Jesus gave one preeminent sign that he is the Messiah (Matthew 12:39; Luke 11:29-30). How many who profess to be Christians believe the sign Jesus gave, or understand its significance for not only the generation of the first century, but for our day today? How many even know what the sign is? The answers may shock you.
In this message, we continue exploring the theme of Jesus as the prophesied Messiah, and how he fulfilled and will in the future fulfill the Bible’s Messianic prophecies.
People of various descriptions, shades of opinion and backgrounds have sought to predict the future, but are nearly always wrong. The Bible warns us about how not to go about trying to inquire into the future, and also how we may understand it.
Copyright © 2022, 2025 by Rod Reynolds
cogmessenger.org
“How You Can Know the Future” COGMessenger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Unless otherwise noted Scripture taken from the New King James VersionTM
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
Messenger Church of God
PO Box 619
Wentzville, MO 63385
USA
Many people believe that to be a Christian — to be converted — you don’t have to know much of anything and you don’t have to do anything. More than a few have sought to juxtapose knowledge and faith in such a way as to make it appear they are in opposition to one another. The only “truth” you need to know as a Christian, some allege, is “that the gospel is Christ plus nothing.” The implication, perhaps stated in various ways but amounting to the same idea, is that if you profess faith in Christ as your savior, nothing else matters.
Does the Bible have anything to say about the value, even the necessity, of knowledge in connection with conversion and salvation? Does God honor ignorance? Is knowledge something to be abhorred, shunned and avoided. Or might it be an essential element in one’s relationship with God, and in having a place in God’s Kingdom?
There are many ways in which God’s grace is revealed and demonstrated throughout the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Unfortunately, the idea of “grace” has often been perverted and misrepresented by false teachings, implying that there is a conflict between the concept of God’s grace and that of obedience to his commandments.
One reason that some turn aside from God is that they don’t really believe that God is gracious. Some believe in God just enough to have a morbid fear of what might happen to them, but they don’t have enough faith to really believe that God can or will forgive their sins and save them from death. The Old Covenant God made with Israel at Mt. Sinai was predicated on grace, as shown in Exodus 34:5-7. But God in his love and mercy also is a just God, and in his mercy and love for mankind he requires obedience to his laws which are given to us for our benefit. In God mercy, grace, longsuffering, and truth are united with holiness and justice. Like the Old Covenant, the New Covenant is also predicated upon grace, and it is through grace that we are ultimately saved (Acts 15:11; Romans 6:23; II Timothy 1:9).
God knows our frame, our weaknesses and our inherent sinfulness, but he is always ready to pardon us upon repentance, and his plan is not a plan of destruction for mankind but one of salvation. In this message, I point out some ways in which God’s grace towards all mankind, including you and me, is demonstrated. And also, specific things you can do to enjoy the fullness of God’s grace.
You’ve probably heard of “the gospel.” But what is the gospel? Do you really know what the gospel is?
Does it matter? Yes, it really does matter, in the most profound way!
Why? Because Jesus Christ commanded us to believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). Jesus Christ said those who believe the gospel, which also implies obedience, would be saved, but those who reject it are subject to punishment (Mark 16:15-16; cf. Romans 1:16; 10:16; II Thessalonians 1:8; 2:13-14; I Peter 4:17-18).
But to believe the gospel you must know what it is. And there is a great deal of confusion about what the gospel actually is.