Volume. XXXIX, No. 49
Sunday, 08 June 2025
This [God blots out our bad record] is the only solution to your greatest problem, [which is sin].
1. Solving the Problem
Now, what does all this mean for you? Note first that it does not mean that you should resolve to change your life so that your record will not get worse. No! That is not the gospel message. Even if you could straighten out your life and never get another blot on your record in heaven, like a mountain towering over you, your bad record would still cast its ominous shadow over you because of your past years of sin. Not adding more sin to the mountain of sin which you have already piled up would not keep you from sinking into hell. “Straighten up and live right” is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Moreover, the gospel message is not, “Decide you are going to live for Jesus and begin to follow him.” With a bad heart, you will never want to or be able to. That is the problem. Your bad heart is set on pleasing yourself, and not Jesus. You cannot follow Jesus like you are. You must be converted. You must be changed within. You must have a new heart! Furthermore, the message of the gospel is not, “Just believe some facts about Jesus (that Jesus died on the cross for sinners, etc.) and then say a prayer and believe that all is well.” No! That is not the summons of the gospel either.
The gospel message is, “Come to Jesus.” He is the mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 12:2-4). It is in coming to Him that the blessings of the new covenant are received. Call upon Christ to save you.
Acknowledge that you have rebelled against Him, that you have broken God’s Law countless times, and that you are as bad as the Scripture says you are: a hell-deserving sinner. Cast yourself upon Jesus Christ and His mercy. Plead the benefits of the new covenant promised to all that call upon Him in truth. Ask Him to clear your record and change your heart.
Christ said, “Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). If you are laboring under the load of your bad record, and laden with the hopelessness of your bad heart, go to Christ to solve your problem and give you rest. Christ alone can apply the benefits of the new covenant. He is its mediator. The gospel message is not, “Come to an altar.” It is not, “Come to an inquiry room.” It is not, “Come to a minister.” These are physical acts. The gospel message is, “Come to Christ alone, through faith.” This is a spiritual act. Call upon Christ to forgive your sins and grant you a new heart.
It is important to remember that when God saves a sinner, God confers both of the primary blessings of the new covenant. Beware of thinking that your record has been blotted out, if you do not delight in God’s Law and endeavor to keep it. This cannot be! God never confers one blessing without the other. He never blots out a sinner’s bad record without also changing the sinner’s heart. It is a soul-damning heresy to believe that you are saved from a bad record and are going to heaven, while you continue to live with an unchanged heart, and in disobedience to and disregard for God’s will in your life. If God has not given you a hatred for sin (all sin, not just some sins), and a determination to forsake all your sin, you are deceived, and you still have a bad heart. Call upon the Lord to forgive your foolish presumption and to change your heart.
Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant, is the only solution to your greatest problem. Has God dealt with this problem in your life? Has God assured you that your sins are blotted out and that your bad record has been cleared by the substitutionary atoning sacrifice of Christ? Does your life demonstrate that God has given you a new heart? If not, seek Christ today. Cry unto Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant. Plead for His mercy. No one ever perished for lack of mercy at the feet of Jesus. There is mercy there as broad as your sin, but remember: it is only at His feet and nowhere else.
The Romans Road to Salvation
The path for sinners to be rid of their bad record and bad heart is like a road. At the end of this road is heaven, and the only one who can navigate this road for us is none other than Jesus Christ. One way of portraying this salvation plan is known as the Romans Road. In the Romans Road, we learn that:
1. Sin is a universal problem.
• Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
• Romans 3:10 – As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.
2. The consequence of sin is death.
• Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
3. Yet God, in His mercy, sent His Son to receive this punishment on our behalf.
• Romans 5:8 – But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
4. Deliverance from our sin requires that we believe and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
• Romans 10:9 – That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
5. Jesus Christ takes our sin and guilt away, and in exchange gives us his righteousness. This allows us to stand before holy and just God, and enjoy fellowship with Him.
• Romans 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
• Romans 5:1 – Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dearly beloved, do you confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? If not, do not delay, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13).
More Lively Hope
