| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net Who is Victorious? What are we celebrating? We have been told so many versions of the salvation message, we tend to grow calloused. We begin to think that they are all types and shadows. What is the truth? Well, the truth is; That Jesus was born to die. “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will O God”. - Heb. 10:5-7. What does this mean? That when Jesus was born, as He laid in that celebrated manger, the Shadow of the Cross was upon Him. His substitutionary death was not a knee-jerk reaction to our sin. Rev. 13:8 calls Him: “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”. In order to bring us to Christ, someone had to die. Either all of Adam’s descendants, or one suitable sacrifice. Nugget: Before you read these next two verses, know that in the New Testament, when you see the word “for”, it can easily be rendered instead of. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” - Heb. 2:9. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. - Rom. 5:8. Though many were crucified, His alone was substitutionary. For (instead of) you. Here is the meat of the matter in one verse, 1st Peter 3:18. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for (instead of) the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” Let’s turn the Spiritual Switch. It would be a shame to believe, as most of the professing world does, that being saved means simply not going to hell. Some sort of celestial fire insurance. That is really a by-product if you will. Christ died that he might “bring us to God”. A king would have a person in this very important position to qualify who would have access to him, and who wouldn’t. This works unless you work in the White House, then anyone can get in. In Jesus’ time, and before, if you desired an audience with the king, you wouldn’t have a prayer of seeing him unless this person said it was OK. It is the same with Jesus. “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6. But it gets even better. In Christ you can: “come boldly unto the throne of grace”. Heb. 4:16. No wonder Rom. 8 calls us “more than conquerors through him that loved us” vs 37. Are you excited about this accessibility? If not, maybe you have never really been “brought near”. God Bless. |
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