Every Friday in Cluj-Napoca, public transportation is free. Sometimes, though, someone either doesn’t know, or doesn’t remember, “It’s Friday, and the bus is free.” So they get on the bus and buy a ticket electronically or use one they already had, and waste their money paying for a free ride. When my family sees someone about to do that, we immediately tell them, “Don’t use that ticket. It’s Friday. The bus is free.” Most people are thankful for the just-in-time reminder.

Occasionally, though, we see someone who isn’t. They either don’t believe or don’t care about their opportunity. And even after it’s explained to them, they go ahead and pay for their free ride. “What a waste,” I always think to myself, when I see that.

It could be worse, though. At least they still get where they’re going. The only thing they lose is the money they spent on something that was meant to cost them nothing.

A far more damaging waste is the efforts made by people trying to make it to heaven. And the worst part is, those who buy their own ticket to heaven, don’t get to go there at all. Their tickets are invalid. That’s how God’s system works, according to His word in the Bible. Try to pay for heaven, and you can’t afford it. Receive it as a gift for free, and it’s yours.

Yes, you can have it for free, but your trip there is expensive—completely unaffordable to you, in fact. So you can’t go, unless the price is paid by the One who can afford it. That One is Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. He came and lived a perfect life on this earth, in our place. He earned the trip to life in the eternal joys of heaven for us. On the cross, He paid the price in full. He suffered for all of our sins, and He died in our place. He absorbed all of the punishment we deserve from God instead of us. And He rose again to life, promising forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life to everyone who believes. No such offer was made to anyone who tries to pay the price themselves–with their good works, or their religiousness, or their baptism, sacrifices, and prayers.

Still, most people are trying to pay their own way. Many of them because they do not know it’s free. And many because they do not care—they want to pay for it themselves, and they hope they can. That’s tragic. Because Jesus made it clear that eternal punishment is the fate of everyone on earth who tries to pay for heaven himself. “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?’” He said. “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:22-23)

So even those with a more impressive spiritual record than yours will have no chance of erasing their sins and getting into heaven, if they go to God to be judged on what they’ve done. And hell awaits.

Your ticket to heaven is free, if you believe and let Him give it to you. Trust in Him now. He died on the cross for you, in your place, and rose again. By faith, you claim your ticket to heaven; and it will never be taken away from you. Of those who believe in Him as Savior, Jesus promised, “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish; No one will snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:28)

Today’s message is part 2 of the first chapter of 2 Peter.

Part one of a 2-part look at 2 Peter 1. We examine what Christ has done for us, and what He wants to do for us after salvation, and how to obtain a great reward when we get to the kingdom of heaven.

Even a man after God’s own heart can fail in a devastating way, if lust or uncontrolled anger flare up in a moment. With lust later in life, David didn’t listen to God’s warning. In 1 Samuel 25, with anger earlier in life, he listened. Here’s today’s message on that passage.

Pride is never a virtuous thing. But pride in things that we should be ashamed of is pride of the worst kind. Our world today isn’t in need of more pride—there was never a time in history with a shortage of pride. When we follow our basest, darkest desires, we do things that should humiliate us. Our sexual sins of any kind or degree should be things we want to keep hidden because of shame. We shouldn’t want our nakedness exposed, nor our moral failings known. If as an individual, one of us reaches the point where he or she can engage in the worst behaviors their flesh is capable of desiring, and he or she feels no shame, that’s a level of lostness that should make him or her very sad. Because at that moment, there’s no reason for hope. Not hope of happiness. Not hope of life. Not hope of honor. Not hope of joy. Not hope of satisfaction. It’s just wallowing in darkness, and celebrating the condition of hopelessness. We’re all sinners, but we should all want our sins covered, not exposed and celebrated. We’re celebrating the very things that destroy us. That’s not sane. And it isn’t just happening to individuals anymore. Our whole world is joining in, not just doing these things, but celebrating those who do them. There is no lower point for our world to sink to. There is no reason for hope for society.

But for individuals in darkness who seek hope, there is one place for it to be found. You see, the God who made us wants us to be cleansed and made whole. To have hope for satisfaction, joy, peace, love, honor, and glory. For most of human history, God provided a system of sacrifices that would cover the sins of those who believed. Their shame was covered and their lives could have hope for eternity. Then, when the time was right, God stepped into humanity, as the eternal Son of God made Himself flesh and walked among us in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ lived a sinless life without need of shame. He lived that perfect life on our behalf, in our place, so that His righteousness could earn us eternal life and joy with Him. Then, He took our shame upon Himself, along with all of our sin. He hung on a cross, naked and bleeding, exposed to the world, bearing the guilt and shame for all that we have done in our rebellion and the hopeless darkness of our depraved minds. He suffered in our place, because of our guilt. He bore our shame upon His own back. Then He died for us. He paid the price for our sins. He absorbed every ounce of the punishment we had earned. It was in our place, instead of us, that He died. He deflected God’s judgment from us by taking it Himself. Then three days later, He rose again to life, proving Himself to be God and proving He had paid the full price for our sins. He rose to life and promised eternal life, abundant life, salvation from condemnation in hell, peace, and eternal joy in heaven to everyone who believes on Him. Unlike the animal sacrifices that only temporarily covered sin and shame, He had become “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” When you trust Jesus Christ to save you from your sins and the punishment for them, He doesn’t just cover your sin and shame; He takes it away—forever.

Whatever kind of sexual activity or desire or identity has been yours up until this moment, don’t take pride or try to persuade yourself that you are fine as you are. God made you. He loves you, even though you’ve done wrong. He wants to give you life today. Let Him. Don’t listen to the voices of those who want you to stay in darkness and never-ending cravings that can never satisfy your heart. Come to Jesus. Drink of His living water by believing in Him and His promise: “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” Don’t be lost anymore. Let Him rescue you today.

In the second half of Mark chapter 8, Jesus shows us the progression from being introduced to Him, to coming to know who He is, to coming to know Him as eternal Savior, to finally then seeking to follow Him as Lord.

In this message from Mark 8:1-26, Jesus uses words and miracles to grow the disciples’ understanding. He’s just beginning to prepare them for the cross. And we learn how He makes our knowledge and faith grow.

Today’s sermon from the end of 1 Samuel 23 to chapter 24 teaches us how to trust God to come through for us even when it seems like we’re in a perfect opportunity to take matters into our own hands and win. https://youtu.be/A4w2w5_fv9I

1 Samuel 23. When you have to wait for years to receive what God has promised, follow David’s example here. Also notes on how to hear from Him are among the lessons of today’s passage. https://youtu.be/28E4ezYMOvA

In this message from the second half of Mark 7, Jesus demonstrates God’s saving power as Romans 1 puts it: “for the Jew first, and also for the gentile.”

Legalistic rules designed to make us appear righteous on the outside while ignoring real sin issues are useless to deal with the dire problem every man, woman and child has before God. Jesus deals with these things and more in Mark 7, the text of today’s video sermon.

In walking on water, Jesus showed Who He is, and what He accomplishes for mankind and for us as individuals in times of trouble. The sermon from the end of Mark 6 is here in English and Romanian.