What a Blessing it is to be Saved!

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Jude 1-2

Jude begins his letter by reminding us of three truths about the believer... and these three truths relate to our past, our present and our future. 

First, Jude reminds the Christian something about our past. He tells us that we are those who have been called to salvation. Jesus makes the same point strongly in John 6:44 when He says “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them...” If you are saved, you’re saved because at some point in the past God called you to salvation. Your salvation didn’t begin and end with you. It began in the heart of God.

The second thing Jude tells us about ourselves relates to our standing before God in the present. If you are a Christian, then you “are loved in God the Father.” You do not stand before God any longer as an enemy who is under His wrath, but as a beloved son or daughter whom He has clothed in the righteousness of Christ. While it is true that God loves all people, He loves believers in a special way. There's a special love that the Father has for His children. God loves you!

The third thing Jude reminds us of has to do with our future. He tells us that we are “kept for Jesus Christ.” That word ‘kept’ means ‘to preserve’ or even ‘to guard.’ And in the context of there being false teachers who are trying to distort the gospel and lead us away from Christ, this is especially encouraging. Sometimes the idea of persevering in the Christian faith and of not giving in to doubt when we live in a world of doubt… can seem like an impossible goal. So, it’s encouraging to be reminded that we do not have to keep ourselves in the faith by our own power. You are kept for Jesus Christ. God Himself is guarding, keeping and preserving you from the strategies of the enemy.

And because of these three truths, you also have mercy, peace and love in abundance. You have abundant mercy, in that God has withheld the punishment your sins deserve. You have abundant peace as a result of your being put back in a right relationship with God. And it was His abundant love toward you that accomplished all of this on your behalf and that keeps you for the day of His coming.

Have you ever stopped to consider how great a blessing it is just to be saved? If you didn’t have a dollar to your name, no food, no possessions, no family, no nothing… if all you had in the entire world was your salvation; you would still be immensely blessed solely because you could say you were called, you are loved and and you are being kept for the day of salvation. If you had nothing else, you would still have mercy, peace and love in abundance. So, praise the Lord for the great and gracious gift of your salvation today.

Not Even a Hint

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.
Ephesians 5:3–7
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We are called to fight the sin in our lives so thoroughly that there wouldn’t even be a hint of it left among us. There shouldn’t even be a hint of sex outside of a monogamous heterosexual marriage in our churches. There shouldn’t even be a hint of any kind of impurity or sin. Not even a hint of greed. Not even a hint of obscene or foolish talk, or coarse joking.

‌Why? This passage gives us two reasons. First, because “these are improper for God’s holy people.” And second because “no immoral, impure or greedy person… has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” In other words, these are the kinds of behaviors that lost people engage in, and it’s because of these behaviors that God’s wrath is coming on the world. ‌You can’t expect to live like a lost person without bringing your salvation into doubt. And you can’t expect to live like a lost person without risking sharing their fate and suffering God’s wrath. 

Now, this passage isn’t saying that anyone who ever commits any of these sins isn’t saved or can’t be saved. If that was the case, then we’d all be bound for Hell. But, what this passage is saying is that anyone who continually lives in ongoing, unrepentant sin like this isn’t saved even if they call themselves a Christian. Saved people just don’t live like that.

Many people think they are saved and treat their salvation as a free pass to sin. But, this passage reveals the hard truth that their sin has blinded them to the very real danger they are in. They can’t see that they aren’t Christians at all. They can’t see that they are actually lost and are storing up wrath for themselves for the day of God’s judgment. And that is a dangerous place to be. Don’t let your sin blind you into thinking you are safe when you are not. A tree is known by its fruit. You can't live like the Devil and think you are safe from God's wrath.

It's Never Too Late!

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:39-43

Jesus hung on the cross, naked, and suffering, for six hours. Six hours of agony compounded by the flogging and all the beatings that came before it. But even then Jesus wasn’t allowed to suffer in peace. People gathered to revel in His misery. The chief priests and teachers of the law came by to admire their handiwork, to gloat in their victory, and dance on His grave. They insulted and mocked Him. The soldiers likewise mocked Him and gambled for His clothes. The crowds of people that passed by spewed hate at Him. Even, one of the other criminals being crucified with Him hurled insults at Jesus. But there was one man there who looked at Jesus and saw Him for what He really was.

One of the robbers who hung beside Jesus looked over at Jesus, broken and bloody on the cross, and saw His Messiah. This man acknowledged his sin. He said, “I deserve what I am getting.” And he believed in Jesus. He said, “this man has done nothing wrong.” And he confessed him as lord, as king. He said, “remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This criminal, in the midst of his own execution, has to be perhaps the least likely convert in all of Scripture. But what does Jesus say to him? “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This story proves once and for all that NO ONE is beyond hope. Maybe you thought it was too late for you to ask for forgiveness. Maybe you thought you had nothing to offer. Maybe you thought you were too far gone. Scripture records this man’s deathbed conversion as a testimony to the fact that it’s never too late! That no man is ever too bad! That there is no such thing as being too far gone for God’s grace. 

And we find this truth presented not only here but all throughout the pages of Scripture. Rahab was a prostitute whose people had been marked for death by God, but because of her faith she not only became a child of God but an ancestor of Jesus as well. Gomer was a prostitute who became the wife of a prophet. Saul was a murderer, a persecutor of Christians. He became an apostle, church planter, and biblical author. I could go on. I could tell you about how David was an adulterer and a murderer. Or how Abraham was a coward and a liar. I could tell you about the church in Corinth and how it was full of people who had been idol worshippers and criminals and addicts. Yet God changed them all.

You are NOT too far gone for Jesus to save! It is NOT too late! You haven’t done anything so bad that God can’t forgive you! Just like the robber on the cross, right up to the moment of your death you can be saved! You can acknowledge your sin, believe in Jesus, and confess Him as your King. Do that today, and God will forgive you.

This Changes Everything

This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 

Exodus 12:2-3

For the Hebrew slaves, this first Passover changed everything! It changed their future, it changed their identity, and it even changed their calendar!

Let’s start with their future. Imagine that you are one of these Hebrew slaves. All your life, all you have known is forced labor. You have scars from the whip on your back and callouses on your hands from making bricks. Your clothes are torn. Your house and belongings are meagre. On the night of Passover as you lay your head down on your pillow, you’re a slave, but by morning you will walk out of Egypt a free man or woman headed for the Promised Land. Talk about an overnight sensation! Can you imagine? Everything about their situation and their future prospects changed in a single night.

So the Passover changed their future, but it also changed their identity. This is the night the nation of Israel was born. Don’t forget that when Israel went down to Egypt they were a family of only about 70 people. While they were in Egypt they were just slaves identified by their common ethnicity. But on the night of Passover they went from being a bunch of slaves to being a nation… a people… God’s people, purchased and redeemed by Him. The family that entered Egypt with seventy people, walked out of Egypt armed for battle like a nation of probably about 2 million people.

So Passover changed their future and it changed their identity, but it also changed their calendar. God tells them that this moment is so significant that even the way they reckon time should be reoriented around it. From now on this will be the first month of the year for Israel, and He commands them to begin making preparations to celebrate Passover on the 10th day of the month. Why? I suppose because this was the tenth plague. The Passover itself would be celebrated on the 14th day of the month and it would begin a seven day feast called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was their new year. Every year began with a reminder of who they were and what God had done for them. 

This is instructive for us because as Christians we have also experienced a life-altering event. You see the Exodus is a picture of Christian salvation. Just as Israel was enslaved in wicked Egypt, every single one of us was enslaved in this wicked world. They were enslaved to Egyptians, we were enslaved to sin and our own fleshly desires. But a Deliverer came for Israel and a Deliverer has come for us as well. 

And what was the means of their ultimate redemption? It was the blood of a lamb. A lamb died in their place and its blood was applied on the doorpost as a covering over their families. It is the same with us. We deserve death and judgment, every single one of us, and the only way that we can be spared this fate is by the blood of the lamb being applied to our lives. Jesus became the Passover lamb, without spot or blemish (without sin), slain in the midst of Passover week. But His blood must be applied to your life personally. The Israelites had to take the blood and apply it to their doorposts, you have to apply it to your heart. They did it with a bunch of hyssop and a basin. You must do it through belief and prayer. When a person does this, when they place their faith in Jesus and His blood is applied to their lives… it changes everything. 

Our future is changed. Israel was headed for a promised land and so are we. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. Not only our future but our identity has been changed as well. When you got saved you went from being an enemy of God to being a son or daughter of God. Your salvation was your entrance into a new nation, a new kingdom, a new people, God’s people. And all of this, whether you realize it or not, reoriented your calendar as well. The Israelites shifted their annual calendar in response to Passover. Christians shift our weekly calendar to reflect what Jesus has done. Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Sabbath on Saturday. That’s the day they would have gone to the synagogue. Why do we meet on Sunday mornings? Because it was early on the first day of the week, that Jesus was raised from the dead. It was on a Sunday morning that Jesus won the victory over the Enemy, and beat the power of death and opened up a way of salvation for us. So we reorient our weekly calendar around that monumental event, and our whole lives ought to be reoriented around it as well.

Lord, Lord

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:21-23

Notice, these people have done some pretty impressive things. I haven’t driven any demons out of anybody. I’ve never performed any miracles. And yet Jesus tells these people with these impressive resumes that they won’t get into Heaven. Why?

Look at verse 23. They may have accomplished a few big and impressive things, but the day-to-day fruit of their live must not have been very good because Jesus calls them evildoers. You see, salvation isn’t something you can earn. It’s not about doing a few big things that you can put on your Christian resume. It’s about having a relationship with Jesus that so thoroughly changes you that it shows up in how you live- not just in a few, big impressive ways here and there but in the day-to-day fruit of your Christian life.

We see this illustrated in the life of Judas. He was one of the twelve disciples. He had done some pretty impressive things. Matthew 10:1-3 tells us that he (along with the other disciples) was given authority to cast out demons and heal every disease in Jesus’ name. Can you claim to have accomplished more in the faith than Judas? Probably not, but none of us expect to meet him in Heaven. Why? Because we know his faith didn’t prove true. In the end he proved to be an evildoer by his actions. He never knew Jesus in a saving way.

Sometimes, just like Judas, people hide behind big, impressive accomplishments that appear to be the fruit of a Christian life when in fact they have no relationship with Jesus at all. Being a Christian isn’t about what you have accomplished; it’s about what He has accomplished on your behalf. It doesn’t matter how many people know you and are impressed with all you’ve done for the Lord. What matters is this: Does He know you? Is your name written in Jesus’ Book of Life. Has He changed you? Has He made you a new creation, so you might live for and obey Him? That’s what matters. 

It’s truly terrifying to me that Jesus says there will be “many” people who will be shocked to learn they aren’t saved on that final day. What a troubling thought that many people think they stand on solid footing before the Lord, many people think they are headed for Glory when in fact they will end up being cast into Hell. What a terrifying thought!

It may be cliché, but you really do need to make sure that you are ready! Be SURE of your salvation. Don’t put it off until later. Don’t leave it up to chance. Don’t count on a resume of a few impressive accomplishments. “Lord, I went on mission trips for you. Lord I was a church member. Lord, I gave thousands of dollars to the church.” All of these are good things, but they won’t save you. 

Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Does He know you? Has He changed you and given you a new heart? Is that showing up in the day-to-day fruit of your life? If not, then stop kidding yourself…you aren’t saved.

Good Grief!

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

2 Corinthians 7:10

Does God want you to be happy? 

You might be surprised to find out the answer is...not always. But this is an unavoidable truth of the verse above. It tells us that there are two types of sorrow. One is from God and is actually a good gift from Him. There are times that God wants you to experience pain and grief. Let's see why. 

Godly sorrow causes pain in order to turn you away from your sin. It leads you to repent of your sin and experience the salvation of being set right with God. So it causes you grief for a period of time in order to work good for you in the end. We shouldn't regret experiencing this kind of sorrow. 

But our world, on the other hand, is full of another kind of sorrow that leads to death. It's a sorrow from which there is no escape because it finds no hope in Jesus as its cure. When people are trapped in sorrow without hope they begin to despair and in their despair they reach for the only comfort they know...more sin. The momentary relief their sin affords them is all the hope they have left. So, far from rescuing them from their sins, this kind of grief drives them to reach for more sin in order to cope with the pain their sin has caused. What a mind numbing cycle!

So understand that not all sorrow or grief is bad. Some of it is actually a gift of God sent to turn you back to Him. Make up your mind to find your hope in God. Don't allow grief to harden you in your sin. And think about that lost friend of yours. Confronting them with their sin may cause them a little grief at first, but could it lead to their salvation in the end? If so, it is most definitely worth it. 

How blessed is the ailment that sends me fleeing to You, Jesus, my cure! Though it makes my soul feverish with pain and grief, yet I will bless the day this sorrow found me for it led me to my only true salvation. Your godly sorrow came to bless and not to curse. It led me to salvation and left no trace of regret in its wake.

I am against you

‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives. I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’... I am against you, Jerusalem,

Jeremiah 21:8-10, 13

"I am against you." These have to be the most terrifying words God has ever spoken to a man. The prophet Jeremiah delivers this oracle to the people of Jerusalem in the 6th century. King Nebuchadnezzar would soon destroy the city of Jerusalem. God's punishment for their rebellion was to send a foreign king to kindle a fire and destroy their city.

"I am against you." God has passed this terrifying judgment on each and everyone one of His rebellious creatures. In Romans 1:18 the Word says "the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness." We have all sinned and gone our own way (Romans 3:23). We have all rebelled against God, and our impending judgment is just as sure as the judgment of which Jeremiah spoke. The fires of Hell have already been kindled to destroy those who oppose God.  

But thank God He is never changing! Just as He prepared a way of escape for the Old Testament people of God, so He has made a way of salvation for us as well. Those in Jerusalem had to humble themselves under God's punishment and submit to captivity, but the offer of salvation which He has extended to us is far better. We must also give up our earthly "city." We can longer live for this world if we are to escape God's wrath. We must become citizens of a different and better country. And we must also surrender ourselves to God and submit to His will for our lives. We too will live like aliens and strangers on this earth, but we will be reconciled to God. Everlasting peace will have been brokered on our behalf between ourselves and the Father by the only mediator who is able to do so, Jesus- His perfect Son. 

If we will but cast our faith on Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, and believe that His death and resurrection secured our peace, then God will speak new words to us. Instead of "I am against you," He will say "I will be your God and you will be my children" (Revelation 21:7). 

Thank you Father for the way of salvation you offer to us through Jesus Your Son. May all praise and glory be to You, God of all mercy!

Think of Me

But as for me, I am poor and needy;

    may the Lord think of me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

    you are my God, do not delay.

Psalm 40:17

The first two lines of this verse reveal a great deal about the Christian religion and its God.

The psalmist says he is both poor and needy. In the rest of the psalm he lays out his bleak situation. His enemies not only want to see his life in ruins, they want to take his life away (v. 13-14). "Troubles without number surround me;" the psalmist states before admitting "my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see" (v. 12). This is a desperate a man. His sins and his enemies have caught up with him, and he is crying out to God for help.

Yet, He asks God to "think of me." That God should bend His great and limitless mind to think about any man would be an immeasurable honor. That He would do so for a poor and needy man who is in dire circumstances because he has sinned against God is unthinkable. Yet, it is entirely in keeping with the God of the Bible. Scripture tells us again and again that God's eye is on the poor, the needy, and the humble. He leaves the ninety-nine in the open country to go search for the one lost sheep that has strayed (Luke 15:3-6). He is like a father who runs to meet the prodigal son who dares return (Luke 15:11-31). Jesus even tells us there's rejoicing in heaven over a sinner who repents (Luke 15:10).

What an amazing God we serve! How unthinkable that He should think of me! Even more so after I have rebelled against Him. Yet, if I humbly repent of my sin and approach Him through the blood of Jesus (Acts 4:12 & Hebrews 10:19-23), then I can be confident that I have not only entered into His thoughts but into His very presence as well. 

Imagine how vastly different God would be if just this one thing about His character were changed. What if He were still all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal and everything else we know Him to be, but He simply wasn't personally concerned for needy, sinful people like you and me? I shudder to think of it. God deserves all our praise and all our gratitude. He has poured out amazing, unimaginable, unfathomable grace on us. To Him alone be the glory!

Father, we too are poor and needy. We confess our sins to You. We have gone our own way. Our sins surround us and our enemy waits to devour us. Forgive us, Father. Deliver us. Think of us in Your grace. Draw us back to yourself and teach us to walk in Your ways. Make us more like Jesus and give us the joy of spending our lives here extolling Your goodness and grace in the ears of men.

We Love Jesus Far Too Little!

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ... 

Philippians 3:7-8

It's easy to overlook the verb tense shift in these verses from "I counted" in verse seven to "I count" in verse eight. Paul says that at some time in the past he counted (past tense) as loss all the things that were previously gain to him. All the things that were to his credit in this world, he laid down in order to gain Christ. Paul is talking about laying aside all of his hard-earned religious achievements that impressed men in order to receive Christ by grace. 

I believe Paul serves as an example of what happens to all believers here. All of us, in order to receive Christ at salvation, must let go of the things of this world. In order to receive God's grace and grasp hold of the cross, we must first empty our hands of our current gods. It makes no difference if that god is pleasure, or self-reliance. Jesus will not share the throne of our hearts with anyone. 

If you haven't already, let go of all that our world considers gain so that you may gain salvation in Jesus. Turn to Him in faith asking Him to forgive you of your sins, believing that His death on the cross paid the price for your sin and His resurrection from the dead set you free from the power of sin. Look to Him for grace and salvation.

For those of us who have already accepted Jesus, Paul has a further word. In verse eight Paul makes a subtle shift to the present tense to indicate that now, having progressed further in his Christian walk, he has let go of even more things to gain Christ. In the past Paul counted as loss the things that were previously to his gain. He had to do this for salvation. Now that he has tasted of Jesus' grace, now that he has seen how surpassingly good Christ is, Paul has willingly counts all things in this world as loss in order to have more of Jesus.

Many believers fail to live as courageously for Jesus as Paul did. Why is that? Why was Paul willing to suffer to take the gospel to new places? Why did he never take a wife, build a home and have children? Why was he willing to lay down his life and die as an example for the church and as a testimony to unbelievers? Because Paul was thoroughly convinced that Jesus was far better than anything this world has to offer. Here is a man who was deeply in love with Jesus, and he was willing to sacrifice anything...everything in order to that he might grow closer to Him. Paul wanted to know Him more and serve Him better.

Why is it that we can never find time for Bible study or prayer? Why is it that we are still so entangled by the cares of this world: by money, fear, reputation, success, and the opinions of men? Why is it that we are still struggling with the same old sins so many years after our conversion? It is because we love this world far too much and we love Jesus far too little!

O Lord, help us to fall more deeply in love with You today! Remind us of Jesus' surpassing greatness. Give us a glimpse of His beauty and His goodness again. Call us back to you in gentleness and in love. As we grow in our relationship with You, help us to let go of this world and to cling to the cross of Jesus more closely day by day.

Lessons from Philemon: The Gospel Changes Everything

I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. 

Philemon 10-16a

There are certain moments in life that simply change everything... moments that are so significant that after they occur nothing is ever the same again. Like the moment you hear the preacher say, "I now pronounce you man and wife." Or that first moment you lay eyes on your child. These moments change us. They affects us deeply both because of their innate power and because they are a forerunner of a host of other changes bursting into our lives. In Paul's little letter to Philemon we learn that the most significant of these life changing moments is the moment of salvation.

Onesimus had been a slave in Philemon's household until, severely unhappy in his bonds, Onesimus seized an opportunity to escape. It was dangerous to be a runaway slave in first century Roman society, if caught one could be killed. So Onesimus did what many other runaway slaves did. He did his best to disappear into the crowds of Rome, the largest city in the empire. As providence would have it, Onesimus found himself in the company of the Apostle Paul imprisoned in Rome for the sake of the gospel. Perhaps it was seeing a man so willingly submit to chains for the gospel that caught Onesimus' attention. Either way, Onesimus heard the truth about Jesus from Paul. He was moved by the Spirit, and responded in faith. Onesimus was never the same again.

In verse eleven Paul uses a play on words to describe the significant change that took place in this fugitive's life. The name Onesimus was commonly given to slaves in the first century because it meant "useful." Yet, Paul says that our Onesimus was decidedly useless as a slave. Yet, once he had received the gospel, he was changed. Perhaps for the first time in his life Onesimus found himself wanting to serve others. He began selflessly ministering to Paul's needs and helping in the advance of the gospel. Onesimus was a changed man. Though these details are not recorded in Scripture and therefore are not beyond scrutiny, church tradition tells us that this very same Onesimus later became the bishop of Ephesus and was eventually martyred for his faith in Rome.

What we learn from Onesimus' life is that the gospel changes everything. It changes who we are. It changes our character. The Apostle Paul certainly knew this. The gospel changed him from a murdering enemy of Jesus to an apostle and great missionary of the faith. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here!" Simply put, if the gospel hasn't changed you, you aren't a Christian. So I must ask. Has the gospel changed you? 

Jesus Himself said, "Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" (Matthew 7:22-23) So don't consider what you have accomplished, but what the gospel has accomplished in you. Has the gospel changed you? If not, then allow me to share with you the same powerful truth that the Apostle Paul shared with Onesimus in hopes that the Spirit will use this opportunity to reach down and change your heart today. 

All of us have sinned against God, rejected His authority, and gone about living lives our own way. In this way we have made ourselves enemies of God, rightly deserving His wrath and punishment. But God is loving and gracious. So in Jesus He took on the nature of humanity and paid the penalty for our sin. He took our punishment on the cross. He died in our place and then he beat the power of sin and death by his resurrection on the third day. So that "if you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

For further reading...

• Philemon- Check out the full letter to Philemon. It's only 25 verses.