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Christ – Key to the Kingdom
Faith in the resurrection power of Christ is the key to the kingdom because “No one comes to the Father except through me,” He said (John 14:6). No one will enter God’s kingdom without the key—an enduring faith in Christ. God loved the world enough to send His Son to pay the penalty of everyone’s sin. God wants us in His kingdom since our soul is eternal, so He provided a key. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him,” (1 John 4:9). We only have to believe in the One He sent with the key. When Adam made the choice to disobey God, sin entered the world and seriously damaged his relationship with God. From the time of that fall into sin, everyone born since then is sentenced to die and spend eternity in the lake of fire—(forever separated from God). That is the fate awaiting everyone who will not believe that Jesus died for their sin on the cross. To be born in sin means that the sin nature grows in us each day and revealing itself in our tendency to sin. (Romans 5:12 NCV), “Sin came into the world because of what one man did, and with sin came death. This is why everyone must die‑‑because everyone sinned.” We are not able to change this serious condition by our own ability. There is no way to repair or rectify this sin problem without supernatural help. Who can save us is the question the prison officer asked (Acts 16:30) "What must I do to be saved?" The answer: "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (31). God the Son became Jesus the man who willingly paid for our sin on the cross. Jesus is the only One who can save us from the sin that would take us to the lake of fire. There is no other way because there is only “one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus alone is able to save us from sin because He alone was without sin. “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” Jesus asked (John 8:46)—and no one could, so He has the key. Only Jesus is able to take the sin nature from our heart and present us to the Father cleansed. Jesus took the full penalty of our sin upon Himself on the cross. Someone had to die because God declared the death penalty for sin. The One who died for us was God (in the Person of Christ). (John 1:14) “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” God the Father was pleased with the sacrifice made by Jesus the Son (so He raised Him to life). It is our believing in that resurrection power and accepting this perfect sacrifice as sufficient payment for our sin, that makes us right with God. Real faith in the resurrection power of Christ (concerning every issue of life) provides the key to His kingdom. Real faith trusts God for real issues—(health, healing, supplies, protection and salvation). God’s Word is all the evidence we need that the atonement of Christ is the key to forgiveness. ”Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…he was buried, & he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)—that is the gospel message of salvation. We were sinful, but Jesus can present us sinless to God (when our faith is totally on Him). That information is of the greatest importance—but the story does not end there. A choice has to be made by everyone on earth before that sacrifice will have any affect. Jesus said we must be born again (for the relationship with His Father to be restored). This new birth takes place the moment we truly believe in Christ. Jesus creates a new person who wants to live a new life of faith in Him. The Holy Spirit in us makes us a new person in Christ. (1 Peter 1:23), “For you have been born again [of imperishable seed] through the living and enduring word of God.” From that point of commitment to Christ, we change from living in a way that pleases the world, to a way of living that pleases the Lord. The sin nature is to be removed from our heart, and His divine nature to be installed in its place. Confessing, repenting, committing and living by faith in the resurrection power of Christ are always connected. Abraham’s willingness to allow God to remove every idol from his heart, proved that he loved God with all his heart—that made his faith complete (James 2:22). When God gives us a new heart, we begin to walk in a new way. We realize that sin is serious and separates us from God. It would condemn us to the flames if we just let it go. We must be grieved about any unscriptural attitudes that offend God. That can be corrected because we can be forgiven. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death,” (2 Corinthians 7:10). The apostle told the first century believers “that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds,” (Acts 26:20). The deeds (or evidence) he wanted to see was a life of faith that trusts in God. Faith in the Son is the key to the kingdom. To live by faith is to trust on God, and to believe in Christ as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. We are to trust God for material things (like everyday supplies, protection from harm, and healing when oppressed), as well as for spiritual things (like peace, love, forgiveness, self-control and salvation). The call to repentance and living by faith has always been the same. If anyone will turn from their sin and truly live by faith in the resurrection power of Christ for real life issues (health, healing, supplies, protection and eternal life), God will give them the key to His kingdom. Tests in life prove the validity of our faith. “You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything,” (James 1:3-4). When we persevere through the trial (and hold steadfast in our faith in Christ to the very end), we will “receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him,” (James 1:12). Because the sacrifice on the cross was perfect (and accepted by the Father), we should not waver (or hesitate) in giving our life to God. The apostle says, “I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?” (NLT Romans 12:1). (2) “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The new mind trusts God for life issues. Romans 5:1-2, “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” The true Christian life is a true walk of faith in God (every day)—for enough money that day, for divine protection, for healing (if oppressed), for divine wisdom (to make scriptural decisions), and for the ability to forgive others. As a sinner from birth we are not able to approach a holy God. Our guilt must be removed before we can come near His throne (and before we can start a relationship with Him. Justification is God (as Judge) saying that we (as sinners) will not be judged because the price has been paid (and our sin totally erased). The sacrifice of Christ paid the penalty of our sin. God accepts the death of His Son as enough payment for our sin, credits it to our account, and says “not guilty.” We are then righteous in His sight (because of our faith in His Son). Our faith in the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient payment for a clean heart. “God presented [Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” He did it this way in order to “be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus,” (Romans 3:24, 26). Trusting God for the issues of life and having faith in Christ for the salvation of our soul is the bottom line of the Christian life. We can be sure of our forgiveness when we are willing (and able) to forgive others—because divine love in our heart enables us to be in Christ. “Forgive as the Lord forgave you,” (Colossians 3:13). The Christian life is a life of trust in God and faith in Christ through the power of the Spirit. (Hebrews 12:1-2), “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Our faith will be perfected in the perfect work of Christ, if we will choose to grow in the faith (by listening to God and learning lessons of trust in Him). We can be confident that after a genuine repentance before God, our sins are forgiven by Christ. Stating our faith and acting in faith is the key to the kingdom. Trials may come but we must not be discouraged. (Hebrews 12:3) “Consider him [Christ] who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Abraham found the key because (James 2:22) “his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” (Galatians 5:6) “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” †††
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