The Most Important Message the World has Ever Known

Hey, welcome to my show, Self Talk with me, Dr. Ray Self. I want to get into something really interesting in this show. Just the other day, I was at a doctor's office, and one of the nurses asked me about my podcast, and she said, “Do you ever explain the Bible in your podcast?” And I said, “Well, sometimes.” Then I thought, you know, I do have a gift at explaining the Bible and making it clear, and also helping people understand how it impacts our lives and how to respond to it. So, this podcast I think it's going to be interesting to you. I think it's important. I encourage you to listen and to share this with as many people as possible. I appreciate you being a part of this show. God bless you.

[Music]

Hey, this is Dr Ray. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for today. I thank you for each person listening to this podcast. I pray it'll be a blessing. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

So, as the story goes, I've had a request to explain the Bible. Now, that, that, that sounds like a, a big task, but actually, I think I can break it down for you, and help you understand not only the Bible, but its ramifications in our response, because it's critical that we understand the basics of our faith. Understanding your faith and what Christianity means and why, and the wherefores of it, are critical to your life; and it affects you every day, whether you realize it or not. And I want to make this clear. I tell my students at ICM quite often. I say, “Look, I don't expect you to memorize hundreds of scriptures and get into all these theological debates. What I do expect for you is to understand the message of the Bible. What is the message, and why is it important. How do we respond to it, and how does it affect us?” And that's what I want to talk to you about in this podcast. 

So I think the most important thing to understand is who God is, which is, is a big question. But I was talking to my wife this morning, and I said, “You know, a lot of people see God as this big loving teddy bear, you know, in the sky. Our loving Father.” And, and God is love, and that is true, He is love. The Bible makes that clear. But God is also perfection. He is holy, He is righteous, He's perfect, and He is a judge of the universe. He is our judge, and He is a perfect, holy, and righteous judge. So if a person is a judge, where there is a crime, there has to be consequences for that crime. Even though He loves us and God cares for us, and He's with us, He also has to execute his judgment because He is a righteous, holy judge of, of, of earth, of, of all of all His creation of the universe. And so that kind of puts us into a little bit of a dilemma. 

So we go back to the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve, and you know, of course, they were created in God's image, and they were fellowshipping with God, and everything was cool, everything was going good. Then one, one day, um, they got tempted, and they sinned. And the moment they sinned, they went into rebellion against God, and it cut off their fellowship. And so sin has a consequence. And as a matter of fact, we say– the Bible says very clearly that Adam began what's known as a sin nature, has– that has been passed down for generations. So man went from perfect and holy, able to walk with God every single day, to a person who sinned and rebelled and was unable to have that intimate fellowship with God. And we are actually born into that. 

So, sin…and all of us have sinned, the Bible makes it clear all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and this sin nature in us separates us from a God who loves us but is also holy, righteous, and a judge. So here is the dilemma: God wants a relationship with us but, but He's also a judge, and we're guilty. You imagine this, and, and I've often talked about this. So let's say I was a, I was a judge down here in Orlando, Florida. And uh, I was elected– duly elected judge, and I had a obligation to do my do my job. Well, one day in my courtroom, here walks– comes my daughter. And I love my daughter with all my heart. But I look at my daughter, and I say, “Daughter, what have you done?” And she admits to committing a crime. Well, now I've got a dilemma. I love my daughter with all my heart, but she's guilty. So being an honest man, I have no choice but to sentence my daughter to her punishment. I don't want to do it, but I must do it because I'm a judge. Well, God has made it clear in His word the wages of sin is death. That's, that's the punishment for sin. It's, it's a horrible– it's a horrible punishment, but that is the punishment for sin. 

So here comes the dilemma. So how can God, who, who wants to do this, how can God cancel sin and maintain His righteousness and be a righteous, holy judge? Let's go back to me. Here I am in the courtroom. How can I forgive my daughter of her crime that she committed, ev– because I love her, and still be a judge, a, a moral judge? How do I do that? What's the dilemma? Well, God had the same dilemma, but God had a plan, and here comes Jesus. So God had the dilemma, “How do I cancel sin?” Because God wants a relationship with us and still be a righteous judge. Well, Jesus comes into the picture, and here's the plan: Jesus said something very interesting. Jesus is about to be crucified. Now, this crucifixion of Jesus was the punishment for our sins, for your sins. And then Jesus said something that's very important. He said, “No one takes my life from me. I have the power to lay it down, the power to raise it up.” So the point was Jesus voluntarily gave His life as payment for our sins so we could be declared not guilty and have our relationship restored with God, okay? Jesus volunteered.

Now, if Jesus had not volunteered to die for us, God would have not been holy because God would have been murdering His own son and Jesus would have just been another martyr. So Jesus wasn't murdered by God, Jesus voluntarily sacrificed His life, which is an incredible act of love - which is why we should always worship Him voluntarily - sacrificed His life as a payment for our crime of sin, okay? And then in the third day, He rose from the dead in complete victory over sin. Now, here comes the crux of the Bible. If we accept that truth, and believe that in our heart, something happens to us amazing. This is God's condition. He says if we confess with our hearts, and belie– if we confess with our mouth and believe with our hearts, Jesus is Lord, we shall be saved. So if I confess that Jesus died for my sins and I believe, I believe He's the son of God, and He died on the cross for my sins, and He rose from the dead, then I become declared not guilty by God. Not only am I declared not guilty by God, but I'm also imparted with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit regenerates me, makes me into a new person. He makes me into a child of God. After this regeneration, which means to be born again, then I am justified, which means to be declared not guilty. And then I am also imputed with righteousness, which means puts me back in right standing with God in a relationship with God. Amen. All these incredible things happen to us because of Jesus Christ, and this is the message of the Bible, it's the story of redemption. 

Adam and Eve sin– sinned, broke fellowship with God because God's perfect and holy and He can't have a relationship with a sinful person, okay? So Adam and Eve sinned, broke relationship with God. Then God, throughout the old covenant, what He did was He set up a set of laws and rules, okay? 630 laws, which was very strict, very strict. And these laws were very tedious and very wearisome, which nobody could actually obey all of the laws. Matter of fact, one of the laws said if you disobey any of the laws, you're guilty of all of them. You're under a curse. So the question is, what's the purpose of the Old Testament? Well, the Old Testament and the laws of God, according to the Apostle Paul, they show us our failure. They give us a knowledge of our sinful nature. They show us that we cannot do this on our own. We cannot measure up for God, we cannot meet God's requirements, we cannot do it. So what does that mean? I need help, I need a savior. The old covenant helps me see the need - and helps you see - gives me a knowledge of my sin and the need for me to have help and to have a savior. That's the purpose of the old covenant, is to show us our need for a savior, and of course, throughout the old covenant, there are multiple– many prophecies about the coming Messiah. He'll be born in Bethlehem, He'll be uh, they'll cast, He'll die on a cross, He'll rise from the dead on the third day, they– they'll cast lots for His, uh His clothes. After He's born in Bethlehem, He'll flee to Egypt, He'll come back out of Egypt. And all, all these prophecies that Jesus fulfilled which, the statistical odds for that are astronomical. 

So the point is we're sinners, we have– we failed, God's perfect, can't have a relationship with God, Jesus comes, pays the legal price for our sins, and then God has a requirement for me, for Ray self, and for you listening to this podcast. If I accept and I believe in my heart that Jesus paid the price, which He did, for my sins. He paid the conse– He took my sentence. I had a sentence upon me, a sentence of death. You had a sentence of death. And this sentence of death was paid for by Jesus Christ. He paid, He took our sentence upon Himself. Now, if I believe that, that is imparted to me and throughout the New Covenant in the letters of Paul, and you see this in the gospels, the Bible points this out. We have been crucified with Christ, amen. We have been, we have risen with Christ. When I believe this fact that it happened, the– that is impute– that– righteousness, that, that penalty that Jesus paid becomes the penalty for me. He paid the price, He– It's like, I was sentenced to death; instead of me dying, Jesus died in my place. You were sentenced to death, but instead of you dying, Jesus died in your place. Then, very importantly, on the third day He rose from the grave in complete victory over death and victory over sin. So when I accept this, and I believe this, I die with Christ, you die with Christ, you're, your, the price for your sins are paid, and you rise with Christ, okay? The Bible says, Romans 6 explains this very well, that we have died with Christ and we have risen with Christ. And so, when I rise from the dead with Christ, I am rising in victory, and the sins are gone, and I am victorious and I am new person. I am born again, that's what born again means. I have been born again, I become a new person. Now, the Bible makes it very clear the condition for all of this is faith. Now, faith must have an object. The object of our– you know, I believe a lot of things, but the object of my faith is Jesus Christ and not just that He existed, what He did for me. And when I believe that, it becomes part of me and I am justified, I am redeemed, I am born again, and I also have eternal life. 

Now, one way I know this is true, because when I– this happened in my life, and when I did this, I literally became another person. I felt differently, I saw the world differently, and when I was about to sin, I had a conviction. Now, when you get born again, and you become a new creation in Christ, it's not that you will never sin again, you will, we all will, but if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. So yeah, we sin but we need to say, “Lord, I sinned. Please forgive me,” and the blood of Jesus washes us clean of our sins. So here, here it is, Christianity made simple. We were born with a nature of sin. This nature separated us from God, but God, in his goodness, made a way for us to be reconnected to Him, and that way is Jesus Christ dying on the cross and resurrecting from the dead. And what He did when I believe that and I accept that in my heart, is imparted to me. His death is my death, His resurrection is my resurrection. His death is your death, His resurrection becomes your resurrection. Then, the Holy Spirit comes into you. The Spirit of God comes into you. The Bible says we are the temple of the Holy Ghost. We become a dwelling place for the Spirit of God, and that's a whole nother ball game. And then we can get into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is the power of God. And so that's the message of the Bible, and everything in the Bible points to these truths. The Old Testament points to Christ, the New Testament explains Christ to us and explains the Christian walk to us, and that's it. I mean, that's what you need to know. 

Now, because you know this, I would encourage you to read your Bible with an understanding of the message of the Gospel. The message of the gospel is God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Now, the reason we don't perish but have eternal life is because of Jesus, our sins, our failures, are forgiven. Our shame is taken away, our guilt is taken away, our disease is taken away, our uh, c– condemnation is taken away, our shame is gone. All these things he took upon Himself, and He gave us His righteousness. The word righteousness means right standing with God. To be in right standing with God, I cannot be full of shame, guilt, condemnation, and sin. That has to be removed because God is Holy and perfect, and I am not. The way I have a relationship with a holy and perfect God is because Jesus gave me His righteousness, which means right standing. Another scripture which it kind of sums this up is in Corinthians, it said, “He who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” What that scripture says is Jesus became sin. He took our sin and gave us His righteousness. Righteousness means right standing. Right standing with God. I'm in right standing with God, you're in right standing with God because Jesus gave us that. It is a free gift. In Ephesians, the Bible says we're saved by grace through faith, not by works. All this is free, it comes to us by faith, that– the faith I told you about. Not faith in anything, faith that Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins, and you died with Him, and you rose with Him. That's the faith that, that saves you. Now, be– it's free! It's a free gift! 

Now, because– and I, I'm going to finish with this. Because we have this free gift of salvation, justification, redemption, okay? We have– of righteousness - our obligation is to respond to it. How do we respond to this? That's your Christian walk. We respond to these incredible things God has given us. The appropriate response is love, forgiveness, worship, going to church, giving, reading your Bible, prayer, praise and worship. That's our response. We, we– there's no excuse for us not responding to the incredible gift that God has given us. And I'm recording this just a few days before Christmas 2024, and it's just a reminder of why Jesus came. My seminary professor used to say, you know, Jesus came to Earth as a man so He could offer up his body as a sacrifice for us.

So that's it, folks. That's the message of the Bible. Now, I know you may say it's oversimplified, but it's not. And, and let me give you one final warning. There's a lot of people out there that want to add to this. Well, you're saved by grace. It's a free gift but, but you have to do this, you have to do that, you have to do this. Watch out for that. Salvation is free, justification is free. There's nothing you can do to earn it, there's nothing you can do to add to it. It's a free gift, and it's a-- an amazing gift. You can't buy it. You can't earn it. Now, I should respond to it, though. I should respond to this; that's appropriate. That's my, my gift back to God. You might say I respond to it by walking and living the best life I can, worshiping, praising, praying, having fellowship, talking to God, listening to God, that's my response to it. It doesn't save me. And some of you say, well, yeah, you're saved by grace, but make sure you observe the sabbath every Saturday, or, or make sure you tithe, or make sure you do this. Well, all those, you know, are good things, but they don't make you saved. You do these things as a response to your salvation. They're not required for your salvation; they're just a response, and the requirements are met by Jesus. Our job is to respond and to love and to worship and to understand what He's done for us and to be grateful children of God. 

Whoo, there was a lot of stuff in this podcast. I hope it's been a blessing to you. Uh, thank you so much for listening, this is Dr Ray Self, and I may do, do some more on the Bible. Uh, if you have any suggestions for me, uh, email me, drrayself@gmail.com. d r r a y s e l f @gmail.com. God bless you.

[Music]

Well, that concludes episode 201. Thank you so much for listening to today's show. So, it was kind of a bold attempt to explain the Bible and the gospel in one 20-minute podcast. Hope it made sense to you. I think what I..I know what I said was the truth, and I'll be glad to entertain any questions again at drrayrself@gmail.com. If you would consider, um, a financial donation to help us do the show, continue the show, that would be greatly appreciated, if the Holy Spirit leads you. You can do that at icmcollege.org/donate. Also, you know my heart is I have founded the International College of Ministry I think over 25 years ago, around 1998, and my job is to equip people for their call, to help you fulfill the call of God on your life. Get equipped and get credibility. We have degree programs in Ministry, Theology, Christian Counseling, and Prophetic Ministry, and Praise and Worship. Associates, bachelors, masters, doctoral programs. We take life experience, we take previous college education, we– it's affordable, we have hardship scholarships available. Check that out at icmcollege.org. Be sure and subscribe and uh, download and write reviews. Share this podcast, that really helps us reach more people. The main thing is God bless you, and thank you for listening to my show today. This is Dr Ray Self. Amen.