Title: Once for All/Topic: Redemption
Today’s Reading: 1 Kings 9; 2 Chronicles 8; Psalm 136; Romans 5
Scripture: Romans 5:6-11
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Observation: Jesus died for everyone. He took upon himself all the sins of all mankind once and for all. He did this while we were still his enemies, so that we could be reconciled to him. This is one act of unconditional love. But the one act of unconditional love must then be received by those for whom it was done. We must receive the reconciliation to God provided for us by the death of Jesus. Other verses make it clear that if we do not humble ourselves and receive this gift, we will be judged according to our actions. The judgment we receive will be based on what we knew of God's grace and the condition of our hearts. Did we repent of sin when we knew we did something wrong? Were we grateful, submissive to God, teachable, humble? All of these things matter.
Application: Thank God for the love of the Father and the Son, who so willingly gave himself so that we could be justified before God! What a precious gift! Now it is my responsibility to honor God forever for the sacrifice he made for me. Just as a child has the responsibility to give respect and honor to parents who gave him life and sacrificed to provide for his needs, so must we, even more, give honor to God for his unbelievably costly sacrifice on our behalf. He provided us with everything we need to have a good life.
Prayer: Father, I want my gratitude to you for all you have done to always be evident to you and to others. May I honor you before men by the way I live. May others see in me a reflection of your goodness, grace and love. May I forgive those who offend me so that they will see in me an example of what you did for them on the cross. May my life cause others to be drawn to you.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 Comments:
Here again, the intriguing discussion about the judgment of those who never heard the Gospel of Christ. Yesterday, during our "Meet the Pastor" meeting, I brought up the example of the one man who was born in a non-Christian nation and never even heard about Jesus; but he was a man who rejected evil, loved his neighbor, helped the poor, etc. etc. Will this man end up in hell? The bible says in Revelation 20 that the dead will be judged according to their actions. And if he receives God's grace, according to his actions, will he have the same rewards as those who are saved by the blood of Christ (Christians)? I think the key word here is "Relationship." My personal opinion (underlined), and I have meditated a great length about this, is that we will share heaven with those people, but Christians will have a closer relationship or priesthood, if you will, with God. A concert hall is probably the best way to paint a picture of heaven. Those who dedicated their lives and were faithful to the cause of Christ will have front seats, followed up the tier by the average Christian and then by those who are saved according to their deeds.
We will all be able to enjoy the concert; but the question is: to what degree?
CM
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