July 20
2 Chron 1:1-3:17 | PS 16:1-11 | Prov 19:20-21 | Rom 6:1-23
Close your eyes and place yourself at the scene of the cross. Where are you in that picture? I know that all of us would love to place ourselves at the foot of the cross, with our heads upturned, tears in our eyes, as His blood literally washes over our heads. That might be where we are now, but that is not who we were, it doesn't matter who you are. Take your pick: you could have been one of the mockers screaming insults at Jesus; you could have been one of the soldiers rolling dice for his clothes, nailing Him to the cross, or smiling in satisfaction over His suffering; or perhaps you were one of the passers going by, not even caring enough to raise your head to witness the spectacle. If we don't rightly see ourselves before salvation, we can't rightly place ourselves below the washing of His blood. You might think that your child has always been so beautiful and godly going to Sunday School, youth groups, etc; you might think that your parent was always so good and giving. Sorry, we all have the same starting point, unless we see that we fail to see our desperate condition before the cross. We read in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." We all started off as God's enemies, whether one likes to acknowledge that or not.
We read of the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the Temple in 2 Chronicles 3:14. Most believe that veil was 18 inches thick, rendering it impossible by human means to be torn. Yet, after Jesus gave up His Spirit, after Jesus said "It is Finished" (John 19:30), we read in Matthew 27:51 that this veil was torn from top to bottom. God supernaturally tore that veil letting us know that we now all have direct access to the Father through the death and life of His Son, Jesus Christ, as we read in Romans 5:10-11, "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."
The question remains, what is our response to so great a gift, as we read in Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" The abundance of God's grace is indeed manifest in view of the enormity of our past sins, but it's power is to be manifested in freedom of sin. We have been freed, as the old slave of sin, died with Jesus, as we read in 6:6, "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." Again we were not and we are not inherently good people. We must remember who we were, to acknowledge exactly what it is that Jesus did for us, as we read so concisely in 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Eternal life and freedom from the bondage of sin were not earned by any of us, but as it states so clearly here, it was a gift, and gifts are not earned. All Praise be to God for offering up His Son for us, the undeserving recipients of His grace.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: