Just In Case

The other day I was thinking about how I used to really like the band Tesla. (This is not an endorsement for the band. They cuss in many of their songs and some songs are inappropriate). But I remembered that I saw Tesla in concert about 10 years ago, literally just two blocks down the street. Then in 2008 they had a song called Just in Case.

Just in case. Sometimes when we are not sure of something, we’ll say just in case. For example, you’ll hear people say:
“Take and umbrella with you, just in case it rains.”

“We keep bottled water at the house, just in case there is a storm.”

“We have extra batteries, just in case the ones we are using go dead.”

“I back up my computer, just in case it crashes.”

“Pack an extra set of clothes, just in case we stay another day.”

We’ve all used the phrase “just in case.” Here’s the chorus of Tesla’s 2008 song Just in Case:

Just in case I don’t make it to heaven
I’d like to personally thank you for giving
Something so beautiful makes life worth living yeah
Thank you just in case
I don’t make it

Folks, if your religion; if your spirituality or if your Christianity is similar to this, then you don’t need to worry about “just in case.” You definitely will not make it to Heaven. When the Holy Spirit lives inside you, then you have the assurance of salvation. You know that you are saved. You know that what you have, no man can take from you. You know that they can kill your body, but they can’t take your soul. You know that you are saved and that you have victory in this life and the next, through Jesus Christ.

If you are wishing and hoping that you are going to Heaven, then you are lost. If you are hoping and counting on a one-time prayer without a life changing experience, then you are lost. Just in case you aren’t understanding this, if you are hoping that you will go to Heaven when you die, you won’t make it. You are on the road to Hell.

When you are truly saved, you are a changed person; not by your own power nor by your works. No you are changed because of the power of Almighty God. When He saves you, He cleans you up! The Holy Spirit convicts you of sin. Through the power of the risen Savior, you can overcome habitual sin. I’m not saying that you will be perfect. I’m saying that God keeps convicting you and He keeps cleansing you as He keeps sanctifying you, during your Christian life.

Don’t continue wandering through life hoping and wondering if you are good enough for God to accept you. If you are counting on yourself; if you are counting your own good works, then you won’t make it. There is no “just in case” for you. You are already condemned. You are already under the condemnation of the great God of Heaven and earth. You have already missed the mark. None of us are “good enough” to make it to Heaven. We are vile enough to justify spending eternity in Hell. John 3:36 says, He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.

Jesus didn’t die on the cross just in case we needed a little help to get back in a right relationship with God. Jesus didn’t suffer and die on the cross to make up the difference where you and I fall short. No, there’s nothing that we can do on our own to clean ourselves up. We cannot do one single thing to save ourselves. Our sins separate us from God and we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. If you die in your sins, then you will be separated from God for all of eternity.

Jesus Christ is the only Savior and He didn’t suffer and die just in case. He shed His precious blood for sinners like us. 1 John 2:2 says: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Jesus satisfied God’s anger over your sins and my sins. He is the only perfect sacrifice that meets God’s perfect and righteous standard. Propitiation means the wrath was satisfied. Jesus Christ – the Son of God; took our punishment upon Himself. He paid the price. We have a sin debt that we can never pay in full (and that’s why people suffer in Hell for all of eternity); but Jesus paid the debt. He paid the ultimate price.

But you must receive salvation. You are not automatically declared innocent by God. Jesus paid the price and He freely offers forgiveness for sins, but you must receive the offer. You have to accept it, you have to receive it and you do this through repentance and faith in Jesus. You cry out to the One that paid the debt that you owe; The debt that you could never pay off in a trillion years. It was paid for by the Savior. Cry out to Him tonight and be saved. Be forgiven for your sins. Be cleansed from your sins. Your guilty conscience can be cleared tonight – before your head hits the pillow. If you will turn from your sins and turn to Jesus. Why won’t you turn and live?

Why will you continue walking down the broad road to destruction? Why will you continue hanging on to your sins? Why will remain condemned under God’s righteous judgment? Are you afraid of what you will have to give up? Do you love your sins so much that you are willing to burn in Hell forever and ever for them? Are you living your life for Satan, but claiming Jesus with your lips “just in case” God might let you in to Heaven?
There is no just in case. It’s all or nothing. Salvation is offered to you freely tonight. It doesn’t cost you any money. You can’t work for it. You cannot earn salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is offered to you freely, but it is a costly gift. Jesus said that you should count the cost before you follow Him. Even though salvation is free, the way you receive it is by giving up everything for the One who first gave up everything for you
In Mark 8:34-36, Jesus said, Whosoever will come after me let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

You receive salvation by surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus. You truly turn your life over to Him and say, Lord what will you have me do? Are you willing to give your life to Jesus? Are you willing to turn away from the muck and the mire of sin that you are currently wallowing in? Are you willing to forego the temporary pleasures of the flesh in order to receive everlasting life? Are you willing to repent and believe the Gospel?
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died on the cruel cross for your sins and for my sins. Jesus died on the cross to save His people from their sins. Will you accept His sacrifice tonight? Will you surrender your life to Him? Will you be saved? Will you stop living your life with some sort of spirituality that makes you feel good and that you have just in case you need it? There is no just in case.

There is only the case for Christ. He is the only way of salvation. He is the only One who measures up to God’s Holy and righteous standard. He is the only One who gave His life a ransom for many. He is the only begotten Son of God. He is the only way that your sins can be forgiven. Come to Jesus tonight. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Jesus came to save His people from the sins. Jesus has saved lost souls for 2,000 years and He’s still saves today. Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Oh, be saved tonight. Be cleansed sinner from your sins. Confess and forsake your sins. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). Put your trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you. Repent and put your faith in Jesus. Please, do this tonight and be saved. Just in case you missed it, repent and trust Jesus. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

(This message was proclaimed in downtown Springfield, MO on December 7, 2014)