Jesus Dropped the Charges, by the O'Neal Twins (Say Amen, Somebody!)

 You have got to hear this amazing Gospel song!

Jesus Dropped the Charges, by the O'Neal Twins

I was guilty (guilty)

Of all the charges (charges)

Doomed and disgraced

But Jesus (Jesus)

With His special love (special love)

Saved me by His grace

He pleaded (pleaded)

And He pleaded (pleaded)

He pleaded my case

I'm so glad that

Jesus dropped the charges

Jesus dropped the charges (now I'm saved)

Now I'm saved through grace and faith

I was guilty (guilty)

For so long (so long)

Lived in sin too long

But Jesus (Jesus)

With his special love (special love)

Reached out with His arms so strong

He picked me up (picked me up)

Turned me around (turned me around)

Gave me a brand-new song

Jesus dropped the charges (Jesus)

Jesus dropped the charges (now to Him I belong)

Now to Him I belong (look here)

You may remember (remember)

And remember (remember)

Some of the things I've done

But Jesus (Jesus)

With His special love (special love)

Forgave me from everyone

He put me (put me)

On the right road (right road)

Lifted my heavy load, yeah, yeah

Jesus dropped the charges

Jesus dropped the charges (now I'm free)

Now I'm free down in my soul, I am

He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges

Although I was wrong, ooh

He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges

Showed me right from wrong, yeah

He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges

Cast them all away

At Calvary

At Calvary, I heard Him say (at Calvary)

At Calvary, I heard Him say (at Calvary)

At Calvary, I heard Him say

"Case dismissed, case dismissed

Saved by grace"

He dropped the charges Jesus dropped the charges

Although I was wrong

Yeah, He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges

Showed me right from wrong

Yeah, He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges

And cast them all away

At Calvary

At Calvary, I heard Him say (oh, yeah)

At Calvary, I heard Him say (Calvary)

At Calvary, I heard Him say

"Case dismissed, case dismissed

Saved by grace"

He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges

He dropped the charges (He dropped the charges)

Jesus dropped the charges (when He died on Calvary)

He dropped the charges (dropped the charges)

Jesus dropped the charges (when He died)

He dropped the charges (for you and me)

Jesus dropped the charges (dropped the charges)

He dropped the charges (yes, He did)

Jesus dropped the charges (I heard Him say, "It's finished")

He dropped the charges (it's finished)

Jesus dropped the charges (it's finished)

He dropped the charges (finished)

Jesus dropped the charges (yeah)

He dropped the charges (I saw Him)

Jesus dropped the charges

He dropped the charges (when He hung His head)

Jesus dropped the charges (in the locks of His shoulder)

He dropped the charges (He died)

Jesus dropped the charges ('til the sun stopped shinin')

He dropped the charges (He dropped the charges)

Jesus dropped the charges (when He died for me)

He dropped the charges (He, yeah)

Jesus dropped the charges (when He died for me)

He dropped the charges (He dropped the charges against me)

Jesus dropped the charges (when He died for me)

He dropped the charges (dropped the charges)

Jesus dropped the charges (at Calvary)

At Calvary, I heard Him say (at Calvary)

At Calvary, I heard Him say (at Calvary)

At Calvary, I heard Him say (case dismissed)

"Case dismissed, case dismissed

Saved by grace"

He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges

He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges (dropped the charges)

He dropped the charges (yes, He did)

Jesus dropped the charges (dropped the charges)

He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges

He dropped the charges (yeah), Jesus dropped the charges (yeah)

He dropped the charges (yeah), Jesus dropped the charges (yes, He did)

He dropped the charges (when He died for me)

Jesus dropped the charges (He dropped the charges)

He dropped the charges (when He went to Calvary)

Jesus dropped the charges (yeah, and died)

He dropped the charges (between two thieves)

Jesus dropped the charges

He dropped the charges (dropped the charges)

Jesus dropped the charges (dropped the charges)

He dropped the charges (dropped the charges)

Jesus dropped the charges (dropped the charges)

He dropped the charges (yes, He did)

Jesus dropped the charges (when He died for me)

He dropped the charges (He dropped the charges)

Jesus dropped the charges (I heard Him say)

He dropped the charges

Jesus dropped the charges (on the cross)

He dropped the charges (it's finished)

Jesus dropped the charges (it's finished)

He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges (dropped the, yeah)

He dropped the charges, Jesus dropped the charges (at Calvary)

At Calvary, I heard Him say

At Calvary, I heard Him say

At Calvary, I heard Him say

"Case dismissed, case dismissed

Saved by grace"

Can I hear somebody say yeah?

The song says, "At Calvary, I heard Him say

I heard Him say

You know a lot of folk were standing around Calvary that day

But as He was hanging on the cross, I heard Him, at Calvary

At Calvary, I heard Him say

He was carrying the sins of the world (at Calvary)

"At Calvary, I heard Him say

He said, "Hey! O'Neal, I'm gon' save you"

I heard Him say

"Case dismissed, case dismissed

Case dismissed (case dismissed)

I'm gon' save you

Case dismissed (case dismissed)

You've been guilty

Case dismissed (case dismissed)

Case dismissed (case dismissed)

Saved by grace, saved by grace

Alright, alright

Oh, Lord, alright

Evangelism is About Revelation, not Reason

                                    

Last night, while I was visiting the Del Amo mall, a young man walked up to me.

His name was Anthony.

He started talking to me about Jesus Christ. He wanted to share the Gospel with me. I had no problem with him talking to me, since I had announced at the outset that I believe in Jesus, that He is my Savior, and I am so grateful for all the blessings which He has--and is--lavishing on me.

He began rattling off a number of Scriptures, including key passages in the Book of Revelation. He showed me passages about the Spirit and the Bride, and how they both invite us to draw from the Water o Life:

"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)

He then asked me "What does the water of life represent?"

I said "The Holy Spirit." and I referenced this verse in the Gospel of John:

"37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" (John 7:37-39)

He then mentioned the account of Jesus with the woman at the well in John chapter. I agreed.

He then asked me whether I had the Holy Spirit or not. I shared with him: "Yes, I do."

He then asked me: "How do you get the Holy Spirit?"

I told him that because I believed in Jesus, I have received the Holy Spirit.

He seemed perturbed somewhat, that I had answers to many of his questions. It really showed how disrespectful he was, that he refused to listen to me at the outset, that I had said that I am a Christian, and that I believe in Jesus Christ.

At that point, I asked him which church he belonged to. I was starting to wonder if he was a Seventh Day Adventist or a Mormon, or a member of the so-called United Church of Christ, which denies the full deity and pre-eminence of Jesus Christ.

The discussion then veered to how people need to keep the law of the New Covenant. He pointed to the passage in which Jesus took the cup of blessing at the Last Supper, and He declared "This is my blood of the new and everlasting covenant."

I was really disturbed when he said "Law" in relation to the New Covenant. I began to interrupt him, but gently. "We are no longer under law. We are under grace. You can find this in Romans."

He would not let me finish. He then stood up, said to me "You are a lawbreaker," and he walked away. A simple rush of peace came over me. I did not lose my temper, I did not raise my voice. Before he walked away though, I chided him, "Why will you not let me speak. I have allowed you to speak, haven't I?"

At that point, he called me a "lawbreaker," and he left. He did not get the answers that he was hoping for, I suppose. He had probably been trained that he would force me into an intellectual corner and cause me to acknowledge that I am a sinner or something else. He was hoping to win me over with a clear decision for Jesus.

What was really striking about his evangelism, if one can call it that, is that he did not mention the name of Jesus even once. He did not give the impression that he even knew how Jesus is!

While that dialogue between Anthony and me had been taking place, there was another gentleman, an older man, who was watching. When Anothony walked away, he laughed and asked me "What was that all about?" I told him how he was trying to share the Gospel with me--although the reality is that he had no good news to share, since he wanted to bring me back under law, and did not mention grace once.

He then remarked: "Wow! That's so sad. He was upset that you are religious, even though he was trying to make you religious. One would think that he would be happy for you!"

He was not interested in helping me. He was interested in "winning a convert," or at the very least winning an argument. That is not true evangelism.

I must admit, however, that I waded into this similar fight for pre-eminence with the older gentleman who started speaking with me afterwards. He told me that he is not religious, and he believes that there are too many inconsistencies with belief, plus all the complexities in the world, for him to believe that there is a God.

I insisted on asking him some questions. He clearly was not prepared to articulate his views on the issue. He wanted to defend evolution, and I asked him the usual questions which set such thinking to naught, such as "where is the evidence?" I also asked him "Where in the fossil record does one find the transitioning species?"

I felt the Lord telling me "This is not the right time to share with this man. This is not the approach to sharing the Gospel with him." Still, I pressed him a few more times on a couple of questions about the origins of the uinverse, how everything came about if not by intelligent design. Then, it seemed as though he had to take a call, and I took that motion as my cue to walk away.

As I walked away toward the center of the mall, I realized a number of things. I used to be an agressive evangelist like Anthony. I had a set of questions that I would press on someone, and then I could turn the whole situation around on them to say "You are a sinner, and you need a Savior. Would you like to believe in Jesus Christ and let Him be Lord of your life?"

Back then, I was so interested in winning arguments based on intellect. Today, I realize that Jesus is not just real, and real to my experience, but that He is more than a nice thought or a sentimental result of our reasoning.

Jesus is alive! He is a person! And evangelism should be all about sharing a great revelation of how great He is in our lives. We should be talking about Jesus the same way that we talk about a loving friends, relative, spouse, i.e. someone whom we know intimately, and whom we want others to know intimately, too!

Evangelism is about sharing the Good News, and that Good News is summed up perfectly in Acts 13:

"38Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:38-39)

We receive forgiveness of sins--all our sins. We are justified from all things, that we cannot receive by the law of Moses.

I did not understand the Gospel in this fullness at all. I had understood the Gospel as something so work-centered, so "I" centered. How sad it is, yet so true. No wonder I was not much of a witness in years past!

Today, I understand fully God's unmerited favor, which I receive through Christ Jesus. Today, I know that He is my life, my Savior. I am connected to a real Person, not just some figment of my imagination, or a set of principles or verses. 

"Herein is love perfected among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

It has taken me a long time to understand how fully real Jesus is to me. It's never been about me or about my self-efforts. It was never about having the right thoughts or doing the right things to ensure that Jesus would always be with me, that His Spirit would always be at work in me.

Today, I am learning so much about how to let that River of Life flow through me uninterrupted, unhampered by my efforts. I am learning that to share the Gospel is as simple as declaring: "Jesus Christ has died for all your sins. You can receive full freedom from condemnation and receive His life!"

Now I'm a REAL BOY!

I wrote in another blog post how frustrated I was as a kid.

I was so busy trying to be the good boy, the one who played by all the rules, who looked up to and measured up to all the standards of the teachers, what was expected of me, what was placed on me.

If I was a good boy, I was good. If I failed, I was a bad boy, etc.

This idea of being unconditionally loved, cared for, graced first, and then responding to that love -- I had never known that.

Such thinking, such beauty, such GOSPEL, was completely unknown to me.

For all the years that I had been going to church, reading my Bible, listening to sermons, following the rules blah, blah, blah -- I never knew how much He loves me.

I do not write "He loved me", because His love for me is eternal, never-ending, and very present, too.

I was so busy trying to be good, and yet failing at it, or just plain having no fun.

The frustration I felt, too, when I saw kids who did not play by the rules get all the wins. "That's not fair!" I used to think.

Grace is not fair, and we are called from the beginning to grow in grace!

God is not looking for me to be a "good boy" in my own efforts.

I can't even become that!

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" (Romans 3:10)

It is written. None of us our righteous, good.

Sin cannot be overcome by our efforts. It requires grace!

JESUS!

"Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)

Jesus did not come to make bad men good, but to make dead men live.

Or, Jesus did not come to make bad boys good, but to make dead boys real!

Just like Pinocchio in that fairytale!

As long as he tried in his own efforts to become real, he failed.

When he rested and just believed, he became real!

Don't believe me?

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

LIFE!

Life is better than playing by "rules." Ten Commandments tell you want not to do -- and they actually awaken sin! (1 Corinthians 15:56-57)

I kept thinking that life was some kind of exam. I needed to put myself in the right place, at the right time to make things work.

No!

Jesus -- He is my life! (John 14:6; Colossians 3:4)

Life is what He has invited me to receive!

Today, I don't try to be a good boy. I know that I am loved, adopted by my loving Father!

I have His spirit, the spirit of adoption. He is my ABBA!

And I am His SON!

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 John 3:1)

That makes me alive, real!

The Door is Shut, No Man Can Open It -- Your Salvation is Secured Forever

"And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in." (Genesis 7:16)

Just as Noah and his family, along with all the types of animals, entered the Ark to be spared from God's wrath has He rained on the earth, it is crucial to note that it was the LORD who shut the door of the Ark.

It was not Noah's job to close the door.

In a sense, the LORD was the last one in, in that He puts the safety and security of His beloved first!

Now, many preachers rightly point out that this door is a type of Christ Jesus.

He Himself declared that He is the Door (John 10:9-10).

Many preachers rightly declare also that because God is the one who closed the door of the Ark, the LORD assured complete, utter, unchanging safety and security for Noah and his family.

This shutting of the door is a type to depict that once we believe in Jesus, once we declare Him our Lord and Savior, we are saved once, for all, forever!

Yet there are some who take expection to this. They believe that people can lose their salvation.

There are a number of clear responses to this error.

But let's focus on the type and shadow found in the shutting of the door.

Look at Revelation, and see how Jesus describes Himself to the church at Philadelphia in the Book of Revelation:

"These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;" (Revelation 3: 7)

Notice that Jesus closes doors that no man can open.

God the Father and Jesus are one (John 10:30). Because of this revelation, and within Revelation, we can rest assured that the same Loving God who shut the door to safeguard Noah and his family is the same God who spoke to the Church of Philadelphia.

When God shuts doors, no one can open them. When He opens doors, no one can shut them. That is His power.

Our Salvation is fully appreciated in the same fashion. When He takes us from death to life, it is eternal life (John 3:16). Nothing can separate us from His love.

The door that shuts us into Jesus, our heavenly, never-ending Ark, can never be opened again!

The door is shut, no man can open it: your salavation is secured forever in Christ Jesus!

Jesus is Savior Every Day, Not Just the Day You First Believed

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2:20-21)

Jesus did not just save from death, hell, and the grave.

Jesus is in the saving business all the time!

He remains our Savior, every day!

This revelation is lost on so many people. They know that Jesus saved them from eternal damnation, but then they think that they are on their own in this life going forward.

It is all too common to hear Christians say "I know that I am going to heaven when I die. But it's getting through the day to day that terrifies me."

Huh? That makes absolutely no sense!

Paul the Apostle wrote very clearly: "I live because of Jesus!"

John the Beloved records Jesus' comforting words to His disciples before He died on the Cross:

"Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also." (John 14:19)

Because He lives, we live!

How can we live if we think that this life is all on us, all dependent on us?

Did Jesus not promise us eternal life?

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

It's everlasting life! It's a life that cannot be taken away!

Consider the powerful comfort which Paul the Apostle wrote to the Romans:

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

Nothing can separate us from our loving Father, because we have the spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15), the spirit of Sonship, as we have Christ in us (Colossians 1:27), and God now sees us oin His Son!

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

Jesus, the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) is Savior. That's His Name!

Let Him be Your Savior today, not just on the first day that you first believed on Him!

Jesus Over-Answers Us When We Cry Out

One of my favorite accounts in the Bible takes place on the Lake of Galilee.

Then the wind and storms started to rise, yet Jesus is still calmly asleep in the boat.

The disciples, however, cannot stop being afraid.

Let me present to you first the entire passage:

35And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.38And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

First, let's remember what Jesus told the disciples: "Let us pass over to the other side."

He said they were going over to the other side. It's an established fact. They are going to get over to the other side.

Now, let's focus on the fearful outburst from the disciples:

"Master, don't you care that we are perishing?"

Yes He Does!

Jesus just simply woke up, rebuked the sea, and there was a "mega calm" which followed.

Notice that the disciples simply asked "Don't you care"?

Jesus not only cared, but He shut down the storm.

He not only cared, but take note that the ship was full of water (v. 37), but after Jesus spoke, the boat was no longer full.

Seafare is often a rough business. The seas oalong hte Lake of Galilee are choppy as a rule. Notice that Jesus not only calmed the storm, but there was a "great calm", literally a "mega calm"--a calm along the storm which the fishermen and travelers in the boat had never experienced!

The disciples were just shouting at Jesus in complete frustration.

Jesus not only responded to their cry--as offensive as it may have been--and he over-answered their cry. Not once did any of them pray for Jesus to help them.

But Jesus came through, didn't He!

Never forget that even when we just cry out, He answers us! And He over-answers!