by Steve McCranie | Jul 26, 2016
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9 ). Which ponders the questions:
What is a peacemaker?
What does peace really mean?
And with whom does the peacemaker make peace?
Who is calling the peacemakers “sons of God”?
And what does this look like in real life?
Amazingly, the answer to these questions might very well change your world. To find out more, keep listening.
The following is a study on Matthew 5:9.
To download the slides to this message, click – HERE
Download this episode (right click and save)
by Steve McCranie | Jun 13, 2016
One of the reasons the church is in the condition we now find it, is because many, if not a majority of those who claim Christ as Lord, are actually lost. They have their faith placed in something other than the true, Biblical Jesus. And their allegiance is usually to something other than Christ Himself.
But this really shouldn’t surprise us. For the mark of this church age is the simple fact that Jesus is on the outside of the church longing to come in. And His call is not to the group, the church, or the institution. It is to the individual.
Consider the following:
Revelation 3:20 – “Behold, (what) I (Christ) stand at the door (of His church) and knock. If anyone (personal) hears My voice (John 10:27) and opens the door (of His church), I will come in to him (personal) and dine with him (personal), and he with Me (personal).”
Could this be you? Could it be someone you know? If so, then keep listening.
The following is a study on True Salvation.
To download the slides for this message, click – HERE
Download this episode (right click and save)
by Steve McCranie | May 22, 2015
When Jesus begins to close His public ministry He makes a statement that, if not understood correctly, casts the Father in the light of a cruel taskmaster, a petty ruler, or a cold, cynical, calculating Nazi. But when this same statement of Jesus is understood properly, in context, it shows the breathtaking love and grace of the Father in a way that will astound each of us.
We find the controversial statement in John 12:39-40:
Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
“He (God) has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, (why) lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I (God) should heal them.”
Does this really mean what it says? Does God really harden people’s heart so they can’t believe in Him? Yes. And no. But you’ll have to keep listening to find out more.
The following is a study on John 12:37-50.
Download this episode (right click and save)
by Steve McCranie | Nov 6, 2014
One of the greatest tightrope walkers the world has ever seen was a man named Charles Blondin— or, as he was known internationally, the Great Blondin. Charles Blondin was born on February 28, 1924 and rose to international fame by being the first person to tightrope across Niagara Falls. He was a master showman, highly skilled at his craft, and gifted with a unique, riveting flair for the dramatic. For the better part of three decades he entertained huge, mesmerized audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
But his greatest feat took place on June 30, 1959, when he became the first man to cross the great Niagara Gorge or, as we call it today, Niagara Falls.
On that day over twenty-five thousand people gathered on both the American and Canadian sides of the Falls to watch the Great Blondin attempt the impossible. He was to walk on a thin rope only 2 inches in diameter and made entirely of hemp, stretched 1,100 feet across the gorge, and suspended 160 feet above the raging river— all without any safety net or harness. One small slip, one slight loss of concentration and focus, one unforeseen gust of wind, and the Great Blondin would fall 16 stories to his death.
The crowd watched with nervous anticipation and he slowly, carefully, step by step, one foot in front of the other, made his way along the swaying rope, crossing a distance of over three football fields in 23 minutes. When he finally reached the Canadian side, the crowd burst into a roar of triumphant applause.
But the Great Blondin wasn’t finished.
Over the next few days he walked across Niagara Falls many times and each time with increasing dramatic theatrics. Today’s walk, it seemed, must be greater than yesterday’s show. One time he walked across blindfolded. Another time on wooden stilts. Still another while wearing shackles and another while wearing a gunny sack. He crossed riding a bicycle, he crossed in the dark, and one time he carried a stove on his back and cooked and ate an omelet over the middle of the Falls. With each crossing he pushed the limit of what the audience believed he could do and each time they responded in praise and adulation for the Great Blondin. It seemed they believed he could do anything on a tightrope. “Nothing,” they said, “was too difficult for the Great Blondin!”
One day he walked across Niagara Falls pushing a wooden wheelbarrow. The audience enthusiastically cheered . Then he placed 350 pounds of cement in the wheelbarrow and made the return trip. When he arrived back at the American side, the crowds broke into thunderous applause.
Looking at a man who seemed to be cheering the loudest, the Great Blondin asked him, “Do you believe I am able to carry a man across in this wheelbarrow?” The man eagerly proclaimed, “Yes! I believe you can. In fact, I know you can!” To which the Great Blondin replied, “Then get in.”
The man refused.
Blondin then turned and addressed the watching crowd. “Do you believe I am able to carry a man across the Falls in this wheelbarrow?” They all responded loudly, “Yes!” And again, “Which one of you will get into the wheelbarrow and let me push him across?”
They all refused.
No one was willing to get into the wheelbarrow. No one was willing to place their life in the hands of the Great Blondin. No one was willing to have him push them across the Falls, yet they all firmly believed he could do it. In fact, they’d just seen him push 350 pounds of cement across in that very wheelbarrow but refused, to the man, to get into the wheelbarrow themselves. Why? What’s the disconnect between faith and trust. What’s the difference between simple belief in something or someone and trusting them with your very life?
Simply this: It’s the difference between saving faith and non-saving faith. It’s the difference between true salvation and being deceived into thinking you belong to Christ. It’s the difference between the wide road of destruction and the narrow path of eternal life Jesus warned about (Matt. 7:13-14). And it’s the difference between a living eternity in heaven with Christ and all that means, or a horrid eternity of dark torment in hell.
It’s the difference between life and death, light and darkness, heaven and hell.
No Wheelbarrow, No Salvation
Are you one of the ones that believe the Great Blondin can do what you’ve seen him do, yet you refuse to place your life in his hands, you refuse to get into the wheelbarrow?
You see, eternal life with Christ does not come from simple, cognitive belief. Just believing is not enough. You might believe in Jesus. You might even believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for your sins. You may even believe He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. You may even go so far as to believe Jesus will someday come again to defeat Satan and bring in eternal righteousness. You may even believe that day is coming soon… but none of that belief alone leads to salvation. None.
Why? Because Satan also believes the same things about Jesus (James 2:19). In fact, Satan doesn’t just believe, he knows Jesus is the Son of God. Satan knows He rose from the dead and he knows Jesus is coming soon to judge the living and the dead and that thought makes him tremble (1 Tim 4:1). Yet Satan defiantly refuses to bend his knee to the Lordship of Jesus (Rom. 10:9) and Satan will spend eternity in “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Do you believe like Satan believes?
It doesn’t have to be that way. Your life now and your future eternity can be different. But please know, your time is running out.
Head knowledge, mental assent, is not enough for salvation. Believing the Great Blondin can take a man across Niagara Falls in a wheelbarrow is not enough— unless you are willing to be that man. You’ve got to be willing to get into that wheelbarrow. You can’t watch from the sidelines and think you’re saved. You’ve got to place your faith and trust, your entire life into the hands of the Lord Jesus, for salvation to take place. You’ve got to surrender your will to Him, everything.
Jesus’ terms are simple: It’s all or nothing. Jesus gives you all that He is for all that you are. It’s called the Great Exchange: His Perfect Life for Your Broken Life. You give Him your life, all of your life, the good and the bad, and He comes to live in You. Permanently. Forever.
You must die for Him to live. It’s called being born again and it’s the most amazing thing this side of heaven (John 3:3-4).
Not What We Say, But What We Do
If you claim to be a Christian, you’re probably pretty mad right now that I would be so bold as to “judge” you and your spiritual life. And I know that if you had a Facebook page, you would probably put “Follower of Jesus” or “Christian” or something like that as your religion tag. But look at your life. Look at the fruits of your years of living. How much of it has any eternal value or significance? How much of what you do every day gives glory to the God you claim to serve? How much of your actions and deeds are good, holy, just and righteous? Jesus called them fruits, “spiritual fruits” that the Holy Spirit alone gives those who belong to Him (Matt. 7:16-20). In fact, Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Did you get that? It’s not those who say they believe in Jesus that will enter the kingdom of heaven, it’s those who “do the will of the Father.” It’s not our words, but spiritual fruits that only the Holy Spirit gives.
Examine yourself. Are these the spiritual fruits you have manifest in your life? If not, be honest with yourself. You know you’re not a Christian. And if you would let yourself think beyond the immediate, you know you’re not going to heaven.
And that breaks my heart. I know we, the church, have failed you many times and haven’t lived the Christ-like example we should before you. I ask for your forgiveness for our failures. But I also ask you don’t judge Jesus by me or any other Christian. We’re a poor example of who He is. He’s all love and, as you know, we’re not. He’s gracious and forgiving, and we’re not. He’s more than I can describe and more than you’ll ever need or want— but you must put your trust, your entire life into His hands and let Him change you from the person you are into His own image, the person He created you to be. He doesn’t want to make you better, He wants to make you new.
Just Ask
All you have to do is ask— and then get into the wheelbarrow and let Him take you wherever He wants. You must put your entire life into His hands and hold nothing back.
My dream and prayer is for you to know and experience Jesus for who He really is and not who you think He is or who the church has portrayed Him to be. He’s far more than anything you can imagine (Eph. 3:20-21). In fact, my prayer for you has been the same as Paul’s prayer for those he loved. He says to those he loves the same thing I want to say to you:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come (Eph. 1:17-21).
Don’t wait. Get into the wheelbarrow. Give everything to Him. Ask Him, beg Him to be the Lord of your life and watch the transforming power of His Spirit change everything about you and make the rest of your life a blessing to many.
Ask Him today.
by Steve McCranie | Sep 1, 2014
Since we have established the fact that salvation is a spiritual experience and can also involve the emotions or feelings, the question to be asked is what happens when the salvation experience is devoid of any change in emotion or how someone feels? What happens when the person never feels anything, no change, nothing new, after they pray the “sinner’s prayer” and ask Jesus into their heart? What does that mean?
I know, just the mention of the “sinner’s prayer” gives one pause, doesn’t it.
What is the sinner’s prayer and what does it mean? What is a proper “sinner’s prayer”? What specific words have to be spoken in order for true salvation to take place? How much of the actual prayer does the sinner need to quote properly in order to get saved? What’s a passing grade? And how much of the prayer do you really have to believe to make it into heaven? After all, we don’t want to miss the cut by just a few points.
See the confusion? Let’s take a look at the “sinner’s prayer” together.
The Sinner’s Prayer: What it is
In the church today, evangelism is often focused on simply getting someone to say a prayer or a formula that we believe always leads to salvation. Why? Because we have reduced the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to a short creedal statement of mere facts about Jesus, or redefined it as a set of steps or laws, much like a cake recipe, one must follow. If we can get the person to pray the formula or recite the facts, or just agree with us while we mouth the magic words, then our theology states salvation has taken place. Why? Because, we reason, they have “confessed with their mouth the Lord Jesus”— and we assume “have believed in their heart that God raised Him from the dead”— hence, we conclude they “will be saved” (Rom 10:9). And, to be fair, a casual look at this Scripture could give you that impression.
This prayer, popularly known as the sinner’s prayer, can vary widely in how it’s administered or recited, but always includes some required key elements in order to make it valid. It’s a prayer that fulfills the confession requirement in Romans 10:9. And we just assume that to confess means to pray and believe what we feel are key components about Christ and His nature and His atonement. It becomes a sort of short mini-catechism or dwarfed creedal statement.
One of the key requirements in the sinner’s prayer are some words that indicate the person understands they are, in fact, a sinner and in need of salvation. This is obvious. In this part of the prayer they would acknowledge their sin and guilt before the Lord and confess they have fallen short of what God’s intention was for them (Rom. 3:10, 23). There would also be an understanding of their eternal state apart from Christ and His forgiveness and a distinction between heaven, the desired place, and Hell, the default place (Rom. 6:23).
Another required component in the sinner’s prayer would be the understanding of what God has provided for them through His Son Jesus Christ in order to have their sins forgiven and forgotten. The prayer would include some words that acknowledge the fact that their sins were imputed to Christ and His righteousness was imputed to them and they are trusting in His completed work for the atonement for their sins.
The sinner’s prayer might go something like this: “Lord, I know that I am a sinner and that I have lived my life for myself and not for You. I confess my sins before You and ask that You forgive my sins because I believe that Jesus paid the penalty for my sins for me when He died on the cross. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He was raised from the dead on the third day and I’m asking You to come into my life to be my Lord and Saviour. I renounce my life of sin and self and accept the healing and cleansing that only You can give. Thank You for hearing my prayer and forgiving my sins. For the rest of my life I want to love and serve only You. Amen.”
Then, as far as we know, we assume the person praying the prayer was sincere and, therefore, is now saved. But the Scriptures tell us the evidence of salvation is not a verbal prayer, no matter how sincere that prayer may be, but fruits that only the Holy Spirit can bring (Matt. 7:17-20). But as not to get sidetracked, we’ll look into the evidence of true salvation at a later time.
The Sinner’s Prayer: What it isn’t
The sinner’s prayer is not an incantation or mantra that always leads to salvation. More often than not, it leads to a false sense of security for the unbeliever and literally innoculates them from true salvation. It can function as the billboard to the wide road that leads to destruction Jesus warned us about (Matt. 7:13). Let me explain.
For the past century or two we have been taught, both in seminary and from the pulpit, if a person says the sinner’s prayer they are saved. And, under that assumption, we quickly baptize them to somehow “seal the deal” without any observable evidence of their salvation— no changed nature, no redeemed affections, no spiritual fruit, nothing. We simply accept them at their word and on the authority of the prayer just prayed and forge ahead as if everything was fine.
But when warning sirens go off and they say something’s wrong, they don’t think they’re saved, or they begin to doubt the magic prayer worked, we ignore their pleas and chalk it up to Satan “just trying to make you doubt what God has already done in your heart.” We point to Romans 10:13— “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”— and say, “Did you call on the name of the Lord? Are you a whoever? If you did, according to this verse, you’re saved! So just believe it and don’t worry about how you feel. The feelings will come later.”
Really? So it’s more like the Amway slogan of “just fake it until you make it.” No, I believe salvation, as we’ve stated before, radically changes every aspect of your life, and so much so, that you would know experientially if you had truly died and been raised to a new life in Christ (Rom. 6:4).
Reciting or memorizing historical facts about Christ does not, of itself, lead one to salvation. For example, at the end of a Sunday service a young man walks down the aisle and tells the preacher he wants to get saved. The preacher would, most likely, say something like this:
“Young man, do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe He died on the cross, was raised on the third day, ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and is coming again in glory?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Are you asking Him to forgive you of all your sins and inviting Him to be the Lord of your life?”
“Yes sir, I am.”
“Great. Then repeat this simple sinner’s prayer with me and you’ll be saved.”
But Satan could also recite these same historical facts about Jesus. He could even pray most of the sinner’s prayer and still not receive the gift of salvation. How can that be if the sinner’s prayer saves?
“Satan, do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?”
“Absolutely! I know it to be a fact.”
“Satan, do you believe He died on the cross, was raised on the third day, ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and is coming again in glory?”
“Yes, I know what He did on the cross and all about His resurrection. And I also know, and dread the day, when He will come back in glory. I know all these things to be true.”
“Satan, are you asking Him to forgive you of all your sins and inviting Him to be the Lord of your life?”
“No. I will not bow my knee to the Lordship of anyone but me.”
As you can see, salvation is much more than a simple prayer, it’s an acknowledgment, a life-long commitment, a fervent trust, a submission, originating from the very core of our being, that Jesus is Lord. We focus on the confession part of Romans 10:9 because it’s easy, and not the object of that confession, the Lordship of Christ, because it’s so hard. Simple, yes. But very hard. For it’s only belief, or faith, in the object of that confession, Jesus is Lord, that brings about salvation and not the simple confession itself.
That if you confess with your mouth (the confession) the Lord Jesus (the object of the confession) and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
To restate, there’s more to salvation than just mouthing the sinner’s prayer. And we would all like to think by repeating the sinner’s prayer the seeking person is actually declaring to God their total reliance on Christ as their Lord and Saviour and trusting in His completed work on the cross as all sufficient. And we also understand there are no magical words needed to be said in order for salvation to take place. Why? Because salvation is by faith through grace in Christ alone, plus nothing and minus nothing (Eph. 2:8). But there’s more.
The Sinner’s Prayer: The Caboose of Salvation
The reality is that a believer is actually saved before they even utter the first words of the sinner’s prayer. Are you shocked? You shouldn’t be. It’s not the prayer that makes a sinner a Christian, it’s the prayer of a sinner, already now a Christian, giving God glory by testifying what He has already done in their life. And what has the Lord already done? Election, the effectual calling of the sinner to Himself, conversion, regeneration, and much more. Sound confusing?
Regeneration and conversion have already taken place by the time the sinner places His faith in Christ and, based on that faith, utters the words of the sinner’s prayer. Plus, the very faith placed in Christ is faith given by God for that very purpose. Why? Because Scripture states, “there is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God” (Rom. 3:10-11). So the only way someone seeks for God is if God places that desire for Him in them. And the only way we can place faith in Christ, faith we don’t have in and of ourselves, is if God gives us the faith to place in His Son. Because on our own, as Romans 3:10-11 teach, we would not seek God and would not have saving faith to place in the work of Christ. It’s all a gift from Him, a sovereign act of grace.
From start to finish, from election to glorification, salvation is all God. And since this is true, then we’re saved before we even utter the first words of the sinner’s prayer.
Are you confused? Does it seem strange to you?
We’ll look into this topic in greater detail, next.
by Steve McCranie | Aug 31, 2014
Jesus, at the close of the Sermon on the Mount, speaks some of the most frightening words in all of Scripture. He draws a clean distinction between those who are saved and those who are deceived in thinking they are saved.
He begins by explaining the narrow way to life and the broad way that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14). And many, He says, go the way of destruction.
He then tells us we will know those who are deceived by the lack of fruit in their lives. Spiritual fruit is the only evidence, according to Jesus, of true salvation (Matt. 7:15-20).
Finally Jesus tells us many will be deceived on the Day of Judgment and be cast from the Lord’s presence. Why? Because they “practiced lawlessness” (Matt. 7:21-23).
Incredibly sobering words. Want to hear more? Then keep listening.
The following is a study on True Salvation.
Download this episode (right click and save)
