Galatians Part 2

Good morning church, good morning church houses, Tipton, let's stand to our feet, we've got a reason to sing this morning, a reason to celebrate because God is good, he's faithful, let's sing them all when he's not together this morning. I'm hungry till you knew the bread of life, tired and weary till he led you by still water, oh if you've got breath left inside, you've got to sing of what the Lord has done We sing of what the Lord has done, if you know what it feels like to be dead and now alive, you've got to sing, oh you've got to sing of what the Lord has done We lift our song to heaven today We sing of what the Lord has done, if you know what it feels like to be dead and now alive, you've got to sing, oh you've got to sing of what the Lord has done Lift up your hands, all who are free, say so, say so, all the lady, and lift up a shout, and let the earth ring, say so, oh lift up your hands Lift up your hands, all who are free, say so, say so, oh lift up a shout, and let the earth ring, say so, come on testify today, oh and come tell the story of all that you've seen Say so, say so, all the redeemed, oh come and declare, all who believe, say so, say so, all the redeemed, oh say so, say so, say so, say so, say so, all the redeemed You've got to sing of what the Lord has done, come on we sing of what the Lord has done, if you know what it feels like to be dead and now alive, you've got to sing, oh you've got to sing, oh you've got to sing of what the Lord has done Oh say, of what the Lord has done, if you know what it feels like to be dead and now alive, you've got to sing, oh you've got to sing of what the Lord has done Oh say, of what the Lord has done, if you know what it feels like to be dead and now alive, you've got to sing, oh you've got to sing, oh you've got to sing of what the Lord has done Oh say, of what the Lord has done, if you know what it feels like to be dead and now alive, you've got to sing, oh you've got to sing, oh you've got to sing of what the Lord has done Come on, you sing it ♪ He paid it all, all to Him I owe ♪ ♪ Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ Oh yes He did, He washed my sin away ♪ ♪ Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus ♪ Come on, let's sing this together. ♪ Lord, I indeed have come, my power and I alone ♪ ♪ Can't change the leavened spots and the hearts of men ♪ ♪ Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe ♪ ♪ Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ Oh He washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ Thank you Jesus for your blood, thank you Jesus ♪ Come on, picture this with me. ♪ And there before the throne, I stand in the name of Him ♪ ♪ Jesus died, my soul to save, my lips shall speak His name ♪ Come on, let's declare it together, come on. ♪ Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe ♪ ♪ All to Him I owe ♪

♪ Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ He washed it white as snow, He washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ He washed it white as snow, He washed it white as snow ♪ ♪ Yes He did, oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh we praise, we praise Jesus, oh we praise Him Lord ♪ ♪ Oh we praise Him Lord, praise the one who paid my debt ♪ ♪ And raised this life up from the dead ♪ ♪ Oh He washed my sin away, washed my sin away ♪ ♪ Oh He washed my sin away, washed my sin away ♪ ♪ What can wash away my sin ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ What can make me whole again ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ And all precious is the flow that makes me whiter still ♪ ♪ Oh no other fount I know, no other fount I know ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus, oh precious is the flow that makes me whiter still ♪ flow. That makes me white as snow. I've found, I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. I hope that's your testimony this morning. Nothing but his blood could buy our forgiveness, our redemption, our right standing with God. It's only because of what Jesus has done. He paid our debt, he set us free. We testify of that this morning.

We've changed everything. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood, amen, it could have only been the blood. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood, it could have only been the blood. Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Jesus. And I cannot explain, nothing's more real than this, in the presence of God. And when my heart experienced, and when my shame hit the wayside, when my sin met the most high, I was washed from the inside in, I was washed from the inside out. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood, it could have only been, oh, my hope. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood, it could have only been the blood. It could have only been the blood. My hope, my peace, my righteousness, he's in me, Jesus, you and you alone. And it's never been about performance, perfection, or striving for acceptance. Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Thank you. It's never been about deserving or earning. It's a gift, it's freely given. Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Oh, does anybody want to be holy and righteous, purified and spotless? Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Does anybody want to be worthy, forgiving, justified, really living? Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood, it could have only been the blood. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood, it could have only been the blood. We thank you, we thank you. ♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ Could have only been the blood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood ♪

Come on, we sing it again. With awe and wonder to the king this morning. We sing it. ♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ It could have only been your blood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ It could have only been your blood ♪ I grew up Mormon. Your worthiness and God's love is attached to the things you do and the things you accomplish. October of 2025, my friend Lacey, who goes to Abundant Life, had been spending the summer at our house. And Lacey, when she walks in the room, lights up the room. Her spirit, her heart, just everything about her lights up the room. I thought, maybe if I go to church with her, I can meet people my age and I can make some friends. I asked her if I could go to church, and then I looked at her dead in the eyes and said, but if they're going to make me say Jesus died for me, I don't wanna go. I don't believe in Jesus. God isn't real. I just wanna meet people. That first Sunday, I came and I cried from the first song to the last prayer.

I couldn't figure out what was going on. The next Sunday, Chad was preaching and he drew this picture of a cliff with us on one side and God on the other, in just such a simple way explained that it's not our good works that get us to God. It's not religion that gets us to God. And then he drew the cross in the center. And when they did an altar call, I looked at Lacey and I said, I need to go down. Lacey, Jesus died for me. I have to go down there. Because now what? I didn't know how to pray, but the words came. I apologized for my anger. I apologized for not believing and for distancing myself. My heart was so hard. And in that moment, when I accepted Christ into my life, that tornado went away. I started this journey in October of 25. I want to share what I've learned through evangelism. I want to grow in learning God's word so that I can share God's love. Because for me, the A Life is knowing that God loves all of us. I was baptized in January and my family came to my baptism. Your giving and generosity

allowed the Johnson County campus to open. And without that campus being here near my home, less than five minutes drive, I would have never found Christ. I would still be here with a hard heart and angry. There are people out there who have that one that they're praying for and their heart is hard like mine, but it works and he works. Because Lacey kept praying and met me where I was, it's multiplied to an entire family. To God be the glory, thank you, Jesus. Man, I watched Monette's story, that video, and I thought to myself, this is making it all worth it. This is why we do it. Makes it worth it. This is why we live. This is to what we give. I want to say thank you for giving so generously. And Monette's story is just one of many, many, many stories that's gonna be told for days and days and years to come. Here's the rest of that story. So, Monette's house, Here's the rest of that story. So, Monette's husband actually, just about two weeks ago, made assurance of his salvation. He's getting baptized in May. You guys, I'm telling you, one changed life always changes many other lives. You cannot begin to fathom the ripple effect,

the power of the gospel. That's what the book of Galatians is all about. Open your Bible, once again, the book of Galatians in the New Testament. We're doing a verse-by-verse study through the book of Galatians. It's all about the gospel. What is the gospel? Getting gospel clarity. And so, I just want to remind you, as we started the study a week ago, the Apostle Paul, one of the first early Christian missionaries, was taking the gospel to this area of the world, right here, about 45 A.D. This is today, modern-day Turkey. At the time, it was known as Asia Minor. And Galatia was this region right here, in the middle of Asia Minor. And he went there, and just like Lacy found Monette, she found her one. That's what Paul was doing in the early days. And what, man, I love Monette's story, because it all began with Lacy, this young lady in Johnson County, who, as we like to say in Abundant Life, was living proof of a loving God to a watching world. And one of the people that was watching was this young lady named Monette. And because Lacy was living proof of a loving God,

she goes, okay, man, I'll give church a chance, I'll give church a try. I don't wanna know that Jesus stuff, but hey, I don't want you to notice what happened. She encountered the living Christ. And Monette's life is different, it's changed. And that's always what happens. And that's always been how the gospel advances, the kingdom advances, one laugh at a time, one life impacting another life. Paul was doing that 2,000 years ago, just like we're doing today, multiplying new gatherings and new places to reach new people far from God. He's in this region of Galatia doing that very thing. He finds somebody like Monette, leads her to Christ, and somebody else then leads them to Christ. And all of a sudden, there's this little gathering of new disciples of Jesus. He's planting churches there. Now he's left after a couple of years. He's on what missionaries call furlough. He's gone back to his home church of Antioch, Syria. And he gets word that something has happened that really is alarming to him. And that's why he's now writing this letter to these churches. And incidentally, on his next missionary journey and his third missionary journey, he'd evangelize this area right here,

Ephesus, one of the leading cities of the ancient world. And from Ephesus, he would actually plant several other churches in the area that would get personal letters from Jesus, Revelation 2 and 3 will actually be going next year. I want you to know about this trip to Turkey as we study on location at the seven cities of these ancient churches that Jesus writes a letter to personally. So we're gonna be following the footsteps of the Apostle Paul around Asia Minor. I'm gonna be teaching on location. If y'all know more, just scan the QR code. The link is live. And it's gonna be amazing pilgrimage to the early stronghold of the church, Asia Minor. So much to learn, so much to see. Now we're gonna pick it up where we left off a week ago. Verse 11, Galatians 1 says this. "'But I make known to you, brethren, "'that the gospel which was preached by me "'is not according to man. "'For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, "'but came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.'" So Paul's reminding these early churches that listen, the gospel I shared with you, it was not man-made. I didn't make it up. I got it from Jesus. I didn't get it from another man. I got it from Jesus.

And I want you to know, this is why he's now writing, because he received word that after he's left, false teachers has come behind Paul. They were called Judaizers, and what they were teaching is that you're saved by grace through faith in Jesus, but now there's something you've gotta do too. And what we saw last week is anytime you add one thing to what Jesus has done for you, it's no longer the gospel. They're bringing these new Christians from the covenant of grace, the New Testament, back in the Old Testament, the covenant of the law. You gotta keep a list of things to do to get into heaven. And I'm telling you, Paul is so alarmed, he immediately picks up a pen and starts to write them a letter. He is so overcome with urgency to bring some gospel clarity. What is our hope from heaven? He says, guys, listen, the message I gave you was not man-made. I did not make it up. And false teachers are now perverting the gospel by adding man-made conditions to salvation. They're actually teaching in Galatia that to go to heaven, to be a Christian, yes, is what Jesus did for you, but now you gotta go through the Hebrew rite of circumcision is Jesus plus circumcision is what gets you into heaven. Now listen, as far as I know, nobody today is claiming circumcision is a condition of your salvation.

Everybody go, phew, yeah. But think about this. Satan is a counterfeiter of all that God is, he's a counterfeiter of worship, he's a counterfeiter of the gospel. Remember our two-year A Life Disruptive Journey comes from John 10 in verse 10. Jesus said, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I've come to give you life. You're gonna have it more abundantly. And one of the ways Satan has stolen so much from so many is the distortion of religion to distort the good news of the gospel. No, it's no longer faith plus circumcision. Nobody's saying that, but now it's faith plus you gotta be baptized, plus you gotta go through communion, plus you gotta go through catechism, and well, it's faith plus, man, you gotta speak in tongues as a sign of salvation, or, you know. So where I came from, it was faith plus, man, sincerity. If you sincerely believe, then you're saved. But then, of course, everybody walks around going, how'd I know if I was sincere enough? I mean, was I sincere? I don't know, was I sincere enough? I mean, this kind of, I hope I was sincere enough. Man, I need to do that again. You know, and then a year later, it's like, man, I'm not sure, was I sincere?

Hey, Ephesians 2, eight and nine, for by grace you are saved through, yeah. It doesn't say, for by grace you are saved through sincerity. Romans five and verse one, therefore have I been justified by faith. We have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. It does not say, oh, you are justified by circumcision. Oh, for you are justified by baptism. You are justified by communion. You are justified if you speak in tongues. I'm telling you, these are what people are taught now. So I want you to notice while we're doing this series, we need gospel clarity. What is the gospel? The gospel is simply this, that we're saved by the grace of God by putting our faith in the Son of God, period. Or might I say, explanation point. That's it, that 2,000 years ago, the sinless Son of God died for our sin. Three days later, he rose again. By faith in him, you can be forgiven of your sin. That's the condition of salvation. Jesus plus nothing equals everything. Ephesians 289, for by grace you're saved through faith that not of yourself, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Titus 3-5 puts it this way, not by works of righteousness we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us

through the washing of the regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior. So what are you putting your hope in to get into heaven? Hey, for a lot of us, we were taught, well, go to church and be a good person. Hopefully that's enough. Listen, going to church does not make you a Christian any more than going to Pizza Hut makes you a pizza. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a donut shop makes you a donut. And I should know, man, if that were possible, I'd be a donut. I've never seen one I didn't like. Hey, going to church no more makes you a Christian than going into a mechanic shop makes you a mechanic. And I should know, because if it was up to me, we'd still be riding horses and buggies. I mean, honestly. I'm trying to tell you, a lot of people think, well, going to heaven, okay, you gotta have Jesus, gotta have that, but now there's a list of things I've gotta do too. And I'm trying to tell you, the moment you add a list to what Jesus has done for you, it is no longer the gospel. It's not by works of righteousness we have done, but by his mercy, he has saved us. And so what is it then that we point to

as assurance of our salvation? If you can't point to a list of things that you do, I mean, there's not a list of boxes you gotta check to go to heaven, then what is it? Listen very carefully. How do you know that you really have salvation, that you really have been forgiven? Listen very carefully. The evidence of our salvation is our personal transformation. Second Corinthians 517, it says this. If anyone be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And basically what that means is the same Jesus that saves you is the same Jesus that changes you. If Jesus hasn't changed you, it's possible he has not saved you. Second Corinthians 517, if anyone be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Basically what that means is if you still are what you were, you probably ain't. That's the evidence of salvation. It says this in Titus 3, five. We just saw the verse, but let's double down on this. Look at what it says. It's not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saves us

through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Now, this is where this term comes from. We have this ministry called Regen, part of our Two-Year Disruptive Journey. Hundreds of you going through Regen, one of the number one things that we do. It comes from this verse right here. What is regeneration? It's what Jesus called twice in John 3, the new birth. Marvel not, I say unto you, you must be born again. Something happened. When you put your faith in him, you receive not only the Son of God, you receive the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God came to live inside of you. Romans 8, nine says, he that has not the Spirit of Christ is none of his. If you didn't receive the Spirit, you didn't receive the Son. The moment the Spirit of God comes to live inside of you. This is what happened You may not have felt different You may not have felt a thing but something happened in the invisible realm that you could not fully explain something called Regeneration the new birth you see with your first birth. You had one nature. It was a fallen sinful nature You didn't simply become a sinner the first time you sinned No, you sinned because you were born a sinner It's our nature to sin as humans Born in Adam's fallen condition but something happened through this new birth the spiritual bird not physical birth if 2nd Peter 1 and verse 4 you got a divine

nature within you now a holy Nature lives in you now the Holy Spirit lives in you regeneration inwardly has changed you and And What happens with that regeneration that new birth that new creation? You get a new start you are renewed as a person. You're not who you were Any longer now listen you are instantly forgiven of your sin You are gradually sometimes redeemed from the power of your sin What I mean by that is we all still struggle with temptation We all still at times will sin that's part of what the Bible calls sanctification It's the process of growing into Christ likeness You instantly became a new creation But that inward change and transformation sometimes is a gradual process on the outside Your inward identity eventually defines your outward activity. You're not who you were But I'm just trying to tell you sometimes that growth is is gradual It's subtle like don't think man. Maybe I didn't get born again because man. I still struggle with sin of course you do That's part of the process of growing But I'm trying to tell you the same Jesus that saved you will change you if you can't see how he's changed you He hasn't really saved you. It's impossible to meet the resurrected Christ and stay the same It's impossible. I Have a set of railroad tracks Right by my house. I cross Railroad tracks at least twice a day have for many many years every time I drive here and every time I drive home a Church, I have something to share with you. It was life-changing today as I was coming to church. I got hit by a train Yeah, I was crossing the railroad tracks and a freight train coming about 60 miles an hour plowed into my truck Do you believe me you shouldn't Because if in fact I got intersected by a freight chain my life would not be the same My life would have permanently changed you get what I'm saying It's impossible to hit a freight train head-on and your life not change

You'd be like Phil you're not telling the truth. Are you sure you really got hit by a train? I'm trying to tell you it is impossible for your life to intersect the resurrected Son of God and not change You can't stay the same You should have a before-and-after pick and what Paul's about to do here He's going to share his own story with the Galatians now. They know him personally They already know this about him, but he's going to rehearse his story with them Why because he wants to appeal to how God has changed him and basically what he's about to say is this if you don't believe me Look at how Jesus changed me as I say all the time people can argue what we say, but they can't argue With what they see Hey, there was something in Lacey's life that Monette could not argue with Man, I don't believe in Jesus. I'll go to church with you, but I'm not gonna say Jesus died for me I don't believe any of that but something about Lacey's life Compelled her she was living proof of a loving God and this is what Paul's gonna do He's gonna say look, you know, you don't have to believe me for what I'm saying, but believe me for what you're seeing My life has changed. It's not the same and You should have a before-and-after pick if indeed you're a child of God You've been born again by faith in him. Your life should be different only you can know But think about that for a moment Miss the age of before-and-after pics, you know scrolling through Facebook all these ads for let's say weight loss programs You got a before pic and an after pic Now imagine if the before pics look just like the after pic and the after pic looked like before there's like no difference You'd be like man. I'm not going through that weight loss program. It doesn't work. There's no evidence or You know, this is the age of you know, scrolling through Facebook. Did you know this is the age of eye creams? And every time I turn around somebody's selling eye cream get rid of those crows feet. You don't have to tolerate aging. This stuff is a miracle ointment. Just try it on your eyes. There's the before pic and the after pic. Now imagine if the after pic just looked like the before pic. You'd be like, man, I'm not buying what you're selling. Understand as a child of God, you should have a before pic and an after pic. You should have a before Christ and an after Christ. I mean, you heard Monette's story. She shared before Christ and after Christ. Before Christ, she was angry. She said, I had a hard heart. She was bitter.

But you could see it in the after pic. She's no longer angry, no longer bitter. God has softened her heart. And I'm trying to tell you, that is the evidence of regeneration. That's the evidence of the new birth. In some way, you should have a before pic, before Christ, and an after pic, after Christ. Paul's going to share that story right now. Verse 13, for you have heard of my former conduct, the before pic, in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace to reveal his son in me that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood. Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and remained with him 15 days. But after I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother, you know why? He came to Jerusalem. Nobody wanted anything to do with him. They remembered the before pic. They're like, this is Saul the Pharisee. I mean, this is the one that tried to kill us. This is the one that wanted to imprison us. Man, I'm not having nothing to do with him. They're not yet convinced. He's really a Christian. I want you to see what Paul says not concerning the things which I write to you. Indeed, before God, I do not lie. Afterward, I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was unknown by faith to the churches of Judea, which were in Christ. But they were hearing only he who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy. Paul will say, if you don't believe what I'm saying, believe me for what you see. My life has changed. I used to kill Christians. And to me, this is the evidence of the resurrection. On Easter weekend, I preached the life of Peter. Peter ran for his life. He saw Jesus die. He saw him crucified. But he eventually would give his life, having been a man that ran for his life. And there's only one thing that could have changed him, what he saw with his eyes. He saw Jesus die, but then he saw him alive. And the apostle Paul was once a Pharisee named Saul. If you know the history of Saul, he killed Christians. He persecuted the church. He presided over the first Christian martyr Stephen at his stoning. He was on the road to Damascus. He was going up there to imprison Christians, arrest them, and kill them. But then Jesus intersected his life.

And the very same man that once killed Christians himself one day will be killed as a Christian. There's no way one can explain that except what he saw with his own eyes. He saw Jesus alive, and he was forever changed. And I want you to notice it says, they glorified God in me. The early church, man, this was Saul that tried to kill us, but now he's one of us. He's changed. He has a before and after pic. And I'm telling you, this is how you know you're a Christian. You can know that you're going to heaven. Most people walk around never knowing for sure. How do you know for sure I'm going to heaven? Well, how do I know I've done enough? Or, you know, people walk around not certain I go into heaven, not certain really that I'm a Christian. I'm trying to tell you that is not the A life. That is not the abundant life. Well, I hope I go to heaven. I wish I'm going to heaven. Not sure I'm going to heaven. No, listen, 1 John 5, 12, it says, he that has the son has life. He that has not the son has not life. God's not trying to confuse you. It's religion that makes complexity out of simplicity. The gospel is simple, but it's religion that makes it hard. He that has the son has life. He that has not the son has not life. 1 John 5, 13, these things I've written that you may know that you have eternal life. God does not want you to wonder or wish or hope. or guests, you can know that you have eternal life. But if there's not a list of things that you can point to, that you do, if there's not a list of things, you know, check the box to get you into heaven, then how do you know? Listen, there's only two things that would have to happen if you put your faith in Jesus to lose your salvation and not go to heaven. Only two things could happen. Either Jesus sins or Jesus dies. As long as Jesus doesn't sin or Jesus doesn't die, if you put your faith in him, you're going to heaven. He that has the son has life.

He that has not the son has not life. That's it. Now, if Jesus sins, we're all in trouble because there's no such thing as a sinful savior. The reason he can be our savior is he was sinless. He died for our sin. And if Jesus dies again and doesn't resurrect, we're all in trouble. The reason he can be our savior is he rose from the dead. He broke the curse of sin for all men and all women. You see, not by works of righteousness we have done and our works cannot undo his work. As a child of God, you are going to heaven if you put your faith in him. But listen carefully. In James chapter two, James says, there's two different kinds of faith. There is a saving faith and there is a dead faith. In fact, James two says, even the demons believe and tremble. James is teaching here, there is a dead faith that does not save you and there is a saving faith that will change you. And Paul is teaching us here that where there is saving faith, there's always a changed life that follows. Somebody emailed me last week, said, Pastor Phil, if we're only saved by faith, where does repentance come in? I thought repentance was a part of salvation. That's a great question.

Romans five and verse one, therefore having justified by repentance, we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of you think I'm actually quoting that scripture. Let me rewind here. Romans five and verse one, therefore having justified by faith, we have peace with God. I can tell this is the advanced class. Yes, good, good. Ephesians two, eight, nine, for by grace you have been saved through repentance. Faith, but watch this. Repentance is not the reason for your salvation, but it's always the result of your salvation. See, where there is saving faith, there's always repentance of sin. And where there is no repentance of sin, there was never saving faith. There was a different kind of faith, a dead faith. And this is why the apostle Paul would write these words in 2 Corinthians 13, five, examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourself. And so today we're gonna take, let's say, heaven's entrance exam. I want you to test yourself whether you be in the faith. A time of self-examination, a little introspection. We're gonna take the test that Paul's talking about, the evidence of salvation.

Now, you're gonna be tempted somewhere along the way to say, man, I wish so-and-so was here for this sermon. Man, they needed this. All right, don't do that, because I'm telling you the Holy Spirit has who he wants here for this, okay? It could be you need this. Hey, the church, not just our church, the church, is full of people with a dead faith, not a saving faith, and that's why their life hasn't changed. The church, not just our church, the church, is full of people that profess Christ. They don't actually possess Christ. They've been baptized, but never born again. They say they are a Christian, but they've never become a new creation. So I want you to take the test seriously. Examine yourself, not somebody else. Examine yourself, whether you be in the faith. What is the evidence in your own life that you've really been born again? Here's the test, there's five questions. Yes, you get a pop quiz when you came to church today. Didn't tell you ahead of time, because you might not have come. All right, here it is. Number one is this, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the resurrected Son of God? It begins there. If you don't believe that, you're not a Christian.

By the way, if you don't believe that, you're not going to heaven. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the resurrected Son of God? No such thing as a dead Savior. If Jesus is still in the grave, we're all still in our sin. Now listen, you gotta have not just the right gospel, you gotta have the right Jesus. Wrong Jesus means wrong gospel. Monette shared her story. She'd been raised a Mormon. Listen, Mormons not only have the wrong gospel, a list of things you gotta do to get into heaven. the nature of Mormonism, they have the wrong Jesus. By definition, a cult, a Christian cult, is a religious system that claims to be Christian while denying the essential truths of Christianity, specifically Christ's deity. So Mormons don't believe that Jesus is God, they believe he is a God. In fact, they believe he's a created spirit brother of Lucifer. The Bible doesn't teach that at all. The Bible teaches Jesus is God the creator. He's the one who made it all. And so my question is this, you must believe that Jesus Christ is fully humanity and fully deity, that he was fully God, yet fully man. Only the death of an innocent man could reverse the curse of sin for all men and all women,

but no man was innocent of sin, so God himself became a man to become our sacrificial lamb. Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, he was fully deity, the one that was from eternity, stepped out of eternity into time, put on flesh as humanity for one reason, so he could bleed and die at Calvary to deliver us from sin's penalty. Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrected son of God, that he was in fact fully humanity, yet fully deity? Essential that you believe that. Number two is this, have you personally trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? See, religion believes about God, but redemption is placing your faith in the son of God. Those are two different things. Listen very carefully, salvation comes from more than believing about Christ, it's from trusting in Christ. Jesus said in John 3, 16 that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will have everlasting life. Jesus did not say whoever believes about him. See, the dead faith of religion is all about God. I can know a lot about him, I know a lot of facts about him, I know a lot of things about him, but that's altogether different than actually trusting in him. Dead faith is academic, it's intellectual. The fact that you know all about it, you can tell me all about the Bible stories

and you can quote the Bible, book, chapter, and verse. Hey, that was the apostle Paul when he was still a Pharisee named Saul. I mean, this is a man that would have memorized the Torah word for word. God's not impressed if you went through confirmation and, well, you memorized 229 Bible verses or you were raised in Awana, you got all the stars and all the jewels on your little vest. No, the question is not how much you know about God or even the word of God. Have you trusted in the son of God? John 1, 12, but as many as received him, to them gave him power to be called a child of God. In the same way, look, I knew all about Christa before she became my wife. I had dated her a long time. Some of you have been dating Jesus a long time. You're not married, but you know a lot about him. Been dating her, I knew a lot about her, I could tell you what she liked, I could tell you what she didn't like, I could tell you her family history, her family of origin, I knew where she came from. Man, I knew all about her, but none of that made her my wife. Something had to happen first, what was it? I had to say, will you marry me? I had to say those words. Listen, I had to ask her.

Let me ask you, have you ever asked Jesus personally to forgive your sin? That's called trusting in him. That's called John 1, 12, receiving him. Has there been a moment in your life that you went from knowing about him to actually personally trusting in him? To know about him is history. To trust in him is salvation personally. And that's what James would mean. Faith without works is dead. Not that your works and your righteous religious works are the reason for your salvation, but they are in fact the reflection of your salvation. Faith, we're saved by faith, but faith, I've tried to tell you, is more than just intellectual agreement. Faith is always active. Faith always is a call to action. Faith always has a next step. Have you placed your faith in Jesus? Have you trusted in him to forgive your sin? Number three, is there evidence in your life that you're a new creation? I mean, when you look at yourself, not anybody else, it's easy to walk around, try to judge everybody else, man, I don't know if they're saved or not. Only God knows about them, but you can know about you. Do you see evidence in your life? Listen, the evidence in my life

that I know for sure I'm saved, I know for sure I'm going to heaven, I have not worried about my salvation in decades. I'll tell you why. Not because I'm a pastor, means nothing when it means going to heaven. Not that I can quote a lot of the Bible, means nothing to get me into heaven. It's not that I've been baptized and I've gone all through communion and I do all the sayings. No, listen, the number one thing is when I look at my life, my before Christ and after Christ, I know that I'm not the same. I know that I've changed. Listen, I'm not what I want to be, I'm probably not what I ought to be, but I know for a fact I'm not what I used to be. He's changed me. You heard Monette, she shared the before and after, like I was hard, I was angry, and now she's not. That's the evidence of a new creation, a regeneration. Let me ask you carefully, listen, do you love the sayings of God more than you love the sayings of the world? Don't tell me you love Jesus if you love the sayings of the world more than you love the sayings of God. I mean, this is an age of, you know, I love Jesus,

I just hate the church, can't stand the church, I'm done with the church. Don't tell me you love Jesus if you can't stand the church. The church is the bride of Christ. Jesus died for the bride, he gave his life for the bride. How offensive it is to the bridegroom, the Lord Jesus, when people talk about the, man, church, I hate the church, can't stand the church. It'd be like saying, Phil, man, I like you a lot, bro, I mean, I'd love to have a relationship with you, but truthfully, I can't stand Christa, I cannot stand your bride, can't stand her. I'm sorry, look, we're a package deal. You don't like my bride, I can't have a relationship with you. Yes, I know, we're one big dysfunctional family, we are. That's the church. The church is full of people, which means it's full of dysfunction. You should come join us, we'll be more dysfunctional. There's room for you. You've been hurt by the church? Yeah, I've been hurt by the church, too, only in my case, I didn't get to leave my last church and come to a new one. Yeah, I'm talking about this one. 26 years of ministry in the same church, you think I don't have some wounds? You've been hurt by church leaders, how about leaders been hurt by church members?

I'm not trying to minimize your pain, I'm just saying. I love the bride, the bride of Christ. He died for the bride. Yes, we're full of dysfunction, but I love what God loves. Don't tell me you love Jesus and not love what God loves. Number four, do you get convicted by the Holy Spirit when you sin and repent? There's a difference between being guilty or being sorry. The Bible talks about worldly sorrow versus godly sorrow. Worldly sorrow, yeah, you feel guilty. You might even cry some crocodile tears, but they don't change a thing. No, godly repentance, godly sorrow leads to change. It is impossible as a child of God to sin and win. You may have a blast, but it will not last. Hebrews 12, there's a promise. Whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son or every daughter he receives, and he that is without chastening is an illegitimate son. Meaning, if you're truly a child of God, your Father in heaven, when you sin, is gonna put it on your backside. And you may backslide, but the promise is eventually you'll slide back up again. If you're really one of his. You may backslide into sin for weeks, months, maybe even years, but eventually, God's gonna chasten your life, he's gonna chasten you, and you're gonna slide back up to him.

Listen, if you can live in sin and never slide back up to him, it's evident you're never born again. How do you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you and habitually live in sin and feel nothing? It's theologically an impossibility. So I'm telling you today, if you are actively, habitually, and willfully living a lifestyle of sin, you need to question your salvation. Now, it's not that you can't sin. Please, please, please. We all still sin. I sin more than I wished I did. We all still struggle with temptation. It's what the Bible calls sanctification, the gradual process of growing into Christ's likeness. But you know the difference. I don't worry about Christians who say, Pastor Phil, I'm struggling with sin. Of course you are. I worry about people who claim to be Christians, and when they sin, there's no struggle. And there's a lot of people in church Sunday mornings. I mean, yeah, you like coming once in a while. You come when you can. But you're openly living a sinful lifestyle, completely antithetical to who you say you are. If you've been born again, you have an inward identity as a child of God, and your true identity will define your outward activity. Number five, do you know with certainty that heaven is your home for eternity? If any part of you today is not certain of your destination, if any part of you today has even a shred of doubt, if you died today, where you would be and what you would see, today all that can change. Because the certainty of your salvation is not built on what you have or have not done for God. It's built solely on what the Son of God has done for you. First John 5.12, he that has the Son has life. He that has not the Son has not life. These things I've written that you may know that you have eternal life, the A-life. The book of Galatians is about the abundant life. Life abundantly is not lived with uncertainty. The A-life is from knowing your home eternally. And you can. Today can be that day. Listen carefully. The next two minutes could be the most important two minutes of your life. I'm serious. We are talking life and death. We're talking your eternal destiny. We're talking the difference between heaven and hell. If you've taken

the test, the examination, and you still don't know with absolute certainty where you'd be if you died today, you have a chance today to receive Jesus by faith. Forty-three people a week ago prayed a simple prayer of faith, passed from death to life. Monette, a few months ago, prayed a simple prayer of faith, passed from death to life. Today is your day. At every single campus across our city, every church house right now, across the world, right here in Lee's Summit, I'm going to ask you to bow with me. With every head bowed, every eye closed. I'm going to lead you in a simple prayer of faith that God will hear. It's not the words that save you. It's not the prayer that saves you. It's your faith that saves you. The faith must be exercised. That's how Jesus is received. So I want to invite you to pray right where you are right now, wherever you are in the world, right where you sit. God will hear your prayer. He'll forgive your sin. He'll give you that regeneration, that renewing, the new birth, born again. Pray this with me. Jesus, say, Jesus, I know that I've sinned, that I cannot get to heaven apart from you, that there's nothing I can do, no list I will ever keep to earn my way into heaven. But Jesus, I believe you died for my sin, and that you rose again, that you're alive today. Today I ask you to forgive my sin. By faith, I receive you as my Savior and my King. In Jesus' name, amen. Church, would you give him the glory today? Praise him, would you? I'm going to ask our response team, would you all come right now? These men and women are here every week, in between services, to pray with you. Some of you ought to come this way. You have questions still about what it means to be a Christian, or how you can be certain your home is in heaven. That's why they're here. They love you, they care about you. I hope you have a super blessed Sunday. I love you all very much.