Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face

Preached on January 14, 2007, by Eric Schumacher

Topics: Gospel And Evangelism

The following is a sermon I preached as the congregation followed through the tract, Two Ways to Live, which is written by Phillip D. Jensen and Tony Payne and available for purchase through Matthias Media.

(c) Eric Schumacher - Preached January 14, 2007 at Northbrook Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids

Like a sort of theological buffet, the world seems to offer us with all sorts of choices in the realm of religion. Every day it seems we are faced with a thousand choices offering "salvation." These range from Buddhism to Islam, from Atheism to New Age meditation, from Witchcraft to healing crystals, from doing penance to confessing our sins to a living person or a dead "saint."

If it seems overwhelming and confusing, there is news of hope. There is a God who exists, and he has spoken. The creator of the heavens and the earth has not left us without a guide to the true nature of reality. God has spoken in the Bible.

We learn there that we are not faced with a thousand, or even a hundred different choices about how to live. In fact, we are only face with two.

The message of the Bible proclaims that there are two ways to live. And, deciding which of these two ways to live is the choice we all face.

My intention this morning is to explain to you, carefully and clearly, the message at the heart of the Bible by using the little blue booklet in front of you. Please take it out and follow along, as I move through it.

While the story of the Bible is understandable, it requires your concentration and attention to understand. I would encourage you to resolve to pay attention and listen to this message. While you might not be used to paying attention to extended teaching on a topic, this is important. This won't last as long as this afternoon's football game, the season premier of 24, or the movie you watched last night, but it will impact your eternity long after you have forgotten about those.

Point 1 - God is the loving ruler of the world.
The message of the Bible begins with the sovereignty of God. God is the ruler of the world--that is, he is the king, the sovereign, the one who has supreme authority over all things, the one who is in charge.

The Bible tells us that this is good news. Psalm 97:1 declares, "The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!" The Lord's reign is a cause for rejoicing because we also learn in the Bible that God is the loving ruler of the world. That is, God is not a tyrant. He always does what is best for his subjects. He is the kind of King that we ought to want to have.

A question faces us at this point: Why does God get to be the ruler of the world? Why should he have the glory, honor and power of being the ruler of the world? The short answer is: God rules, because He made the world. Revelation, chapter 4, verse 11 (which you will find at the bottom of the page) says:

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.

In other words, God is worthy of receiving glory, honor and power because he is the one who created all things and decided that they would exist.

Since God made everything and therefore has authority to rule over everything, he has the right to define the purpose his creation. God made mankind--us--with a purpose. Scripture teaches that he made us rulers of the world under him. In Genesis 1:27-28 we read:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

God made man in his image. In ancient days, a king would set up an image of himself in the cities and the lands over which he reigned. That image would tell everyone who saw it that this king had authority over this place.

We were created to display (image forth) and exercise the rule of God over all the earth. We were, in a sense, to be God's ambassadors, representing him. The Lord gave instructions--His Word--explaining how man was and was not to live. Therefore, we say that man was made to rule the world under him.

Is that the way it is now?

Point 2 -
While we are still created in the image of God with a purpose, the world is not the way that God created it to be. Rather, we all reject the ruler--God--by trying to run life our own way without him.

We are born inheriting something from our first father--Adam, the first man. Adam failed to rule the world under God's authority. This stemmed from a desire to be God. Instead of finding happiness and satisfaction in ruling the world under God's rule, Adam and Eve wanted to be equal with God. Adam and Eve exchanged God's wise instructions for what seemed wise in his own eyes. In Adam, man rejected the rule of God in order to be the supreme ruler himself.

Since all of mankind descends from Adam and Eve (Acts 17:26), we all inherit Adam's guilt and his rebellious nature. We are born rebels who reject God's rule and try to do things our own way.

You need not watch the evening news for too long before you realize that something has gone terribly wrong. You can look at your own city, neighborhood, or home to find people being mean to one another and harming one another. If you are willing to be honest, you need only to look at your own heart and life to know this is true.

You, I and every other person that has ever lived on earth is born an unrighteous person who has failed to understand God's word, refused to seek him and has turned away from his rule. This is what the Bible teaches in Romans, chapter 3, verses 10-12 (which you will find at the bottom of the page):

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

Look at the segment of that passage in the booklet before you and answer these questions with me:

• How many of us are righteous rulers? "There is no-one righteous, not even one."
• How many of us seek God, the ruler? "There is...no-one who seeks God."
• How many of us have turned away from God, the ruler? "All have turned away."

We all reject the ruler. We all have turned aside from his word and have tried to run life our own way without him.

You might be saying, "Now wait a minute, preacher! That's not true! I may not be perfect, but I certainly have not rejected God!"

It is helpful to consider that rejection of the King will look different in different people. In some people, rebellion against God is obvious--they deny his existence and attack the goodness of his word.

For others, rebellion consists in of acknowledging that he exists, but denying that he has the right to rule or flat out ignoring what he says to do what one wants.

In others, this rejection of God is far less obvious to the passive observer. It looks like this: We wake-up, shower, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, eat supper, putz around (in the garage or in the craft room or playing video games or sports), watch the news, go to bed. The next day, we wake-up, shower, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, eat supper, putz around, watch the news, go to bed. And, the next day, we wake-up, shower, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, eat supper, putz around, watch the news, go to bed. We repeat this cycle for 45 years until we retire, at which point we cut out the working and extend the putzing. We do this for a lifetime without so much as a passing thought to what it means that God made us to rule the world under him.

Such a life is a rejection of God's purposes for our own preferences. While it may not look like rebellion, it is a dereliction of duty. It is a refusal to carry out the commands of the supreme, loving ruler, to serve another ruler--ourselves. This is high treason against the ruler of the universe.

Rejecting God's rule to live our own way is what the Bible calls "sin." Everyone one of us has fallen short of our created purpose. Everyone of us has sinned. The question we face now is: As the ruler of the world, what will God do about this rebellion?

Point 3 - God won't let us rebel forever.
When we were created, we were created to represent God. I referred to us as "ambassadors." The way we live and rule on earth says something about the person that we represent. Because we have lived unrighteously, cruelly, wickedly--murdering, hating, stealing, lying, and so on--we have proclaimed that the God we represent is cruel, wicked and unrighteous. We have slandered him and drug his fame through the mud.

God is a loving ruler, yet he is also just. A just and righteous king cannot tolerate rebellion and allow it to go on forever without punishment. All good rulers and kings punish treason and remove rebellion from their kingdoms.

The Bible tells us that God won't let us rebel forever. God's punishment for rebellion is death and judgment. This is what we learn in Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27, which says, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."
As you look at that verse, tell me, what two things does the future hold for man? The answer, of course, is death and judgment. Because we have all reject God as the ruler (point 2), we all are going to die and be judged.

After this death, comes a judgment. Romans 2:5-8 speaks about this judgment and what rebels can expect:

But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works:...for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil...

Self-seeking rebels--which describes us all--are storing up wrath for a coming day of judgment. Wrath, fury, tribulation and distress is what may be expected by every self-seeking rebel who would not obey the God, the loving ruler of the world.

The judgment that the Bible speaks of for rebels is hell--eternal conscious torment under the wrath of the ruler. The punishment fits the crime. God will demonstrate the severity of the crime of treason against his reign with a severe and eternal punishment. Those who die rejecting his reign will be rejected by him forever. Those who die trampling his name in the dirt will be trampled beneath the foot of his wrath forever.

Is there any hope? Are we all destined for death and everlasting ruin? You will die one day. How is it that you can face death with hope?

If we are left to ourselves, it is hopeless. If God had chosen to show no mercy, which he is not bound to show, then we are destined for death and everlasting ruin.

There is a way of escape. The central story-line of the Bible is that we are not without hope. God has chosen to glorify himself by showing off his remarkable and undeserved love and mercy in his Son, Jesus Christ.

Point 4 -
Because of his love, God sent his Son into the world: the man Jesus Christ. The divine, eternal Son, was sent by the Father to take on flesh and blood as a man, who was and is Jesus of Nazareth. Through this act in history, God brought salvation. How?

First of all, Jesus always lived under God's rule. Jesus always obeyed; he never disobeyed the Father. In Jesus is found the perfect man who always ruled under God's rule.

Because he never rebelled, Jesus did not deserve death or judgment. Yet, if you know anything at all about Christianity, you know that Jesus died, nailed to a cross.

Why did Jesus die? We find the answer in 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 18, which says, "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."

Look at that verse and tell me: Why did Christ die? "He did for sins." But, for whose sins? His own?

Look at how the verse continues. It says he died, "the righteous for the unrighteous." The word "righteous" is describing Christ. As we've already seen, a righteous person does not deserve death. This verse tells us that Jesus Christ was dying on the cross, suffering the wrath of God, as a substitute for sinners.

The incredible message of the Bible is that the punishment rebels like us deserve for our sins was suffered by Jesus. The price we owed for our sins was paid by him. In fact, the Bible teaches that not only does God count our sins as belonging to Jesus, but also he reckons Jesus perfect obedience as belonging to those who trust in Him.

The ultimate reason he died, this verse goes on to say is, "to bring you to God." His life and death are a sufficient payment. Nothing more needs to be added to meet God's demands. If the debt is paid and the just wrath of God is satisfied, then the debt is forgiven. If our sins are removed, then we are no longer considered to be rebels and can enter the presence of God.

But, the Good News does not end with Jesus' death on the cross.

Point 5 -
Were Jesus to remain in the grave, it would mean that the curse of sin still rules over Him. It might mean that he had not conquered sin and death, or even lead us to believe that Jesus deserved death. To show that he was pleased with Jesus and accepted his sacrifice, God raised Jesus to life again.

God's plan had always been to rule the world through a man ruling under his rule--His King. This was not Adam. We now know that this King is Jesus Christ--the second Adam. "The risen Jesus is now what humanity was always meant to be."

Hebrews 12:2 tells us that after his death on the cross, Jesus "is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Philippians 2:9 tells us that "God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name." That is to say, God has made Jesus the His chosen ruler over the entire world.

Jesus is the one who will one day return to judge the world. As God's appointed ruler, we owe our obedience and honor to Jesus.

Moreover, death being conquered, new life can now be received through Jesus Christ. Look at 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 3: "In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

Tell me, who gives us new birth? God does. And, through what does God give us new life? "Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

Salvation--new birth--can only come through Jesus Christ. This is why we do not proclaim Jesus Christ as one path amongst many to salvation. Only Jesus Christ never sinned and therefore could be offered as a substitute for sinners. Only Jesus Christ was raised from the dead in glory and in power. Only Jesus Christ is God's chosen King who reigns and will return to judge the living and the dead.

That is not true of Mohammed or Buddha or the Virgin Mary. Only Jesus Christ can remove our sins and give us new life. And all this salvation comes, not by our works or our efforts, but by "his great mercy" which is through Jesus Christ.
Where does that leave us?

Point 6 -
Look at John chapter 3, verse 36: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

There are two--and only two--end results spoken of in this verse. What are they? There are those who have "eternal life." And, there are those who "will not see life, for God's wrath remains" on them.

Likewise, there are two--and only two--types of people spoken of in this verse. Who are they? There are "whoever believes in the Son." And there are "whoever rejects the Son."

There are two--and only two--ways to live.

Way #1
The first way to live is our way. That is, we reject the ruler--God. And, we try to run life our own way. We continue to live under the rule of man's wisdom--whether that be our own, or the wisdom of others (as expressed in atheism, Buddhism, Islam, or Oprah Winfrey...).

The first way to live has a certain result. We will be condemned by God. As the verse says, "God's wrath remains on him." Therefore, we die facing death and judgment. When we die, we will not see life, but will pay for our own sins forever in hell.

Way #2
The second way to live is God's new way. This begins when we submit to Jesus as our ruler. We confess that we rebelled against God and turn away from our rebellious ways.

We rely on Jesus' death and resurrection. This is what the verse means by "whoever believes in the Son." We believe that the Bible says the Son is the King who died for our sins and was raised from the dead. We do not trust in ourselves. We expect and believe that when we die, God will grant us eternal life because--and only because--Jesus Christ died for us and was raised from the dead.

God's new way also has a certain result. To begin with, we are forgiven by God. Because we are united with Christ through faith, God counts our sin as punished in Jesus' death and so our sins are completely forgiven.

Therefore, we are given eternal life. God grants us eternal life with Him forever in the New Heavens and New Earth. And now, God pours his Spirit out into our hearts so that we are made new and spiritually alive. We no longer want to live as rebels. Instead, we gladly submit to his rule in Jesus Christ the King.

You cannot live both ways. Therefore, each of us is presented with some questions.

The First Question: Which Way Do I Want to Live?
Choice #1: You may look at those two choices and respond, "I want to live my own way." If that is you, it might be because you don't believe the Bible really teaches what I've said it does. You might believe that you are not a rebel or that God will not punish rebels or that Jesus Christ is not the only means of salvation. You may have grown up in a "church" that taught something very different.

I would challenge you to examine the Bible for yourself. Read a Gospel (such as Mark). If you don't have a Bible, we'll give you one.

Talk to Christian who can help you understand what the Bible teaches. Talk to the person who brought you to church this morning. If you like, Pastor Joshua and I will be waiting at the front after the service ends. We would love to find a time to go through a Bible study with you on the message of the Bible.

Most of all, I'd encourage you to think about what is at stake in your decision. The consequences are eternal--life and death, heaven and hell.

The Second Question: What Can I Do About It?
Choice #2: You may be here this morning and have realized that what the Bible teaches is true: You are a rebel. You have rejected God's rule. You deserve death and judgment. And, you would prefer to live God's new way.

If this is you, then you might be asking a second question: What can I do about it?

The answer to that question can be explained in three steps:

1. Talk to God.
God is the one you have rebelled against--not me or anyone else. You need to deal with him. You need to admit to God that you have rebelled against him, deserve his punishment. You must go to God the Father and ask him for mercy and forgiveness based on Jesus life, death and resurrection. You must ask God to change your heart and to cause you to fear, love and trust in Jesus as your ruler.

I'd encourage you to read through the prayer on this page and, if it expresses the condition of your heart, pray it to God.

2. Submit to Jesus.
Begin by publicly expressing your faith in Jesus through baptism.

Resolve, by his grace, to put away your rebellious habits and to start living a life that will please the King.

This will be a life-long practice that you will grow in, but never perfect. But God will help you.

• God will speak to you through His Word, the Bible.
• God will hear and answer your requests for help as you speak to him in prayer.
• God will fill you with his Spirit to change the way you think and speak and act.
• God will provide encouragement through brothers and sisters as you join and attend a Bible-obeying church.

3. Keep trusting.
For the rest of your life, never forget what it is that saves you. While you will strive to live a life of submission to Jesus, we may never begin to think our obedience is what is saving us.

Again and again you will fall, you will sin, you will rebel. We all do. But, we must remind ourselves of the shed blood and the empty tomb. We must continue to trust that Jesus has died to pay for our sins and has been raised from the dead to give us life. We must never stop relying on him.

Which Way Will You Live?
You cannot go forward today without choosing one of these two ways to live. The consequence is eternal.

If you are still an unforgiven rebel, then you must do something about it. If you need clarification on this message, feel free to come up after that service ends and speak with Joshua or me. But if it is clear to you what you must do, do not come to us--we cannot save you. Go to God the Father, through Jesus Christ the Son, and ask his forgiveness as you submit to Jesus.

There are only two ways to live. Which way is yours?