Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
If you are a believer in Christ, you have been redeemed and forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. What is the significance of Jesus’ blood? Because God is a holy God, He cannot tolerate and must judge sin, and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Therefore, someone or an animal must take the sinner’s place by shedding blood. Jesus shed His blood for us. He was the best substitute for us because He is sinless and He is God. We have the right to stand in God’s presence, and we have peace with Him because the blood of Jesus has settled the sin issue for us once and for all. We have escaped the wrath of God towards sin; we are justified, which means being made righteous and acceptable by God.
Romans 5:9 (NKJV) Much more than, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
We need to remember that there is a second death that follows physical death. This is the spiritual death mentioned in Revelations 2:11. However, when someone receives Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, they have crossed over from death to eternal life with God. Eternal life is obtained through faith in God because redemption is solely the work of God and has nothing to do with the individual—it is purely the abundance of God’s grace towards humanity. It is God’s desire for everyone to spend eternity in His presence. This is the very reason He came to restore humanity to Himself.
John 1:12 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
All of us have been given free will to choose. Though we can either choose or reject Jesus, because we are all spiritually bankrupt, it would be wise to choose Jesus and His salvation plan back to God because there is no other way back to God.
Once we have made the personal decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we are children of God. God has given us eternal life after death, and this life is found in His Son, Jesus Christ. Whoever has Jesus in His life will continue to live, though he dies. This is the assurance of our salvation.
1 John 5:11-12 (NKJV) And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Sermon Series：The Time is Now
救赎的确据
以弗所书 1:7 我们藉这爱子的血得蒙救赎，过犯得以赦免，乃是照他丰富的恩典。
如果你是在基督里的信徒，那么你已经藉耶稣基督的血得蒙救赎和赦免。耶稣的宝血有什么意义？因为神是圣洁的神，祂不能容忍而且必须审判罪，罪的工价就是死（罗马书6:23）。因此，必须有某人或动物流血来代替罪人。耶稣为我们流出祂的宝血。祂是我们最好的替代品，因为祂是无罪的，祂是神。我们得以站在上帝的面前并与祂和好，是因为耶稣的宝血已经一次性地解决了我们罪的问题。我们已经逃脱了上帝对罪的忿怒; 我们称义，就是指成为公义和蒙神悦纳。
罗马书 5:9 现在我们既靠着祂的血称义，就更要藉着祂免去神的忿怒。
我们需要记住，在肉体死亡之后还有第二次死亡。这就是启示录2:11中提到的灵性上的死亡。然而，当有人接受耶稣为他们的主和救主时，他们已经与上帝一起从死亡跨越到永生。永生是藉着对上帝的信心而获得的，因为救赎完全是上帝的工作，与个人无关—它纯粹是上帝赐给人类的丰盛恩典。上帝希望每个人都能在祂同在的永恒中度过。这就是祂来恢复人与祂的关系的原因。
约翰福音 1:12 凡接待祂的，就是信祂名的人，祂就赐他们权柄，作神的儿女。
我们所有人都被赋予做选择的自由。虽然我们可以选择接受或拒绝耶稣，但选择耶稣和祂的救赎计划回到上帝身边是明智的，因为我们都是在灵性上匮乏的，没有其他方法可以回到上帝身边。
一旦我们个人决定接受耶稣为我们的主和救主，我们就是神的儿女。上帝已经赐给我们死后的永生，而这永生是在祂的儿子耶稣基督里面。凡生命里有耶稣的，虽然死了，也要继续活着。这是我们得救的确据。
约翰一书 5:11-12 这见证就是神赐给我们永生；这永生也是在他儿子里面。人有了神的儿子就有生命，没有神的儿子就没有生命。
讲章系列：把握时机
Image Source: pixabay.com