The One Thing That Could Stop Salvation

When Jesus died on the cross, He paid for the sins of the world. But the apostle Paul makes a stunning statement in 1 Cor. 15:17, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins.” I’ve often wondered WHY that was true.

The answer is found in our being united with Him. Every believer is “IN Christ” (Eph. 1:7, 13) and Christ is IN every believer (Rom. 8:9-11). When Jesus died, we died with Him (Rom 6:8). “Even when we were dead in our transgressions, (He) made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:5-6)

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but though Me” (John 14:6). If He was still in the grave, we could not go with Him to the Father in heaven. We would still be in the grave with Him. That’s why Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised…you are still in your sins.” If there is no resurrection, there is also no redemption, no reconciliation with God, no justification, no salvation.

But then Paul continues, “But now Christ HAS been raised for the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20). Paul had seen Jesus in His resurrected body (15:8) and spent his entire life trying to convince others of that fact. “If you confess with mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). www.makinglifecount.net www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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BIBLE STUDY: If Jesus died on Friday, how could He be in the grave three nights?

Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

God Will Show You The Next Step

Worry always concerns things that might happen in the future. You don’t need to know everything about your future. You only need to know where and when to take the next step.

I hated being in second grade, so I asked my father why I had to go to school. He explained, “So you can get to third grade, and then fourth grade, and then later to high school, then college, and then you’ll get a job to support your family.” 

That was NOT what I needed to hear! I was just trying to get through the next day at school, and now my dad was adding even more burdens on me for years to come. It was too much information for me to handle.

That’s why Jesus told His disciples, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). To make life easier, He would reveal things to them a little bit at a time—as they needed to know it. God leads us one step at a time. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” God gives enough light to your feet to take the next step. The light keeps moving with you as you take each step, which lights the path to your destination.

After the prophet Elijah stopped the rain in Israel, God led him to the brook Cherith. After the brook dried up, God told him to take the next step—go to Zarephath (1 Kings 17:1-9). The Lord didn’t speak to him about taking the next step until Elijah needed to know it.

When Joshua was leading the people into the Promised Land, they wondered how they could cross the Jordan River. God told Joshua to tell the priests, who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant, when to take the next step. When the priests arrived at the Jordan and took the next step into the river, the waters parted for them to cross over (Joshua 3:8-4:18).

God isn’t going to reveal everything that will happen in your future, but if you will seek Him, He will tell you when to take the next step. It’s called walking by faith (2 Cor. 5:7). www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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BIBLE STUDY: Here is a list of scriptures telling you to not be afraid. For more information about why God can be trusted and how to be set free from fear and worry, read The Sure Cure for Worry

Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com