Religion 25: Resurrection and Salvation

Summary

The speaker explores the concept of Christian salvation, using the story of his brother-in-law, Jared, to illustrate the journey of faith and the struggle between good and evil. He discusses the biblical narrative, including the fall of Lucifer and the role of free will, and explains the 'ransom theory' of salvation, where Jesus' sacrifice on the cross frees humanity from sin. The talk emphasizes the universal gift of salvation and the personal choice to accept it, suggesting that even those who seem distant from organized religion can still find redemption through their actions and the grace of God.

Takeaways

• 🛐 The lesson emphasizes the importance of understanding Christian salvation and how our actions on Earth can influence our eternal life.
• 🌍 The speaker discusses the concept of heaven and the uncertainty of its appearance, highlighting that the focus should be on our journey on Earth in relation to our salvation.
• 👬 The story of the speaker's brother-in-law, Jared, is shared to illustrate the idea of a meaningful life lived with compassion and community, despite differing religious beliefs.
• 🧗‍♂️ Jared's life experiences, including his travels and work with sports and communities, are presented as examples of making a positive impact on the world.
• 🤔 The speaker expresses concern about Jared's spiritual beliefs and how they might affect his salvation, reflecting on the broader theme of differing beliefs about life after death.
• 📖 The script delves into biblical references, starting from the creation of angels and the war in heaven, to the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, to explore the origins of sin and humanity's free will.
• 🍏 The 'apple' in the Garden of Eden symbolizes the choice humanity has to either follow God's path or to be swayed by the devil's temptations.
• 🐍 The devil is portrayed as 'Diablo', a manipulative force that whispers in people's ears, slowly breaking down their relationships and leading them away from God.
• ✝️ The speaker explains the Christian belief in Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and humans, who takes on humanity's sins and defeats death through his resurrection.
• 🎁 The concept of salvation is likened to a gift that is freely given to everyone by Christ, regardless of their religious beliefs or actions.
• 🚪 The script concludes with a reflection on accepting the gift of salvation, with the hope that individuals will recognize and embrace it in their lives.

Q & A

What is the central theme of today's lesson discussed in the transcript?

The central theme is the concept of Christian salvation, particularly how our experiences on earth relate to our eternal life with God after death.

What is the speaker's relationship with his brother-in-law, Jared?

The speaker considers Jared to be a best friend and a kindred spirit, despite their differing views on religion.

What is Jared's career passion and how does it manifest in his life experiences?

Jared's passion is using sports and play to change the world and be an agent of change. This has led him to work in various countries, promoting sports and play in orphanages and communities to help them thrive.

How does the speaker describe the concept of heaven in the lesson?

The speaker does not provide a specific description of what heaven looks like, emphasizing instead that the lesson is about the journey on earth in relation to salvation and eternity with God.

What is the main disagreement between the speaker and Jared regarding religion?

The main disagreement is that Jared is spiritual but does not believe in organized religion, while the speaker emphasizes the importance of religion in culture and humanity.

What biblical event is described as the 'beginning' before the creation of the world?

The biblical event described is the creation of angels by God and the subsequent war in heaven led by the angel Lucifer, who wanted to become God.

What does the speaker suggest about the presence of the 'apple' in the Garden of Eden?

The speaker suggests that the 'apple' represents the concept of free will, allowing humans to choose between God and not-God.

How does the speaker interpret the role of the serpent in Genesis 3?

The speaker interprets the serpent as the devil, or Diablo, who whispers in Adam and Eve's ears to choose against God's love, representing a diabolical plan.

What is the 'ransom theory' of salvation as proposed by Saint Thomas Aquinas?

The ransom theory suggests that Jesus, as God, offers Himself to the devil in exchange for the release of humanity from sin. Since Jesus was without sin, the devil had no right to him, and thus humanity was freed from the power of sin and death.

How does the speaker view the gift of salvation in relation to sin?

The speaker views the gift of salvation as an unconditional and eternal love from God that cannot be taken away. Sin is seen as walking away from this gift, but the gift remains available for those who may return to it.

What is the speaker's hope for Jared and others in terms of accepting the gift of salvation?

The speaker hopes that Jared and others will come to accept the gift of salvation in their lifetime, recognizing it as the greatest gift of all.

Outlines

00:00

😇 Journey of Salvation and Earthly Experiences

The speaker begins by emphasizing the importance of understanding our Christian salvation and how our life on Earth shapes our eternal destiny. They ponder the nature of heaven and our beliefs, setting the stage for a personal story about their brother-in-law, Jared, who has had a profound impact on their life. Jared's worldly experiences, passion for sports, and dedication to using play as a means of positive change are highlighted, illustrating a life dedicated to community and compassion. The speaker acknowledges their differing views on religion with Jared, who is spiritual but not aligned with organized religion, and the speaker's belief in the significance of religion in human culture and personal salvation.

05:00

🤔 Contemplation on Salvation and Free Will

The speaker expresses concern for Jared's spiritual salvation, reflecting on the Christian doctrines of afterlife and salvation. They question traditional beliefs that one must be baptized or believe in God to attain heaven, using their relationship with Jared as a catalyst for a deeper exploration of salvation. The speaker then delves into the biblical narrative, starting with the creation of angels and the rebellion of Lucifer, highlighting the concept of free will as a fundamental aspect of humanity's relationship with God. The discussion of the Garden of Eden and the 'apple' serves as a metaphor for the choices we make, which are central to our spiritual journey.

10:03

🐍 The Diabolical Nature of Sin and Temptation

The speaker explores the character of the serpent in Genesis, drawing parallels with the devil's diabolical nature. They describe sin not as a single act of evil, but as a gradual, insidious process of breaking down relationships and trust, akin to the whispers of the serpent to Eve. The concept of sin as 'diabolical' is expanded upon, using the idea of a trusted friend who slowly introduces toxic behaviors into one's life. The speaker also touches on the seven deadly sins, particularly gluttony, to illustrate how sin can be a subtle, destructive force in our lives.

15:03

🕊️ The Redemption and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ

The speaker discusses the role of Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and humans, emphasizing His dual nature as both human and divine. They describe Christ's experience of human emotions and His ultimate sacrifice on the cross to absolve humanity of sin. The narrative of Jesus descending into hell and the ransom theory proposed by Saint Thomas Aquinas is introduced, explaining how Christ offered Himself to the devil in exchange for the freedom of humanity. The speaker highlights the significance of Christ's resurrection as a symbol of victory over sin and death, offering salvation to all.

20:03

🎁 The Gift of Salvation and the Role of Sin

The speaker likens the gift of salvation to a generous present that may initially be too overwhelming to accept. They discuss the concept of sin as a form of walking away from this gift, suggesting that it represents a temporary rejection of God's love and forgiveness. The speaker emphasizes that the gift of salvation is irrevocable and that sin does not negate the offer of eternal life. They reflect on the personal journey of accepting this gift and the hope that others will come to embrace it as well.

25:03

🌟 The Impact of Jared's Life and the Acceptance of God's Gift

In the final paragraph, the speaker returns to the story of Jared, contemplating his life's impact and the potential acceptance of God's gift of salvation. They liken Jared's life to a gift eagerly opened without reading the accompanying card, suggesting that while Jared may not have consciously recognized the source of his good deeds, he will ultimately understand their divine origin. The speaker concludes by encouraging the audience to accept the gift of salvation, framing it as the greatest gift one can receive.

Keywords

💡Salvation

Salvation in the context of the video refers to the Christian concept of being saved from sin and its consequences through faith in Jesus Christ. It is central to the video's theme, illustrating the eternal love and relationship with God that believers hope to attain after death. The speaker uses the narrative of his brother-in-law, Jared, to explore the idea of salvation and how it might look different for different people.

💡Heaven

Heaven is depicted as the ultimate destination for the faithful, a place of eternal joy and communion with God. The concept is used to discuss the nature of life after death and the hope of a believer's salvation. The speaker questions the physical appearance of heaven but emphasizes the spiritual aspect of eternal love rather than the materialistic depictions.

💡Free Will

Free will is the ability to make choices without the constraint of divine intervention. In the video, it is highlighted as a fundamental aspect of human nature and a key element in the Christian understanding of the Fall in the Garden of Eden. The presence of the 'apple' in Eden symbolizes the choice humans have to either accept or reject God's love and commandments.

💡Lucifer

Lucifer, also known as the devil or Satan, is presented as a fallen angel who rebelled against God, desiring to be God himself. The speaker uses the figure of Lucifer to explain the origin of sin and evil, as well as the spiritual warfare between good and evil that is a recurring theme in Christian theology.

💡Diablo

Diablo, the Spanish word for 'Devil,' is used to illustrate the cunning and deceitful nature of sin. The speaker describes sin as not just outright evil acts but as a gradual, diabolical process of breaking down relationships and trust, leading to isolation and despair.

💡Covenants

Covenants in the video represent the agreements or promises between God and humanity as documented in the Bible. They are depicted as acts of God's love and redemption, showing how God saves and redeems humanity despite their fall into sin.

💡Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is central to the video's message on salvation. As both fully human and fully divine, he serves as the mediator between God and humans. His crucifixion and resurrection are presented as the ultimate acts of sacrifice and victory over sin and death, offering salvation to all.

💡Ransom Theory

The Ransom Theory, attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas, is explained as a theological explanation for the atonement. In the video, it is used to describe how Jesus, as God, offers himself as a ransom to Satan to release humanity from the power of sin, highlighting the sacrificial nature of Christ's death on the cross.

💡Gift of Salvation

The gift of salvation is a recurring motif in the video, symbolizing the unconditional love and forgiveness offered by God to all people through Christ's sacrifice. The speaker emphasizes that this gift is given to everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs, and is a matter of accepting or rejecting it.

💡Sin

Sin is portrayed as the act of turning away from God's love and commandments, often described as the result of the 'whispers' of the devil. In the video, sin is not just about committing evil acts but also about the gradual distancing from the gift of salvation and God's love.

💡Jared

Jared, the speaker's brother-in-law, serves as a character in the video to explore themes of salvation, faith, and good deeds. Despite their differences in religious beliefs, Jared's life of compassion and service is used to illustrate the potential for salvation outside of traditional religious frameworks.

Highlights

The lesson emphasizes the importance of understanding Christian salvation and the eternal love with God after death.

The concept of heaven is discussed, suggesting it may not be as traditionally depicted with clouds and halos, but rather a state of being.

The journey on earth and its impact on one's salvation is highlighted as central to the lesson.

A personal story about the speaker's brother-in-law, Jared, is shared to illustrate the importance of relationships and community.

Jared's global impact through sports and play is detailed, showing his dedication to positive change.

The speaker and Jared's differing views on religion and organized belief are explored, emphasizing mutual respect despite disagreement.

The concept of free will is introduced through the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The role of Lucifer as a fallen angel and his desire to become God is discussed in relation to human temptation and sin.

The idea that sin is 'diabolical' and not just evil is presented, suggesting a more nuanced understanding of human failings.

The speaker reflects on the nature of sin as a gradual process of breaking down relationships and trust.

The concept of the 'ransom theory' of salvation by Saint Thomas Aquinas is introduced, explaining Christ's role in overcoming sin.

The significance of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection as the ultimate gift of salvation for all humans is emphasized.

The idea that salvation is a gift that cannot be taken away, but may be rejected or ignored, is discussed.

The speaker's hope that individuals will learn to accept the gift of salvation is expressed.

The final reflection on Jared's life and the belief that he will eventually recognize the source of his good deeds as God's gift concludes the lesson.

Transcripts

today's lesson is one of uh utmost

importance

it is one of our salvation our christian

salvation

uh what happens when we die we know that

the kingdom of heaven

is what christ brings to us on her on

earth

as it is in heaven but how does our

experience here on earth

dictate uh what our salvation will look

like

uh life after death um simply put

uh it's an eternal love with our father

uh heaven heaven now what does heaven

look like well

i i don't know is it clouds and everyone

gets wings and we have all

cute little halos around us and we get

whatever we want

or is it that we each have many homes

waiting for us in the kingdom of heaven

we get a mansion

i don't know what heaven looks like but

um

that's not the point of today's lessons

today's lesson is about

uh our journey here on earth

in relationship to our salvation

eternity with the father

what is our belief system so i want to

start by

sharing a story about my brother-in-law

they say when you get married

you you marry into a family and that's

so true so be careful who you marry

but uh when i met my uh

wife uh and fell in love with her

at that time i didn't realize that i'd

also be gaining a best friend

uh in her brother jared

jared and i are our kindred spirits

he's one of the most amazing people i

know in my life as well

i like to brag about him uh he's

traveled the world

uh he's traveled the world he's went to

mozambique he lived there for a year

uh getting athletes from mozambique the

funding

and training to be able to go to the

glasgow uh commonwealth games

uh when he got to the commonwealth games

he got to actually literally stand

on the track like on the track watching

usain bolt run across

the finish line in the four by one

hundred

he got to see a princess kate

like literally got to meet princess kate

he's climbed the pyramids of the great

pyramids of egypt

he's bathed in the sea of jordan uh

he's traveled around the world he's

lived in uh cambodia

uh he's lived in vietnam uh and all of

the stuff that jared's done

in regards to these amazing travel

experiences has always been through his

passion

in which uh his career has been driven

towards

and that is one of uh using play using

sports

using the concept of play to change the

world

to be an agent of change and all the

places he traveled to was always

under the context of of ensuring

that he was trying to make the world a

better place by going to orphanages and

introducing games and sports and

play to be able to allow those

communities to

to continue to thrive and move forward

jared has a global community

one that i've never i don't think is in

my life

in circle of friends is unmatched his

global community is amazing i think he

had

he'd have a place to sleep anywhere in

the world if he if he needed to

uh jared loves community

he loves people he's compassionate

he brings joy to people's lives

and he brings joy to my life we love

talking about sports

uh there's been many times or at a

wedding

or or a night out on a friday night

we've hit a dance floor

and had the best time laughing and uh

just being in complete joy with each

other's presence

truly i gained a best friend uh in jared

now the one thing though that we

disagree on and

when we were younger and a little more

feisty i think we would argue about it

now we have really nice

conversations about this topic but the

one thing we disagree on is is religion

now jared i would say and i can't speak

on his behalf i would say jared is a

spiritual person but just doesn't

believe in

organized religion and i always have

expressed the importance

of religion in the journey of our

culture and humanity and how it speaks

to our heart and

and how religion's not this evil thing

that causes problems in the world

where i think that's maybe part of his

perspective the human side of religion

the human side of religion

causes some problems at times and so we

often fight or have good old healthy

discussions about religion and

about uh life after death

and uh he doesn't agree with all the

things i have to say and

i don't always agree with what he has to

say and and that's something that i'm so

happy that we have that mutual respect

for each other

now i always wonder about jared though i

worried about i worry about his

salvation

uh what is life after death look like

for him

he's lit he lives a good life up he's

not a perfect individual

none of us are but he's lived a

wonderful life here on earth but what

does life after death look like

and for for many people uh the

the doctrine the teachings of salvation

is

well you know what if you don't believe

in god if you're not have been if you

haven't been baptized

uh in the name of god like uh you are

not going to heaven

um and i've never felt that way and it's

partly

in that reflection of my relationship

with jared that i've evolved to think

about what will

salvation look like for jared so we'll

come back to that question at the end

but for right now let's start with the

beginning

and whenever someone says the beginning

in relationship to the bible uh we

naturally go to

genesis it's the first book in the bible

uh genesis 1 2 and 3

the beginning so if i said if you were

students in my class and i said

the beginning what am i what am i about

to talk about many of you would say oh

he's probably going to go into genesis

one two and three the garden of eden etc

well in fact the beginning there is

commentary of before the world was even

created uh god created angels we find

this in

revelations a book also found in our

bible but

in revelations we learned that god

created angels but a great

war broke out in heaven with an angel

named lucifer who

wanted to become god now that's an

important

part of this lesson he wanted to become

god he saw that god was so powerful and

he

god created the angels so so lucifer had

this desire to want to become

god uh and a great fight broke out

where lucifer the fallen angel was sent

down

uh into the underworld revelations

chapter 12

tells us about this in war broke out in

heaven

michael and his angels fought against

the dragon

the dragon and his angels fought back

but they were defeated

and there was no longer any place for

them in heaven the

great dragon was thrown down the ancient

serpent

who is called the devil in satan the

deceiver of the whole world

he was thrown down to the earth and his

angels were thrown down with him

so there's the beginning uh god creates

uh

angels some of the angels go bad great

battle happens in in

lucifer the devil the satan the ancient

serpent

the great dragon gets kicked out of

heaven

and remember he always wanted to be god

he wanted to take that

role but but uh but that wasn't in the

cards

now let's talk about the other beginning

the beginning that i think many of us

would have

referred to and that's genesis uh now

genesis 1 and genesis 2 are the creation

stories

uh and then genesis 3 is adam and eve in

the garden of eden

and this actually brings up a really

interesting relationship in this story

of our salvation

and you're thinking geez he's starting

at the beginning of the bible and we're

going to go

to the end there's going to be a long

lesson well i'll speed it up here you

guys

the other beginning finds adam and eve

in the garden of eden

and uh god loves humans he creates us

out of love he gives us the breath of

life

uh he wants a relationship with us he

wants to love

us uh now some people will say why did

god ever put the apple

in the garden of eden like we'd all be

living in paradise right now if that

apple wasn't there and if adam and eve

wouldn't have ate

uh that apple um why was that apple

there

great question and it's one that answers

our understanding in our catholic faith

of being a community of free will

we we have free will in all of our

decisions

we feel free and we do have free will

now that apple though uh is a great

discussion point about our free will uh

god had to put that apple there in my

opinion

because if god is love and we are

created in the image of god

and we are love and our relationship

with god is one of

of perfect perfect unconditional love

well love it has to be a choice even in

harry potter

uh in harry potter they talk about how

one of the

spells one of the potions or spells that

you can't use you can't make someone

else fall in love with you

you can take away their freedom you can

lock them up in prison you can

you can do a lot of things to a person

forcing them to do it but you can't

force someone to love you love is a

choice

and so that apple represents our choice

of choosing god

or choosing not god now

this brings back up lucifer the great

dragon uh

uh satan these are all great names

for the devil um

the devil represented as the serpent

in genesis 3 goes up to

eve's ear and whispers in her ear

why don't you eat from the app uh eat

the apple why don't you do that

and she says well because god said not

to and and

the serpent whispers in her ears no you

can do that

god just doesn't want you to know he's

hiding something from you

eat from that apple

now this makes me think about another

name

for the serpent and the other name for

the serpent that

i kind of almost kind of gravitate

towards the one that i kind of resonate

with is

uh a lot of people were

referred to the devil as being diablo

now the word diablo is the root of an

english word

called diabolical diabolical

and diabolical plans are different

than just straight out evil plans watch

any movie

a good bad guy is diabolical not just

evil diabolical and you have to remember

that

remember back to uh lucifer lucifer

he wanted to be god but god has banished

him from heaven

he's the fallen angel and

the serpent in genesis 2 the devil

whispering

in adam and eve's ears is in my opinion

him going for second best i don't think

the devil has

ever wanted us humans he's never wanted

us

he's always wanted god from day one he

wanted god but he couldn't get god

so he goes after the thing that god

loves the most

us humans he goes after the second best

thing

that he can get at if he can't get it

god he's going to go after the thing

that god

loves the most and so the devil whispers

in uh adam and eve's ears diablo

now what do i mean by that well the

reason i like the name diablo is i think

it actually explains what sin is

i think sin is a a very powerful

thing that we should avoid at all costs

but it's not as simple as people just

present it to be like this is bad this

is good

uh sin to me is diabolical

i always jokingly not sorry let me take

back that i don't jokingly say this ever

but i always say what's evil if if

someone came and just murdered someone

randomly didn't know who they were just

murdered them is that evil and the

answer is yes

but i don't find it diabolical

um how i find sin to be

is instead of just going up and randomly

killing someone evil

evil imagine someone

became your best friend gained your

trust gains your trust but in that

moment of gaining

your trust they start to whisper in your

ear

you don't need your family your family

doesn't love you

your family is bad for you and they

start breaking down your friendships

your healthy relationships with other

people

and they systematically break down your

life

and then eventually they invite toxic uh

toxic behaviors into your life maybe uh

drugs

and addiction comes after that um

and you've removed all the positive

people in your life

and you're here with this person who's

been whispering in your ear

slowly breaking down your relationships

you're now

maybe having an addiction to some of

these toxic things that have been

brought into your life

and you find yourself alone on the a

cold winter day

in a back alley by yourself alone

and you find a situation where you

slowly die

with no one around you alone in the

streets

now is that evil i don't even know if

that's evil that's

diabolical that's diabolical that's why

the name diablo

resonates with me so much that's what

sin is we look at the seven deadly

sins one of them is um is gluttony and i

look at myself

guys if the first time anyone ever ate a

bowl of ice cream

they died nobody would eat ice cream

that's like

poison it would be poison no one eats

poison because

it kills people so if if no one if the

first time someone ate ice cream they

died maybe the next person would be like

man i really like ice cream i'm gonna

try it and but then they died no one

would ever

do it now that's evil that that there's

something that would kill us that way

but

but the sin of gluttony isn't as simple

as just eating ice cream and dying

what gluttony is is it's diablo slowly

gaining our trust

uh you eat all like gluttony you

overindulge

in food now for me that's one of the

problems i have in my life i'm

overweight i

i sometimes eat too much uh i don't

respect the food that's

in front of me i just kind of eat it as

objectify like i just eat it

and i don't think about the consequences

but like now

uh when my youngest son asked me to go

play soccer sometimes i say no

because i can't even run up and down uh

the field more than two times without

being out of shape

maybe my relationship with my wife from

a physical attraction has been broken

down because

i'm not quite the same as i used to be

see gluttony is a gentle whisper in our

ear

that slowly breaks down our

relationships

that's what sin is it's diabolical it

just it doesn't just get you like that

bam sin hey gotcha no no sin is

diabolical

in the whisper of the serpent in

adam and eve's ears diabolically getting

them to

to do something against god's love to

choose against

god's love that's sin and

he's come after us humans as the second

best thing he can do

all these years all these years he's

never wanted

us he's always wanted god

he wanted god so he goes after the thing

that god loves the most

but we have a wonderful loving father

that through the covenants that we learn

about in the bible

we have a father that throat the history

of

humanity documented within the bible we

have situations where diablo has

whispered into

humanity's ears to do bad things but

through the covenants

our loving father comes back and he

saves us he redeems us

but then sure enough us humans we fall

back into a trap listening to the

whispers of diablo in our ear

and then our god saves us again our

father's love is

so powerful but i can only imagine and i

think it's good to imagine god sometimes

uh if you ever think you got

god figured out you probably don't so i

imagine god

getting frustrated trying to love us as

as as humans the thing he loves most

trying to help us but we constantly

screw it up

and he finally goes i get it

i i can't help my humans

because i don't quite know what it means

to be human

and so he sends down his son

jesus christ to be the perfect mediator

between god and humans

jesus being fully human and fully god

he's the perfect mediator who feels all

the

the the feelings we have as humans

i and jesus knew what it felt to

to be a human in love and in anger and

uh

he had to he would have known what the

the feeling of depression

and anxiety jesus knew what it meant to

be human

so that he could mediate with the father

uh

who loves us so much and jesus

we know that on the cross he takes all

of our sins

all of the whispers of diablo that have

caused us to turn away from god

jesus takes those whispers he takes

those sins and he takes them to the

cross

and he dies on the cross as the

the lamb of god sacrifices himself

to free all of us now in our

teachings of the church we know that

when we pray

it says on the third day he rose but

after he dies it says he descended into

hell

and i always wondered like where does he

go like what he descends into hell why

would he go down there and then on the

third day he rose

but this finally is our salvation this

is our salvation

uh saint thomas aquinas a doctor of the

church

comes up with a theory of our salvation

it's called the ransom theory

um the ransom theory let's just think

about a movie really quick there's lots

of movies where

some bad guys want to get at someone but

they can't get at that person maybe it's

because they're too powerful or they're

too high up politically

so if they can't get the thing that they

want they go after the next best thing

and a lot of times it's their kids

and when they steal their kids they ask

for ransom

and uh whatever we've all heard that

story so the ransom theory by saint

thomas aquinas

uh talks about how jesus who is fully

god

he is god descends down into hell

and as god he calls out diablo's name

diablo come out and diablo comes out

and the whole time remember diablo only

has ever wanted god

has only ever wanted god and jesus

who is god says diablo

here i am i've heard you been looking

for me

all these years you've been going after

my children

you've been going after my kids that i

love so much

humans us and i've had enough of it

you want me here i am take me

and you can only imagine diablo

salivating at the idea

of of taking god the one thing he's

always wanted

and jesus says but let go of my people

let go of my children stop

whispering in their ears let them go

and diablo think he doesn't even have to

think twice says yes here

take them take them

and he takes christ but the problem is

and we hear this often that

you want to sell your soul to the devil

you the devil only owns your soul

when you've sinned but christ is

perfect a man without sin or our

catholic belief our christian belief

he was perfect in all ways and so at

that moment

when lucifer agrees to let go of

all of uh us free us

of the the the whispers of diablo

he realizes that he has no right to own

the blood the shedded blood of christ on

the cross

because christ was perfect and we know

this because three

days later christ rises to show that

he's he's defeated evil

he's defeated death he's freed us all of

our sins

it's such a powerful powerful thing

now jesus did this for every one of us

our salvation is found on the cross and

the resurrection of christ

we are free because of it he's defeated

diablo

no longer can diablo whisper in our ears

christ has forgiven us of all of our

sins

our salvation is a gift given to every

single person

and i want you to think of salvation as

a gift

it is a gift that is given to every

person who's ever

walked this planet christian or not

christ didn't die on the cross just for

certain people he died for

all of us and this gift is one for all

of us

so let's talk about the gift opening

etiquette

uh gift opening etiquette um

guys for some of us you this might just

be like totally over your head

and this gift of christ dying on the

cross might not resonate with you

but that's okay not every gift fits

right away sometimes grandma buys you a

christmas sweater and i don't know

grandma thinks you're an extra large and

you're only a medium

well you'll grow into it many of us do

so maybe the gift just doesn't fit right

now in your life but there's no question

in my mind

that you'll grow into it now guys good

gift get gift giving etiquette

you never take a gift back so there's

nothing that we can do

to to lose the gift of our salvation

christ gave us that gift and he's not

going to say hey give it back to me

now what about sin uh how do we can we

just live our life however we want

um well for me i'll explain the gift for

myself

and i'll explain how i see sin now

i think that the gift of salvation is

the most generous

gift ever like it's

it's our eternity it's it's

unconditional love

but sometimes gifts are so generous that

we want to give it back like i can't

accept it

you're almost too humble to accept the

ultimate gift

and so i think for us with sin is

exactly that sometimes we accept the

gift when we look in the gift

we accept it in all that it is and what

it means to us but sometimes it's so

generous we walk away from the gift we

don't feel like we deserve it

and when we walk away from the gift

that's sin but then we get called back

to the gift which is ours it'll never be

taken back

the gift is there for us but

unfortunately some people walk so far

away from the gift

that maybe they lose sight of it

altogether

so that's how i view sin sometimes i

can't accept the gift i walk away

from it i think my human desires can can

do better

and then i always come back to that gift

and i hope never

in my life i walk so far away from the

gift that it's not there anymore for me

i can't even find it so our salvation is

a gift that can't be taken away we might

grow into it we might grow into it

hopefully we do and uh but sin is still

real

but it's now this journey of us

accepting this gift was given to us

do you accept it or not once again do

you choose god

or do you not do you choose love

and then finally i this brings me back

to my brother-in-law jared

uh i wonder about his salvation but i

don't really wonder anymore when i think

about

gifts uh jared has lived one of the most

wonderful lifes

bringing hope and joy and love to people

all around the world he

has accepted the gift of christ's

message so well

but for me jared is the kid and you all

have experienced this when it's your

birthday you just want to open up the

gifts as a little kid

and you go rip open up the presents but

before you start ripping the paper off

your parents always say stop stop they

all say stop they say read the card

first and you read the card and say oh

hey thanks grandma thanks grandpa and

then you open up the gift

jared he was just too eager of a kid he

opened that gift

so fast that he forgot to look at the

card

and so i'm convinced that when jared

comes to the end of his life here on

earth

he'll see his maker he'll see god he'll

see the gift in front of him

and when he looks in the gift he'll see

all the wonderful things he did here on

earth

the wonderful life and the goodness that

he brought

and god will say to him jared you

you forgot to open the card and that's

when jared will open the card

and at that moment he'll see that the

gift of salvation the gift of all the

good in this world that he brought

came from god he just didn't have a

chance to open the card yet

so guys our salvation on the cross

christ dying on the cross frees us of

all our sins

all of us have been given that gift and

i hope and truly

hope from the deepest level that in your

time

in life you learn to accept that gift

because it truly truly is the greatest

gift of all