May 1, 2025
These Things are Written - Part 4
John 20:30-31
05/01/2025
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of
the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written so that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by
believing you may have life in his name. (ESV)
Saint John wrote:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book; but
these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you
may have life in his name.
Is the Bible written to be a list of rules and regulations?
As Christians, must we follow a certain dress code, refrain from
eating certain foods, and avoid certain activities? Are we
redeemed from sin, death, and the power of the devil because of
our own works, or are we saved because of God's rich grace and
undeserved love?
We believe, teach, and confess, in accordance with the clear
Word of God, that our salvation from sin and death is by God's
love alone, not a result of our works. Jesus died, not because
we are nice people, but because we are not nice people. His
death is payment for our sin. Our good works pay nothing on the
debt we owe to God and neighbor because of our sin.
The Bible, including John's Gospel, is written so that we
may know that Jesus is the Son of God. That is the message of
the Bible. The Bible is not about our good works which earn us
heaven, not a list of dietary rules or Christian clothing
fashions. The Bible is the message, ``Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of the living God.''[1]
May our Lord open our hearts and minds to His Holy Word to
see that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Christ, who bore our
sins for our salvation. Amen.
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1. Matthew 16:16