“How Can You be Right with God?”
Matthew 26:31-56
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
How many times have you heard the line, “All roads lead to heaven”? Or what about this one, “If God is such a loving God,then how can He send someone to hell”?
Well, the fact of the matter is that God sends no one to hell. That destination is your choice. And yes, we havechoice. The Bible makes it clear that if we choose Jesus [the way, the truth, and the life], wechoose heaven. But Jesusalso said, “he who is not for me is against me.”
In other words, if you are not for Jesus, that is, you have not chosen Him, then the reality is that you are against him, and that means eternal condemnation.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” That is an exclusive statement, and many people do not like that. What they want is for all roads to lead to God.
But you know what, eternal life does not depend on what you or I think or like; rather, it depends on what God thinks [and does]. And here in our passage this morning we get an in-depth look at what God thinks [and has done] for you and I to have eternal life.
Our passage this morning is the account of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. It is here that we see perhaps the most moving time in Jesus’ earthly life. Surely, Jesus is fully God, but here we see Him as fully man.
“My Father,if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” [Mt. 26:39] Jesus prayed this three times. He was alone [his disciples sleeping] as he wrestled with the reality that all sin would be placed upon him in just a few short hours.
And what was the cup that Jesus asked His Father to remove? It was the Cross. “…nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” [Matt 26:39]
Jesus, holy, blameless, and separate from sin, was made sin for you and I. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Therefore, how can you be right with God? Believe on the name of Jesus and what He accomplished on the Cross, and then choose Him as Lord.
