The Danger of Ritual in Salvation

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] From our house, obviously we are not live. It might look a little bit different outside for you this morning.
[00:00:05] And we were not able to gather in person, so we wanted to still do something special for you.
[00:00:10] So we've got something great in store for you today. We're going to do a little bit of acoustic worship and a shorter message.
[00:00:16] But first, I want to dive into a couple of announcements.
[00:00:19] First announcement is next Sunday, February 1st, is going to be our baptism service.
[00:00:25] This is a wonderful time of celebration and freedom.
[00:00:27] if you know somebody who's registered for this baptism service please come out and support them if you are thinking about registering and haven't done so yet you have one more week to sign up and
[00:00:37] so if you're ready to take that next step in your relationship with Christ or maybe you're rededicating your life to the Lord this is a wonderful time to do that please register on the app or on the events tab on our website so that we know what size t-shirt to bring for you but come
[00:00:52] on out. It's going to be a really great time. Next Sunday is also a super important Sunday because we are going to be having a family service and we're going to do it a little bit
[00:01:02] different this time. It's going to be family service in that the kids will be staying with us not just for worship, but also for the message. We're doing this because this is the week that
[00:01:12] we're moving into our temporary new you kids space. Super exciting. We're going to be working hard all week to get that ready for you. And so the kids will be staying with us through worship
[00:01:22] and through the message. And afterwards, we'll be having an open house over there. So for our 9 a.m.
[00:01:29] and our 11 a.m. services afterwards, come on over there, pop in, take a look at what it looks like in there. Hopefully we'll have a little bit of it set up for you. Grab a snack, maybe get your kids
[00:01:40] familiarized with the building. We're so excited that God has provided this place for us. I think it's going to work out beautifully. So come on out and see that. Um, that was all one announcement,
[00:01:51] big giant word salad announcement. A second announcement is our women's gathering. So ladies, we are having a women's gathering Friday, February 13th in the sanctuary from six to 8 PM.
[00:02:04] Come on out. We're going to eat together. Um, again, you can register on our app or on the events tab, um, on our website, we're going to be providing a meal. So please let us know if
[00:02:14] going to be coming come on out and make some new friends and lastly our justice project is asking for a few specific donations for the food pantry this week they are asking for peanut butter cereal
[00:02:27] soup pasta and pasta sauce so if you're out at the store this week maybe throw a couple extra items in your cart and you can bring those by the church on thursdays from 10 a.m to 6 p.m or you can bring
[00:02:38] them on sunday mornings there's a box at the backs of the sanctuary where you can drop those off

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:02:42] and with that we're go ahead and dive into our service first foundation of the

[00:18:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:18:20] world glorify you we want to tell you that we love you so so much we thank you

[00:18:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:18:39] God Jesus all as we pray well good morning it's great to have you all join me if you're watching this right now it is because we are experiencing a winter storm and we could not safely all get together to church and so I hate that we
[00:18:59] couldn't all be together, but I'm excited that you're joining me this way from your living room or wherever you are right now. Hope you're all staying safe and warm and hunkered down. And we look forward to getting together again on the other side of this storm.
[00:19:13] And I want to share a few things with us this morning that have come to my mind a handful of times in the past few days, probably because of the winter storm. But I want to talk about
[00:19:24] passage that most of us are familiar with that God told Isaiah this is in Isaiah chapter 1 I'm gonna read verse 18 and God says something to him that is probably a special especially applicable to us right now as we look out the
[00:19:43] window and see what's left of this storm but God said come now and let us reason together says the Lord though your sins are as scarlet they will be as white as snow though they are red like crimson they will be like wool well that's a
[00:20:01] passage that most of us are probably very familiar with and I've been thinking a lot about snow as I'm sure you guys have as well just wondering what this storm would look like and wondering what our weekend would look
[00:20:13] like but i love this passage because here god shows what we used to look like but how we look like now because of what jesus has done and let's talk about that for a few minutes this morning
[00:20:26] so he said though your sins are as scarlet which we know scarlet's a very dark red so he's he's comparing two very different colors though your sins are as scarlet they will be as white as snow
[00:20:41] Now, these winter storms can obviously be very inconvenient, but we know that snow itself is very beautiful.
[00:20:49] And so that is a great reminder of how you and I look because of what God has done, because of what Jesus has done.
[00:20:58] And that was the analogy that God chose to use when He was talking to the prophet Isaiah.
[00:21:04] And He was saying this more than 600 years before Jesus came as a man, But the story of redemption, the story of reconciliation and restoration, God began to write that story from before the foundation of the world.
[00:21:21] And so He knew that we would be born into sin at some point, and our sins would be like that scarlet stain.
[00:21:29] But He knew that His plan, His purpose was to make us as white as snow.
[00:21:36] And so that story is older than this world is.
[00:21:40] And that talks about the reality of what you and I as God's people now look like.
[00:21:47] And so in his conversation with Isaiah, God began by diagnosing the problem that we once had.
[00:21:55] He began to diagnose our condition apart from Him.
[00:21:59] He said, though your sins be as scarlet and though they be like crimson, with those deep, dark, red colors, they're going to be as white as snow or as white as wool.
[00:22:10] And so before you and I received Jesus, that is who we were.
[00:22:16] That is the reality of who we were.
[00:22:18] We were born into sin.
[00:22:20] And the Bible tells us that that sin had separated us from the Lord.
[00:22:26] And so it was a stain like that crimson or that scarlet would be.
[00:22:31] And the Bible also tells us that there was a penalty for our sin.
[00:22:36] Now thankfully, you and I no longer have to pay that because Jesus paid that penalty for us.
[00:22:44] Let's talk about that for a minute.
[00:22:45] I'm going to share a couple of verses.
[00:22:47] These scriptures also are pretty well known, ones that we all probably know.
[00:22:52] But they kind of outline for us what we're talking about.
[00:22:55] The first one is in Romans 3, verse 23.
[00:23:00] And it says that we all have sinned and fall short of God's glory.
[00:23:06] So that, again, is the condition that we were in before Jesus.
[00:23:12] That was the condition that we were in when our sins were still as scarlet.
[00:23:18] That crimson stain was still there.
[00:23:21] And then it says in Romans 6, verse 23, it talks about that penalty.
[00:23:27] So we know from Romans 3 that all of us have sinned.
[00:23:31] That's true of every person.
[00:23:32] We all have sinned and we fall short of the glory of God, but it says in Romans 6, verse 23, it starts by saying the wages of sin is death, but, wonderful three letters, it says,
[00:23:49] but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[00:23:55] So there we can see our condition before Jesus.
[00:23:59] We can see what the penalty for that condition is, but also we see that that's not where we have to stay.
[00:24:06] Thankfully, our loving Father sent Jesus who took that penalty, paid that penalty for us, so now you and I can receive that free gift of salvation, that free gift of eternal life.
[00:24:21] We all had sinned, but now we all can receive that free gift.
[00:24:26] So we had death coming.
[00:24:27] We deserve death because of those crimson and scarlet sins.
[00:24:33] And that penalty had to be paid.
[00:24:36] But thankfully, the good news of the gospel is Jesus paid that penalty on our behalf.
[00:24:43] It says in Colossians chapter 2. Let me read this to us as well.
[00:24:47] This verse may not be quite as well known as the others that we've read together so far this morning.
[00:24:52] Let me read these. These are wonderful words that talk about now the reality that can be for us and for us as God's people.
[00:25:02] This is our reality.
[00:25:03] So we know that at one time we were born into sin.
[00:25:07] That sin had separated us from the Lord.
[00:25:09] That sin came with a penalty that nobody was exempt from.
[00:25:14] But thankfully, Jesus has paid that penalty.
[00:25:17] And so it says here in Colossians 2, I'm going to read verses 13 and 14.
[00:25:23] It says, When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him.
[00:25:34] So God made us alive together with Jesus, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us, And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
[00:25:55] So that right there talks about now the reality of our current condition.
[00:26:00] No longer do we have sins that are as scarlet and crimson, but now our sins have been forgiven.
[00:26:07] And we are now living in the reality of what God told Isaiah 2,600 years ago that even though that's where we were, now we've been made as white as snow.
[00:26:18] We've been made just as white as wool.
[00:26:21] So our debt that we legitimately owed, our debt has been paid.
[00:26:27] And the Lord has forgiven us of our sins and our transgressions.
[00:26:31] It says that He has nailed them to the cross.
[00:26:35] So when Jesus was nailed to the cross, our sins, our shortcomings were all nailed to the cross as well.
[00:26:43] Those sins that had that crimson stain were nailed there right along with Jesus.
[00:26:49] But now it says also, He's made us alive together with Him.
[00:26:54] So we know that Jesus did die on that cross.
[00:26:57] He was put in a grave, but then He came out of that grave.
[00:27:00] He was resurrected, and when He was resurrected, so were we.
[00:27:05] So we were crucified with Jesus, the Bible says.
[00:27:09] Our sins were nailed to that cross with Him.
[00:27:12] We know that Jesus died for us. We also know that Jesus died as us.
[00:27:18] So by Him taking the blame for what we did, paying the penalty that you and I owed, paying the debt, the Bible says, that you and I owed, now we get to be risen with Him.
[00:27:31] We get the credit for what He did. We've now been raised with Jesus.
[00:27:36] And so God went on in that conversation with Isaiah to say, this is where you're starting at. Your sins are like scarlet and crimson.
[00:27:44] But then He talks about the reality that we can now experience.
[00:27:48] He says, that sin that was once as scarlet is gone.
[00:27:53] And now the reality is that you and I are no longer defined by that.
[00:27:58] But you and I are now as white as snow. We are as white as wool.
[00:28:04] That is now the reality that you and I as God's people experience.
[00:28:08] We don't always feel that way, but that's the truth of who we are according to the gospel.
[00:28:17] That is who the Father says that you and I are.
[00:28:20] So the good news of the gospel is that you and I were once separated from Him, but now we are together with Him.
[00:28:28] That once you and I had a debt to pay, but now that debt has been paid in full.
[00:28:34] We were once marked by the crimson stain of our sin, but now we've been washed clean by the precious blood of Jesus.
[00:28:42] And our sin, our transgressions, have been forgiven.
[00:28:47] Another verse that we talk about together pretty often is 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, that talks about this very same thing.
[00:28:56] It says that if anybody is in Jesus, they are a new creation.
[00:29:01] Old things have passed away.
[00:29:02] Those old red crimson sins have passed away, and now all things have become new." Well, now the reality that you and I experience is learning to live in these new things.
[00:29:15] Those old things have passed away.
[00:29:17] Those old things no longer define for us who we are.
[00:29:22] Those things are gone.
[00:29:24] New things have come.
[00:29:26] So never again will you and I be separate from the Lord.
[00:29:31] again will you and I be identified by who we used to be. And never again will we be defined by the sin that we used to know because now we know Him. Now we are in Jesus. We are a new creation.
[00:29:47] All those old things have passed away and all things have now become new. So in closing this morning, before I pray with us, I want to say that is the good news of the gospel. The word gospel
[00:30:01] itself means good news. And so today, as we are in this winter storm, you and I can think about this. We can reflect on this. We can look outside and see what's left of the storm and be reminded
[00:30:14] that regardless of anything we ever did in the past, regardless of the sin that we were born into, the sinful nature we were born with, those sins no longer define you and me. There is now
[00:30:28] condemnation for those of us who are in Jesus now he looks at us he sees you and me through the lens of his blood he sees his children who've been washed as white as snow that is the reality that you and I now are that's who we now are and that
[00:30:47] is the good news of the gospel so we can celebrate that we are no longer who we used to be. We can celebrate that the Father made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin
[00:31:00] so that you and I could now become righteous. We celebrate that. But now before I finish, let me ask this question. You may say, well, what if I've never received Him? What if I've never come to know Jesus, never had my sins forgiven? If that's the case, if you're watching
[00:31:19] this today, and that's true of you, you can receive Him today. When I've said that if anybody is in Jesus, they are a new creation, you can become that new creation today. You can be transferred from where you are to being positioned in Him. You can go from having
[00:31:39] that sinful nature and those transgressions, those sins that have that crimson stain, to being washed by His precious blood and being made as white as snow.
[00:31:51] And so if you want to receive Him, you can do that today.
[00:31:55] So I'm going to lead us in a prayer as we close.
[00:31:57] A prayer, one, to receive Jesus if you never have and would like to.
[00:32:02] And also a prayer to celebrate Him and to celebrate what He has done for us.
[00:32:07] So let's pray together.
[00:32:10] Lord Jesus, we thank You for this day.
[00:32:13] We thank You for this time.
[00:32:15] This is the day that You have made.
[00:32:17] And I thank you that even though we aren't together in the same room this morning, that we are together because there's no time and no distance in the Spirit.
[00:32:27] And you are with all of us.
[00:32:29] You're in every living room.
[00:32:31] You're in every place where anybody is watching this and hearing the sound of my voice this morning.
[00:32:37] And Jesus, we want to thank you for what you have done.
[00:32:40] We thank You as we are just reminded even by this winter storm of how beautiful snow can be.
[00:32:48] That is now the way You see us.
[00:32:51] And so I want to start today, Jesus, by praying along with anybody that's never received You.
[00:32:58] The Bible tells us that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
[00:33:05] And so right now if you're watching this and you're hearing these words And if you felt the conviction of the Lord in your own heart, if you've heard His voice speaking to your heart and saying,
[00:33:17] you've never received me, you've never had your sins forgiven, call upon His name right now.
[00:33:26] The Scripture says, whosoever calls upon Him will be saved.
[00:33:30] And so say, Jesus, I call upon You.
[00:33:34] I acknowledge that apart from You, I am a sinner.
[00:33:38] I am a sinner whose sin has separated me from you, and there's nothing that I can do to fix that.
[00:33:46] My sin has brought with it a penalty, a debt that I could never pay.
[00:33:52] But I thank you, Jesus, that you are the Savior who has paid that penalty for me, who has paid that debt for me.
[00:34:02] Jesus, I believe that you're God's Son.
[00:34:05] I believe you came to this earth for that reason.
[00:34:07] to reunite me to a relationship with Your Father, to reconcile me to Him, to restore and redeem me.
[00:34:17] So I pray right now that You'd forgive me of my sins, wash me clean, that I can be as white as snow.
[00:34:25] And I thank You for doing this.
[00:34:27] I receive You as my Savior, and I make You my Lord in Jesus' name.
[00:34:35] And Jesus, I believe right now, as Your Word tells us, if anybody has prayed that, then they truly are a new creation.
[00:34:43] They truly are transferred right now from where they used to be into the kingdom of light, the Bible says, into the kingdom of Jesus.
[00:34:53] No longer are we defined by the sin we were born into, but now we are defined by Your precious blood that has washed us clean, that has made us as white as snow.
[00:35:04] And so we celebrate that today.
[00:35:05] We thank you for your goodness, your love for us.
[00:35:09] The fact that you didn't leave us the way we used to be, but that you came to save us.
[00:35:16] And we thank you for that.
[00:35:17] We celebrate that today.
[00:35:18] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:35:22] Well, once again, it was great to see you guys today.
[00:35:24] So glad to have you with me.
[00:35:26] I look forward to seeing you again in person on the other side of this storm, hopefully next weekend.
[00:35:31] So in the meantime, you guys stay safe, stay warm, Stay hunkered down, and we will see you hopefully next weekend.
[00:35:38] Have a great week.