CODE RED

 

A TRUE LOVE STORY

 

THE STORY OF A LIFE

There is nothing special about me. Until I was about 24 years old, I lived a pretty normal life.  I went to school, started working, and just tried to make my way in the world.  Like most, if not all of the human race, I have gone through many of life’s trials:  embarrassments, losses, failures, rejections, and betrayals.  I have experienced some of life’s joys and successes as well.  I am not famous, nor ever intend to be.  However, my life was irreversibly changed the day I met and fell in love with Jesus.

In the course of my life, I have found out that many of the things I had been taught and thought to be true turned out to be only illusions.  I have also found out that some things are true and rock solid, no matter what I throw at them.  Real truth has the power to change lives, and it has given me true meaning in my life. I would like to share some of this truth with you.

It wasn’t through mere knowledge that I have come to the point in my life where I feel I have found true meaning and purpose in my life.  I had to go through some challenging life experiences that led me to question some of my deepest beliefs.  These were experiences that, if I had the choice, I would not have gone through.  Life has a way of taking us places we never thought we’d go.  But maybe, it’s not just life, or fate, or coincidence that puts us through these things. Maybe something or Someone greater than anything we see is at work in our lives.

THE WORLD AROUND US

Most of the news these days is not good.  The world seems to be spinning out of control.  Countries are at war, crime is rampant and seems to be getting worse, politicians continue to baffle us with their corruption, and many so-called “religious” leaders seem to be making a disgrace of themselves and taking advantage of those that follow them.  From our point of view, looking at the state of affairs in this world, something seems to be very wrong.

History shows that things haven’t changed much.  Early historical records reveal that war, crime, corruption, and religious deception have been going on since the beginning of recorded history.  We have all tasted this in some form or another. Indeed, each and every one of us is affected by this to some degree.  As a matter of fact, we may not even realize it, but each one of us, in our own way, contributes to the corruption and anxiety of this world.

OUR CONTRIBUTION

We may get angry at someone, we may have thoughts of betraying someone, we may make a little “white” lie, or we may take something that is not ours.  We may consider some of our sins too small to notice, or not of any consequence. Most of the time, we do not even realize we are sinning.  We may think that as long as we are not hurting our fellow man that it is ok.  I have been there, and still am to some degree.  If we are all honest, we would all be able to admit it.  There is something wrong in our lives.  Some things are just not the way we’d like them to be.  We don’t always act the way we want or say the most encouraging things. We carry the scars of rejection and shame.  We do things we regret, and we cannot seem to find the strength or the desire to change. Our lives bear witness to the fact that we are really not in control.

Drug addiction, marital affairs, lustful thoughts, bitterness, selfishness, anger, and even murder can creep into our lives gradually.  We seem to keep hurting the very people that we love, including ourselves.  Fear causes anxiety in our lives, and even good things, like financial success, happiness, intelligence, and physical ability can have a negative impact on our lives.  How so?

Most of us are looking for something to fill our lives.  Maybe it’s the next best gadget, a faster car, the latest fashion, a new boyfriend or girlfriend, pleasure, or success.  Maybe we want to look prettier, or more handsome.  Maybe we want to have more money or have more people look up to us. Maybe we don’t have enough money to pay the bills, or we are being taken down a spiral of hopelessness that we cannot seem to escape.  Many of us only want to find a place of rest and relaxation.  We all have different situations, and different needs and wants. What makes us similar is that we all have a deep unsettling need to satisfy our inner being.  There is a hunger, deep inside, that needs to be met. Maybe some of us have never thought about this before, but what is life really about?

The reason financial success, happiness, intelligence, and physical ability can have a negative impact on our lives, is because they numb our senses to our real need and purpose. These "good" things can satisfy us for a while, but only temporarily.  Is it not true, that once we have attained a degree of success, or obtained that latest gadget, that very soon thereafter, we start looking for the next level of success, or become tired of our latest toys?  Could it be, that we were made with an eternal need that cannot be met with temporal things?  Jesus asked in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?“

How would you answer these questions?

ETERNAL NEEDS

According to the bible, our souls, or inner beings, have real needs that need to be met.  These needs are identified in eternal terms:

Psalm 42:1-2 ¹As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.  ²My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

The world will lead us to believe that we can satisfy this thirst through financial success, health, happiness, and freedom to do as we please.  But the problem is, that these things seem to be always – “just out of reach.”  The thirst for something more still remains, and we find ourselves endlessly pursuing, constantly climbing, or aimlessly wandering - to soothe the dull ache.  Even if we attain some of these things, are they not temporary?  Do not all of these things have a tendency to elude us through the course of this life?  The world will also tell us that religion can satisfy our souls.  However, a quick look at the corruption in religious organizations will tell us that this is not necessarily the case.

Could it be, that the one thing that will satisfy our souls is to find our true purpose in life and follow it? I would suggest that this is the only way that we can truly be satisfied inside. The writer of Psalm 42 has a pretty strong conviction that his satisfaction comes from being in the presence of God.  I would also suggest that this is true for every human being.  Would it be any wonder, then, that material things and temporary situations cannot satisfy us?  If we were made to be satisfied by a Person who is so much greater than anything we have ever seen or known, how could temporary things ever satisfy us? Could it be true that we are really eternal creatures with eternal needs?  Let’s take a look at the state of mankind.

WHAT ABOUT US?

When considering his condition, a man of God, who also happened to be a musician and poet, wrote the following:

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:"

This statement has four very important implications. 

• Fearfully:  This carries the connotation of awe and reverence.  Out of this reverence for our own makeup, most of mankind has come to the conclusion that human life is valuable.  Every country in the world has laws to protect its citizens against murder and other similar crimes.  We respect others because there is something of weight attached to each of our lives. In most of us, there is a deep value and respect for our neighbors because they are like us, and we want to be treated fairly.
• Wonderfully:  No doubt, our very being is amazing. We have a physical body that responds to the world around us.  We have emotions, intellect, and will.  We have intuition and personality, even as an infant.  We have the ability to portray courage, selflessness, wisdom, and love.
• Made:  Many of us will have the most difficulty with this one.  This means we have a Creator.  Yes, there seems to be a design to our bodies and souls.  It is hard to believe that our complexity was the result of natural selection, as many scientists (men of intellect) will tell us.  This part of the statement also carries with it one more very important aspect, which takes us to the fourth implication:
• Responsibility to the Creator: If we are indeed created, then it would be in our best interest to find out our purpose from the One who created us.  The writer of this psalm finds it worthwhile to praise this Creator.

The statement, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:” comes from the bible, the Jewish scriptures.  This particular passage, found in Psalm 139:14, is in the midst of a song written by a Jewish king about 3,000 years ago.  It was as true then as it is now, and that is why it is so amazing.  It had meaning to men and women then, and it still does today.  That is what I mean by things that are true and rock solid.  They stand the test of time.  The more I look into these scriptures, the more treasures I find. Not only that, but I have found that they have changed my life.  I have found power to live a fulfilling life, and have found satisfaction for my soul. My emotions, intellect, and desires are satisfied by the truths I have found here.  But don’t take my word for it.  I urge you to look for yourself.

Another passage that backs up this section of Psalm 139 is the following:

Genesis 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

In Genesis, the very first book of the bible, we find out what makes mankind so awe-inspiring and so amazing!  God created him in His own image!  Now, this passage does not imply that God is male and female.  Taken in its context, it is showing that God is a God of relationship.  For one thing, we find a God who is three persons in intimate communion with each other, so close that they are One.  Also, when we look at the scriptures, we will find that God listens, He sees, He walks, He sits, He gets angry, He becomes sorrowful, and He loves.  He loves His creation.  As a matter of fact, He made this universe, and everything in it, for the purpose of loving it and having fellowship with it.  There was a reason we were created!  Jumping ahead to the last book of the bible, we read:

Revelation 4:11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Now, if we take this from a very human perspective, we could say that God is selfish.  We could say that He is a hedonist to create things for His own pleasure.  But we need to understand that God’s pleasure is not like ours.  According to the bible, God takes pleasure in righteousness and goodness.  This is why love is one of His most famous attributes.  This works for mankind’s benefit.  And this gives us some insight into the reason men and women, and the whole universe, were created.  (Drum roll please…!!!)  Our purpose in life, is to please the One who made us!

Colossians 1:16-17  ¹⁶For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: ¹⁷And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Have you ever considered that?  That the very reason for your existence is to please God?   That’s a tall order, isn’t it?  How can we please a God who owns everything, and is so powerful that He was able to create everything we see and know?  For the answer to this, it might help to understand the things that God is not pleased with.

GOD’S PERSPECTIVE

Let’s see how God views our world.  Remember, He created it perfectly and enjoyed communion with man, who was made with a free will and much beauty.  When the fall happened, things changed.  Man used his free will to disobey God and man’s beauty became corruption.  This destruction of His most beautiful creation, man and woman, was anticipated by God, so He created a plan of salvation for us.  However, not all men will take that salvation, but are instead satisfied with the temporal things that this world has to offer instead of eternal life.  When people die in this condition, God allows them to go their way, however He is not pleased with this and calls them to change their ways before it is too late.  Scriptures say the following regarding God’s attitude toward a race of sinners:

Ezekiel 33:10-12  ¹⁰Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?  ¹¹Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?  ¹²Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.

Even more, God hates this situation as a parent would hate those who come to harm or deceive their children:

Psalm 5:4-6  ⁴For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. ⁵The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. ⁶Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

God is not pleased with wickedness.  And…

Psalm 7:11  God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

And why would this be? Well, if you love something or someone, you will hate and be angry with anything that opposes or seeks to destroy that thing or person you love.  It is a natural consequence of love.  Since God loves righteousness, goodness, and love, He will hate unrighteousness, wickedness, and hate.  And this is the God we find in the scriptures.  As a matter of fact, God has a plan for this world that will end in such a way that only righteousness, goodness, and love will remain.

Notice that in Psalm 5:5, it says that God hates workers of iniquity.  Now wait a minute!  Haven’t we heard it said that God loves the sinner and hates the sin?  Well, look again.  God hates workers of iniquity.  All of them!  Now guess what!  I am a worker of iniquity!  I do not love righteousness, goodness, and love like I should!  As a matter of fact, I have broken most of God’s laws!  I do not always love my neighbor as myself, let alone love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, as His law requires! I have failed miserably!!  I cannot please God!   So what is the implication of this?  Based on this verse, it appears God must hate me and every other human being.  To be sure, this is the farthest thing from the truth.  Let's find out what God is really trying to tell us here.

TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

First of all, before we go any further and if it is not obvious, it must be unequivocally understood, that as human beings we are called to love sinners and hate sin. Jesus, as God in the flesh, who did nothing outside of God’s perfect will, did no less.  We are not God.  But let us consider something about the nature of God as opposed to the nature of man. God is the Creator.  He is all knowing and perfectly loving.  He is also righteous and has a purpose for this world that will remove wickedness.  God never changes.  His attributes are on full display at all times.  As humans, it is difficult and maybe impossible to understand how God can love and hate at the same time.  How can he be merciful and the judge of mankind at the same time?  I propose the answer is at the cross of Jesus Christ, but it is a deep mystery.  We just need to remember that not only does God love us, but His righteous judgment and condemnation are upon us until we come to Christ to heal us and take away our sins.  Jesus said this:

John 3:17-21  ¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  ¹⁸He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  ²⁰For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  ²¹But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

As a fallen race, mankind has used his fallen abilities for many good things and also many evil things.  Even today, man’s inventions can be used for good and evil.  Currently, we are on the verge of creating what is called “Artificial Intelligence”.  Many so-called leaders of our culture are very concerned that we are creating the very thing that will have the ability to usurp and destroy mankind.  Besides that, look at nuclear weapons.  If we have seen the devastation of these horrific weapons, are we not in a place to hate them, let alone considering all the other horrors of war? In other words, when man’s creation gets out of control, attempts to take over our rightful place in the world, and is an obvious expression of evil, would we not be in our right mind to hate that creation and be justified to actively oppose it?  Some are insane enough to say “no” to that question, but that is only a sign of how far man has fallen from his original purpose. We should recognize as a dread disease in our world that we do not hate these things as we should. 

Let us consider something about love.  Love is a double-edged sword.  If we love something, we will automatically be in a position to hate that which opposes that which we love.  We don’t have to look very much further than our own family members to realize we may do horrible things to someone who attempts to harm them.  This is the nature of love.

There are a number of things we must take into consideration when attempting to understand what God is saying to us in Psalm 5:5.  As with all scripture, we must take what David is saying in context.  Psalm 5 is a prayer of David to YHVH, the only true God.  David is laying out God’s attributes in His prayer.  This is why this is so important.  David understands that God’s love has consequences to those who oppose Him.  This is a terrible truth but reveals something very important about the nature of God that is intertwined with the fact that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 4:16).  Because YHVH is perfectly loving and YHVH is perfectly righteous, He does not sweep sin and evil under a rug.  He deals with it head on.  And He deals with it in the most loving way possible.

God deals with sin and evil one way.  He judges it righteously and completely.  No exceptions.  Every sin, every usurpation against Him is dealt with by Him personally, either directly upon the sinner, or through His Son, who paid the penalty for the judgment of our sin, if we believe into Him.  This is reason to fear but also reason to rejoice.  Each one of us longs for righteousness in this world.  We see the evil around us, and can easily fall into despair, especially if it gets close to home.  We long for righteousness and peace in a world of evil and chaos.  The good news is, it is coming.  Jesus will usher in His kingdom of righteousness and peace when He comes again, as He promised He would.  However, in the meantime, He is patiently waiting for something (and how patient He must be…).  He is giving every human being an opportunity to come to Him.  Scriptures say the following: 

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36).

Again, our Creator is inviting us to come to Him, but it will be on His terms.  Due to our rebellious nature, we do not like this. We are so proud that we feel we have the right to come to God on our own terms.  But we are forgetting that we are in the wrong.  We have not put Him in first place in our lives, but have placed false gods, including our very own selves, as deceitful rulers in place of our only loving and truthful Creator.  All He is asking is that we believe the words of His Son Jesus; the very man who walked this earth and gave us access to God through His death on the cross.  He is asking us to believe into Him.

And what does God do for those to believe into Jesus?  He gives them eternal life.  How does He do this?  According to God’s promises (and He never lies), those who believe into Jesus have their sins nailed to the cross and are seen as righteous as Jesus, who was the only example of a man who lived perfectly righteous before God.  That’s right.  When God looks at someone who believes into His Son, he sees Jesus and attributes the same worth to that person as He does to His beloved Son.  He says to each one who believes into Jesus, “You are my son or daughter, in whom I am well pleased”.  No longer is His wrath on those who believe into Jesus. He no longer hates them, because they no longer oppose Him.  As a matter of fact, they are given eternal promises and are heirs to His kingdom. One thing that is amazing though, is that He also loves those who oppose Him, those whom the scriptures also say that He hates.  This great mystery is summed up here:

Romans 5:6-10  ⁶For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  ⁷For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.  ⁸But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  ⁹Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. ¹⁰For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

We must remember that God’s justice and love are two sides of the same coin.  We know that God so loved the world by giving His only begotten Son:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Love triumphs over justice (James 2:13) and God does not want any in the world to perish (2 Peter 3:9). God loves man so much that He gave man enough dignity and honor to create him with free will – a free will that can choose to love or hate Him, to serve God or serve self.  This has significant ramifications on this world and on the world to come.  He invites each of us to partake of His love by believing on the name of His Son Jesus. He knows our weaknesses, pains, and troubles, and He has made a provision for them.  Through repentance, we turn away from our sins and believe into Jesus.  Through the Lord Jesus, we have life eternal with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God acts on our behalf to make us clean of our sins, give us a new heart, put His Holy Spirit within us, and cause us to walk in His ways (Ezekiel 36:25-27).  This is all accomplished for those who enter into this new covenant by faith (believing).  The gate is narrow and the way is constrained that leads to eternal life and there are only few who find it (Matthew 7:14), but it is indeed an open gate, and open to all who will fall at the feet of Jesus!  Enter in at the true Door (John 10:7-9), find your true Shepherd, and your life will never be the same!

God has loved us from before the foundation of the world, and has made a way for all who trust in Jesus to have eternal life.  Through Him, and only through Him, we are no longer under the condemnation of God (John 3:18) nor are we under any condemnation as we walk in the Spirit (Romans 8:1).  Our freedom from condemnation has been bought with the precious blood of the Messiah. On the cross upon which Jesus died, God demonstrated His deep love and perfect righteousness to this fallen world.  

God’s judgment brings wrath upon wickedness and evil (which includes unbelief).  Why does God have to judge evil?  Remember that God loves mankind.  Evil can only resist His love and bring unrighteousness to this world. In order for love to triumph, evil must be defeated.  His judgment is the only way to defeat evil.  Think about it, how can God completely express His love to His creation without eradicating wickedness and evil?  I can’t think of a way.  And that is what He does. 

With that being said, and before we move on, there are few more things we must realize about our current condition, if we do not trust that Jesus paid the price for our sins..

Isaiah 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

God cannot hear the prayers of the sinful.  And…

Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Wow.  Even if someone regards, thinks about, or holds iniquity (sin) in their heart, God will not hear them.  You see, God can see our hearts, and even though we might not always act on the intents of our heart, God still sees it as sin, and will not hear us in this condition.  Therefore, sin hides us from God so that He cannot hear us.  In a way, God’s mercy is manifest in this.  The scriptures say that God is light (1 John 1:5) and just as darkness cannot remain in the presence of light, if God were to show His glory to us in our sin, we would die instantly.  Why?  Because light and darkness cannot be in the same place at the same time.  This puts us in a very precarious position.

PROPHECY

Most of the prophecies in the bible have come true.  It is a proven fact.  It is only a matter of time before all of them are fulfilled.  The following prophecies of the bible should evoke our immediate attention:

Hebrews 9:27-28  ²⁷And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: ²⁸So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Revelation 20:11-12  ¹¹And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  ¹²And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

According to the bible, after we die, we face judgment.  The Hebrew scriptures are clear that there is no such thing as reincarnation.  We have one chance, and we are living it now.  Just like in a court of law, we will be held accountable for the way we have treated others and how we have treated God.  We will be judged by the One who created us. Also, we see some good news in Hebrews 9:28 above.  There is something called salvation.  And this good news of salvation is the reason I am writing this.  Nevertheless, I need to finish the part about the bad news.

The following verses tell us the verdict of our sins.  We are all in the same boat.  Not one of us can please God, because of our sin.  Even our good works do not please God.  They are like filthy rags to Him, and we know that filthy rags are not pleasant, even to us.

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Isaiah 64:6-7  ⁶But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.  ⁷And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.

Just to put the nail in the coffin regarding our sins, Jesus, who came to earth and was a pure and righteous representation of the Father’s love to this sinful world, said the following:

Matthew 5:21-22  ²¹Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:  ²²But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 5:27-28  ²⁷Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:  ²⁸But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

By the way, “Raca” means “empty headed one”.  It doesn’t seem so bad to call someone names, does it?  Yet, what is happening here?  Why would someone be in danger of hell fire if they call someone a fool?  Consider that the dignity that God gave every man and woman is usurped by these words.  Taken to their inevitable conclusion, evil is not far away. All we have to do is look at the 20^th century atrocities to see the extent of insanity that occurs when someone is treated with less dignity than they rightfully deserve.  God looks very highly on mankind as we are the crown of His creation.  Each one of us is endowed with dignity and honor in God’s sight.  When we offend someone by using this type of language, we are offending the One that created that person in His image.

Besides that, in Jesus’ sermon where these words in Matthew are recorded, Jesus was only confirming something the people of His day forgot.  God looks at the heart of man, not only his outward actions (Psalm 66:18).  God is very concerned about the conditions of our heart, or our inward man.  Jesus put it together.  Since God cannot hear us (Isaiah 59:2), then we are in danger of judgment and we have a big problem.  This is why this is CODE RED.  There is an urgency to this.  We are all in danger of standing before a holy God without being prepared!

One other thing.  We read in Isaiah 64:6-7 that all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags to God.  Some of us have grown up with the notion that if we do more good than bad, that God will look kindly on us.  As a matter of fact, we may think that if God did not do this, that He would be unfair. However, would you consider a judge to be a good judge who let off a murderer because he had treated his mother well?  Or should a police officer refrain from punishing someone who was speeding through a school zone because he saw him stop at a stop sign a few minutes after the infringement? Probably not.  And one infraction is all we need to end up separated from our Creator forever.  The scriptures are very clear on this.  Even breaking one of His holy commandments makes us guilty before Him.  It is the same as if we had broken all of His commandments:

James 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Not only this, but remember, that His righteousness is also very closely related to His love.  Each of us needs to realize the precarious position we are in if we do not believe in Jesus.  Without deliverance from our sins, as individuals we will stand before the judgment seat of God and be found wanting.  If you do not know Jesus, I pray that you will see and believe that these things are true, so that you may repent of (turn from) your sins (including the condition of your heart) and allow God to make you pleasing to Him. How does this happen?  Funny you should ask.  Now we get to the good news!

GOOD NEWS

We have just discussed the things that God is not pleased with.  Let us now turn our attention to the things that God is pleased with.  How are we to please a God who owns everything, is all-powerful, and knows everything?

Please notice that mankind is in a Catch 22.  Each one of us needs the mercy of God to forgive our sins, but according to Isaiah 59:2 and Psalm 66:18, God cannot even hear us because of our sin!  How can we even ask for forgiveness if He does not hear us?  We need to reach Him before we die, because only He can save us, but He does not hear our prayers!  What can we do???

Jesus, the Savior from God, gave us the answer.  We need to hear Jesus’ words and believe on God:

John 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

You see, we do not come to God on our terms.  We have said and done enough.  He makes a way only through His Son Jesus, and gives ears to hear to those who are willing to listen.  Jesus came to this earth as a man to give us the words of eternal life.  There is no other way.  Let’s move on.

WHO IS JESUS?

At this point, I find it appropriate to introduce you to Jesus.  You may or may not have heard things about Jesus.  You may have heard some things that are true about Him, and you may have heard some things that are false.  It is vitally important that we understand Him as He really is.

Jesus was a man born around the time of the first millennium in a little town near Jerusalem, Israel called Bethlehem.  For those who understood the prophecies of the Jewish scripture, there was something very special about Jesus.  For the Jews, and some non-Jews, there was an expectation of a king or Messiah who would come.  Even today, this idea of a coming "deliverer" is prevalent in many religions.  However, upon Jesus’ birth, the following prophecies of the Jewish scripture were fulfilled, which were written hundreds of years before He came. 

Regarding the place of this Ruler’s birth:

Micah 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

According to the books of Matthew and Luke (in the New Testament), Jesus was born in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4-7)

Regarding the family this King would come from:

Jeremiah 23:5  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

We find that Jesus is of the family lineage of David (Matthew 1:6-17, Luke 3:23-31).

Regarding the unique miraculous nature of His birth:

Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

According to Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-37, Jesus’ mother was a virgin when He was born.

Regarding the timing of His life, Daniel speaks of the Messiah:

Daniel 9:25-26  ²⁵Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.  ²⁶And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:

To understand this one, a quick history lesson is needed.  This passage in Daniel was written at a time in the history of the Jewish people when their homeland was destroyed.   Jerusalem, their capital city, was in ruins.  The wall of Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. The prophet Daniel wrote this (by inspiration of God the Holy Spirit) to encourage the people who were taken captive (in Babylon) that God had not completely given up on them, even though it appeared to be the case.  The commandment to "restore and build Jerusalem" is recorded in Nehemiah 2:1-8 and scholars agree that this was around 444 BC.  If you count each week as seven years (because the word "week" was translated from the Hebrew word that means "seven"), you come to the time of Jesus’ death (Messiah cut off).  By the time Jesus was born, the wall and temple of Jerusalem were built again.  Needless to say, many people did not see this very important sign until after Jesus’ death. If you are a mathematician or if you are interested in the math, you need to use a 360 day biblical year and 69 weeks (483 years), and subtract 1 year because there was no year between 1BC and 1AD:   444 BC - ((69 x 7) x 360/365.25) - 1 year for no year 0 = 33AD.  Historians agree that Jesus died very close to, if not in 33AD.

As amazing and miraculous as the birth of Jesus was, this was not the greatest thing about Him. What He did during the course of His life was even more amazing.  He fulfilled many more prophecies, He performed miracles, He healed the sick, and He spoke things never heard before.  In one example, He stood in a synagogue and claimed He was fulfilling a prophecy from Isaiah 61:1-3:

Luke 4:16-21  ¹⁶And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. ¹⁷And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, ¹⁸The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,  ¹⁹To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.  ²⁰And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.  ²¹And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

The people were amazed. They already had seen Him preach and they saw Him bring sight to a blind man.  Now they heard Him proclaim that He was fulfilling ancient prophecies!   One of the most amazing things that Jesus said had to do with His identity.  When speaking with the religious leaders of His day, who also happened to be His enemies, they asked Him a question about who He was.  They got a surprising response.  They asked:

John 8:53-59  ⁵³Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?  ⁵⁴Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:  ⁵⁵Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.  ⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. ⁵⁷Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? ⁵⁸Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.  ⁵⁹Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Jesus was not a gentle sheep when it came to dealing with the religious leaders of His day.  He accused them of not knowing God, and called them liars to their faces.  However, this was not the reason they took up stones to kill Him.  Jesus was making a claim that baffled them.  He basically told them that He was around before Abraham (around 2,000BC).  Not only that, but Jesus was claiming the name, "I AM".  This was a sacred name to the Jews since the days of the great leader, Moses.  When Moses first spoke with God at the burning bush, God told Moses His name was I AM (Exodus 3:13-14).  When Jesus said this, He was basically telling them that He was God Almighty. Even for a normal Jewish person at that time, this would have been infuriating.  Who is this Jewish carpenter who is claiming to be YHVH? Is this man insane?  A real deceiver?  Or is He who He claimed to be?

This was not the only time Jesus made these claims.  Also, numerous times He did things that only God can do.  He knew people's thoughts (Matthew 12:25, Luke 6:8), He controlled the weather (Mark 4:39) and the animals (Matthew 17:24-27, Luke 5:4-8), He raised people from the dead (Matthew 9:18-26, John 11), He lived without sinning (Romans 4:15), accepted worship (Matthew 8:2,  Matthew 14:33, Matthew 15:25, Matthew 28:9, Matthew 28:17,  John 9:38 and more) and He even said He had power to raise Himself from the dead (John 10:17-18). 

These things alone may not convince you of Jesus’ identity or maybe they might.  Nevertheless, if this is true, this changes everything.  Scriptures are very clear on this.  When speaking about John the Baptist, the writer of Mark starts his narrative about Jesus like this:

Mark 1:1-3  ¹The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;  ²As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  ³The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

These are referring to two prophesies.  One is in in Malachi and one is in Isaiah:

Malachi 3:1  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 40:3-5  ³The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: ⁵And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Notice that both of these prophesies refer to the one to be sent as either Lord (Adonai) or LORD (YHVH).  This would not be lost on the hearers of this message as it is to us in the 21^st century.  Mark is clearly telling them and us, that Jesus is Adonai and YHVH, God Himself.  (When LORD or GOD [all upper case] is written in the bible, it is translated from the holy name of God – YHVH)

An old testament passage (Psalm 24 below) speaks about a King who would come.  We know that Jesus is the King of kings, as it is written:

Revelation 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

The Lamb of God, Jesus (see John 1:29), is the Lord of lords and King of Kings.  And speaking of Jesus’ soon return, the writer of the final revelation says the following:

Revelation 19:11-16  ¹¹And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. ¹²His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. ¹³And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

The writer (John) leaves no doubt about who is the King of kings and Lord of Lords.

And David, the writer of Psalm 24, wrote this about a King who will be coming – the long expected Messiah:

Psalms 24:7-10  ⁷Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ⁸Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. ⁹Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ¹⁰Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

No doubt, this great King’s name is YHVH (the LORD, with all capital letters which is referring to the name of the one and true God).

The old and new testaments both agree, Jesus (which means YHVH is salvation) is the Son of God and God Himself, being one of the three persons of the one true God, whose name is YHVH.  One of Jesus’ closest disciples wrote the following at the beginning of his account about Jesus.  Speaking about Jesus, he says:

John 1:1-5  ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  ²The same was in the beginning with God.  ³All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  ⁴In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  ⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

This is a great mystery, how can God be one and three (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) at the same time?  We do not need to answer that precisely, but we need to believe what the scriptures say, and they are clear.  Jesus is YHVH.  This has many implications, but one of them is that we better hear what He says. 

Jesus made the following statement:

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

This statement alone tells us that Jesus was not an ordinary person, and if His claims are true, we are lost without Him.  You can read the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the bible) to see His whole life, death, and resurrection recorded. The culmination of Jesus' life was the most important part of His ministry.  His death forever changed the destiny of mankind.

THE GREAT FORSAKING

After about three years of preaching the good news about the kingdom of God, with miracles and signs, Jesus, the long awaited Messiah (Anointed One), made an entry into Jerusalem.  He was riding on a donkey (as the prophets foretold – Zechariah 9:9) with people singing His praises.

Once in Jerusalem, He went to the temple, which was the central place of worship for Israel, and kicked out the money changers.  A few days later, He had a final meal with His followers (He knew He was going to die the next day), prayed fervently in a garden (to the point of sweating blood), and was taken prisoner under the Roman authorities.  He was falsely accused, beaten, and crucified on a hill called Calvary. What happened on the cross is the most important part of His ministry and life on this earth (Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23 & John 18-19).  This is the pivotal point in human history.  I will do my best to explain. 

Jesus said a number of things while He was dying on the cross.  One of the things He said while suffering this painful death was, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).  The meaning of this very brief statement of Jesus is so profound, that we could meditate on it for all eternity and never understand the full deepness of its meaning.  I am not exaggerating.

When Jesus said the words, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?", He was quoting Psalm 22.  The Psalm goes on, "why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?" It continues with a very vivid description of a crucifixion, including pierced hands and feet (remember, this was written about 1,000 years before Jesus was even born, and about 400 years before any historical record of crucifixion).  What is going on here?  According to the bible, Jesus has a very close relationship with His Father, and the Father is pleased with Him.  You could say it one of the greatest love stories of all time.  The Father loves His Son, and the Son loves His Father. At Jesus’ baptism, the Father spoke from heaven regarding Jesus:

Matthew 3:16-17  ¹⁶And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:  ¹⁷And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

It seems that nothing would ever come between them.  Throughout eternity, they have enjoyed each other's presence, as well as the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Why, then, would Jesus say these words to His Father?  Why would the Father forsake the Son whom He is pleased with and whom He loves?

The answer to this question is the central message of the scriptures.  This is the reason my soul is satisfied.

Above, I had mentioned forgiveness of sins, briefly.  I will ask a question.  How can God forgive us our sins without compromising His justice?  If God is perfectly righteous and just, how can He also be perfectly loving at the same time?  If God were to forgive sins, that means that justice cannot be satisfied, does it not?  Or, if justice were carried out for our sins, how could there still be room for Him to love us?  Were we really created by a God who is perfectly loving and perfectly righteous? Jesus says that we are – through the words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  How is this so?

What is the righteous punishment that we deserve for our sins?  What is the penalty for disobeying and rejecting a perfectly loving, pure, and holy God?  Well, first of all, sin’s penalty is death.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

To drive this point home, the nation of Israel had a whole system of animal sacrifices which God had commanded them to do.  Why? Because God was showing them that He requires blood (death) for the remission of sins. 

Hebrews 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

And speaking of Jesus (when He died on the cross), the apostle Paul says:

Romans 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Now, propitiation is an appeasement, a quieting of anger.  Remember how we found out that God is angry every day (Psalm 7:11)? Well, the blood of Jesus, which was shed for our sins, made a way for the anger of God to not rest upon us forever (Romans 3:25, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10).  This is very critical and a central message of the good news.  Let’s look at judgment day again.

At the final judgment (after we die), we will be judged according to our works.

Revelation 20:11-13 ¹¹And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  ¹²And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  ¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

Remember, that even our righteousnesses (good works) are as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6-7). Therefore, if our eternal destiny were based on our works, then would not even our good works (filthy rags) cause us to end up with a guilty verdict?  Yes, they would, and do.

This is where Jesus’ words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” come in.  Remember, God has to punish every man’s sin according to perfect righteousness, which He established.  If God would even forgive one sin that was committed from the beginning of time, how would the perfect justice for that sin be carried out?  Since God is perfectly righteous, how do sins, even forgiven sins, get punished righteously?   Does not perfect justice require perfect punishment for sins?  Indeed it does, for how can a perfect carrier of justice allow leniency for any reason?  And how can a perfectly loving Creator allow His creation to suffer eternally for their sins (as His perfect law requires)?  For the answer to this dilemma, we turn to the following passages from the bible.  Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about the substitution (atonement) that Jesus accomplished for us on the cross:

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

And, a prophet of Israel (about 790 – 715BC) who saw the coming of Jesus said the following:

Isaiah 53:3-11 ³He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  ⁴Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  ⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  ⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  ⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.  ⁸He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.  ⁹And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. ¹⁰Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  ¹¹He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Please notice some of the wording in Isaiah 53  above. “¹⁰Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him,” and “¹¹He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:  by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”  This passage is so critical!  What is going on here?  What is Isaiah seeing?  According to this, the LORD (the Father) was pleased to bruise (actually “crush” if you go back to original language) Jesus.  Why?  Because our sins, yours and mine, were placed on Jesus, and Jesus took upon Himself the wrath of the Father for our sins.  Now remember, that it was out of love for Jesus and us that the Father did this (more on this following).  He knew that unless sin and evil was eradicated out of this world, there would be no peace between God and man, and Jesus would not be able to enjoy fellowship with mankind as man was originally created for.  He also knew, that if He gave each one of us what we deserved, each one of us would end up suffering eternally for our sins.  Therefore, there was only one way, and that was to sacrifice His Son for us all.  This must have broken the Father’s heart, but out of His love, He was willing to sacrifice His Son for us, just as Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac out of love for God (Genesis 22:1-14).  Jesus took our place; He was a substitute or atonement (Romans 5:11) for us.  Jesus willingly took upon Himself the righteous judgment of our sins, so we could take on the righteous reward of the life He lived. Through Jesus we can have eternal life with God.

Consider these things and then read on:

The Precious Life

Never did a dying One
E’er speak such words for me
Than Jesus when in final breaths
There dying on that tree

His life it was so beautiful
No sin to mar its hue
How could it be that He should get
This punishment untrue?

I cannot understand this love
It is too deep to see
But partake of this, yes He does call
“Come one, come all, to Me”

My words will fail just every time
I cannot make a chord
I only feel remorse and shame
My heart pierced with a sword

For as I look from on the ground
My eyes do see His form
And if the world were fair and right
His stripes I should have worn.

His body there upon that tree
I know I must stay here
To ponder all that came to pass
To hear what is to hear

Then I look up from earth and blood,
The rain upon my head
I take a gaze into His eyes
And ponder what He said

His beauty only brings me tears
To know it was my fault
That all for me He’s hanging there
My pain, my sin, my doubt

But lo, He calls me, “Look to Me,
See what I’ve done is true
I know my death was not a waste
I did this all for you!

And lo the days will not be long
When there within my grave
My life will be restored again
And I will live to save!

My people who have suffered much
I understand your pain
Don’t worry for before too long
I promise, I will come again!”

 

With faith, we can only stand in awe of God for this.  Can you see how righteous and just He is, that He would crush His only begotten Son because of our sins upon Him?  With faith, we can only stand in awe and worship God for showing His love to a race of sinners, by allowing His Son to sacrifice Himself, to lay down His life, for you and for me.  How can we not respond to this love?  How can we not respond?

When Jesus said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” He was being forsaken by His Father who had loved Him since eternity. What pain, what agony, to feel abandoned by one you love, even for a brief period.  To the Son, who was loved of the Father for eternity, to suffer this pain at His hand, is almost unthinkable.  Yet, this was the plan of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit since the beginning of creation.

This was God demonstrating the depth of His love, and the depth of His righteousness to His entire creation.  And to top it off, in order to show God’s stamp of approval, Jesus was raised from the dead and was taken up to heaven in a glorified immortal body!

THE FATHER’S LOVE

A thought may come to your mind.  How could a loving Father crush His only begotten Son?  What kind of Father would do this to His child besides a sadistic and evil Father?  On top of that, how can we say that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One if it appears that the three are not united – even if it only lasted for a second – while Jesus was being forsaken by the Father.  In the context of our own corrupted understanding, forsaken means abandoned or deserted. In light of the crucifixion, it would be easy to conclude that God became divided when Jesus said those fateful words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Scriptures are clear that that the love relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is so close that they are one (Deuteronomy 6:4, John 17:11).  Jesus gives us a glimpse of His relationship with the Father while speaking to the questioning leaders of His day.  He says the following:

John 10:25-30  ²⁵Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.  ²⁶But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.  ²⁷My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  ²⁸And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  ²⁹My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.  ³⁰I and my Father are one.

So how could Jesus be forsaken by the Father?  To break this down, remember that the nature of love is that it has a cost.  The forsaking of the Son on the cross did not diminish the Father’s love for His Son, nor did it divide God in any way.  A verse may come to mind that we mentioned previously.  2 Corinthians 5:21 speaks of the Father in terms of the Son: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”  If Jesus was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God, it is obvious that our sin was completely dealt with on that cross.  Here we can see the Father’s work in procuring a people for His Son.  Our sin was placed on Jesus so His righteousness could be placed on us, but this does not mean that the Father stopped loving the Son.  Quite the contrary.  It was the Father’s love for His Son and us that prompted him to make Him sin for us.  Let us look more closely at the scriptures that Jesus is quoting as He says the opening words of Psalm 22.  It is almost as if He is begging us to read the remainder of the Psalm.  Here it is in its entirety: 

”¹My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? ²O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. ³But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. ⁴Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. ⁵They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. ⁶But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. ⁷All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ⁸He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. ⁹But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. ¹⁰I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.  ¹¹Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. ¹²Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. ¹³They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. ¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. ¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. ¹⁶For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. ¹⁷I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. ¹⁸They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. ¹⁹But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. ²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. ²¹Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. ²²I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. ²³Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. ²⁴For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. ²⁵My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. ²⁶The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. ²⁷All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. ²⁸For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. ²⁹All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. ³⁰A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. ³¹They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.”

 

To unpack this, I would like to stress three points.  The first is that Jesus always loves the Father and never gave up on Him.  Second, the Father always loves the Son as He has and will for eternity.  Third, the Father is merciful and sees suffering as contrary to His perfect plan for us.  He does not turn away from those who are afflicted.  Let’s look at the first point; Jesus never stops loving the Father.

While the first sentence, the one Jesus actually spoke while on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” would appear that He is saying that the Father has left Him or has stopped loving Him, we need to understand that Jesus was fully God and fully man on that cross.  He does not shy away from sharing with this world the fact that His earthly tabernacle was being forsaken.  He said Himself, as he was preparing for his death:

John 12:23-26  ²³And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.  ²⁴Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.  ²⁵He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.  ²⁶If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Indeed, Jesus knew the destiny of His earthly tabernacle.  His earthly body was indeed forsaken on that tree, and He identified with that.  However, the physical body of Messiah was not all there was to Jesus.  He had a soul and a Spirit, and it was with those that the dialogue with His Father continues.

We see in Psalm 22:3, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”, that Jesus is praising the Father.  Through His suffering, He is still honoring and giving the Father glory, even for His birth in Psalm 22:9-10: “⁹But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. ¹⁰I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly”  He calls on His Father with the hope of His salvation from His enemies in Psalm 22:11 and Psalm 22:19-22: “¹¹Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.  ¹⁹But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. ²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. ²¹Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. ²²I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.”

So we see that Jesus did not stop loving, relying on, and praising His Father while He was suffering on the cross.  The second point is also very clear.  The Father never stopped loving His Son, even while He was executing the righteous judgment of sin upon Him.  Starting at Psalm 22:23, which is an exhortation to worship the Father, the following verse, Psalm 22:24 shows us why: “For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.”   We may have heard that the Father turned His face away from Jesus while He was on the cross, but look here.  The Father did not hide His face from Jesus His Son our Lord.  No, the Father did not despise His Son and never will.  He heard the cry of Jesus and answered.  His answer was the following: 

Psalm 22:27-31  ²⁷All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. ²⁸For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. ²⁹All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. ³⁰A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. ³¹They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.”

Jesus’ ministry was not completed when He died on the cross.  His victory was assured, even in death.  Jesus knew this as he was preparing to die, for Paul speaks of joy coming at the end of the sorrows: 

Hebrews 12:1-2  ¹Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

What was the joy that was set before Jesus?  The answer is that He is given a people – you and me.  A seed shall serve Him.  That is, those who put their trust in the one true God YHVH, are a gift of the Father to Jesus.  In a prayer to His Father, Jesus said this before His death. 

John 17:12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Those that were given to Jesus are His people who will worship and bow down before Him.  He is worthy of all praise and honor and glory and those saints say in glory:

Revelation 5:11-14  ¹¹And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;  ¹²Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.  ¹³And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.  ¹⁴And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

No, the Father never stopped loving Jesus.  His love was abounding to Him as He was suffering on that cross.  He was giving to Jesus a people to honor and worship Him forever.  In the midst of His suffering, the Father was promising Jesus an everlasting inheritance.  Contrary to appearances, the Father was loving Jesus as He was taking care of sin once and for all.  This brings me to the final point.  The Father does not turn away from those who are suffering.  This applied to Jesus, and it also applies to His people.  Just as Jesus brought to mind the promises of His Father on the cross, so are His people comforted the same way.  Whether through life or death, God is with His people.  Here are a couple of His promises that reveal how deeply God desires to be with His people:

In life:

Psalm 103:1-14  ¹(A Psalm of David.) Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.  ²Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:  ³Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;  ⁴Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;  ⁵Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.  ⁶The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.  ⁷He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.  ⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.  ⁹He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.  ¹⁰He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  ¹¹For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.  ¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.  ¹³Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.  ¹⁴For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

In death:

Psalm 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Not only does God not abhor the suffering of the afflicted (meaning he does not shy away from it), but he sees the death of His people as precious.  Oh, to be in the Lord Jesus Christ at the hour of our death is a blessing to be compared to no other. 

A note here:  Many will say that they know God who is righteous, or they know God who is loving, but there is no other place, other than on the cross at Calvary, that both of these qualities of God are demonstrated together in such perfection.  God's righteousness and love are both perfect and everlasting.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one and their ways are beyond our understanding.

Romans 11:33-36  ³³O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!  ³⁴For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?  ³⁵Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?  ³⁶For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

A RESPONSE

So how does God want us to respond to these things?

To get the answer to this, let us look one more time at judgment day.  The prophetic vision from John the apostle continues:

Revelation 20:13-15 ¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  ¹⁵And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Notice that while it says that every man was judged according to their works, it does not say that whoever did not have good works was cast into the lake of fire.  Neither does it say that those who had less good works and more bad works were thrown into the lake of fire.  What it does say is that those not written in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire.  So what is this book of life?

Moses spoke about it in Exodus after the people of Israel had made for themselves a golden calf and called it their god.  God, the true God, responded and said that those that sin against Him, He will blot out of the book:

Exodus 32:31-33 ³¹And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.  ³²Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.  ³³And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

David, the second king of Israel, speaking of God’s enemies wrote that the righteous are the ones written in the book of the living:

Psalm 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

Speaking of the New Jerusalem, where God will dwell with His creation once more, scriptures tell us that only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city:

Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

So, in summary, it is very important to be written in the book of life when the time comes for judgment. Those who are not in the book of life are condemned to an eternity in the lake of fire, and will not partake in God’s coming kingdom.  So, how do we know if we are written in the book of life or not?

The same man who wrote down the book of Revelation (John the apostle), also wrote the following. Please pay attention to those who are condemned and those who are not condemned:

John 3:16-21 ¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  ¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  ¹⁸He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  ²⁰For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  ²¹But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

This is a very sobering scripture.  Those who do not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God are condemned. What else could this mean, except that they are thrown into the lake of fire?  This passage says that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.  Note that every human being starts life without believing in Jesus.  Speaking about light and darkness, about 5 chapters later, John records the following:

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Matthew also uses similar “light/darkness” language when referring to Jesus:

Matthew 4:13-16  ¹³And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:  ¹⁴That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, ¹⁵The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;  ¹⁶The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

By the way, this was a fulfillment of a prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-2.  So, to love the light rather than the darkness makes sense with God’s command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and all your strength (Mark 12:30).  If Jesus was who He said He was, then it is appropriate to love Him and worship Him.  We are asked to believe in Him, which means to put our trust, and our lives, into Him.

Those who don’t are condemned, because they love darkness, and hate the light.  Do you realize that this world is under the control of the wicked one, whose deeds are all in darkness?  Think about it.  How much do you really know about the motivations of the people that control this world system?  Most of the evil we see today originates in places that are purposely hidden.  To perform evil, people must stay in darkness so they are not exposed to light.  Once they are exposed to light, their evil deeds are no longer possible. Problem is, there is so much darkness in the world that even the light is darkness, as Jesus warned:

²²The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  ²³But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)

 

How is your eye?  Can you see the evil in this world or is it easier to love this world?  For many of us, this world holds out promises.  Promises of happiness, promises of riches, and promises of health. However, behind these promises are only lies.  This world is temporary, and may be able to offer some pleasure or health for a season, but the true pleasure and wealth can only be attained through life that is everlasting and that is connected to its Creator.  This life is a life that is exposed to light and withstands the condemnation of our life’s failures.  This life that God offers us is true fulfillment in our Creator and can only be found by facing and living the truth.  When we come to the light, our deeds are exposed, but He makes a way for us to stand before Him despite our sinful nature.  This is the only path to healing and restoration!  Jesus said He was the light of the world.  Light exposes darkness, just as truth exposes lies.  Do you desire to come to the light?  Do you desire to experience eternal life?  Then you must come to Jesus.  You may say, “I never met the man!”  or “This is just a story that some needy people made up!”  Are you willing to stake your eternal destiny on the possibility that God does not exist, or that He is not interested in your life?  Or that Jesus did not say the things recorded in the bible?  The fact that men (and women) love darkness more than light is because it is easier to not believe in God.  It is easier to sin, when you have no person to be accountable to.  It is easier to ignore God, than to make an effort to approach Him.  It is easier to doubt He exists, than to seek Him with all your heart!  Yet, the scriptures are inviting every single person to seek Him, and ask the tough questions of Him.  If you think this is a waste of time and effort, please read the following promises:

Matthew 7:7-11 ⁷Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  ⁸For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  ⁹Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?  ¹⁰Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? ¹¹If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 

And…

Jeremiah 29:11-14 ¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. ¹²Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  ¹³And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  ¹⁴And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Many have hung their eternal destiny on the promises you have just read, and they have not been disappointed.

Psalm 34:8  O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

So, what must you do to be saved from your sins and sinfulness?  After being confronted with the realization that Jesus was who He said He was, some people in the first century asked the same question:

Acts 2:36-38 ³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. ³⁷Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?  ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Now, notice that these people were pricked in the heart.  In other words, something happened to them on the inside.  Again, God looks at the heart and not necessarily at the outward actions.   Please read the following verses:

2 Corinthians 6:1-2  ¹We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. ²(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

And Jesus said:

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Do you see it?  God wants you to come to Him.  He is standing at the door of your heart, knocking.  He does not hear you if He is outside the door!  You need to open the door of your heart and come to the light of Jesus!  He is bringing the kingdom of God!  He is calling you now to be a part of it!  Will you answer the door and let Him in? Today (right now) is the day of salvation!

1 John 5:11-12  ¹¹And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

So how do we apply this to our lives?  How do we express the reality that God has placed in our hearts?  (If God has not pricked you in the heart, or He has not given you repentance, please seek him desperately for it!)  The bible speaks about repentance and faith as responses to the good news.  We will start with repentance.  What is repentance?

REPENTANCE

Well, first of all, repentance is a gift.  When writing to a younger believer who was a close friend of Paul the apostle, he told him (Timothy) the following regarding how to teach others.  Notice that he mentions that repentance is given to those who are instructed, and who eventually will acknowledge the truth, and that this repentance is a liberation of ourselves from captivity to the devil:

2 Timothy 2:24-26  ²⁴And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,  ²⁵In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  ²⁶And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

And what is this captivity?  Did you ever consider the reason the world is in such a mess?  Did you ever wonder why there is starvation, murder, wars, tortures, corruption, and greed?  What is happening is this.  The devil, Satan, hates God.  Therefore, he hates everything that God loves and he hates everything that represents God. Mankind falls into both of these categories.  Not only does God love us, but He created us in His image.  Therefore, each one of us is a representation of God.  Since the garden of Eden (see Genesis 2-3), Satan has worked to ruin mankind.  He does this through deception, and works by way of our thoughts.  Once he can get us to believe one lie, the others come easier. Eventually, once we believe enough of his lies, it is not hard to see how he can cause us to oppose ourselves. In other words, we start living against our best interest and the best interest of others; let alone the interests of God our Creator.  We start living contrary to our intended purpose, which is to please God.  This is the captivity.  Repentance frees us from this slavery.

Not only is repentance a gift, but it is a call to sinners.  Jesus was considered a rabbi of His time, a great teacher.  When other religious people saw him eating and drinking with sinners, they were putting His ministry in question.  Jesus gave them an answer that should touch each one of us.  Here is the story:

Mark 2:15-17 ¹⁵And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.  ¹⁶And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?  ¹⁷When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

As we already have seen from various scriptures (this is a recurring theme), we are all sinners. Therefore, we all need Jesus. Picture the scenario.  Jesus was hanging out with prostitutes, drunkards, thieves, liars, murderers, and people like us!  It didn’t matter if they were rich or poor.  It was just that they were humble enough to see their need for Jesus. And what was He doing with them? He was loving them!  He was inviting them into the kingdom of God. His message was very attractive to those who had no hope of fitting in with “normal” society, which is why there were more outcasts of society attracted to Him than those who fit in to society.  These were people who realized their need.  They knew they were sinners.  Those who were too proud to admit their sinful nature and ways did not see a need to come to Jesus.  As a matter of fact, these were the ones who wanted to have Jesus killed. 

The way into the kingdom is through repentance.  Jesus did not want to leave them in their sins.  He was calling them to turn from – repent of – their sins.  His intent was to liberate them from the deceptions that had kept them in bondage.  He called them to start a new life, and this new life would be with Him.

And this is the same invitation today.  This new life starts with us admitting that we are sinners.  In other words, we are hearing from God and agreeing with Him that we have fallen short of His expectation for our lives.  Remember, the first thing that has to happen if we want to enter into everlasting life is that we need to hear Jesus’ word. Remember John 5:24? 

John 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Could it be that hearing Jesus' words starts with hearing the first words out of His mouth when He began His ministry, which are recorded in Matthew chapter 4?

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Maybe.  So what is repentance?  The meaning of this word in the original language of the bible carries with it the idea of turning, as well as a change of mind.  It is a forsaking of things that you have always known, for something new.  It is a turning away from our sin, and towards God.  Now our sin, which the bible says is deceptive (Hebrews 3:13), may not exactly be recognizable to us.  We may not want to admit it, but anything that is not 100% loving God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength is sin.  Let alone loving our neighbors as ourselves.  So have you loved God this way?  Have you sought Him?  Or have you rejected Him, have you forgotten Him, or have you doubted His existence?  These are all sins.  And all of these are based on the condition of our hearts, as was mentioned previously. By the way, scripture is clear, nobody can love God the way God deserves to be loved.

True repentance will be followed by the fruits of repentance.  There was a certain corrupted tax collector named Zacchaeus. When he saw Jesus, he decided to turn from his sinful ways.  The story is recorded in the book of Luke:

Luke 19:1-10 ¹And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.  ²And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.  ³And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.  ⁴And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.  ⁵And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.  ⁶And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.  ⁷And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.  ⁸And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.  ⁹And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.  ¹⁰For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Upon the realization of God’s love to him, just the fact that Jesus wanted to stay with him (as He does with every one of us), Zacchaeus turned from his sin, and towards God.  He realized that his money, his position, and his things were of little importance in the presence of Jesus.  This experience with Jesus changed his life. This is the effect Jesus has on people who get to know Him.  True repentance, a turning towards God, changes us.  We begin to live differently and see things differently.   The devil uses different strategies on us, depending on our weaknesses.  For some, it is addictions, lust, idolatry, or greed, and still for others it may be doubt, fear, or unbelief.  It is likely a combination of these. The main thing is we need to come to Jesus and realize that we have offended the very God who loves us.  This is true repentance.

Why do we change when we turn towards God?  Because we finally see God for who He is, and our hearts can do nothing but melt before Him. Notice the following passages regarding what happens when people of faith behold God:

2 Corinthians 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are changed into His image.  We see things as He sees them.  We find our true purpose in life.  Notice, that there seems to be a continual change going on.  For believers in Jesus, repentance does not only happen once. We continue to get closer to God, and in so doing, we begin to see Him more and more, and we also see our sin more and more.  At these times, we need to repent again.  This is a lifelong process.  We will continue to be changed until Jesus appears, and then, we will see Jesus in all His glory, and we will be changed one final time:

1 John 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

As was mentioned earlier, every one of us must face judgment.  To avoid condemnation, we must hear Jesus' words and believe on the One who sent him, that is, the Father.  If indeed we have heard Jesus' call for us to repent, let us now move on to faith, for without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

FAITH

The following passage tells us some very important things.  For one, it reiterates the fact that we are all sinners.  It also repeats the fact that God is light, and no darkness is in Him.  But it also tells us something very important.  If we confess our sins, that is speak them with our lips to God and agree that they are sins, He will ALWAYS forgive us.

1 John 1:5-10 ⁵This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.  ⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

And this is where faith comes in.  When you turn away from your sin, how do you know there will be a loving God there to accept you?  How do you know you will not be judged by God and rejected?  We know, because we can trust His word.  And why should we trust His word?  Because God cannot lie, and the promises He makes, He keeps.  Just a look at the prophetic writings is proof that God acts on His word.

The scriptures are clear, that it is impossible to please God without faith.  Writing about some men who served as examples of faith (Abel and Enoch), the writer of the book of Hebrews defines faith this way:

Hebrews 11:1-6 ¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  ²For by it the elders obtained a good report.  ³Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. ⁴By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.  ⁵By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.  ⁶But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The scriptures tell us that those who are justified, or made righteous before God, are justified by faith, not by any works that they do.  In other words, the death of Jesus, who died for the sins of the world, needs to be applied to our own hearts!  Good works cannot please God if we do not have faith.  We need to believe that Jesus died for our very own sins; that He took the penalty, the wrath of the Father, on our behalf.  In the following passage, Paul describes this type of faith when speaking about Abraham, who is called the father of faith:

Romans 4:20-5:2 ²⁰He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;  ²¹And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.  ²²And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.  ²³Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;  ²⁴But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;  ²⁵Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. ¹Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:  ²By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Do you believe that God is able to work out forgiveness for your sins?  By looking at Jesus, do you see that it is possible for a holy and righteous God to love you?  Do you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and that He deserves to be and is your Lord (in charge of your life)?  If so, tell someone, for the scriptures say:

Romans 10:6-11  ⁶But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)  ⁷Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)  ⁸But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;  ⁹That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Don’t be surprised if this is not received well.  Remember, light exposes darkness and evil needs to stay in darkness to succeed. When people hear the words of eternal life, it interrupts their darkness.  Many reject the good news of Jesus the Messiah at first, but we must be faithful.  God will bring men and women to Himself when they are ready.  Not on our timetable.  We only need to be faithful to God and obey as He calls us to.  He will take care of the rest.

I would like us to look again at Acts chapter 2:

Acts 2:36-38  ³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. ³⁷Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?  ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Notice what Peter said to these people who just heard about Jesus and what He did for them.  He told them to repent, and then he told them to be baptized.  Now if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and you see your sins as God sees them, you will see that you have a need to be saved from your sins.  Notice that the people in Acts 2 heard the word of Jesus, the gospel of their salvation.  Peter commanded them to repent and be baptized.  Now faith is the result of hearing God, and hearing God comes from His spoken word (Romans 10:17).  Have you received faith from God?  Has your heart been touched by the words of this message?  Is there a true desire in your heart right now that says that God has spoken to you directly and that He is calling you into His kingdom? If so, He has given us water baptism as an outward sign of an inward reality.  This is not something you should do unless there has been an inward change of your heart towards God.  That is why Peter said, “repent and be baptized,” to those whom were “pricked in the heart”.  Remember, without faith (which is of the heart), it is impossible to please God.

If you are still not convinced, maybe your heart is still persuaded by this world, keep in mind that there is someone out there who loves you with an everlasting love.  He has reached out to you and is awaiting your response.  He is asking you so seek Him, even though He is nearer to you than your closest friend. Search the scriptures for yourself and seek Him with all your heart!

Jeremiah 29:11-13  ¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. ¹²Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  ¹³And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit, (sometimes referred to as the Holy Ghost) is one of the three persons of God. He is invisible to the physical eye, but He is on the earth and urging men and women to come to the knowledge of the One true God and Jesus the Messiah.  Even right now, the Holy Spirit is urging you to get closer to Jesus!  Before Jesus died, He told His followers that He would send the Holy Spirit to remind them of what He taught them:

John 14:25-26 ²⁵These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.  ²⁶But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The same Holy Spirit will guide His people into all truth:

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

The Holy Spirit also comforts us in our troubles, because He comes to dwell in those who believe in Jesus.  And to those who are being called (not yet believers) the Holy Spirit is with them (not in them).  Jesus said the following:

John 14:15-17 ¹⁵If ye love me, keep my commandments.  ¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;  ¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

God will not force His way into your heart.  The Holy Spirit is gentle and loving.  He will guide you into truth, but will not force Himself upon you.  You can only receive Him through faith in Jesus the Messiah (Christ).  There are many false spirits in this world.  The Holy Spirit is known because He testifies of Jesus:

 

1 John 4:1-3 ¹Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  ²Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:  ³And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

The Holy Spirit is a teacher and comforter, who prays for us, helps us, and empowers us to live the life that Jesus has called us to live.  If we are turning from our sins to a new life, we need to be guided into that life.  God does not leave any stone unturned when it comes to His people.  His wisdom is so great!  Every step of our lives can be with God!  The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to His people.  Every believer in Jesus receives the Holy Spirit, and this life is the beginning, the first fruits of eternal life with God.  Oh what a joy to know this love!  Oh what peace to those who are His!

SCRIPTURE

This same Holy Spirit who comes to dwell in Jesus’ followers is the same Holy Spirit that inspired the Jewish scriptures.  The scriptures testify of Jesus and show us the way to eternal life.  Many prophecies have already come to pass, and the remaining ones are just as sure, because they came directly from God the Holy Spirit. Please note the source of the prophecies of scripture:

2 Peter 1:19-21 ¹⁹We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: ²⁰Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. ²¹For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The following scripture verses show us another admonition of Paul to Timothy.  Notice, that the scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation, and are given by inspiration of God:

2 Timothy 3:14-17 ¹⁴But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; ¹⁵And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  ¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  ¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

David, a king of Israel, regarded the word of God as a guide to his life:

Psalm 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

And he also wrote the following regarding those that meditate on the law, or Torah of God:

Psalm 1:1-6  ¹Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  ²But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  ³And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. ⁴The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. ⁵Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. ⁶For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

A tree planted by rivers of water.  Just as a tree’s roots seek for nourishment and water in the soil, so too can we search out the riches of God’s kingdom through studying His word to us.  And this is not burdensome.  The first words of the bible are written as poetry; like a love letter to His people.  There is much more in the scriptures than meets the eye.

The entire bible focuses around one person; Jesus, the Messiah.  The more we see this, the more we fall in love with Him!  And that is what it is all about.  It is not about keeping a set of rules, nor is it about following a doctrine or belief.  Faith leads us to love our Creator, by first seeing His love for us.  And His love is the greatest love you will ever know.  I pray that you will see Jesus upon every page of the bible.  It is through Him that you will find eternal life.  Scriptures even say that knowing God and Jesus is eternal life.  Speaking to the religious leaders of His day, Jesus said the following:

John 5:37-40  ³⁷And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.  ³⁸And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.  ³⁹Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.  ⁴⁰And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

And Jesus told His disciples:

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Another look at Paul’s letter to Timothy reveals that the scriptures give us understanding “into” salvation when mixed with faith.  God wants our minds to be renewed, with true wisdom and understanding, not blind faith:

2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

I pray that you will find a desire, even a love, to seek the truth in the bible.  I pray that you would open your heart to Him and find the desire to seek Him more and more.

Hebrews 4:12-13 ¹²For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  ¹³Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

SUMMARY OF THE GOSPEL

1 Peter 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Acts 4:10-12  ¹⁰Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.  ¹¹This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.  ¹²Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

2 Peter 3:9-12 ⁹The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. ¹¹Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,  ¹²Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Acts 2:38-39 ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  ³⁹For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

2 Peter 1:2-4 ²Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,  ³According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:  ⁴Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Through a series of events, you have found yourself reading this booklet.  Could it be that it was not chance or circumstance, but in truth, God is reaching out to you for you to respond in faith?  If God did exist, how would He reach out to you?  If you believe anything in the booklet, what should be, and what will be your response?  May God the Father grant you faith in His Son the LORD Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Note to Readers:

There is so much more to the Christian faith than what you have just read.  This should only serve as an introduction to the gospel (the good news) of Jesus the Messiah, and help you gain fundamental knowledge of God, His nature, and His purpose for your life.  We would all do well to persistently seek God by faith (for nothing should be done without faith), through prayer, Christian fellowship, study of the scriptures, and obedience to His commands.

The gospel of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) demands a response.  Will you move forward seeking Jesus, the Prince of life, or will you reject His love and lose the only hope of salvation for your eternal soul?  Each one of us must answer this question for ourselves.  If you would like more information, have questions about anything written here, or would like to speak to a believing Christian about this, please reach out to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Written by: Jerome M Smith

Published by: WDTSS Ministries

Quotations from scripture are taken from the King James Version of the bible, originally published in 1611.