Easy Answers, Romans 1 Part 2

 ROMANS 1:2-9

 EASY ANSWERS

You can watch this message here: https://youtu.be/bnMWIHtduS0

 

  Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God -- which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s first look at verses two and three in which Paul tells us God “promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son . . .

Many theologians find more than 300 prophecies in the Old Testament Scriptures fulfilled by Jesus. Here are only a scant few that many of you will immediately recognize their fulfillment by Jesus in the New Testament:

Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:20); He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14); He would come from the line of Abraham and then through the line of Judah (Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18, Genesis 49:10); Messiah would be heir to King David's throne (2 Samuel 7:12-13; Isaiah 9:7); And His throne will be eternal (Psalm 45:6-7; Isaiah 9:6; Daniel 2:44); Messiah would be ‘God with Us’ (Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:23); He will be the mediator of a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-37; Hebrews 8:8-13) and He would die as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of humanity (Isaiah 53:5-12).

Many years ago, Professor Peter Stoner, then Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College and Chairman of the science division at Westmont College outlined the mathematical probability of one person fulfilling just eight of the clearest and straightforward Messianic prophecies.

What was his conclusion? The statistical odds of one person fulfilling only eight of the hundreds of prophecies about Jesus are 1 in 10 to the 17th power (in other words, 1 followed by 17 zeroes).

Listen, if those odds of 1 in 10 to the 17th power are insufficient evidence to demonstrate the historical reality that Jesus is the eternal Son of God and Messiah, then no further evidence will suffice.

And since God fulfilled His promise to humanity regarding the FIRST coming of Jesus, we can now have every confidence in God’s promises regarding forgiveness of sins and eternal life for the penitent and obedient follower of Jesus.

That’s why the writer to the Hebrews tells us “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus . . . .let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith . . . . let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:19-23).

Are you reluctant or fearful to come before your most merciful Father in heaven?  Please, don’t be. He is even now holding out His arms to you who desire to come with penitent and humble hearts. Remember the story of the Prodigal Son whose father ran out to meet him when he saw him off in the distance. In the same way, YOUR heavenly Father runs to meet YOU – He runs to meet ALL who come humbly to ask Him in prayer for forgiveness.

Let’s move now to the next point, and we will spend even less time with this one because I talk about the evidence and the significance of the physical resurrection of Jesus many times during the years in my sermons and Bible studies.

So, let me only and simply quote again what St. Paul wrote in this first chapter, saying Jesus “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.”

The physical resurrection of Jesus is God’s final and unyielding proof that everything Jesus said about Himself and about the forgiveness of sins, of eternal life and eternal judgment – it’s all true. To the last syllable, it is all true.

Do YOU believe what Jesus said to Martha, the sister of Lazarus? “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:25-26).

Please hear me. If the Lord Jesus did not physically rise from death, then all you and I can look forward to is the grave and a slowly rotting corpse. And all our loved ones who followed Jesus, if the resurrection is a fairy tale, then they too had nothing eternal and beautiful to look forward to.  But let me say it loudly and clearly one more time:

Jesus physically came out of that tomb on the third day. He killed death. He stomped on the head of Satan in fulfillment of the prophecy as far back as Genesis 3:15. And all who are children of God through their obedient faith in Messiah Jesus have eternal life on the other side of the grave.

And now the next point – the heart of my message today:

Paul writes in verse six: “Among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.” Five verses earlier, in verse one, Paul used the same word when he wrote of himself as being “called by God as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.”

Clearly not everyone is called to be an apostle, or a teacher, or a pastor. God tells us that much in, for example, the fourth chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (4:11-15)  “And [God] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.”

But although God calls some to the roles of professional clergy, God calls EVERYONE who names the name of Jesus to share the good news of Christ with others. For example, Stephen and Philip were waiters (Acts 6, 7 and Acts 8). Barnabas was a businessman (4). Aquilla was a tentmaker (Acts 18). Romans 16 lists no less than two dozen lay persons who helped Paul in his work for Christ in their localities. And besides our calling to tell others about hope and forgiveness in Jesus, God also calls EVERYONE to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. We find that in Ephesians chapter four, which I will read to you in a moment.

And how do I know that YOU are called to faith and eternal life? That’s easy. If you’re breathing, you are called by God to faith and eternal life. But because we have free will, we can welcome the call – or we can reject the call.

And then the question arises – WHY has He called us? That answer is also an easy one: Because He loves us. Let me make this personal – God called you because He loves YOU.

We say that a lot, don’t we? God loves you. God loves me. But I’m convinced that with our finite minds we cannot begin to comprehend the full length and breadth and height and depth of His love for us.

The closest perhaps we can come to such an understanding is to know the love of a mother for her child snuggled against her breast. But Scripture tells us, “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but [God says] I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands . . .”. (Isaiah 49:15-16)

But even the love of a mother for her nursing child is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to comparing God’s fathomless love for you.

Listen, our Lover in heaven calls us to Himself because He longs for us to be in intimate relationship with Himself. Which brings us to yet another question related to God’s call to us:

How then should we live in response to His call? Well, the answer to that one is also easy. Here is only one of a multitude of texts to demonstrate the answer. This one is from Ephesians 4 – I mentioned it earlier only briefly. 

Paul writes: “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3)

Walking in love.

Some time ago, I heard about a man with a reputation for great piety. During the season of Lent, he went to his church every day, day after day, to pray and meditate at the stations of the cross that were displayed on the walls of the church.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Stations of the Cross, they depict the last hours of Jesus’ life – usually displayed in a series of paintings, carvings, or sculptures. The traditional Stations includes scenes such as Jesus before Pilate; Jesus carrying His cross; Another illustrates Him falling along the road to Calvary; Another, being stripped of His clothing; Another, dying on the cross, and another being placed in the tomb.

So, every day the pious man stopped at each station to pray and meditate – every station except one in particular. His pastor, after observing this for several days, asked him why he always skipped that one specific station. The man answered: “I know the person who painted this station, and I hate him. I don’t want to be reminded of him.”

Let me read that portion of today’s text once more: “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Can we hate another – ANY OTHER – and expect God to forgive OUR sins? If you think even for a nanosecond that we CAN, or that we can refuse to forgive another, and still expect God to forgive us – then you simply do not understand the Scriptures, or God’s requirements.

Many Christians are familiar with the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6. Do you remember this verse? “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

But the Lord adds this ominous warning two verses later: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

And as to punctuate that warning, God tells us through the apostle John: “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20)

All Christians are called by God to reflect Jesus in all that we do, say, and think. But if we choose to live otherwise, we sin. And our sin must be dealt with through confession and repentance – meaning a turning from our sin.

I need to bring this message to a close, so I hurry now to the last verse of today’s text. Paul writes in verse seven: “To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called saints . . ..”

Did you know God calls us to be saints? The Greek word means to be ‘holy’ – it means to be separated to God in active obedience to His word. The word is never used in the New Testament to describe super-dooper Christians. It’s used for average, ordinary, regular people like you and me – sinners bought with the blood of Jesus and who strive to do His will.

So, how can we live holy lives, saintly lives? That’s easy to answer (admittedly not so easy to do):

First, believe the prophets who all spoke of the coming Messiah. Second, believe the resurrection of Jesus is not only an historical reality, but that His resurrection ASSURES all Christians that we, too, will be physically resurrected from death. And third, God has called you to Himself, so live a life worthy of that calling – with humility, with gentleness, with tolerance – and with love for one another.

We continue next time in this first chapter of Romans.

The Person, The Call, The Message (Romans 1 part 1)

 The Person, The Call, The Message

(You can watch this message on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VoxEJSzy9Bc )

 

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.

 

For today’s message, I want to draw attention to three important points in the first verse. First, notice how he starts this letter to the Christians: With his name: “Paul.”

 

We need to stop here and remind ourselves who this author was. Today we would call him a religious terrorist. This is not a point to gloss over. Here is his own testimony as he spoke before King Agrippa and the governor Festus: (Acts 26:9-11) “So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.

 

Why is it important that we know Paul’s history?  Because God has shown us through this man – as He has shown us throughout Biblical history again and again – no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy.  No one. Not you. Not me. No one.

 

Therefore, for us to say about someone – or about ourselves! – “There is no sense in praying for him, or inviting him to Bible study, or to talk with him or her about Jesus – for us to say and believe that is to deny God’s power.

 

Here is what Paul said of himself in this regard (1 Timothy 1:15-16) It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

 

I hope you caught that last part of this section. Paul, the former violent blasphemer and persecutor of every Christian he could find, he says:  Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

 

That is precisely why Paul could write to Timothy these words (2 Timothy 1:3) I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience . . . .

 

A clear conscience?  Why could Paul have a clear conscience, considering all he had done to Christians? Because he knew God’s mercy took all of his sins and placed them under the blood of Jesus. He was absolutely CONFIDENT that his slate of sin was wiped clean. Not a stain remained.

 

Do you have a clear conscience? Listen, please. This is important. Do not let your past sins define who you are today. And do not let others define you by your past sins. What is past is past. It was all covered by the blood of Jesus when you confessed them to the Savior. You became a completely NEW person in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:15).  All your past sins God has cast into the sea of His utter forgetfulness, never to resurface in His mind again, throughout eternity.

 

Are you as certain that your sins are forgiven as the former terrorist Paul was certain that his sins were all washed away in the blood of Jesus? You can have that clear conscience if you repent of your sins and then TRUST God to be true to His promises.

 

That is very important. You cannot grow in intimacy with God unless you accept that basic truth that God has forgiven it all. And you cannot assure others of God’s forgiveness if YOU yourself are not certain of His promise.

 

And speaking of telling others their sins can be fully forgiven and washed away, I love what Fanny Crosby wrote about this message of God’s forgiveness and His charge to us of evangelism:

 

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

 

Though they are slighting Him, still He is waiting,
Waiting the penitent child to receive;
Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently;
He will forgive if they only believe.

 

Time is too short for all of us to miss this urgent call of God who said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel.” The sands of our hourglass are relentlessly falling to the bottom. And one day the last grain of sand will be gone.

 

For those who have died without Christ, do you realize where they are at this moment?  Not where they ‘might be’ – but where they ARE if they died without Christ Jesus.

 

If God saved Paul, don’t ever think God is not able to save anyone.

 

Let’s now look at what else Paul tells us in that first verse.

 

Point number 2: Paul calls himself a bond-servant of Christ Jesus; A slave. Paul’s readers knew exactly what a bond-servant was. Much of their population were slaves. Paul understood he was no longer his own. He had been bought with a precious price.

 

What does it mean to be a slave of Jesus Christ?  Well, in only a few words, here is what Jesus says it means: Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” 

If our heart is soft toward God, we know what it means to live a holy lifestyle: Here is only one portion of Scripture that speaks to that point:  Galatians 5:19-21(NLT)  When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. . . .

Is this easy to do, to be a slave of Jesus Christ? Of course not. Our flesh recoils at the idea of fully and unquestionably submitting ourselves to someone else – even to God. But such submission is God’s absolute and unwavering requirement for spiritual growth and learning to walk by faith with the Master.

 

Certainly, such submission is a matter choice. Will we submit to God’s will in whatever is the situation – or will we not? 

 

You may remember what Joshua said to the people after they’d crossed into the Promised Land – a land full of flagrant immorality and idolatry – a culture of death not too dissimilar to our culture in America today. Here is what Joshua said to the people then – and what God says to us here today: (Joshua 24:14-15) “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

 

While praying through my prayer list recently, l was reminded of a hymn by Isaac Watts. Here are a few verses:

 

"See from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?"

"Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all."

Why do we follow Jesus? Why are we willingly slaves of Jesus? Do we follow because of what He does for us, or is it because of who He is?

Such is the question you and I must answer again and again; Sometimes nearly every day of our lives. Why do we call ourselves slaves of Jesus?

 

And now for our third point, Paul writes that he was called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God:

 

Paul tells us it was God who called him to preach the good news of salvation. Calling Paul was God’s idea. And that raises an important principle related to our hearing, reading, and reflecting on God’s word.

 

You may remember this vignette in Matthew 21:23-27 When [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.” And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

 

And so, it can also be asked – and must be answered – by what authority did the apostle Paul write this letter to the church at Rome? By what authority did he write any of his epistles? And by logical extension, by what authority did any of the writers of Scripture write what they did?

 

If we believe they wrote by and under God’s authority, then we are fully responsible to live lifestyles in obedience to His commandments. But if we believe they did NOT write by and under God’ authority, then we are wasting our time even bothering with the Scriptures. We have no infallible and eternal word of truth to guide us along life’s paths.

 

Let me now conclude my message today:

 

We have looked at the first words Paul used to start his letter to the Christians at Rome. “Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.”  And in those few words the Holy Spirit declares to us at least three points of reference which undergird the rest of the 16 chapters of this book:

 

1. Never think anyone is outside of God’s reach of mercy – including yourself. If God’s mercy extended to the former terrorist Paul, then God’s mercy will extend to anyone anywhere on this planet. Do not let anyone define you by the sins you have placed under the blood of Christ. And don’t you define others by their forgiven sins.

 

2. If we choose to follow Christ, then we must become slaves of Christ – meaning we will go and to do as He commands. But if we choose to not be a slave of Jesus Christ, then we do not belong to Him. That’s a very simple and ominous equation.

 

3. God called Paul to give a message of hope, exhortation, challenge, and warning to a world in need of hearing from God. Indeed, God called not only Paul, but Peter, James, Isaiah, Amos – God called ALL the writers of Scripture to give an infallible, inerrant, and eternal message of hope, exhortation, challenge, and warning to all humanity. That means He will also hold everyone responsible to what is written in His word.

 

We will continue now for several weeks to unpack God’s message for each of us through St. Paul’s letter to the church at Rome.

Royalty

 So there I was, skimming some ads on a social media site, hovering momentarily at one link before jumping to another. Then another. Just passing time while Nancy made dinner. And then I happened on an ad from an ancestry site: Do You Come from Royal Blood?

I know enough of my ancestry to know my progenitors eked out meager lives in Jewish shtetls across parts of Europe. But as quickly as I dismissed the idea of any royal blood in my past, the thought evaporated with a second:

“Of course I come from Royal Blood! My Father is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. And He adopted me into His family and made me His son when He purchased me with His own Royal blood.”

I nearly shouted out loud at the realization.

Some find great personal value – even personal worth – knowing their blood line flows backward to earthly kings or queens or princes or dukes. I think it sad that some people find personal worth in an ancestry of aristocracy – many of whose royal bones by now have turned to dust.

It's sad because the King of the universe invites anyone of any race, class, rank, or stature to become part of His royal blood line – and to find their value, their self-worth in things which will never turn to dust; things of eternal substance.

All one needs to do is bow at the foot of the cross and say to Jesus – “I am Thine, O Lord. I have heard Thy voice. Please consecrate me to Thy service, Lord, and make my will to be lost in Thine.”

Haste that Day

As I sat in bed the other evening before turning off the light, I read Psalms 127 and 128. These particular verses caught my eye:

 

Psalm 127: “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them . . . .”

 

Psalm 128: “How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways . . . Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children like olive plants around your table. Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.”

 

I put the Bible down and thought of Zechariah and Elizabeth. How many times did they read those two psalms and wonder to themselves, “What have I done wrong that we are not blessed with children?”

 

The writers of the television series, The Chosen, include a poignant scene in the first episode of season two. Jesus and His disciples are having a meal with a Samaritan family. The husband is crippled by a poorly healed broken leg.

 

His wife asks Jesus why, if He is truly the Messiah, why does He not keep such things from happening.  The writers have Jesus respond with words that help me make some sense of things in my own life.

 

The Lord tells her He has come to preach the good news of the kingdom, a kingdom not of this world, a place where sorrow and sighing will flee away. He tells her that He has come to make a way for people to access that kingdom.

 

And then He adds – “But in this life, bones will break. Hearts will break. But in the end, Light will overcome darkness.”

 

As I wrote this, I was in Florida to visit my mom’s grave. Nancy and I were here two years ago for her unveiling, but Nancy’s sudden stroke changed everyone’s plan. It is only now that I was able to return to the gravesite and get some closure.

 

Yes, in this life, bones will break. Hearts will break.

 

Zachariah and Elizabeth lived righteously before God. And yet, her barrenness was a source of brokenness in their lives. It is not difficult for me to imagine how, every time they read those psalms, their hearts cried out to God, “Why, Lord? What have we done?”

 

Christian, you too are living as righteously before God as you know how. And perhaps you also wonder what you have done wrong that your life is broken.

But Scripture tells us again and again, that even as we strive to do God‘s will, we can still expect in this life broken bones and broken hearts. But – and this is critical – we have Messiah’s promise that He will ultimately make everything right. We can trust him on that because He loves us. We can trust Him on that because He knows what it is like to be human and to suffer loss and pain and heartache.

 

Listen – and I tell this to myself again and again: In the end, Light will overcome darkness. And all will be made whole.

 

Oh, Lord, please haste that day.

Resurrection Sunday

 You can also watch this message here: https://youtu.be/7DsPv1-W6vQ

 

Today is Resurrection Sunday. Some two millennia ago, God’s Son killed death when He physically rose from the grave. Resurrection Sunday decisively proved – and proves – that every man, woman, and child who is now also a child of God through their faith in the sacrificial atonement of Jesus – Resurrection Sunday proves the words of Jesus to be true: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:25)

 

We will come back to the impact Christ’s resurrection later in this message, but we cannot do justice to an examination of the resurrection of Jesus unless we first look at what happened on that Good Friday.

 

From a human perspective, Friday was a bad day. For the disciples – not only the twelve, but for all His disciples watching from a distance – this was not simply disappointment. It was nothing less than gut-wrenching tragedy. 

Their hopes that Jesus was going to usher in the Messianic kingdom were shattered like so much precious porcelain china. Their dreams that Jesus would at last deliver them from Roman bondage and finally restore that God-given land to their nation – those expectations now hung limp on a splintered cross. Glancing over their shoulders in fear with each step, they wondered who would be next. For those who loved Him, darkness smothered Friday like a cold, damp woolen blanket. But no one on the ground, not even Satan himself, knew Sunday was coming.

I am not going to rehearse the bloody and grotesque physical torture that preceded Jesus being nailed to that cross. Instead, I want to focus our attention for the next little while on something else Jesus suffered – something to which many Christians might never have given much thought. And that something else is His sudden and overwhelming sense of abandonment by His Father. You remember His cry: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

 

Many of us don’t often think about the incomprehensible truth that Jesus the Man was also and at the same time God in human flesh. At best, our understanding of that Biblical truth is superficial. And because of that superficial understanding, we rightly ask, “How could God the Son be rejected by God the Father?

 

The answer is, I think, not that complicated, and it is rooted in the reality of Jesus as 100% man, and at the same time 100% God.

 

That means, as 100% man, Jesus – who is the PERFECT man without sin – Jesus experienced all the things you and I experience. Think of that a moment, God who became human suffered hunger for the first time in eternity. (ex. Matthew 21:18). He experienced thirst (John 19:28). For the first time in eternity, He got tired and needed to sleep (Mark 4:38).

 

And so, when the Perfect Man who never sinned hung on that cross and took upon Himself every drop of your sin and mine, the very human Jesus, for the first time in eternity experienced His Father’s abandonment.

 

Why would the Holy Father abandon His Son?

 

Well, here is 2 Corinthians 5:21: “[God] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

Did you catch that? The perfect man BECAME sin when He took upon Himself OUR sin. And because He became sin, He was accursed by God.

 

Accursed?  Such a strong word! But here is what the Holy Spirit tells us through St. Paul’s letter to the Christians at Galatia: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed in everyone who hangs on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13).

 

Paul is here quoting from Moses in the Old Testament (and just as an aside, those who say we do not need the Old Testament, that we can unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament do so to rob you of the richness of the Old Testament and all that God can teach us through those books).

 

Beware, Christian. God never, ever tells us to unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament.

But now back to Paul’s quote from Moses: “Now if a person has committed a sin carrying a sentence of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body is not to be left overnight on the tree, but you shall certainly bury him on the same day, for he who is hanged is cursed of God.” (Deuteronomy 21:23)

The Hebrew word translated as cross, wood, and tree is the same word. And the same is true in the Greek language. The word in Greek can be translated to the English as cross, or wood, or tree.

That’s why Peter, while preaching to Sanhedrin, could boldly proclaim: “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:30-31).

Listen, it is ALWAYS that sin separates us from the Holy God. Here is Isaiah: “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God and your sins have hid His face from you, so that He does not hear.”  (Isaiah 59:2)

 

From the perspective of a Holy, yet Just and Merciful God – SOMEONE has to die for your sin and mine. It must be either you and me – or it must be Someone else who was without sin. And that is why – and I reiterate the point for emphasis – when Jesus BECAME our sin, God the Father hid His face from His only begotten Son. 

 

And now listen – this is critical!

 

Because the Father hid His face from Jesus, He will NEVER hide His face from you who have confessed your sins and obey Christ as your Lord and Master.

 

Did you get that? What happened to Jesus on Good Friday ENSURED and ASSURES us that we will never experience God’s abandonment because Jesus became our substitute. His bloody death paid the ransom for our forgiveness and bought for us eternal life.

 

Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to wash my sins away; And now I sing a brand new song,
amazing grace all day long, Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.

 

Good Friday tore through sin’s impenetrable barrier between us and God. Here is what Scripture tells us: "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

 

That is why Good Friday challenges us to repentance. When the crowds in Jerusalem learned it was their sins that nailed Jesus to the cross, “they were pieced to the heart.” In unison they cried out, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?” St. Peter responded, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (see the context of Acts 2:22-41).

 

St. Paul would later add in his letter to the Christians at Rome: Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

Standing at the foot of Christ’s cross, nothing about Friday looked good. But no one knew Sunday was coming . . . and with it, God’s redemptive plan which He conceived before the foundation of the world.

 

But some might ask how we know the promises of redemption, forgiveness, and of eternal life to followers of Christ are all true?

 

That’s an easy to answer – and it brings us full circle to today’s celebration.

The physical resurrection of Jesus from the grave decisively demonstrates the unchangeable truth of all those promises – including this one in which Jesus warned: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) 

 

And do not ever doubt this: All humanity will be held accountable to what Jesus said. It doesn’t matter what religious affiliation you might have – Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist or agnostic – unless you give your life to Messiah Jesus – and I will explain how to do that in a few moments – unless you give your live to Jesus you will not be in heaven when you die. 

 

Did you ever wonder why so many people scoff at the historically verifiable resurrection? It’s because if they can delude themselves into believing Jesus is not the only way to eternal life, if they can convince themselves there are other ‘truths’ about God and the final judgement, then they can all live as they choose. 

 

The bodily resurrection of Christ is the­ linchpin – the cornerstone -- of eternal life. No wonder liberal theologians, philosophers and teachers have, for two thousand years, attacked the Resurrection. Destroy it, and Christianity loses its authority to declare Christ alone is the door to eternal life, that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Destroy the Resurrection and we have no assurance of forgiveness of sin.

 

But let me say this as clearly as I can, God’s inerrant, infallible, and eternal word warns us – and the resurrection of Jesus Christ affirms it – There WILL be a judgment of sin. That’s why Scripture says, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts . . . .” (Hebrews 3:7) 

 

I must now return to the question I asked a short while ago: How can you be certain that God will not abandon you when you die? How can you know for sure, for sure, that you can have eternal life with your Creator in heaven?

 

God’s answer is so simple, a child can understand it.

 

1. You must admit (confess) to God that you are a sinner who deserves eternal death, eternal separation from God because of your sins – no matter how trivial they might seem to you – The Holy Spirit tells us: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). “The wages of sin – all sin, any sin – is eternal death (see Romans 6:23)

 

2. You must repent of those sins. Repentance means agreeing with God that you are wrong about those sins and He is right, and that you will, with His help and to the best of your ability, not commit those sins again.

 

3. After your confession and repentance, you must simply, by faith, receive His gift of forgiveness. That means you trust God to be faithful to His promise to forgive the penitent of any and every sin he or she has ever committed.

 

4. And in your following Christ in obedience, you will be baptized: Peter said to the crowd at Jerusalem, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)

 

And in Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome: “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” (Romans 6:3-5)

 

That’s it? Confess, repent, obey, be baptized?

 

Well, yes. That’s it.

 

Of course, that doesn’t mean that’s all there is to the Christian life. It simply gets you started on the road to maturing as a child of God.

 

Today is Resurrection Sunday. Christ the Lord is risen. He is risen, indeed!  And because Christ is risen from the grave, all true Christians can rest in the absolute assurance that, because He lives, we too shall live forever in His glorious presence. Amen and amen.