Moving to Higher Ground in Jesus

(www.ambassadorsforJesus5.com)

   Artwork by John Bell copyright 1998-2007 (http://jrbell.com) used with permission

 Love was the motivation,

sin was the reason. 

The Higher Ground of the Simplicity of the Gospel

     John 3:16-21

     “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.   “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.  And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.  But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

     In today's society the idea of sin is an offensive one.  We don't want to admit that it exists, nor that we of ourselves in our fallen state are no good.  We compare ourselves to society's standards, or our neighbors, and forsake the actual standard, a heart connected to Father God's as displayed in his Son Jesus Christ.  The mishandling and abuses of the past have done their part in encouraging darkness over light, and some of us in our own efforts to avoid loading others with guilt and condemnation compromise the truth.  As a result, instead of doing people and the gospel a service we actually rob it and them the essence of its beauty. 

     If we will come to trust in the truth, we will come to see the real beauty of God.  Sometimes the outward appearance isn't very pleasant but until we have dived into the deep to hear his heart and view the scenery from there, we won't recognize how beautiful it really is.  The truth is that sin does exist, and we have all fallen short of the glorious standard of God, but herein lies the greatest love of all, while we were yet sinners Christ took upon Himself our punishment so that we can be made right with God; to bring down the wall that separated us so that we can now draw close to Him.  

     Romans 5:6-11

       When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.  Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.  But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.  For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.  So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

     1 John 1:8-10

     If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 

     There really isn't a grey area when it comes to God and his truth.  There is light and darkness, good and evil, life and death.  We can mistake grace for grey but until we are faced with the reality of the truth and the very evident difference between the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness, we will not truly see how beautiful the heart of God really is.  The gospel will not move us as it should.         

      Isaiah 53:6

      We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
        each of us has turned to our own way;
     and the LORD has laid on him
        the iniquity of us all.

    
     The beauty in the gospel lies in its simplicity.  That man did rebel and sin against his Creator.  As a result of his own choices, he severed his relationship with God and sold himself to a life of sin and death, yet Father God took it upon Himself to pay the cost that we were unable to pay, through Christ who has become our door, and entering through that door we can now draw near to our Heavenly Father.

     God is not holding anyone's sins against them but inviting them to enter into a wonderful relationship with Him through Jesus where we will attain his life by His Spirit and change from glory to glory...and the blood of Jesus covers us for the progressive journey.

     Why would God condemn us if He paid the price to set us free?  This is the beauty of the gospel and we should not cheapen it by denying the existence of sin.  Jesus did not come to save good men.  He came to rescue sinners from their slavery to sin, which results in death; to pay for their wrongs and impart his life in men so that we can become the righteousness of God and enjoy a rich and intimate relationship with Him.  The door is wide open now for anyone who desires to partake of his life and draw closer to Him.  There is only one door into the heart of God, our redeemer Jesus.  We have a choice before us.  We have always been given a choice.  Unfortunately some of us will love the darkness more than the light.  As a result, we will look to continue in our own sinful, self-serving, lust-filled ways and serve darkness instead of turning to God's light; and this is the life that is condemned, a life without Christ that we have desired and chased after.  For that person the sobering fact is that dreadful news awaits (Further reading:  Romans 1, "Do We Really Have a Choice?", John 3:16-21).   

     The good news of the gospel is one of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  It's not one of no sin, not one of condemnation, but one of reconciliation.  The gospel in its simplest form is the most powerful.  We can trust it to accomplish its purpose. 

     As we learn to trust God through the darkness instead of denying its existence, we will see how beautiful his light really is.  To say that Jesus died because of his great love for us is an incomplete picture.  Love may have been the motivation, yet sin was the reason. 

     2 Corinthians 5:18-21    

     And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

     2 Corinthians 6:1-2

     As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. For God says,

   “At just the right time, I heard you.
      On the day of salvation, I helped you.”

   Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. 

Further Reading:  The Greatest Love Story Ever Told