SUMMARY OF DR. PÉTER HACK’S SERMON ON FEBRUARY 5, 2023

It is God’s will that we lay down our lives for Him, for this is the only way to salvation. Those who live this way have nothing to fear. God has prepared a path for all of us that we must run. We can live without fear and run our race.

According to the world’s perspective, every person is born good, but it is the environment that corrupts them. However, the Bible teaches differently. Human nature is corrupted because of original sin.

A person is not guilty of sin because they commit sins, but because they inherit a sinful nature from their ancestors due to Adam’s sin. It is impossible to be born into faith through the faith of one’s parents. Jesus told Nicodemus that everyone must be born again of water and the Holy Spirit. Those who do not do this have reason to fear.

The wages of sin is death, and whoever loves death is an enemy of God. We believe that we become one with Christ through His death and resurrection.

Apostle Paul wrote that he no longer lives, but Christ lives in him. We believe that our old self died with Christ.

We must look back on our past with this faith so that we do not fall back. We cannot be roommates with the old self, we must see it as dead. Satan knows how to trap us because he roams around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Those who fall into his trap can easily fall back, and such fallen Christians can become very evil. Therefore, let us not be nostalgic about our old self!

For Jesus Christ, earthly life was suffering: He humbled Himself by taking on the form of a servant. He died once for sin and will not die again, but lives for God.

After His earthly service, He closed that period and set an example for us to do the same. Flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom. It is good to love our new selves because only they have the mark for heaven! Our old selves have the mark of hell because of their service to sin.

The main element of our faith and unity with our christlike nature is that with Jesus, our old selves died, and through Him, we are resurrected to live a life devoted to God.

It matters how we spend the remaining time of our lives. According to the Bible, our time is our life. There are two directions from the present moment. The past is the time of our life that has passed, when we lived in excess and idolatry, conforming to the expectations of those around us. Rebirth is capable of cutting off the previous path, and from then on, we will not conform to human expectations but to God’s expectations.

The Bible teaches that independence is not good. Satan’s rebellion began when he wanted to become independent of God. Independence made man a servant of sin. We can only live a good life by depending on God.

It is God’s will that we do not conform to this world but dedicate ourselves to Him. A good servant is always ready to act but never pushes, constantly watching what the will of the Lord is. We are all servants of God; our service is to represent Him wherever we are. It is important that we carry out this service with humility and faithfulness. God’s will is that we serve Him with at least as much dedication as we served sin before.

Addictions represent slavery, so we need to free ourselves from them, and the way to do this is to become newborns in Christ.

It is important that families experience a lifestyle that strengthens their fear of God. One of the great blessings of such a lifestyle is being freed from addictions. Someone is free from something if they can live without it for a long time.

Having been freed from sin, we devote ourselves to serve the truth, at least with the same intensity as we served sin before!

It is not good to nostalgize about the life before conversion, when we did things we are now ashamed of. Freed from sin, we became God’s servants. In every situation, we must strive to save lives.

Saving sinners for eternal life is our most beautiful service and responsibility before God.

Let us always be aware that we are new people, let us cling to this identity, and express it to God with a life fully devoted to Him!

The Bible verses referenced to during the message:

• Romans 6:1-23, 12:1-2
• I. Peter 4:1-5.