Monday, April 6, 2009

Blessings at church

We are truly blessed every Sunday with the wonderful teaching at our church. My husband said a few months ago that he felt like when we left the church he had just had a huge steak meal where he had been so used to milky baby food for so many years. Now that doesn't mean we've never had good Biblical teaching before, but just not so deep and consistent as now. Nuggets from last week:
Is. 53 passage in Sunday School - 1) Jesus is the propitiation for us, not the expiation - (Rom. 3:25, 1 John 2:2) HE paid the price for our sin in full, we are not/will never be punished for our sin; we are viewed by God as if we were totally sinless, had never and will never sin because when He looks He sees His Son's righteousness in place of our sinful soul. Doesn't this just knock your socks off??! WHY would a Holy, blameless Son of God die in agony for a wicked selfish full-of-sin sinner like me? One who not only sinned grossly before I accepted His salvation but can't even go a day, sometimes not even a minute, without sinning even after I try to comprehend His ultimate mercy and love and sacrifice! Unbelievable, but yet true (Rom 7:14-25).
2) Jesus chose to die. He who created the world as the Father spoke it into being (John 1:3) , knowing the world He created would turn its back on Him, knowing He would be mocked and flogged and spat upon and rejected and tortured and hung on a cross for people who can't even comprehend His love (1 John 4:10) and mercy - He chose the cross anyway. For me...!
3) Yes, we will have troubles in this world (John 16:33). It is a fallen, sinful world full of fallen, sinful sinners. But our troubles are never punishment for our sins. They may be consequences of them, but not punishment from God (Is. 53:5-6). The only way to rid the world of sin would be to wipe it (including all of us) out completely, but God couldn't do that because it would be against His very nature of love and mercy (Ps. 86:15). But He can't allow us as sinners to live with Him either because HE is Justice (Ps. 7:11). So the only choice is to die in our place. The only choice for Him, the only Way for us (John 14:6), to be covered by His righteousness.
4) We cannot sin against another human being. We can hurt them, we can cause them suffering and pain and even death by our choices but the only way to sin against someone in the real sense of sinning is to rebel against their sinless being, and there is only One who is sinless. "Against you and you only have I sinned" the Psalmist so aptly says (Ps. 51). This is eye opening for me. No one on this earth can sin against me because I am not sinless myself. They can hurt me, they can cause me grief or pain or heartache or misery or poverty but they cannot sin against me, and I cannot sin against them. Every sin I commit is against my God and my Savior alone, the same one who chose to die for me, who chooses to love me in spite of my wicked soul. Oh, to live every moment aware of the fact that it is all about HIM, all for HIM, all sustained by HIM, all for His glory or for nothing. If I could just remember that how much easier not to sin against Him. Oh, to love Him more, to do as He has said in His Word, to think on HIM, to strive to truly worship Him. That would be a life worth living.
Praise be to God for His servants who have so clearly divided His word of truth.

1 comment:

OurCrazyFarm said...

What a joy to hear of churches preaching the deep, solid truth in Scripture! You are so blessed to have found such a wonderful church! We have been attending a Bible Study on John. An interesting thought on Jesus going to the cross for us as sinners was that ultimately and firstly He went to the cross in obedience to His Father. Interesting thought to ponder as we are called to obedience by His example, even the hard things that God calls us to. Thanks for sharing! Terri