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Now
when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an
obligation. However, to the man who does not work but
trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as
righteousness. (Romans 4:4-5, Holy
Bible, New International Version)
What? God, justify the wicked?
God make peace with sinners?
Indeed he does, the Bible tells us, and it is a good thing, for
otherwise there would be no hope for any one of us!
Jesus shocked his religious neighbors, repeatedly.
We see him is teaching inside a little Galilean house, pressed
almost to distraction by the admiring crowd.
Suddenly there is light coming from directly overhead, and down
comes a paralyzed man on a pallet, lowered by four bold friends in front
of Jesus. It is a story we
tell preschoolers, about the good friends.
But the point is this: Jesus sees their faith in
Him, and he bursts out, “Your sins are
forgiven!”
The crowd was scandalized, and they’ve been scandalized ever
since. “Who is this who forgives sins?” they cry.
(Mark 2:1-12)
“Why
does he eat with collaborators and notorious sinners?” (Matthew 9:11)
“If
he were a prophet, he would know what sort of woman is touching him!”
But Jesus just goes on loving, looking past the unbelieving crowd,
and saying to the broken, undeserving, despised sinner, “Go
into peace.” (Luke 7:36-50)
And
as they mock him to his face for the very last time, he turns his head to
the condemned terrorist hanging beside him, a man who has robbed and
murdered, a man who has no time left to be baptized, to do good works, or
even to say a very well-thought-out prayer.
And to this wicked man, Jesus says, “Truly
I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke
23:40-43)
Jesus Christ has stated his
business. He has come into
the world to save sinners. (Matthew
9:12-13) But for two millennia, there have been those who wanted
sinners to do something, at least a little something, to save themselves.
They say, let sinners
first reform their lives. Let
them, before they are fully accepted by God, get their hearts right.
Let them say a lot of prayers, or at least one very good one.
Let them weep and mourn for their sins, and then receive Christ and
his redemption. Let them be
baptized, or walk down an aisle. Let
sinners do something! Something to prepare
them to be accepted, changed, and presentable to holy God.
But
they are tragically mistaken.
The Bible, God’s message to humans, tells us there is a
barrier between us and God, caused by our sin (Isaiah
59:1-2). Sin is our
selfishness, our failure to love God and others, and all the things we do
as a result. It is a basic
“heart problem”, and it is beyond human power to fix.
Knowing we could not save ourselves, God
has sent His Son to save us. (I
Timothy 1:15; John 3:16-17) Although
He is God, Jesus Christ willingly offered Himself, in His death on the
cross, as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. (Philippians
2:5-8) He then rose from the dead and ascended into the presence of
God the Father. Now He offers
forgiveness to everyone who will turn away from sin and put their faith in
Him. (Acts 2:32-38)
Jesus
did not die for people who had their spiritual act together, or who had
managed to overcome their weaknesses, or who felt religious.
He died for the ungodly, for us, to bring us to God, and to win for
us forgiveness and eternal life.
Although we have earned condemnation, God gives eternal life
freely. (Romans 6:23)
But you must put your faith in Him. You must believe that what the
Bible says about Jesus is true, admit you are a sinner in need of His
mercy, and put your life in His hands.
“Come
to me,” says Jesus. (Matthew
11:28) It is His kind
invitation, but it is also His loving command.
Won’t you obey Him today?
If I can help you in your search for God, or for His will for your
life, or if I can serve you in some other way, please contact
me. I hope to hear
from you soon.
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