The
human mind is like an untended garden. If the weeds are not removed,
they will destroy the beautiful flowers. The same is true when we do not
remove the "weeds" of sin from our heart and mind. The Bible calls it
repentance which simply means turn in the right direction.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 6:23
Why
was it necessary for Jesus to die to save mankind? If God is our Father
why couldn't He just save us without the murder of His only begotten
Son?
Short answer: Because God cannot lie. He never breaks His promises or His Law.
Jesus became sin for us and bore our sins in his body on the cross, thus fulfilling the law. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
~ 2 Corinthians 5:21
When
we break man's laws that makes us a criminal. When we break God's Laws
that makes us a sinner. Both sets of laws are for our good, but come
with consequences for our guilty actions.
Sin
is the transgression of the Law and God could rightly destroy us all.
Because God loves us He chose that One sinless person to take our place
and die in our stead. That kind of love and forgiveness is divine. That
gift deserves our respect and we should be ever grateful that God was
willing to sacrifice His Son. And on top of that, Jesus was willing to
be that sacrifice.
The
day Jesus was crucified. there were two thieves on either side of Him.
The thief on the right accepted God's will because he knew he was guilty
and deserved his punishment. The thief on the left rejected God's will
and refused to take responsibility of his crimes. The man in the middle,
Jesus Christ, chose God's will even though He had committed no sin.
What
kind of person are you, or would like to be? Do you accept, reject, or
choose God's will? By choosing God's will you agree that you are the
one who deserves the death penalty, but you choose to honor the gift of
salvation with obedience to God's way of life.
That
means you must also love and forgive others in the same manner Christ
loves and forgives you... no easy task since we humans are not divine.
However, one of God's promises is to send His Holy Spirit to enable us
to overcome the world even as Christ overcame and gave us an example to
follow.
Jesus did not speak from the cross and say, “Look, you guys, you still have a
chance here. If you will just confess you were wrong, and tell me you
are sorry, and get me off this cross, then I will forgive you.” Instead Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” ~ Luke 23:34
Get the answers to your "whys." subscribe to Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group
Renew Your Strength is not a "know-it-all" type ministry. The purpose of Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group is to get people to think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong.
Over the years, as Renew Your Strength has continued to
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have
recognized that some of the things we once held as true, in fact, are
not; and therefore we will not “cast in stone” a statement of our
beliefs. We reserve the right to be wrong and to repent of such error
when we discover it.
To
learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true
meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's
Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.
