In Acts 17:24-31, the apostle Paul vehemently encapsulates the heartbeat of the Christian faith before the men at Athens: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far away from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own people have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
THE BLOOD OF CHRIST IS ON THE HANDS OF ALL HUMANITY!
Paul does not mince words. He doesn’t dance around a philosophical bush, nor does he preach a gospel of love without repentance. He cuts to the chase and advocates for a response acknowledging a sober responsibility for mankind in the face of Christ’s resurrection. Men are without excuse! The blood of Christ is on the hands of all humanity!
When Pilate asked the crowds who they wanted him to release, Jesus or Barabbas, they screamed “Barabbas!” (Matthew 27:17, 21), and each one of us stood with that crowd in that moment. In the same manner that Jesus took our place on the cross, He also took the place of the murderer Barabbas.
He paid the price of our sin. May we never forget that incontrovertible fact. We were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) therefore, we are obligated to honor Him. Grace may be free but it came at an exorbitant price. The truth is that God’s love for us is demonstrated by the extreme extent He was willing to go to reconcile us to Himself. And as Jesus took his last breath, He proclaimed, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
Paul elaborates upon the fact that after His death, Jesus did not remain in the tomb but rose from the dead in fulfillment of the scriptures. “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
JESUS IS ALIVE
The heart and soul of the gospel is that Jesus is alive! He conquered death and Christians serve a living Christ! Furthermore, just as Jesus promises eternal life to all who would believe, He is also the first fruits of all who die hoping in Him (1 Corinthians 15:20). The bodily resurrection of Jesus is paramount to Christian belief. Yet, there are some so called Christian organizations today that deny this!
In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, Paul explains this profound verity: “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have faith in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Additionally, Paul discloses that we are spiritually alive even though we were once dead spiritually in Ephesians 2:1-7: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit which is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Jesus.”
However, we still must experience physical death because the wages of sin is death. There is no way around it. But the exciting thing is, for those who believe, Jesus has paved the way for us to transition from the perishable to the imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:50-57). From the mortal to the immortal.
When Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14), He wasn’t speaking about an exit, He was speaking about an entrance. He wasn’t talking about an end, He was talking about a beginning.
The writer of Hebrews reveals, “Just as men are destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him (Hebrews 9:27-28). One day we will all stand before the judgement seat in the great courtroom of the Almighty and all of our sins will be brought to light. All of our crimes will be charged against us.
However, for those who have trusted in Jesus Christ, our defense attorney will step forward and announce that He has already paid the penalty. When we face punishment, we will receive pardon. When we deserve wrath, we will receive mercy. That is the brilliance of God’s redemptive plan! That is the extent of His love for us! That is the heartbeat of Christianity!
A DEEPER AND MORE MEANINGFUL PURPOSE
With this knowledge we can have a much deeper and more meaningful purpose in our lives right now. Knowing that our sins will not be counted against us, we can enjoy freedom form sin with the burden of sin lifted from our back. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36).
Building upon this concept, Paul declares in Romans 8:14-17, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.”
Now, if we are to share in Christ’s sufferings, we obviously cannot replicate His sacrifice once for all. However, we share in His Spirit and with His Spirit that dwells within us, the daily resistance of temptation, the division from worldly values and the abandonment of friends and even family members due to our profession of faith in Christ.
It is our lifestyle that signifies our commitment to Christ and it is our death to self and our surrender to the Holy Spirit that transforms us into spiritual sons and daughters of the most-high God. When we walk in the Spirit, we will not satisfy the desires of our sinful nature (Galatians 5:16-17) and we can live in a manner pleasing to our Father in heaven. This is only possible through the Holy Spirit.
Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” May nothing stand in the way of that profound truth! May our lives serve as a testimony to the veracity of the gospel. Jesus bore our sin, let us wear His name as the signature of our faith. True Christian faith is alive and active because Jesus is alive and active.
The living soul of Christianity is authenticated by the living soul of God, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is made alive by the indwelling of the Spirit within every true believer. It is facilitated by a vibrant and active relationship with the risen Jesus Christ. Jesus declares in Revelation 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.” Amen!
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