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Good News for a Change
Sensing a Need?
It may
be a still small voice in the back of our minds.
Or, a
big event that
causes us to sense the need for significant change. 
-
Marriage and the desire to beat the odds against
heartache--or a heart-wrenching divorce.
-
The desire to provide a son or daughter with a moral
upbringing to successfully navigate perilous
times.
-
The loss of a job bringing a sense of
vulnerability.
-
Mid-life
and the discovery that we have become someone quite
different than we anticipated.
-
Death
of a loved one causing us to consider our own
eternal destiny.
Sometimes it's the expression of concern by a caring
friend
that can cause us to step back and take a look at our
lives.
Out
of Sync with the Creator
God
uses many things to get us to think about a need for change that is much deeper than we realize.
At
the heart of the need is a broken relationship with
Him.
We
are out of sync with the Creator. The Bible, God’s
word, says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah
53:6).
The Bible uses a three-letter word to
describe this condition. It is “sin.”
Holier than Thou--and Everyone Else
“Holier than thou,” is the expression of a
self-righteous person (see
Isaiah 65:5
[point
to reference for
text]). A
hypocrite.
There is One who really is holier than thou, you,
me, or anyone else. That is God.
"Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like
You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing
wonders? (Exodus 15:11;
Isaiah 6:3)
“Holy” means “separate.” God is distinct, different,
and separate from anything that is morally
impure, anything sinful.
There is no one like Him (1
Samuel 2:2).
Missing the Mark, Failing to Make the Grade
Sin
means “missing the mark,” or failing the grade. The
mark or standard is God, because He is morally perfect.
  God’s standards are reflected in “The Ten Commandments”
(see
Exodus
20:2–17, Deuteronomy 5:6–21). These rules are plain and
simple. Yet, none of us have obeyed them, or can
obey them, completely.
At
some point in our life, we have lied, stolen something,
dishonored our parents, lusted, coveted something that belonged
to someone else, done any or all of these things.
You
and I--and the entire human race--have sinned (Romans
3:23). We have missed the mark, and suffer from a
broken relationship with God--and
we are in serious trouble.
It may
assault our marred sensibilities, but the straight truth
is, we will be found guilty on Judgment Day.
Fallout from the Fall
Sin
affects us all, no matter how rich, how smart, how
clever, whatever our race, our religion, or place of
birth. “Therefore, just as through one man sin
entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death
spread to all men, because all sinned--“ (Romans
5:12).
Some
of the consequences of sin are--loneliness, guilt,
bitterness, crime, and death.
Even
worse, at death you and I would be doomed to be
separated from God, from the experience of His love,
mercy, and peace--forever. “And as it is appointed
for men to die once, but after this the judgment”
(Hebrews 9:27).
Not
an Extreme Makeover--But a New Creation
The
best we can do for ourselves are makeovers--educational,
religious, philosophical, behavioral, or motivational
makeovers. 
Makeovers, however, are not enough to change our nature,
or satisfy
an offended
God (see
Habakkuk 1:13). 
We
couldn’t do enough to make up for the fallout
from
what we have already done. Why? Because even the best things
we could do are not pure enough for God, who is
infinitely holy (Isaiah
64:6).
What is needed is a new start, a change at the core of
who we are--a new creation, if it were possible.
Good
News for a Change
Did
you know that this kind of change is possible?
More
than that, everyone needs to experience this kind
of change.
Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). A new
birth, a spiritual birth is necessary to go to
heaven (see
John 3:3).
How
does this radical change occur? Through receiving and
believing the gospel (1
Peter 1:22,23). “Gospel,” means, “good
news.”
Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote to
the Roman believers, that he was not ashamed of the
gospel because it is the “power of God for salvation
to everyone who believes” (Roman 1:16). He wrote in
2 Corinthians 5:17, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.”
A
new start, a change at the core of who we are--a new
creation, indeed!
What Is the Gospel?
One
of the places in which Paul
proclaimed the gospel was in the ancient Greek city of
Corinth. Later, he reminded the Corinthian believers
of that same gospel that he delivered to them (see
1 Corinthians 15:1-3).
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also
received: that Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures, and that He was buried,
and that He rose again the third day according to
the Scriptures.”
God
took the initiative to do what we could not do for
ourselves. He made it possible to restore the broken
relationship with us and save us from eternal
banishment--all without compromising His holy nature.
Sin-Bearer Foretold
How
God was able to do this is summed up in the phrase from
the passage above, “Christ died for our sins.”
Isaiah, a prophet of God, wrote 700 years before Jesus
was born, foretelling the coming Messiah (a Hebrew word,
which is translated Christos in the Greek and
Christ in English).
  According
to Isaiah, God would send One who would bear our griefs
and carry our sorrows (Isaiah
53:4). He would be wounded for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities (Isaiah
53:5), and all of our sins would be laid on Him (Isaiah
53:6).
“Transgression”
means to “cross the line” or to trespass. “Iniquity”
is from a word meaning, “to pervert.” They both are
synonyms for sin.
This
innocent One, predicted by Isaiah, would come to bear
our filthy sins, and heal our broken relationship with
God.
Jesus--Our Sin-Bearer
Jesus Christ fulfilled Isaiah’s prophesy when He died
for our sins on the cross. God placed all of your sins
and mine on Jesus. He paid the penalty for all of them,
so we would not have to. So that we could be
forgiven.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that
we might become the righteousness of God in Him”
(2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus Made the Grade, Hit the Mark
He
alone was qualified to be our sin-bearer because of His
perfect life.
John, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, wrote, “And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
John
described Jesus as “the Word” because Jesus was the
perfect, visible expression of the invisible God. In
Jesus Christ, the immortal God became a mortal man.
The
way He lived, "His glory," was the same as His Father. He
was morally perfect. He was the only One who did not
fall short of the glory of God--because He was God.
Completely God, and yet, completely man.
He
hit the mark and made the grade. And He did what only
He could do to make it so we sinners could hit the mark
too--in Him.
Jesus Overcame Sin and Death
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proved that He
succeeded in paying for and overcoming the penalty for
our sins.
The
wages of sin is death, and He received the wages that
should be paid to us.
The
remains of all the leaders of the religions of the world are
in their graves. But Christ is not like them.
His tomb is
empty.
He
did the heavy lifting to heal our broken relationship
with God. He made the way for us to have a real and
lasting change.
What’s left for us to do?
Believing and Trusting
John
wrote of Jesus, “He came to His own, and His own did
not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them
He gave the right to become children of God, to those
who believe in His name;
who
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God.”
(John 1:11,12).
Believing the gospel is turning away from our sin and
turning to the person, Jesus Christ Himself, to believe
and follow Him.
Jesus says to us,
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
For I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
"For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
(Matthew 11:28-30)
The
believing that saves isn’t merely agreeing with the
facts about Jesus, saying certain religious words, or
uttering a formula prayer. It is coming to Him personally,
acknowledging to Him that you have sinned and need His salvation,
and entrusting your life to Him as your Lord.
The
above was the good news that Paul preached to the
Corinthians, and they were saved. This same message was
given to us so that we can be saved too. God's
word hasn't lost its power and He is faithful to His
promises.
What to Expect
When
a person becomes born again, Christ begins to change
that person. She begins to hate sinful
things in herself and in others, and begins to love the things of the
Lord.
It
is a lifelong process, which Christ Himself oversees.
He will complete this process the day we go to be with Him (Philippians
1:6).
As
we walk with Him, good spiritual fruit is produced in
our character, and healing begins (Galatians
5:22,23).
God
will use you to make a difference in the lives of
others.
You
can also expect persecution. The Lord said,
"Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not
greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they
will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will
keep yours also"
(John 15:20).
Due
for a Change?
What
you do now affects effects how you will live and where
you will spend eternity. The
changed-life can begin right now. “Behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
(2 Corinthians 6:2)
If
we can help you with this decision,
please
let us know. If you have any questions, we'd
love to try you find the answer, if we can.
--Your friends of the
Alameda Chapel
©
2008 Alameda Chapel All Rights Reserved |
