If I had to ask you what you thought
the greatest event in history would be, what would be your retort? If your mind
begins to flash through varying events as you consider differing individuals
contemplating their merits as judges would critic any given contest; I would
have to conclude that I fear for you...
The answer should be instinctive,
forget the intellectuals or the inventors that advanced technology, the answer
is an obvious one; “Jesus in my place”, the death of Jesus Christ, God the man;
a time in history where God became a man and lived under the Law of Moses
without ever breaching a single one of God’s decrees. That’s right from infancy
to adulthood. He never stole nor told a “white lie” (there is no excusable sin
within God’s economy). Sin had no power over him, but it cost him his life. His
mission was no walk in the park and it would make the greatest combat training
seem like child’s play with all things considered. In fact no one ever born up until
then and since has ever passed the test the man Jesus was asked by God to
complete, it was no picnic, in statement there was a time when Jesus the man
cried out to His heavenly Father pleading with Him to remove the trial he was
about to face, his cry was; "My Father, if it
be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you
will." Jesus hoping to avoid the cup he was now about to
face, which was a trial of mammoth proportion. His
plea was for God to be merciful to him, but the reprieve did not come. God had
prepared a cup of testing for His only begotten Son and he was sent to drink it
all and not even the dregs at the bottom of the cup was avoided, HE DRANK IT
ALL! His testing was so severe that he began to sweat drops of blood combatting
the temptation of sin. All the times we have known what should be done in any
given circumstance but we never found the strength to conquer, he did! His body
was taken to the blink of death whilst having to endure the temptations of sin,
WOW! Without his victory over sin and its power we (all of mankind) would be
doomed and tried as sinners before a Holy God on judgment day. However because
he subjugated life without a single blemish when it came to sin; he made a way
for all to escape the eminent sentence just over the horizon. God will judge
both the living and the dead. Provision has now been made by God for sinners
like you and me to find forgiveness for our rebellion and sin against God,
which is in breach of His character. “Jesus in my place”!
If anyone would even dare hint a
suggestion that all religions lead to heaven, they are blind and those who
follow their voices will both fall into the ditch. It’s only the Christian, the
true Christian that will escape God’s judgement. Why? The answer is obvious, no
one else has lived a sinless life whilst alive on earth and therefore it’s only
Christ that can forgive us of our sins and there is no confusion within the
Christian message. The only question a person needs to answer for themselves is
do they believe that they are sinners and need to be forgiven for their sins? It
is as simple as that, but a decision needs to be made.
Why God became a man and died for His
enemies is beyond most of us and yet we do understand His reasoning for this
merciful act for He has shown it to us; “Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in
the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for
adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the
Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished
upon us, in all wisdom and insight.” (Ephesians 1:3-8)
God
is love! Did you know that? I’m sure your mind has comprehended that fact to
some degree but has it fully understood? Who of you would send your child to
die for your enemy? God did exactly that, WOW! Because of His great love He
chose to save us from ourselves. No greater love can a man have than to lay
down his own life for his enemies. This is exactly what Jesus the man did for
us roughly 2000 years ago. Do you believe you would have any chance to escape
judgement if you turn a blind eye to God’s gracious offer? It’s not enough to
echo the sentiments of so many religions that Jesus was a good man; only a liar
and a false prophet would claim to be equal with God and that was exactly
Jesus’ entitlement; ““I and the Father are
one."” (John 10:30)
The
day is at the door where the goats and the sheep (the true and false converts)
will be separated and there will be no mistaking the allegiance of some when
the true test of faith presents itself. God give me the strength to glorify
your name even with my life if need be, and all of God’s people cried out
“Amen”! It is time to make straight the crooked paths to our lives, where there
is lack we need to cry out for grace and God will give it to us in abundance,
the shaking of the earth, the test is about to present itself like it never
has, at least in our lifetime, will you stand up to the test, will I? Like a
wise man once said, “we will see” or “time will reveal all”.
I
have not been the greatest of example of how a Christian should live, many of
my friends have been privy to my sinful actions and for this I ask for your
forgiveness. I too have been hoodwinked through varying situations and failed,
BUT GOD who is rich in mercy has it in His power to forgive even someone as
foolish as I have been over time, but there must come a time in a believer’s
life when they cry out “enough foolishness” and they seek out God’s forgiveness
for their sins and they make a telling decision. I have made up my mind and finally
admitted to the sins in my life that I previously looked to excuse, no more is
my cry! We have no more excuse for our sin, sin has been defeated by the
finished work of the cross and although we will continue to sin in some form we
must never make allowance for the practise of sin. Ultimately it’s not how many
times a person falls and grazes their knees that counts but how often they are
willing to get up and dust the dirt from their knees and find grace to march on.
However if we do not take our sin seriously all it proves is that we haven’t understood
the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice.
In
conclusion it is imperative for us all to understand that God will never accept
any man made attempt to find His favour, there was only ever one man whom God
was completely satisfied with and that was the man Jesus, God in the flesh paid
a price for sin and yet he committed no sin. He became the off-scouring of the
earth so that all those who would learn to understand their sinful state before
God and their hopeless because of it all and then would somehow find the urge
to cry out for forgiveness to the only ONE who has it in His power to forgive,
the Lord Jesus Christ, only then will we find exact forgiveness in Him. NO ONE
ELSE WILL ESCAPE GOD’s JUDGEMENT. I cannot put it any plainer than that…
Signing
off
Tyrone
No comments:
Post a Comment