Nuggets from "An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith" by Dave Hunt - Are You Willing to Receive a Gift?

Nuggets from “An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith” by Dave Hunt – Are You Willing to Receive a Gift?

Religion, not atheism, is Satan’s main weapon. “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ…should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians:4:4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
See All...). To pervert “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts:20:24But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
See All...), the great deceiver offers many false gospels, but they all, as we have seen, have two subtle rejections of grace in common: ritual and/or self-effort.

Ritual makes redemption an ongoing process (unfinished by Christ) performed by a special priesthood, and self-effort gives man a part to play in earning his salvation. The one denies the finality of the cross; the other denies its sufficiency. Either one robs God of the uniqueness of the gift He wishes to bestow upon fallen man: “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans:6:23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
See All...).

One can only receive a gift. Any attempt to earn, merit, or pay for a gift, even in part, is to reject it. Furthermore, God wants to personally give us this gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. To look to the church, organization, or some other religious leader to dispense God’s gift is to reject it from His hand. Jesus said, “Come unto me…I give [my sheep] eternal life…I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved…” (Matthew:11:28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
See All...; John:10:9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
See All..., 27-28).