An unusual thought occurred to me today. It's 'unusual' because I never thought about as deeply as I found myself doing earlier.
Have you ever thought about the millions upon millions of souls around the world who will go to a church at some point this week (if they haven't already) who will sit there and hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but leave without ever being changed by it? That's what I found myself thinking about today.
Does that mean that God's Word is impotent? Hardly. Does that mean that those souls aren't saved, or have no hope of being saved? Only God knows for sure. All I know is that, for me, it's difficult to fathom how someone can hear about Jesus' death and resurrection and not be rocked to the core by it.
But those questions are not the kind that I want us to ponder today. I'm more concerned with prayerfully considering an observation I made that's simply related to these questions derived from this reality.
That observation? That millions upon millions of souls from around the world will take part in some kind of Christian Easter service this weekend where they will most certainly hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
That's the verse that I'm sure readily came to your mind at this point -- and for good reason too.
Yet, rather than focus our attention on the recipients of God's free gift (those in attendance who sit in the pews), let's focus our attention on the One who gives the free gift to us (the King of kings who sits on the throne in Heaven).
For whatever reason, today I found myself praising God due to something I had never really noticed before. Sure, I'm well aware of God's infinite and unfathomable grace and mercy, but when you stop to consider the millions upon millions of souls who will enter a church this weekend, but who will merely do so out of 'ritual' or 'tradition', and who will hear an accurate and true presentation of the Gospel, but who will also never respond to it they way they should...well...it's just absolutely heartbreaking for me to think about that! More to the point, I found myself thinking about how such a scenario clearly demonstrates God's infinite grace and mercy.
In essence, we could say that millions upon millions of souls will be presented with the Gospel this weekend, or with a crystal clear understanding of where the wrath and love of God meet, and I think it's very interesting to note how the world will be presented with this truth in the most public way possible. Easter Sunday, or, more appropriately, Resurrection Day.
Perhaps I'm fixated on all of this because I see far too many 'Christians' who are playing church this week when everyone knows that their hearts are truly far from God.
In years past, I would've issued a scathing attack upon such individuals, such apostates, using this God-given blog as my platform for doing so. However, this year I find myself honed in on Him -- not them. After all, this time of year is all about Him anyway. After all, this time of year is all about grace too.
Because of human limitations, we'll never grasp all that happened while Jesus hung on the cross.
We can begin to comprehend only the physical suffering He endured, but in the spiritual realm, Christ bore so much more -- the very wrath of God.
This costly redemption plan proves God's great love for us. It proves it!
Still, a clear presentation of the Gospel message must precede true saving faith. True faith always has content -- the revealed Word of God. Salvation comes to those who hear and believe the facts of the Gospel.
Yet, even despite the role that God's sovereignty plays in a person's salvation, the reality is that today (Good Friday) reminded me of how Jesus was a dead man walking for dead men walking (Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:5; Colossians 2:13), and that He was a dead man walking for the deaf and the blind too.
In other words, He knew that despite His sacrifice and free gift of salvation to mankind, there would be people who would still reject Him and His free gift on their behalf. And you know what? He still did it anyway! That's the epitome of grace and mercy in my book!
Truth is, Jesus would rather go to Hell for you than to go to Heaven without you. Sadly, millions upon millions of souls will leave Easter church services this week without any comprehension of these truths. He died for them too.
A couple of entries ago, we looked at the contrast between 'love' and 'hate' as it applies to the "narrow gate" passages of Scripture.
Now, as we all contemplate Jesus' death and resurrection once more, let's briefly consider where wrath and love meet. Specifically, not only where the wrath and love of God meet, but where they meet us publicly.
What's absolutely stunning to me is how we see so much fulfilled prophecy in the specific circumstances of what actually happened to our Lord and Savior during this time of year some 2,012 years ago.
As an online ministry that has often found itself caught up in looking for signs of the times as they appear all around us these days, I'm afraid to say that I've neglected to regularly point out the signs that God had given us throughout the Old Testament that culminated in the fulfillment of prophecy as found in the account of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.
We should be forever grateful that the Lord hasn't already given us what we all deserve. Instead, and thanks to the promise found in 2 Peter 3:9, millions of souls have been (and millions more will be) exposed to the Gospel again for yet another year. Praise the Lord for that!
Grace and peace to you and yours!
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Have you ever thought about the millions upon millions of souls around the world who will go to a church at some point this week (if they haven't already) who will sit there and hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but leave without ever being changed by it? That's what I found myself thinking about today.
Does that mean that God's Word is impotent? Hardly. Does that mean that those souls aren't saved, or have no hope of being saved? Only God knows for sure. All I know is that, for me, it's difficult to fathom how someone can hear about Jesus' death and resurrection and not be rocked to the core by it.
But those questions are not the kind that I want us to ponder today. I'm more concerned with prayerfully considering an observation I made that's simply related to these questions derived from this reality.
That observation? That millions upon millions of souls from around the world will take part in some kind of Christian Easter service this weekend where they will most certainly hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:17 (ESV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
That's the verse that I'm sure readily came to your mind at this point -- and for good reason too.
Yet, rather than focus our attention on the recipients of God's free gift (those in attendance who sit in the pews), let's focus our attention on the One who gives the free gift to us (the King of kings who sits on the throne in Heaven).
For whatever reason, today I found myself praising God due to something I had never really noticed before. Sure, I'm well aware of God's infinite and unfathomable grace and mercy, but when you stop to consider the millions upon millions of souls who will enter a church this weekend, but who will merely do so out of 'ritual' or 'tradition', and who will hear an accurate and true presentation of the Gospel, but who will also never respond to it they way they should...well...it's just absolutely heartbreaking for me to think about that! More to the point, I found myself thinking about how such a scenario clearly demonstrates God's infinite grace and mercy.
In essence, we could say that millions upon millions of souls will be presented with the Gospel this weekend, or with a crystal clear understanding of where the wrath and love of God meet, and I think it's very interesting to note how the world will be presented with this truth in the most public way possible. Easter Sunday, or, more appropriately, Resurrection Day.
Perhaps I'm fixated on all of this because I see far too many 'Christians' who are playing church this week when everyone knows that their hearts are truly far from God.
In years past, I would've issued a scathing attack upon such individuals, such apostates, using this God-given blog as my platform for doing so. However, this year I find myself honed in on Him -- not them. After all, this time of year is all about Him anyway. After all, this time of year is all about grace too.
In our culture, sin is no longer considered an issue. Although some people might admit to making mistakes or being wrong, few will actually say, "I have sinned." The Lord, however, takes sin very seriously. Until we learn to see transgression as He does, we will never understand what happened at Christ's crucifixion.
The cross was God's perfect answer to a terrible dilemma. Because the Lord is holy and just, He hates sin and must respond to it with punishment and wrath. Yet He also loves sinners and wants to be reconciled with them. The cross of Christ was the place where God's wrath and love collided.
The only way to rescue fallen mankind from eternal punishment was to devise a plan whereby the Lord could forgive sins without compromising His holiness. There was no way to overlook transgressions; His wrath had to be poured out -- either on us or a substitute. But there was only one possible substitute: the perfect Son of God.
So Jesus came to earth as a man and suffered the Lord's wrath for us as He hung on the cross. Sin was punished, divine justice was satisfied, and now God could forgive mankind without compromising His character. His wrath was poured out on His Son so that His love and forgiveness could be lavished upon us.
SOURCE: In Touch
Because of human limitations, we'll never grasp all that happened while Jesus hung on the cross.
We can begin to comprehend only the physical suffering He endured, but in the spiritual realm, Christ bore so much more -- the very wrath of God.
This costly redemption plan proves God's great love for us. It proves it!
Still, a clear presentation of the Gospel message must precede true saving faith. True faith always has content -- the revealed Word of God. Salvation comes to those who hear and believe the facts of the Gospel.
Yet, even despite the role that God's sovereignty plays in a person's salvation, the reality is that today (Good Friday) reminded me of how Jesus was a dead man walking for dead men walking (Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:5; Colossians 2:13), and that He was a dead man walking for the deaf and the blind too.
In other words, He knew that despite His sacrifice and free gift of salvation to mankind, there would be people who would still reject Him and His free gift on their behalf. And you know what? He still did it anyway! That's the epitome of grace and mercy in my book!
Luke 22:42 (ESV) saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."
Truth is, Jesus would rather go to Hell for you than to go to Heaven without you. Sadly, millions upon millions of souls will leave Easter church services this week without any comprehension of these truths. He died for them too.
A couple of entries ago, we looked at the contrast between 'love' and 'hate' as it applies to the "narrow gate" passages of Scripture.
Now, as we all contemplate Jesus' death and resurrection once more, let's briefly consider where wrath and love meet. Specifically, not only where the wrath and love of God meet, but where they meet us publicly.
What's absolutely stunning to me is how we see so much fulfilled prophecy in the specific circumstances of what actually happened to our Lord and Savior during this time of year some 2,012 years ago.
As an online ministry that has often found itself caught up in looking for signs of the times as they appear all around us these days, I'm afraid to say that I've neglected to regularly point out the signs that God had given us throughout the Old Testament that culminated in the fulfillment of prophecy as found in the account of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.
We should be forever grateful that the Lord hasn't already given us what we all deserve. Instead, and thanks to the promise found in 2 Peter 3:9, millions of souls have been (and millions more will be) exposed to the Gospel again for yet another year. Praise the Lord for that!
Romans 3:23-26 (ESV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Grace and peace to you and yours!
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