*Apology and Gospel Update*

**Transcription Below**

 

Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

 

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

 

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” 

 

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” 

 

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

 

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” 

 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

 

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” 

 

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

 

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

 

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

 

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

 

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

 

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

 

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

**Transcription**

[00:00:00] Earlier this year, I was spending some of my quiet time with the Lord reflecting on this scripture. "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." That's found in John 15:2.

These follow-up questions were helpful to process. First, what branch needs to be cut off in my life right now? Second, where do I see fruit? And third, what needs to be pruned? 

A few days later, God revealed something that needs to be pruned through the willingness of a friend to speak truth in love. 

So here's the backstory. There are a few of us friends who get together monthly for a potluck dinner. And Mark and I look so forward to this time together and it's filled with belly laughs and shared heartaches and lasting conversations. [00:01:01] 

We each take turns hosting the group and then we prioritize child care so that it's an evening full of adult conversation. The consistency of meeting regularly has produced much fruit and cherished relationships. 

So the weekend that I was processing these questions, a potluck friend brought up the conversation that she believes it's an error to say God cannot be in the presence of sin. We had a really good discussion of where that saying originated and how we all agreed it was inaccurate. Therein lies my big oops. 

This is exactly the phrase that I say when I present the gospel message at the end of every Savvy Sauce episode. I realized I was in error in the way that I communicated that message and I am so deeply sorry for my mistake.

One of my initial fears before starting The Savvy Sauce was that I would somehow accidentally teach something or say something in the wrong way that would be misleading or wrong. [00:02:05] And I especially didn't want to mess up on the most important part of each episode, which is when I shared how Jesus is the only one who can save us from our sins. 

My fears became my reality. But it's actually not as scary as I thought because of God's mercy and grace, because of His undeserved favor and forgiveness. So I have already apologized to my Father and now I ask your forgiveness as well. I hope you can forgive me.

So you may notice a change in the wording of the gospel message from this point forward. It took me months to re-record this because I didn't want to carelessly correct it without praying through these changes and then also seeking the godly counsel of others. 

Now what I would say I believe is that God can be in the presence of sin because Jesus walked among sinners. [00:03:05] He was in relationship with sinners, He dined with them, and He willingly gave His life for them. 

Naomi Vacaro said it really well in her Patreon episode where she expressed, "Sin only separates us from God if we let it." She goes on to explain that Jesus rushes to the side of any repentant sinner every time. That has definitely been my experience with Him too. 

We wrestled through so many options as a potluck group and with our team, but now we feel at peace with this version we've selected. I hope you get to listen to the updated gospel message next time you tune in to The Savvy Sauce podcast.

I am deeply grateful for this work I get to do and I pray God continues to lead and guide our team as we continue moving forward. So please don't hesitate to reach out if you believe that I've erred in any other area. Love you all. Grateful for you. [00:04:05] 

One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves.

This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a Savior.

But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news.

Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. [00:05:06] This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us.

Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

So would you pray with me now? Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him. You get the opportunity to live your life for Him. [00:06:06] 

And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you ready to get started? First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. 

The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible, and I love it. You can start by reading the Book of John. 

Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. 

We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process. 

Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." [00:07:11] The heavens are praising with you for your decision today. 

If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.