If I should ask you as a Christian “why preach the gospel?” The simple answer to that question would be that we are sent to preach the gospel to every creature according to Jesus and the bible. And because we have this instruction from Jesus Christ, we as Christians are bold enough to present the message of the bible. However, if we were to call back to several scriptures such as Romans 6:23, and 2 Peter 2:9, I will say in addition to that answer, we are sent to preach the gospel because of a coming judgment.

It is because of this coming judgment, we as a church are focused on salvation. Because if we are sent to preach salvation, so that the world might escape this coming judgment. We need to know more about how someone can be saved from the wrath of God. And because we are focused on this doctrine, on account of the many denominations dominating the landscape of Christianity, we have a debate on our hands.

In many and every circle and denomination within the Christian family, to be saved is to accept Jesus Christ who will through his blood forgive our sins and we shall be saved. This is the truth, but there is more to our confession when it comes to salvation because according to scripture, faith is not blind, but is instead, demanding some kind of action on the part of the confessor. However, not to stray away from the blood of Jesus, we would like to speak to what the blood of Jesus is, and how we have come to obtain salvation through the blood of Jesus and its connection to this coming judgment tied to salvation.

And the first thing I would like to say about the blood of Jesus when it comes to salvation and how it is being used today, is to say the blood of Jesus is God’s covenant to forgive our sins. I will also say the blood of Jesus is God’s proof he will keep his promise to those choosing to repent of their sins giving up their lives for his son. And I will also say, it is an agreement we come into with Christ to serve him and to keep our part of the agreement.

Therefore, when we investigate the subject of salvation and how we can be saved from the coming judgment through the blood of Jesus Christ, we have considered the fact, the blood of Jesus is a covenant agreement between two people with Jesus becoming the guarantor of the agreement. And when we look at the agreement, we also looked at the consequences that come with entering that agreement so that when we preach the gospel and invite the world to join in, we are careful to let them understand what they are coming in agreement with.

Now, you maybe wondering why I am saying these things? And yes, I am going beyond confession to show there is more for us to do when it comes to being saved because their are two things we need to realize when it comes to the return of Jesus Christ. And those two things we need to consider when we preach the gospel are the living in the days of Christ’s return and the living before his return according to 2 Peter 2:9.

So, while it is good we teach we can be saved through our confession of faith in Jesus the living Christ, we are to understand there is also a practical side to our confession, a set of practical instructions we need to enact in order for those of us living to witness the return of Jesus. Because for one, we know we will face persecution from the world, and secondly, some of us will die during those days of persecution. And with that in mind, I hope we can now follow what I am saying and are about to reveal when it comes to what we need to know about salvation and the coming of Jesus Christ.

 The Blood Covenant

Let us now talk about the agreement God made with us that can be seen, and which is plainly revealed through the sacrifice and the Covenant blood of Jesus. And what I would like to point out is the reality that the sacrifice was and is God’s covenant agreement between you and God. But as we look at the death of Jesus Christ, we are to see two pictures of this agreement. The first is that God will keep his word by the offering up of his son as a living sacrifice for our sins, and second, we are to see the consequences of breaking that covenant as Jesus hangs on the cross. And to highlight this reality, we are to be reminded of what Jesus said in Luke 9:62 “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Well, what is Jesus saying to us? Is Jesus saying it is possible for us to come to him in agreement to serve him and then later in life choose to walk away from him? Clearly this is the case as we have seen many times over with many pastors leaving the faith, and others giving up the faith and moving back into the world. And because this is a reality, we need to consider whether we should be preaching repentance as a one-time event that will lead to eternal salvation without explaining both sides of the agreement that will lead to salvation.

Repentance and professing our faith in Jesus Christ are not all we need to do to be saved, and it is certainly not all we need to do to escape the wrath of God. We will explain later. But for now, I will say it is truth, we are saved by grace through Jesus Christ, but that is if we stick to the faith and hope that is in Jesus Christ. Because realizing the grace of God is the revealing of what is to come, we will know to be saved, we need to be practical in our faith, meaning we need to bear the fruit that comes with our confession, and our fruit should always remain.

Like John said which is the reality of the covenant of God, and the blood of Jesus Christ Matthew 3:10 “The axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore, every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” These are plain language not to be missed; for they are plainly showing the wrath of God is coming and it will be like an axe ready to cut down both men and women standing against the coming of the Lord.

Now, writing about this reality and the dangers of not knowing what the sacrifice of Jesus is about, we are running the risk of putting many in danger. Because Peter himself an Apostle of Jesus did not have anything good to say about those who would come to Christ and later turned away. He said, 2 Peter 2:21-22 “It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, then, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog has turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

And so, if you are able to accept this message and not find offence in what I am revealing, it is important to know the sacrifice of Jesus and the blood of Jesus is a symbol of God’s faithfulness to keep his promise to redeem us from the coming judgment, and as Christians, we are familiar with this truth concerning God’s faithfulness. We know He will keep his word because we have accepted the Scripture. Romans 8:32-33 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies.

In the courts of the kingdom of God, only God has the authority to set us free from judgment, and it is only God who has the right to condemn us to judgment based on the agreement we entered in with him through the death of his son. And knowing he did not spare his son; we can agree God will keep his promise and covenant with us, a promise to deliver us from his wrath. But equality so we must never put it out of mind or behind us, God will also keep his word to judge and condemn those who walked away from the agreement and sinners who have rejected him.

Repentance and Confession

What is the agreement we are entering into when we repent of our sins coming to the realization we are on a path to condemnation and need salvation? According to Jesus hanging on the cross, we are entering an agreement to accept Jesus as our king and Saviour, and we are also entering an agreement to pay the penalty for breaking that agreement. Just picture this scene where you are standing with God and Jesus, and God told you he was going to offer his son as a living sacrifice to spare your life, but should you later choose to break the agreement you will pay with your life.

Now, picture God explaining what is about to take place as Jesus freely offers up his life, he will be beaten, mocked, and nailed to a cross, and should you break the covenant of God, this scene and event will be returned to you should you walk away from the covenant. Because the picture of Christ’s suffering and death was the penalty we were to have received, but the agreement we have with God is that he will punish his son on our behalf so that we might live.

This picture is what we are to consider when we come to repentance and when we confess Jesus as our Saviour because our confession is our agreement to the terms of the covenant of God through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ. And when we look into the world and the coming judgment, and why we are preaching the gospel, it can be understood the penalty Christ suffered on the cross, and the picture of the sacrifices seen throughout the bible are shadow pictures of what the world will face should they refuse the offer of God through his son.

We are told, the world will wail because of Christ, a picture painted by John in the book of Revelation, and looking back at how those animals were slaughtered on the alter in the wilderness, we can see how these things fits into the wrath of God to come. John wrote Revelation 1:7 “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.”

This is Christ returning with vengeance against his enemies, and to reward the wicked for what they have done to both him and those he sent in his name whom they have persecuted and killed. John wrote, Revelation 19:17-18 “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.”

And coming to this reality, and if you find no offence in this message, may I ask you this question. “Is it enough for us to confess Jesus as our Saviour and move on to eternal life without any formal commitments? And is it true that once saved we are always saved by our confession? These are things to consider as we look at the subject of salvation and what we need to be saved from according to the judgment to come.