Jesus Can Save Your Life (Romans 8:11)

I. Introduction. A. Orientation. This morning, I want us to think about The one thing we fear more than anything else in this world, And how we can overcome it: death.

Life is the one thing That if you lose it You can never get it back again. Once youre dead, youre dead. When you go to the cemetery To remember those who have gone on, Those you care about, Im sure youve noticed That the number of people buried there Never decreases, but always increases. People dont leave, Because death is one way. At least, it appears that way presently Ill say more about this in a moment.

2 What if it didnt have to be this way? What if death wasnt one way? What if there was someone Who could save you from death? Would you like to know about it? The Bible tells us There is such a person: His name is Jesus.

Jesus is the Son of God Who became a man To live and to die So that if you would trust Him In a very real sense, You would never have to die Jesus said on one occasion, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die (John 11:25-26). B. Preview. How can you know Jesus is able to save you from death? Because after He was crucified, After He was buried, He rose on the third day

3 Never to die again. Jesus can save your life.

Thats what I want us to consider this morning. Lets look at three things: 1. How you got into the situation youre in. 2. What God did to fix the problem. 3. How you can receive what Jesus did. II. Sermon. A. Lets consider, first, How you got into this situation.

Generally, up until about age 30, Your body works pretty well, Its strong and healthy. But after 30, You begin to decline/age. The cells in your body Arent able to replicate As well as they did before. They begin losing information The loss of which Will eventually end In your death.

4 Why? Scientists understand something of this process Theres a part of the DNA That is lost each time it replicates. In the early replications Those parts dont contain any important information, So it doesnt have much effect. But eventually You lose enough important information That kills the cell, Or makes it impossible for it To replace itself.

Its interesting That scientists have discovered An enzyme the cell produces That is able to reproduce those missing parts And allow the cell to continue To survive and divide. Over time, Our cells stop making it So they eventually die.

Why dont they just find a way

5 To get the cells to keep making this enzyme? Because that enzyme Is exactly what makes cancer so dangerous. When a cell become cancerous, It turns the production Of this enzyme back on, Making the cells replication unstoppable. In other words, What eventually kills us Also keep us From becoming riddled with tumors And dying prematurely.

The ingredients for immortality Seem to be present, But for some reason, They dont work together as they should. Why not? Scientists dont know.

But what they cant explain, God can. God tells us in His Word These things work this way now Because of something called sin.

6 We will die because of a choice A man made The very first man God made A long time ago A choice in which He disobeyed God.

God was testing him To see if he would obey If he loved God enough, And trusted Him enough, To obey an arbitrary command Not to eat of one particular tree. The man loved God with all his heart. He knew the consequences If he ate from it. God said, For in the day that you eat from it you will surely die (Gen. 2:17). And he knew that his choice Would affect not only him, But all of his children.

But in spite of all this, He chose not to obey God, And the result was death.

7 The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). And because he Was the father of the whole human race, And represented us in that decision, We were all cursed to die. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned . . . through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men . . . (Rom. 5:12, 18).

This is why you will die. Scientists understand how it happens, But only God can tell us Why it happens.

By the way, The first man isnt the only one Who disobeyed God You have too, Many times since youve come into this world.

The fact that you must die Is bad enough in itself. But God tells us Its actually much worse: After you die Even though your soul

Is separated from your body, Its still very much alive You still know who you are, And can experience pleasure or pain.

The Bible says That after your soul leaves your body It can only go to one of two places: To heaven If youve trusted Jesus Or to hell If you havent. Heaven is a wonderful place A place of joy and perfect love and happiness But hell is much worse Than you could ever imagine.

If God is so good and gracious Why is there a hell? Its because He is also righteous and just. Hell is the just penalty We all deserve For disobeying this infinitely holy God Who made us

And gave us everything we have.

We will all die And we are all in danger of hell Because we have all sinned against God.

B. But now, lets consider the second point: What God did to fix the problem.

If God had left us alone We would all have died And suffered forever in hell. But He didnt!

He sent His Son into the world To save all those who would believe in Him, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus is His Son.

Jesus took on Himself the responsibility To obey His Fathers commands, For those who would trust Him So that they could have A perfect record of obedience.

10 He took on Himself the sins/guilt Of those who would trust Him So that He could suffer Gods just wrath And die in their place.

And to show that He was successful In this work His Father sent Him to do, The Father raised Him again to life on the third day.

Jesus rose from the dead, He overcame death, And now He is able To save you from death.

C. Finally, how can you receive what Jesus did?

Ive already told you And thankfully, its quite simple. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31). All you have to do is believe What God says in His Word about His Son What we just looked at And trust Him to save you.

He doesnt say, Clean up your act,

11

And when youre good enough, Ill let you into heaven. He says, Believe on My Son; Trust Him to save you, And you will be saved.

But dont forget, Since Jesus is saving you From the consequences of your disobedience, You also need to be willing To stop disobeying, And begin obeying.

That wont be a problem if you trust Him, Because if the Lord opens your eyes To see your need of Jesus Christ, He will at the same time Show you just how bad sin is, And how good it is to obey.

All of His commandments Can all be summed up by love To love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength,

12 And to love your neighbor as yourself. What the Lord wants you to do Is to love Him and others In the way that really is loving.

If you will trust Jesus and turn from your sins, Not only will He forgive all your guilt So that you will never have to be afraid of hell again Not only will He give you His perfect record of obedience So that you can go to heaven when you die, He will also give you His Spirit To raise your body from the grave one day And reunite it with your soul, So that you can enjoy the new world The Lord will create. Paul writes, But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Rom. 8:11).

In closing, I just want you to consider How gracious Gods offer is: You were His enemy Every day you didnt thank Him

13 For all the good things He gave you. Every day you offended Him And rebelled against Him.

But in spite of this, He was willing To give what was most precious to Him His only begotten Son To obey, To die And that in the most humbling way possible By becoming a curse on the cross, By enduring His full wrath against sin, By dying and being under the power of death for three days.

The Prince of Life Experienced death So that you might live.

God doesnt say You have to buy your way into heaven Through your works You couldnt do that if you wanted to All our works Are like filthy rags in His sight.

14

He offers to save you as a free gift If you are willing to turn from your rebellion And receive His Son As your Savior and Lord. This is infinite mercy and love.

Youll never receive a better offer than this. If you want to live, Turn from your sins And trust Jesus to save you. Hes the only One Who has actually overcome death Himself, And the only One Who can overcome it for you. Amen.

http://www.graceopcmodesto.org