It is commonly said that “Jesus died to forgive your sin,” but why do I care? What does that mean today? In a society where Jesus increasingly seems irrelevant, what does it mean that Jesus took my sin?
The Bible teaches us that death, sickness (slow death), poverty, and every kind of evil came into this world because of sin. Basically we become separated from God because of sin, but that gap has been bridged through the gift of God, His Son, Jesus, who is the Christ.
Just to clear things up, everyone is initially considered a sinner. So you are not especially bad, nor does God expect that you can all of a sudden act perfectly. What He does want is the humility to see that we are incomplete and incapable of pleasing God without Him.
The Bible is relevant to society today because we as humans and all of the earth around us came into being through God, and He is everywhere around us now (In Him we live, move and have our being.) So we are only separated from Him through our unawareness of Him. We were created to live in union with God, not separate from Him. When we struggle for independence, thinking ourselves able or desirous of live apart from Him, we only deceive ourselves. The only true life is union with Him.
Guess what, you can’t really exist without Him anyway, He is the very life that you are, and your life is in fact only a gift, which we will all discover in time.
God is not a God of wrath, waiting to destroy His own children, but a God of infinite compassion, wanting only to have a large family.
To return to my original point, we exist in a state of death by default. Science seeks to cure mankind’s ills by studying the obvious, which is good and admirable, and God-inspired. However the only real cure for these things is the removal of sin, which does not happen by good works, although those are good. It can only happen by a free gift of love, in order to show us His love. You see, God had this whole picture in mind from the beginning, and you are walking in a path that was destined for you long before you can remember. God wants you to know that you are loved, and that He actually came as a man and died to prove it to you. I don’t know anyone else who show love to that extent. We think of God as mean and nasty because He requires death as the penalty for sin (or disobedience). But what we don’t most often see is a God who knew the incapability of His creation, so pre-destined Himself to take the fall, all just to prove that He is a God of Love, not hate or death.
So if something within you is stirring, its God’s spirit, and you should just say “Thank you” for taking my place in death, so I could be re-united with my Father and life a life that is full of wholeness, prosperity, and Love, for all of eternity. You were chosen to love Him. Thank you for restoring me to relationship free from hindrance or guilt in the very presence of God. Please come into my heart and remain there forever, thank you God. Now YOU have the divine nature, too! Also, please give me the Holy Spirit to guide and lead and comfort me, and give me life, and abide in me forever. Thank You.
Jesus is really God, and man. He could set you free because He alone could live without sin. Being God He had the perfect nature within Him, being man, He was able to step into our place. We were all made by Him, and even now our very breath is His life. When He died, He was perfect, but He was taking the place of every man for all time, if we only acknowledge His great love. When He died, all of sin and death and every form of sickness died with Him. (are you getting the significance of this for today?) No matter what your problem, its root cause is sin, not necessarily your own. But it has ALL BEEN WIPED AWAY. Yes, every problem, every fear has all been taken care of. It is really that simple. It is the simplicity of it all that is so beautiful. This is faith. God just wants you today to say, “Thanks, God.”
Its not just that all of your problems will vanish into thin air, and they will if you will let them, its now that you get to walk in true order and unity with the One who made you in the first place. Now you have entered into His kingdom, where He rules. Which is great because nothing opposed to Him can stand, but more than that we can have love, and He lives in our hearts.
Now that you have seen Him, and He is in you, join me in telling the whole world what a wonderful God we have relationship with!