If you have to ask how much salvation costs, you can't afford it. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 34 Q. Why do you call Jesus “our Lord”? A. Because— not with gold or silver, but with his precious blood— he has set us free from sin and from the tyranny of the devil, and has bought us, body and soul, to be his very own. Summary In 1 Peter, the apostle Peter is writing to the churches in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (what is now modern-day Turkey). They are enduring persecution for being Christians, and he is writing to encourage them. One of his points of encouragement focuses on being holy because they now belong to God through Jesus Christ. His encouragement focuses on the cost of their salvation. Their salvation was not bought with silver or gold, things that are perishable, but with the precious blood of Jesus. Dig Deeper The Reformation started because a man named Martin Luther spoke out against indulgences, among other things. On October 31, 1517 he nailed his ninety-five theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. The Roman Catholic Church was selling indulgences to raise money to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. At that time, the Roman Catholic Church claimed that indulgences absolved buyers from all punishments and granted them salvation. Essentially, you could buy a loved one’s way into heaven. This was an especially powerful tactic that focused on those who had already died. If you were unsure of your deceased loved one’s salvation, you could buy an indulgence and they would be saved. Luther correctly stated that was unbiblical, and therefore, untrue. A person cannot buy their way into heaven, nor can they purchase the salvation of another. While we may understand this biblical truth, we may not always live it. At times, we may think our hard work, our acts of kindness, our worldly success, or our status make us good enough. If we do enough good things, we will be worthy of God’s love and have earned our salvation. That simply isn’t true. No amount of good works will earn salvation. No amount of worldly success will be enough for heavenly glory. No amount of money is enough, because salvation cannot be purchased. If we cannot buy or earn our salvation, how then can we be saved? We will explore that over the next two days. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Heavenly Father, you are merciful and full of grace; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Help me to remember that I cannot buy your love or earn my salvation, so that I show you gratitude by the way I live. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Galatians 6

John 3:19–21 (NIV) 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead created good, but in which "people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19

Jesus tells us in the Great Commission (Matthews 28:19-20) to go and make disciples of all nations and

Summary Leviticus 19 forms the basis for much of the New Testament book of James.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands (Psalm 19)."

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives the Christian Church our marching orders.

In fact, Jesus' words in Matthew 22:39 appear to come as a direct quote of Leviticus 19:18. When considering what it means to love your neighbor, much of what is described in Leviticus 19 falls When you have time, read Leviticus 19:9-19 again, it essentially contains a list of what NOT to do if

2: The Manifestation of God’s Love Zephaniah 3:14-17 - The Mighty Warrior Who Saves Lamentations 3:19 -23 - Great Is Thy Faithfulness John 3:16-18 - Simple Beauty 1 John 4:8-10 - This Is Love Psalm 103 - Rom 10:14-17 - The Power of Preaching 1 Cor 1.23-24 - God's Foolishness Psalm 93 - Mightier Than Chaos Psalm 5 - The Morning Psalm Article 11: God’s election is unalterable. Today: Matthew 19

2: The Manifestation of God’s Love Zephaniah 3:14-17 - The Mighty Warrior Who Saves Lamentations 3:19 -23 - Great Is Thy Faithfulness John 3:16-18 - Simple Beauty 1 John 4:8-10 - This Is Love Psalm 103 - Rom 10:14-17 - The Power of Preaching 1 Cor 1.23-24 - God's Foolishness Psalm 93 - Mightier Than Chaos Romans 4:18-25 - Faithfully Face the Facts Hebrews 11:39-40 - Promises Kept Psalm 33 - God's Control, Psalm 5 - The Morning Psalm Article 11: God’s election is unalterable.

love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 2: The Manifestation of God’s Love Zephaniah 3:14-17 - The Mighty Warrior Who Saves Lamentations 3:19 -23 - Great Is Thy Faithfulness John 3:16-18 - Simple Beauty 1 John 4:8-10 - This Is Love Psalm 103 - Rom 10:14-17 - The Power of Preaching 1 Cor 1.23-24 - God's Foolishness Psalm 93 - Mightier Than Chaos Psalm 5 - The Morning Psalm Article 11: God’s election is unalterable.