Greetings to you beloved one. You remember in our first publication I once told you that the onus does not lie on you to save yourself from sin and condemnation, that someone was specially created to perform that Job on your behalf? The man entrusted with that task is "JESUS CHRIST."
The person of Jesus Christ is no longer new to anyone. He is a well known man. In the church you have been taught that he is your saviour and you have even confessed that several times. But dear, if Jesus is actually your saviour, why then do you up till now sin and wallow in self guilt and condemnation? Why are you not sure in your inner most being, I mean deep down inside of you, that if the world should come to an end now you will make heaven? Why do you still live in fear praying that you will die in a good state? Why is it that when you are in danger of death you start confessing your sins so that they would be forgiven before you breathe your last? There are so many questions to ask you but for space I will spare you others but you can add them by yourself because I'm very sure you have similar questions and ponder over them in line with the ones provided here.
For instance, if you are into a debt of over a million naira and the man you are owing is threatening to sell off your house and properties should you not comply at the agreed date and all of a sudden you meet a man who learnt about your debt and situation and out of love, compassion and generosity paid off that debt for you without demanding a payback, do you still have to pay the man you were owing such huge amount after the other man has paid for you? The answer is typically NO! What then will you do for the man who cleared the debt for you without asking you to pay him back? You only appreciate him right? Exactly! This is how it is with you and Jesus and ought to be.
Why was Jesus sent to the world? Did he just come, die, and resurrect for no reason? No, he came to save the world(You and I ). He came to deal with sin and achieve FORGIVENESS over your sins once and for all.
John 3:17
"for God did not send his son into the world to be its judge, but to be its saviour"
Hebrews 9: 26
"for then he would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. instead, now when all ages are nearing the end, he has appeared once and for all to remove sin through the sacrifice of himself"
Remember you were owing a debt to God. The debt of not being able to obey all the laws and as a result, in the position of facing condemnation and death on the last day for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:21).
But because God is a loving God and he loves you deeply and wouldn't ever want you to come under his judgement and condemnation, he decided to save you by his own will and effort by sending his son to carry your iniquities on himself, and receive the judgment on your behalf. It was God's own decision and purpose that Jesus should be the one to carry your sins and be judged for the sins after which God will automatically forgive and overlook your sins. This was what Isaiah for told when he prophesied in
Isaiah 53: 10-13
"The Lord says, it was my will that he(Jesus) should suffer, his death was a sacrifice to bring FORGIVENESS. And so, he will see his descendants, he will live a long life and through him my purpose will succeed. After a life of suffering he will again have joy; he will know he did not suffer in vain. My devoted servant in whom I am pleased, will bear the punishment of many and for his sake, I will forgive them. And so I will give him a place of honor, a place among the great and powerful. He willingly gave his life and shared the fate of evil men. He took the place of many sinners and prayed that they might be forgiven."
So all our hope therefore lies on Jesus such that if he fails to accomplish that purpose that would be our end but if he succeeds, that would be FORGIVENESS of sin, life and hope for us. And thank God he fought the battle all alone, won the victory and gave it to us as a free gift( GRACE). He did this 2000 years ago.
Hebrews 10:10 says
"Because Jesus did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all."
Ephesians 1:7-8
" For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God which he gave to us in such large measure"
Watch the tenses in the above 2 scriptures. It never said you will be purified or will be forgiven(future tenses) but are purified and forgiven(present tenses). You see, it was the will of God that you and I should obtain FORGIVENESS over sin after his sacrifice. You know he already did that even before your parents were born not to talk of you. This means that even before you were born he already achieved FORGIVENESS of your sins with his sacrifice. I know this is hard to believe but all I want you to do for me is to be patient with me as I take you through all those doubts and unbelief(built in ignorance) that has kept you locked up in darkness, self guilt and condemnation. As you follow me up patiently I will take you through a sub-topic titled " HOW JESUS ACHIEVED FORGIVENESS OVER YOUR SINS." This one is very important. You need to know how he did that. This is because he didn't start by shedding his blood for you. He did something before shedding that blood. I have asked many people who Jesus is to them and the answers turned out to be "he is my saviour. " Then I asked how he is their saviour and the response also turned out to be "he died and shed his blood for me on the cross." But was that actually the only thing he did and the only process he had to go through to save you or was there something else he did? Find out in my next publication. DON'T MISS IT! Remember we are heading somewhere; your salvation! SEE YOU SOON. LOVE YOU DEEPLY!
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