. God told them that when He “saw the blood, He would pass over them” – meaning that they would be protected from the last terrible plague. Who is the Lamb? John the Baptist tells us, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” It is the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

Has Christ ever done anything for you? Think about it. The first verse of Isaiah 53 asks a similar question – “Who has believed our report?” That is, many people hear God’s report of His Son – the gospel message of how Christ died for their sins – but don’t believe it. Has Christ ever done anything for them? In unbelief, they would likely answer “No”. And they are wrong. The Lord Jesus was willing to go all the way to the cross for sinners. But all of Christ’s work would be to no avail if He is not received personally as Lord and Saviour. So ask yourself again, “Has Christ ever done anything for me”? 

The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that we were all born sinners, spiritually disconnected from God because of sin. We start out spiritually dead – with low thoughts about God and high thoughts about ourselves. Since our lives are infected by sin we end up with broken relationships, self-destructive behaviour, sinful habits, bitterness, and confusion as to what life is all about anyway. The good news of the gospel is that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to remedy this dire situation by taking care of the root cause of all our problems – sin. As the sinless substitute, He was able to bear our sins and put them away, bridging the broken connection with God again.