"Hell deserved, but there was hope
All we sinners sang
Saved, we are saved
The gates of heaven wide open
Saved, we are saved
The keys to the grave have been stolen
What could ever pay the cost?
On Calvary's hill there rose a cross
And could it be that evil lost?
All we sinners sang and all we sinners sang"
"All We Sinners" -Passion
Romans 6:3-9 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become [a]united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [b]in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old [c]self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be [d]done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is [e]freed from sin.8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, [f]is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
So through Jesus's death, we have been given the choice of eternal life. We are no longer slaves to this world and to sin, we can be made new through Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to be with our Father in heaven forever and I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to the day I get the privilege to meet my Savior.
God has a place for you and He wants you there. He gave us all the proof we need to know we can have a new life on Calvary's hill; that was our invitation to be with Him forever. Think of it like this, and for those of you who are from First Baptist be sure to tell Pastor Brad I stole his metaphor: So Jesus spent His whole life spreading the good news of His Father and performing miracles. When he was crucified, that was Him purchasing our freedom from the penalty we deserve -- eternal suffering. He bought us a new life so that one day we could live with Him in heaven forever, if that's what we choose. So He purchased our freedom, but where's the receipt? I mean how are you going to prove you bought something without the receipt right? Well when Jesus was resurrected that was our proof of purchase. Him being raised from the dead proved we can be raised from this world and brought home. God has bought your way to Heaven and has given you an invitation into the gate. Now it's up to you to decide on whether or not you would rather spend an eternity with your Father in Heaven or on earth consumed with the ways of the world. Are you going to accept your invitation or throw it away for the world and what it has to offer?
Philippians 1:21-23 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Look forward to your days in heaven, but until that day comes spread His word and His love.
I pray you will find joy in this article and understand that God wants you. He wants you sin and all, broken and ashamed. He has our rooms locked down and He has given each of us a key. I pray we will never throw that key away just for a temporary happiness here on earth. Remember, this life on earth is temporary but your life with God is forever.
