January 21st 2018
Christ Died For Sinners Not For Good People!
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Christ died for sinners-not for good people! It is important for us to recognize that there are no good people. Every member of mankind has within them a sinful nature passed on generation after generation starting with Adam. When there were only a few people on this earth Cain murdered Abel. God knew that mankind would never be good enough to be considered holy, and thus, acceptable to enter heaven and abide with Him. When a member of mankind dies in this cursed world, they leave behind their sinful nature, if they have accepted the perfect sacrifice offered by Jesus’ suffering and death. This perfect sacrifice covers over their sinful nature, and thus, we look like Jesus to our Father in heaven. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1John 3:2). Anyone who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, cannot enter heaven, because their sinful nature makes them unacceptable.
Jesus came into this world without a sinful nature, He was like Adam before Adam sinned. This was necessary, so He could be a perfect sacrifice to take away the sins of this world. A sinful nature would have been a blemish, and would have eliminated Him from being an acceptable perfect sacrifice. That is why it was necessary for Jesus to not have an earthly father, as they would have passed on to Him the seed containing a sinful nature. Jesus came into this cursed world to supply a means of salvation, as all of mankind was sinful and unacceptable to a Holy, Holy, Holy God. When Jesus walked this earth He mingled with sinners, which confused the religious leaders of that time. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?" On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:16-17)
While salvation is the only means for mankind to be allowed to enter heaven when we die, it is not limited to only having Jesus prepare a place for us in heaven, it also gives an immediate change of perspective to the person who has accepted it. We become a new creation, and we take on the light offered by Jesus in this lifetime. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16). Salvation changes us immediately, as we will now desire to help other people, and to also help them accept their own personal salvation. The joy of knowing we will go to heaven and be with Jesus when we die, should spur us on to tell other people about how having Jesus in our life has caused us to feel a freedom from worldly woes.
Paul wrote about how accepting God’s word will cause you to know the difference between what mankind would present as truth and what God’s word reveals as the truth. And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. (1Thessalonians 2:13). The word of God as revealed in the Bible is the only absolute truth there is available to us, as all other books have been written by mankind. Of course, many books have been written by believers and are very informative, but all such books have been inspired too by that person’s sinful nature.
In this world today, there are many distractions present, which direct the attention away from God and instead toward the individual and assert a dominance that allows self-reverence, and does not give any credit to God. The taking of selfies indicates some reliance on being part of a group of people who are important people, and includes you right in the middle to show their acceptance of you as someone of important stature. James wrote about how we need to be humble before God, and thus, allowing Him to lift us up. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10). Humble yourselves and allow God to lift you up instead of lifting yourself up by surrounding yourself with influential people.
Paul wrote to Timothy who was becoming a teacher and Paul desired to assure Timothy that God had given us His Word in the Scriptures, and thus, we could depend on this as the absolute truth given to us by God. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (2Timothy 3:16). Paul believed that “All Scripture is God-breathed” meaning we can depend on the accuracy of the Bible for all our belief system without any doubt. Jesus taught that the Scriptures were whole and must not be changed for any reason. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:18)
Jesus came to fulfil the law not to obliterate it, and we must be careful not to confuse traditions for truth, especially when the traditional practice seems to disagree with the Word of God. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." (Mark 7:13). Jesus warned the religious leaders of His day to be careful to not teach tradition, but instead to teach the Word of God.
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Christ died for sinners-not for good people! It is important for us to recognize that there are no good people. Every member of mankind has within them a sinful nature passed on generation after generation starting with Adam. When there were only a few people on this earth Cain murdered Abel. God knew that mankind would never be good enough to be considered holy, and thus, acceptable to enter heaven and abide with Him. When a member of mankind dies in this cursed world, they leave behind their sinful nature, if they have accepted the perfect sacrifice offered by Jesus’ suffering and death. This perfect sacrifice covers over their sinful nature, and thus, we look like Jesus to our Father in heaven. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1John 3:2). Anyone who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, cannot enter heaven, because their sinful nature makes them unacceptable.
Jesus came into this world without a sinful nature, He was like Adam before Adam sinned. This was necessary, so He could be a perfect sacrifice to take away the sins of this world. A sinful nature would have been a blemish, and would have eliminated Him from being an acceptable perfect sacrifice. That is why it was necessary for Jesus to not have an earthly father, as they would have passed on to Him the seed containing a sinful nature. Jesus came into this cursed world to supply a means of salvation, as all of mankind was sinful and unacceptable to a Holy, Holy, Holy God. When Jesus walked this earth He mingled with sinners, which confused the religious leaders of that time. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?" On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:16-17)
While salvation is the only means for mankind to be allowed to enter heaven when we die, it is not limited to only having Jesus prepare a place for us in heaven, it also gives an immediate change of perspective to the person who has accepted it. We become a new creation, and we take on the light offered by Jesus in this lifetime. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16). Salvation changes us immediately, as we will now desire to help other people, and to also help them accept their own personal salvation. The joy of knowing we will go to heaven and be with Jesus when we die, should spur us on to tell other people about how having Jesus in our life has caused us to feel a freedom from worldly woes.
Paul wrote about how accepting God’s word will cause you to know the difference between what mankind would present as truth and what God’s word reveals as the truth. And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. (1Thessalonians 2:13). The word of God as revealed in the Bible is the only absolute truth there is available to us, as all other books have been written by mankind. Of course, many books have been written by believers and are very informative, but all such books have been inspired too by that person’s sinful nature.
In this world today, there are many distractions present, which direct the attention away from God and instead toward the individual and assert a dominance that allows self-reverence, and does not give any credit to God. The taking of selfies indicates some reliance on being part of a group of people who are important people, and includes you right in the middle to show their acceptance of you as someone of important stature. James wrote about how we need to be humble before God, and thus, allowing Him to lift us up. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10). Humble yourselves and allow God to lift you up instead of lifting yourself up by surrounding yourself with influential people.
Paul wrote to Timothy who was becoming a teacher and Paul desired to assure Timothy that God had given us His Word in the Scriptures, and thus, we could depend on this as the absolute truth given to us by God. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (2Timothy 3:16). Paul believed that “All Scripture is God-breathed” meaning we can depend on the accuracy of the Bible for all our belief system without any doubt. Jesus taught that the Scriptures were whole and must not be changed for any reason. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:18)
Jesus came to fulfil the law not to obliterate it, and we must be careful not to confuse traditions for truth, especially when the traditional practice seems to disagree with the Word of God. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." (Mark 7:13). Jesus warned the religious leaders of His day to be careful to not teach tradition, but instead to teach the Word of God.
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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