Time of Grace With Pastor Mike Novotny

God showed his unending mercy to us when he sent Jesus to die for our sins. As children of God and with his help, we change. Instead of holding grudges, carrying around anger and bitterness, blaming others, and being unforgiving God’s mercy and forgiveness flows through us. He works through us to show his love to the people around us.

True contentment comes when we remember that we are forgiven children of God because of what Jesus did for us. No matter our situation in life, we can be positive and content because, ultimately, that forgiveness is all that matters. It sustains us through all sorts of situations because it is God who gives us the strength to be content.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Fulfilling Scripture, Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for our sins. His resurrection was witnessed by many whom he showed himself too. By faith, we too will be lifted from the grave because his resurrection guarantees ours. He takes all the fear of death and the devil away because our salvation depends on him, not on anything we do. 

Jesus descended into hell after his resurrection so that he could show the devil that he had won, that the devil was defeated. That decent into hell means that all believers are victors over Satan as well. It means that we too will live again because by faith we are guaranteed the forgiveness of sins and life in heaven because of what Jesus did for us. 

Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. This was all prophesied in the Old Testament and necessary as part of God’s salvation plan. The Scriptures say that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. All of these things Jesus did for us, as our substitute, so that through faith we can claim forgiveness of our sins and life with him in heaven.

The Apostles’ Creed states that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, and this section of Matthew describes the suffering that Jesus endured. He suffered because God loves us so much that he put everything on his own Son instead of us. Jesus suffered so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life. He wore a crown of thorns so that we could wear a crown of glory.

Hell is real. We are to take it seriously, yet we have the assurance that our salvation is not dependent on what we do but on what Jesus did. God’s wrath was poured out on him; he suffered for us. Now we can say, “Lord, what gives me confidence and hope is that you came looking for me. You saved a wretch like me. You took a blind person like me and gave me eyes to see my Savior.” And with that same confidence and hope, we can use our time right now to tell others about the only way to heaven.

We are all born sinful--"tax collectors" and "prostitutes" who can do nothing to save ourselves. We all need a Savior because we sin. Thankfully our acceptance before God does not depend on what we have done, but on what Jesus has done for us. We live our lives with repentant hearts, recognizing our only hope is the Savior whom God sent to the world for us.

Because Jesus is I Am, he was able to come to earth to live a perfect life for us, to suffer, die, and rise for us. Because he is true God and true man, God the Father sees what he has done, not anything we have done. And because of our I Am God (unchanging, always existing, rock-steady God), we can claim heaven as our own.

Jesus is the the only way to heaven. There is absolutely no other way than through faith in him. He alone brings forgiveness and the hope of heaven.