Now We See

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 NASB

Something is wrong with the world. Something is broken. Something is wrong with all of us. Deep down I believe we all sense this. We can tell something is not right and can’t quite explain why. Whether or not we are believers, I think we can agree this is true.

But then in the midst of our cracked and muddy lives …. God shows up and nothing stays the same. He changes our old self for a new one. Our old way of walking for a new way of walking. He leads us into a new life.  That is Truth, that is Jesus Christ. 

By Jesus’ sombre surrender to God, His dying for our sins, and resurrecting each person who acknowledges Him as the risen Saviour, we are transformed into new men and women through His sacrifice.  That is the truth of the cross. 

That brings me to my knees in awe and anguish, feeling a paradox of complete  unworthiness for who I have been while at the same time aware of God’s redeeming forgiveness and fierce love for me. 

And God has that same love for His people. 

There is only one way to be saved, believing through faith in Jesus Christ. 

There is only one way to receive salvation, life eternal, a place in the heavenlies, and Jesus Christ is that way. 

Romans 10:8-10 NASB But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 

My friends, all of us are born in sin; all of us are born with our own desires. The old self, means walking on my strength, on my path, for my glory. There is no room left for anyone else but me. 

But living life as a new person, means relying on God’s strength, walking on HIS path, for His glory. It is living our lives for God, completely surrendered to Him. It is leaving sin behind and doing what God has been teaching us to do for thousands of years through His living word, His Holy Bible:

Read the Bible, every day, the Lord’s teachings are profound yet simple enough for us to understand; they are spiritual yet relevant to everyday life. 

Jesus Christ teaches us, that everyone needs salvation and that a person’s station in life has no bearing on his or her value to God; Christ came to save people from all walks of life.  You, me, the person no one talks to, the most popular guy on the street, everyone. 

Neither does anyone’s past sins play a part in our ability to receive forgiveness from Jesus, and Jesus reminds us, His followers, to forgive others the same way as God forgives us. 

We can look at it this way, God requires more than external obedience to rules, He offers salvation to those who believe in Jesus Christ, His crucifixion and His resurrection because judgment is coming to the unbelieving and unrepentant.

Psalms 86:9 NASB All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name. 

There comes a moment too, after we have declared Jesus Christ as our saviour, as Lord over our ….. that Holy Spirit teaches us the how our days are going to be laid out.  It is not just going to church weekly or doing what is morally right. It is not getting shined up where all is “right with our personal works”. It is understanding that once we were lost and now we are found. 

Once we were blind and now we see. 

Once we were in the dark, on the long, wide road of destruction, and now we are on the narrow road of life alongside Jesus. Once we were without God and now we are indwelled by God and that is only and all through Jesus Christ. Do you see that? Hallelujah!