The Gospel in a Nutshell

SALVATION IS FOR ALL WHO TRUST HIS PROMISE: 2nd Sunday in Lent, March 8, 2020

If you’re ever looking for a colorful conversation, ask a person how to get to heaven. The answers you receive will be amazing! Some will deny an afterlife. Others will argue, “Be good, live clean/pure, obey God.” Most believe heaven comes easily to those whose good has outweighed their bad. Unsurprisingly, most are of the opinion they pass that metric. Those answers are logical and rational, but they aren’t spiritual. They offer no solution to mankind’s real issue, sin. If sin is what prevents us from heaven, doesn't that have to be dealt with?

Our readings this week use Abraham as a case study on how a person gets to heaven. Abraham was the most famous of all Israelites, oftentimes called the “father of faith” or “the father of Israel.” Did that status qualify him for heaven? No. Just the opposite — Abraham’s shameful doubt, reckless treatment of his wife, and disregard for God’s promises disqualified him from heaven! God maintains that Abraham received heaven as a gift; it was given to him by God, not earned by Abraham’s good behavior. God made the promises, God gave the inheritance, God gave the blessings. Abraham received God’s gift through faith.

Faith receives God’s grace by trusting the Word. Every person in the Old Testament was saved in exactly the same way: through faith in God’s promises made in his Word. In fact, every person in the New Testament — and that includes you and me — are saved in exactly the same way: faith in God’s promises made in his Word. Our acts of obedience do not gain salvation. It’s Jesus’ holy life and his acts of obedience which we receive through faith.

► Readings:

• Genesis 12:1-8: God's promise to Abraham.

• Romans 4:1-5, 13-17: Abraham saved through faith.

• John 3:1-17: The Gospel in a nutshell.

• Psalm: 121

► Sermon theme on John 3:1-17: "The Gospel in a Nutshell" (Sermon Video) (Sermon transcript)