TNTWhen you study the English language, you find that it – because it is a fairly new language compared to some in the world–it sometimes cheats with words. there are words in our language that are actually just words in other languages stolen by English speakers.

For example “baptism”: The word means “to immerse” but we took the greek word “baptizo” and just made an English word out of it. Same thing with “fiancé” or “caveat;” those are foreign words we just took and claimed as English.

There’s a word in the Greek “dunamis;” it’s translated as “power” in Romans 1:16:

I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the POWER of God unto salvation

The gospel is God’s POWER (“Dunamis” is the word).

Well we get our English word “dynamite” from the Greek word “dunamis.” Now dunamis doesn’t mean dynamite (just because you get a word from a word, doesn’t mean that’s what the word means…necessarily. Got it?).

I always chuckle when I hear someone say the Gospel is God’s dynamite, like he’s going to BLOW UP your sin.

But you can say that God does have a power, and He uses that power to save a man from sin. What is that power?

It’s TNT…but its not dynamite.

It’s…The New Testament.

 

T – THE

First of all don’t overlook the word “the.”  “the” is a powerful word. THE implies singularity, THE implies exclusivity, THE implies not just “there only is one” but that “you only need one.” Notice that the Gospel is THE POWER (Romans 1:16). How can I–the unrighteous, sinful me–be able to approach a holy and pure God? The answer is through the Gospel; not through the works of men, not through the law of Moses, but through one power only…

So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Romans 1:15-17

I am justified (made righteous and saved) by the power of God, and it is the Gospel–contained in The New Testament–that is God’s only power. It is THE power to save.

 

N – NEW

When Moses gave the Law to the people at Sinai’s foot, he sprinkled the blood of a calf on the tablets of stone and on the people…

And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

Exodus 24:7-8

The old covenant was a very bloody law: There were dozens of different sacrifices for dozens of different occasions (lambs, bulls, goats, doves — blood blood blood). The stench of it, the smell of so much rotting flesh was naturally repulsive to the people. It was a stank a stench that stunk to high heaven (as the saying goes)…and it was designed that way.

It smelled so foul that the people, when they smelled the stench of blood and sacrificed flesh, would be reminded of the vulgarity of sin. Their sin was represented in the death of the animal. It was animal blood that Moses sprinkled on the people and said “this is the blood of the covenant…” Those animals shed their blood to seal an agreement (covenant) between men and God.

1500 years later, Jesus took a cup of grape juice and said, with symbolism in mind, “This is MY blood…Of the NEW covenant, which is shed…For the REMISSION sins (Matthew 26:28).”

Anyone who wants to argue that we live under the same law that those in Moses day lived, not only misunderstand history, they also disrespect the Christ who shed His blood to bring about a NEW agreement between God and man. An agreement which we call THE…NEW…

 

T – TESTAMENT

The word “testament” literally means “a contract.” It refers to an agreement between two parties. The New Testament is, among other things, an agreement between you and God. And just to show that God is serious about that agreement, He sent His son to sign the contract in blood.

It is a testament that is IN FORCE.

It is in force today because Christ died to establish it (Hebrews 9:15-17). Just as animals were killed to maintain the enforcement of the Old Testament with Israel, Christ died to enforce the New Testament with humanity. Unlike with the Old, Christ needed only to die once, after which He rose never to die again (which means, His Testament will never expire).

It is a testament that is  INFLEXABLE

If I don’t become a Christian I’m not going to Heaven, it’s as simple as that. People have it totally wrong when they say “what kind of God would send me to hell!”

No no no no no no: You’re sending yourself to Hell. God doesn’t send anyone to Hell, in that sense; God offers you a way out of Hell. But that way out is not open to negotiation. And once I accept that agreement and am saved, that way out He has given me is not so flexable that I can go back to living the way I want. If I do go back, it will be even worse than if I had never obeyed Christ in the first place. it’s like a dog that goes back to eat its own vomit (2 Peter 2:20-22).

He gave me The New Testament, the power save me. If I turn away from that Testament, I have only myself to blame. His testament is in force, is inflexible…

It is a testament that is  INFINITE.

How you obey this testament will decide your eternity. If we do not obey the words of His testament, He will judge us and find us guilty (John 12:47-48).

Unfortunately there is nothing I can say or do, and there is nothing I can show, and there is no way to fully get through to a person what eternity means. If there were a thousand thousand mellinia with no growing old or getting bored, it still would not compare to eternity. It is an idea that is totally counter to the way our minds work, since our minds and bodies and everything we see around us are totally finite. They all have an expiration date. The only thing we have that doesn’t have an expiration date is our soul.

So if I choose to neglect the care of my soul and ignore the powerful Gospel that God gave me to save it, then I will have all of forever to regret it. Because His testament is in force, inflexible, and infinite.

 

T-N-T: THE. NEW. TESTAMENT.

It is God’s power to save.

Has it saved you? Have you obeyed it?

Mark 16:16…read it for yourself and see for yourself – the power of God to save you.

Think about it,
have a great day!