home search the FearGod site view cart

Crossed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Based on 1 Thessalonians 4:16, this shirt speaks of the soon coming return of Jesus. The shirt looks at the contrast between His first and second comings here on earth. The first time He came meek and mild, the second time He comes as the King of kings and Lord of lords. The first time He came as a lamb; when He will returns it will be as a lion.

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
                                                                                                                                ~1 Thessalonians 4:16

lamb to the slaughter

The first time Jesus came in all meekness. He was the sacrifice made for the sins of all mankind. He came like a lamb to the slaughter. Betrayed (crossed)  by a friend, and murdered by those He came to save.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.
                                                                                               ~Isaiah 53:7

This is the Jesus who was given for our sins; He rescued us from eternal death.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.    
                                                                                                      ~Galatians 1:3-5

coming as a lion

Jesus is coming back soon. But this time He will not come as a sacrifice, that was done once for all times, He will come as King. When He returns, it won’t be as the lamb, but as the Lion!

This is what the LORD says to me: "As a lion growls, a great lion over his prey-- and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against him, he is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor-- so the LORD Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.   
                                                                                                 ~Isaiah 31:4

no cross this time

As the lamb, Jesus was betrayed by a close friend (crossed) and then crucified ('crossed' again). This was the sacrifice made for the sin of the world.   The leaders of that day stood against Him with the full approval of the people.   They did everything they wanted to Him, and though He had a legion of angles at His disposal, He went quietly as a lamb to the slaughter.

When He returns, He will not be coming to die (as a sacrifice); He is returning to claim His rightful kingdom (the earth) and He is not going to take it quietly.  He is coming to rule the earth with an iron scepter (Rev 19:15).  This simply means that all who try to prevent Him from taking His kingdom will fail.  No one will cross Him this time!

They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers."   
                                                                                                        ~Revelation 17:14

 

how to use this shirt as an evangelism tool:

This shirt has been designed to give all who wear it, the opportunity to talk about Jesus.  You may have noticed that there are no scripture references on it!  People will rarely ask you about your shirt if they see scriptural references because they are used to seeing Christian T-shirts.  While shirts with references on them mark you as a believer, they rarely give you the opportunity to share your faith.  People see the scripture references and assume they know the  ‘religious’ ideals of the wearer.   What we want to do is cause people to ask you about the shirt.  “I don't get your shirt?”  “What does it mean?”  “That's Cool”

Anytime someone begins the conversation with you, the door is open to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus with them…. and remember, they asked you!

what to say when you are asked about the shirt

Most Christians, when confronted with an opportunity to share their faith often talk “religious” (they say what they think they should say with lots of Christian Buzz words) and turn people off.  Just be yourself!  After reading the above information, you should easily be able to explain how sin is a major threat to each of us and that there is only one antidote for the problem. Talk to them about Jesus and what He has done for us, making a way for us to confess our sin and come to God for forgiveness.   

This is your opportunity to explain the Gospel of  Jesus and then to inquire into their relationship, if any, with Him.

if they are open to further conversation

At this point, the person will say “yea, whatever” and walk off, OR want to hear more.  (Remember that God’s word does not return void.  Even if the person walks off, the Word of God was sewn into that person's life… you did not fail!)  If they want to know more:

 

Steps to Salvation

awareness of our sinful nature

When we talk about salvation we must bring people to an awareness of their need for salvation. The Bible is very clear on this point. Everyone has missed the mark or fallen short of the standard set by God. As a race we all fall short. This is not a close call, even the best person misses the mark by a mile.

 ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God 
                                                                                                     ~Romans 3:23

But the good news is that God has made provision for us. He has a free gift, the gift of eternal life for us. (See Romans 6:23)

belief in Jesus Christ

God chose to fulfill His standards for us. He knew that no person could meet them and so all would fail. We would all be in a hopeless state, with no place to turn. So God decided to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to live as a man here on earth. Jesus lived as a man, but He met all of God's requirements. He met God's standard perfectly. 

But this still did not deal with the problem, we still fall short of meeting God's standard. We cannot live like Jesus, even after His example. 

The answer, God's answer, let the one who lived perfectly die in the place of all the rest. He let Jesus die for mankind, since no one else was good enough to do so. (If a man were to die it would be for his short comings, it would be just what he deserved).

So God has prepared for us a gift of salvation. God accepted the death of Jesus as meeting His standard. Then He raised Jesus from the dead. His gift of salvation is available to every one who will believe in Jesus Christ and the work He has done for us. (See Romans 10:8-10 and John 1:12-13)

 repentance of sins

This gift from God is a wonderful salvation, complete with everything we need to live a full life, now and for the future. This includes forgiveness of our sins (areas where we have not lived up to God's standard). This forgiveness comes as we admit to our sins and ask God to forgive us. (See Luke 24:46-47 and Acts 13:38-39) 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
                                                                                                       ~1 John 1:9

receiving Jesus as savior

So now we can receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He now becomes the one who died for us so we can have good relationship with God. We can now become a part of God's family, not by any work that we have done, but by believing that Jesus has done the work for us.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 
                                                                                                             ~John 1:12-13

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

 
©1994-2019 ACME, Inc