[1 John Series 4] The Heavenly CourtroomSample

Jesus is my payment

Jesus can change your life. He loves you. He is the atonement for your sins. He died for you. He wants to change your life and be your atoning sacrifice. But at the same time, He is global. Jesus not only died for your sins, He died to pay for the sins of the whole world. That does not mean that everyone is saved, but it means that everyone can have the opportunity to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior. We could preach everywhere around the world, but each person must place his or her faith in Christ for salvation. Do you see the difference? It is not that everybody is saved, but now everybody can be saved.

In 1929, a man robbed a mail carrier and killed him. He was sentenced to die, but he received a presidential pardon. Then he rejected the pardon. The jailers didn’t know what to do, so the case went all the way to the Supreme Court: If the President of the United States gives a pardon, are you pardoned or can you reject it? The Supreme Court responded: “A pardon rejected is no pardon at all. Unless the recipient accepts the pardon, the pardon cannot be applied.”

A pardon has two sides, the giver and the receiver. Jesus Christ has given us a pardon through His death on the cross, through the shedding of His blood. To be saved, we must receive that atonement and say, “Jesus, I trust in You.” You and I are guilty, but Jesus can provide us with innocence through His death on the cross. If we place our trust in Christ as our Savior and the Holy Spirit comes to live in our heart, and we are never alone. We take a step of faith. And a step of obedience. Pretty soon, our life becomes a little topsy-turvy, but in the long run it is up and to the right. You grow in this relationship with Jesus. We will never be sinless, but we can strive to sin less as our faith in Jesus Christ pulls us forward in obedience to look more like Him.

Father, we thank You that the accuser is crushed and the Advocate stands forth. We thank You, Lord, that in the midst of many accusations you fight on our behalf. You fight my battles for me.

[This reading plan is based on the 1 John series preached by pastor Gregg Matte. To watch the whole sermon this plan was taken from, please follow this link: https://houstonsfirst.org/message/living-it-out-heavenly-court-room ]