Obviously, none of these great blessings are obtainable unless one accepts that the Bible is the only Book that that by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is God given! During approximately one thousand five hundred years, about forty writers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, have written what He told them to, and yet, even if you accept that it so, you still have to believe that God exists and that it is He that says, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you too will be saved’! from death, corruption and hell! The preaching of the Cross is a message anointed by the Holy Spirit, it is a spiritual language, you may read it in your own language but it can only be understood by those to whom He opens the heart to grasp it, and causes the mind to understand it, thus the faith of God is created, no-one can force oneself to believe, it is a miracle!

Many say: ‘how can a dead man do any good to anybody’. Those who say that have their intellect darkened and they cannot see the truth about themselves, let alone about Jesus Christ! who is not dead, for He is alive, God raised Him from the dead, and He is now in heaven, sitting at His right hand! It is written: ‘The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by His powerful word! After He had provided purification from sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven! (Hebrews 1: 3) Jesus came to settle the big sin problem and destroy its power which keeps the whole world in slavery. One can confess one’s sins, like so many do, but: ‘Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.’ (Hebrews 9: 22) Through a genuine repentance we receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, then once we receive new life, we are in Him as it is written: ‘For God chose us in Him (Jesus Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight …In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of His grace.’ (Ephesians 2: 4-7) There is more to say about this. Jesus has to live in us, and by Him we have access to the Father, we cannot do that by being on the roll of a Church, we become a Christian when consciously we repent and believe in Christ. For this very reason the Gospel is being preached to bring men to God!

The apostle Paul says: ‘Therefore since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. An even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those that are perishing. The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake, For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness, made His light to shine in our hearts to gives us the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Christ.’ (2 Corinthians 4: 1-6) Or the divine glory that shines out on the face of Jesus Christ! It is obvious therefor that saving men from sin and the slavery to Satan is totally the work of God. He alone made it possible, and Jesus by His life and His teaching bears witness to it. It is the Father who sent His only Son to come to earth, it is He, that chooses men to continue preaching what Jesus began. I shall say more about this later. Now the apostle Paul knows what he is talking about, for he is a true example of conversion! Thus, unbelievers cannot appreciate what Jesus accomplished on the CROSS and how important is his sacrifice to this very day, for they are blinded by the devil.

To become a Christian is a mighty miracle of grace, and to that end Jesus send the Holy Spirit who through the preaching of the gospel leads a sinner to the cross, where he meets the Lord, whose glory disperses the darkness of his darkened soul. By the power of the Holy Spirit a new life begins; Jesus said to a man called Nicodemus, you must be born again! (John 3: 7) True Christians are therefore special people, for their inner eyes have been opened to see the glory of God embodied in His Son Jesus Christ! and by faith in Him have become new, eternal creatures! The devil has erected high fences between men and God; and between men and men, so that they cannot see God and His glory revealed in Jesus Christ His son, and it follows that they see nothing in the Cross. Yet the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit never tires to repeat it again and again as I mentioned in the previous ‘Links’.