Tuesday, February 27, 2007
May His Force Be With You
The question posed by Nicodemus fits with the one-sided : ( discussion at God Still Speaks on God’s judgment. Jesus’ answer speaks of “a requirement for eternal life, for being in the kingdom of God, and THAT is as DEFINITE and SPECIFIC as birth.” (CIJ, p 138) Although society here has reached the inhumane low of toying with physical birth, leaving half-dead aborted babies to finish dying because they can’t decide if the infants are born or not, birth, for most, is well defined. You either are born or you are not born—it takes little time to become born in the scheme of things. Jesus says there is a time of decision in EVERY LIFE, that revealing span of time which is brief but true, when we turn toward God in search of salvation or away from Him, with pride and self-sufficiency. You see, Edith Schaeffer is convinced, if you’re not for ‘im, you’re ag’inst ‘im. Call it dead, blinded, ignorant, foolish, hardened, closed-minded or uninformed; the line has been drawn since Eden. “Believe Me, don’t touch the fruit and LIVE or deny My truth and die,” God said. For Adam and Eve, it wasn’t about the Cross…yet. But no sooner had sin entered the world that God sacrificed animal blood to cover Adam and Eve, because they were ashamed. Already, God was providing a way to come to Him by covering the shame we carry with us every day due to our continuous failing. God was immediately pointing to the One Way to come to Him.
Jesus continues teaching the teacher, recalling the familiar-to-Nicodemus story of Moses with the people in the wilderness. They were under the penalty of death for worshipping false gods, the very way mankind, EVERYONE, remains under the one-time curse placed on Adam, for turning from the One and only True God. What saved Israel? Moses’ obedience to God! He lifted up the brass serpent for their healing, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “SO must the Son of Man be lifted up…that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Not only on the Cross was Jesus to be lifted. Jesus Christ must be lifted high in your life and mine. You believe in God but not His Son? You trust God but not His Word? How silly is that? Nonsense! It can’t be done! Jesus Christ is the central being and centering force of God!
Minus Christ, God is pure judgment and wrath for we have no prayer against it. Take out Messiah, and there is no Comforter…no Counselor, no King but a tyrant, no Priest and mediator, no Prince of Peace. Think about who God was to the Israelites: awesome and fearsome. Who managed to have relationship with God back in the Old Testament? It was only those who submitted and trusted God’s unrevealed salvation to come: the Promise. Although He introduced God’s Love, Christ divided the world from day one of creation! Sin has always been made clear to us, at first by God’s Law and condemnation with the atonement by blood sacrifice directing us toward Messiah. Finally, Christ the Savior from sin and self, shown as a narrow gate, continued the division of men. Either way, by judgment or salvation and grace, wrath or love, the line has always been drawn. The decision has been forever to accept these revealed truths of God’s reality and OUR reality, or to deny them. Born or unborn. Stuck in the birth canal? Not for long for as in real life, it’s C-section time or die. There is no fence sitting; indecision means imminent death.
Going back to John the Baptist, hear these words of divisive truth, “He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him.” ~John 3:36
Here is the same faithful life, which in a previous setting announced loudly, pronounced clearly, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” ~John 1:29
Jesus continues teaching the teacher, recalling the familiar-to-Nicodemus story of Moses with the people in the wilderness. They were under the penalty of death for worshipping false gods, the very way mankind, EVERYONE, remains under the one-time curse placed on Adam, for turning from the One and only True God. What saved Israel? Moses’ obedience to God! He lifted up the brass serpent for their healing, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “SO must the Son of Man be lifted up…that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Not only on the Cross was Jesus to be lifted. Jesus Christ must be lifted high in your life and mine. You believe in God but not His Son? You trust God but not His Word? How silly is that? Nonsense! It can’t be done! Jesus Christ is the central being and centering force of God!
Minus Christ, God is pure judgment and wrath for we have no prayer against it. Take out Messiah, and there is no Comforter…no Counselor, no King but a tyrant, no Priest and mediator, no Prince of Peace. Think about who God was to the Israelites: awesome and fearsome. Who managed to have relationship with God back in the Old Testament? It was only those who submitted and trusted God’s unrevealed salvation to come: the Promise. Although He introduced God’s Love, Christ divided the world from day one of creation! Sin has always been made clear to us, at first by God’s Law and condemnation with the atonement by blood sacrifice directing us toward Messiah. Finally, Christ the Savior from sin and self, shown as a narrow gate, continued the division of men. Either way, by judgment or salvation and grace, wrath or love, the line has always been drawn. The decision has been forever to accept these revealed truths of God’s reality and OUR reality, or to deny them. Born or unborn. Stuck in the birth canal? Not for long for as in real life, it’s C-section time or die. There is no fence sitting; indecision means imminent death.
Going back to John the Baptist, hear these words of divisive truth, “He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him.” ~John 3:36
Here is the same faithful life, which in a previous setting announced loudly, pronounced clearly, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” ~John 1:29
