For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10
The nature of God is to seek and save sinners. Did you know, the name Jesus was divinely chosen to be the name of a Savior? Matthew 1:21 reads, “You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who will save his people from their sins”. This is Good News!
Saving Faith – The Good News is simply that God graciously saves repentant sinners who come to him in faith. But it’s only good news for those who perceive themselves as sinners. The teaching of Jesus is clear that those who will not acknowledge and repent of their sin are beyond the reach of salvation. All are sinners, but not all are willing to admit their need to be saved.
God receives sinners. On the other hand, he refuses the self-righteous. Not that there are any truly righteous people anyway. People who think they are good enough – who do not understand the seriousness of sin – cannot respond to God’s gracious gift of salvation. They cannot be saved, for the Gospel is a call to sinners to repent, be forgiven and confess that Jesus is Lord.
We do not make Christ Lord. He is LORD! Those who will not receive him as LORD are guilty of rejecting him. ‘Faith’ that rejects his sovereign authority is really unbelief and cannot be considered ‘Saving Faith’.
Sharing Faith – Saved people are those who have personalized the fact they are sinners and willingly confess Jesus is Lord.
The Good News of Christ is not an easy-believism that makes no moral demands on our lives. Many people think they only need to know and believe some basic facts about Jesus to obtain salvation. They somehow assume obedience is optional. When he invites people to follow him, he is calling them to yield completely and unreservedly to his lordship.
According to Jesus, his lordship is still total and nonnegotiable. Implicit obedience to his commandments – including ‘go and make disciples’ – is a necessary, expected and natural outcome of genuine love for him.
Please note that true believers are unapologetically intentional about sharing with others how to engage with Saving Faith. This is very Good News after all!
WHERE TO BEGIN:
Begin with the End in Mind
Looking at a map before leaving on a road trip and studying the cover of a jigsaw puzzle box are good examples of beginning with the end in mind. That being said, we realize there are a lot of words in this resource and highly recommend reading Topic 66 first and then asking yourself if you are part of God's large family.