Passing Life’s Final Exam

Life’s most important question – When I stand before
God and He asks me why should I let you into my heaven, what will you say?

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after
that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27, ESV)

·        Judgment of _____________         

(Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10)

·        Judgment of _____________ (Revelation 20:11-15)

Wrong Views of God

1. The ________________ God – He grades us  on a curve.

2. The ________________  God – He accepts all  pathways to god

3. The ________________  God – He is making a list of  who’s  been naughty of nice.

4. The ________________  God – He uses heavenly  scales to see if  your good works outweigh your bad works.

The All-Important Question

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16, ESV)

1.      The ________________  Question (16:13-14)

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

2.     The ________________  Question (16:15)

“But who do you say I am?”

3.     The ________________  Confession (16:16)

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

“Without a right understanding of who Jesus is, there can’t
be a right understanding of what He has done.”

– Chuck Swindoll

Correct View of God and Ourselves

1.      Our ________________

We are all sinners ________________ from God.

·        Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. (Isaiah 59:2, ESV)

·        For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

     (Romans 3:23, ESV)

·        For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, ESV)

There is ________________ we can do to take care of our sin problem.

·        It is not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:9, ESV)

·        Without the  shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22, ESV)

®
God is holy and just and must punish sin. God’s

 punishment is __________and ____________.

2.     God’s ________________

God created you. God loves you. God wants to have a _________________________ with
you.

·        For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, ESV)

“You cannot go where God doesn’t love you. You cannot do
anything that will make Him quit loving you. His love never wears out, never ends, and never fails.  It’s unlimited and unconditional.” - James Merritt

Jesus did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He took our ________________.

·        He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24, ESV)

·        For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring
us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit (1
Peter 3:18, ESV)

·        In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of his grace. (Ephesians 1:7, ESV)

“The costly work of atonement was accomplished by Jesus in six painful hours of the
cross. Jesus paid it all. He did not make a down payment and expect us to keep
up installments. He paid it in full.” - Warren Wiersbe

“The self-substitution of Christ for man’s sin is the heart of the Cross. Because of
His death at Calvary, Christ allows believers to enjoy the eternal benefits of
the Cross–that my sin is forgiven, I am redeemed from slavery and the penalty
of sin, justified and reconciled with You.” - Charles Stanley 

Jesus rose from the dead promising our physical body will one day be ________________.

·Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though hedie, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall neverdie. (John 11:25-26, ESV)

·        And if Christ hasnot been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1
Corinthians 15:17, ESV)

“The resurrection of Jesus was the demonstration of God’s acceptance of Christ’s
sacrifice for our justification by removing our sins and declaring the
believing sinner righteous.”  - Paul Enns

3.     Our ________________

God’s forgiveness and
eternal life is a free gift, and all we have to do is receive it.

·        ________________  you are a sinner

·        ________________  of your sin

·        ________________  Christ as Lord and Savior

To pass life’s final exam of  why should I let you into Heaven, there’s only
one answer…

“There is no reason to let me into your heaven other than
Jesus. Through His death on the cross, Jesus forgave me of my sins and takes
away the punishment of death and hell. Through my faith and trust in Jesus, He
saved me. Jesus is my Lord and Savior.”

Ready to take your Next Step?

·        Go by the Next Steps area today after the service

·        Use your phone and the tap card on the seat back in front of you to go to the Next Steps tab

·        Fill out a Connect Card and drop it in the offering box

·        Go to FBCFM.COM and click “Next Steps.”