(A note; When you see a scripture reference highlighted in blue, just hold your cursor on it and the scripture should pop up)
Here's an interesting concept, God loves you. Do you take time to consider what that means? You might be thinking; "how could God love me, do you know what I have been through and what I have done?" "No, God can't love someone like me, I've committed far to many sins and done to many bad things." You might be a believer in Jesus Christ and feel under condemnation every time you do something that is considered a sin, you feel that you have to start all over again, ask God to forgive you and repent of the sin you committed. If you fall under either one of these scenario's of feeling unloved and/or guilty of things in your life, let me share something with you that may just change your perspective and bring a real change from despair, depression, guilt, anxiety and condemnation. What I am going to offer you is a way to allow change to come into your life, not an outward change but an internal spiritual change that will not be blown away by the forces of this changing world.
Here's an interesting concept, God loves you. Do you take time to consider what that means? You might be thinking; "how could God love me, do you know what I have been through and what I have done?" "No, God can't love someone like me, I've committed far to many sins and done to many bad things." You might be a believer in Jesus Christ and feel under condemnation every time you do something that is considered a sin, you feel that you have to start all over again, ask God to forgive you and repent of the sin you committed. If you fall under either one of these scenario's of feeling unloved and/or guilty of things in your life, let me share something with you that may just change your perspective and bring a real change from despair, depression, guilt, anxiety and condemnation. What I am going to offer you is a way to allow change to come into your life, not an outward change but an internal spiritual change that will not be blown away by the forces of this changing world.
First of all let me state this; the scriptures are Gods word to us and they are eternal, unchanging, alive and life changing. If you don't accept Gods word as His word to and for us then there is not much I can help you with except to appease your mind. I want to get to the spirit of you, that which is either being controlled by the devil or you have not understood your freedom from the devil's influence. Now with that said, stay with me and see if what God has for you isn't far, far better than what the world system has to offer.
Over two thousand years ago God demonstrated His great love for all of mankind, His creation, by sending His son Jesus Christ into the world, something He did not have to do. He demonstrated His love for each and every one of us in doing this. You might be asking at this point "just how does that demonstrate His love for us?" "So what that He came into the world and lived among mankind, after all this is His creation, why wouldn't He come and be a part of it?" Follow along with me now and let me explain a few things that many fail to understand about God's love.
In my last blog post (you can find this in the archive section by date) I dealt with what happened on the cross and the why's of the cross. In that act God demonstrated His love for mankind. To many people, believer's and non-believer's alike miss the point of Gods demonstrated love. Even the Jewish people whom God chose as His special representatives missed the message that God came and dwelt or lived among them. It was not hard but because of the law that they had been living under for centuries they had a hard time looking past the law and seeing Gods grace being manifested right before their eyes. If you read my previous message on "What Happened On The Cross" you will see a little of the history and what lead up to the crucification of Jesus Christ. You will get a glimpse of what took place on the cross and why it was so necessary for Christ to suffer the way He did. I would like to carry on that message a little further to see just how deep Gods love for all of mankind really is.
There is a very familiar scripture that most have heard about, well at least those who have had access to Gods Word or heard it preached. That scripture verse is John 3:16, it sums up Gods full intent of demonstrating His love for all of mankind and the rest of His creation. There has never or ever will be no greater love shown to us than what is entailed in this verse. Let me break it down simply. In the greek dictionary the word "world" means; the world, universe; worldly affairs; the inhabitants of the world; adornment. In other words, God not only loved mankind, He loved the entire universe, and that means He even loved the worst of the worse of humanity. When Christ willingly went to the cross as a sacrifice He did so for all of humanity, He did not pick and chose the best, or the worst, He chose to die for all, period. This means that He gave His life for you just the same as He gave his life for the most evil person that you can think of. He loved everyone, no exceptions. Now you may be thinking; "that just isn't fair, I lived a pretty good life, I try to help others, I give to the poor, I even go to church sometimes, how could God love someone like Hitler, or some of the other horrible people the same as someone who tries to be good and do the right things?" You have to realize, the whole universe is Gods creation and in this word "world," it is all inclusive.
As we continue to look at the words used in this verse we can get a picture of Gods love for His creation. The word "gave" is important for us to understand. Its meaning is this; I offer, give; I put, place. In this act of giving someone may ask, "who gave"? In its context the scripture says "He gave," meaning God. So in this act of love, God "gave" His only begotten Son. Why did God do this? Because He "loved" the "world," His creation, beyond measure and His creation had become corrupted by an act of rebellion. Out of Gods love for His creation, including mankind, God, because He is perfect and cannot look on sin, had to remedy the problem and the only way to do that was to either completely destroy His creation, or offer a way of redeeming it. God chose to offer redemption, but at a very high price, it would cost Him His Son. Now that is great love.
What about the word "believes" in this verse? The greek translation renders this; I believe, have faith in, trust in; pass: I am entrusted with. This is pretty straight forward saying anyone who trusts or believes in Gods Son or as the word "whoever" is used, means everyone. This is an act or an action that is required by every individual, it is not a forced belief. In other words, you have a choice, either believe in Gods Son, or don't believe. That's simple enough, right?
The next word we must consider, actually two, they go together, would be "should perish." This word is a little harsh in that it talks of destruction or perishing. "Should perish" breaks down as this; I kill, destroy or I lose, mid: I am perishing, referring to certain death. So, if these two words refer to a destruction or death of some kind and it is an act that will be done, then the offer of "believing" must be extremely important. It is basically saying, if you don't believe in My Son, then the consequence is death or eternal punishment. This is of course meaning there is a choice and the choice falls directly on the shoulders of the individual. So, if there is a choice then there must be an alternative and that alternative is not to believe. The word "eternal" is another extremely important word. The greek definition of eternal is; age-long, and therefore: practically eternal, unending; partaking of the character of that which lasts for an age, as contrasted with that which is brief and fleeting. In other words, there is no time limit on eternal, life operates outside of time, everlasting, and beyond time.
Love is an important word, it carries different meanings depending on how and who uses them. The word "love" in this scripture comes from the word that refers to Gods kind of love, agapao. This word agape or agapao means; I love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long or; denotes the love of reason, esteem. This kind of love can only come from God and was demonstrated in Christ Jesus. So when God offered His Son it came to us because of this type of love.
The last word I want us to understand is the word "life." This carries a meaning beyond that which we generally associate life; life, both of physical (present) and of spiritual (particularly future) existence. So eternal life means not only spiritual life, but also a physical life, both which will be experienced beyond time limits or outside of time.
God has offered His love for His creation in the form of His only begotten Son being crucified on a cross, suffering a horrible death by taking on all of mankind's sin and their very sin nature onto Himself, 2 Corinthians 5:20-21. He took on all of our sickness and infirmities so that we would not have to suffer from them. We would not have to suffer an eternal punishment totally separated from the creator. Gods Son had to shed His blood and suffer immensely for the problem that mankind allowed to enter Gods creation, Hebrews 9:22. He did this so that we, His highest form of creation, would not have to suffer this horrible punishment. The definition of remission is; deliverance, pardon, complete forgiveness. Does God love you? I would say yes He does, more than anyone can imagine. Is God mad at you for the sins you do? No, He is not mad at you, Romans 4:8. The only thing that God ask of mankind is that each individual decide to believe and trust in His one and only begotten Son who He gave to us for the very purpose of redeeming us. You see, when Christ was crucified, He paid the price for our sins, there is nothing left to pay for, the bill has been paid in full. But, you must understand that only the price for your redemption has been paid, that does not mean you are redeemed yet. Understand this, the gift that God offered us is free, it is a gift, but you must receive this gift in order for it to be effective, Galatians 2:8. It will not become valid or useful until you decide to receive it. That is Gods one condition, you must receive the gift of His Son by believing in who He is, Gods Son, and that He died for your sins, and by doing this your name is entered into the the Lamb's book of life, Revelation 21:27. He was crucified, dead, buried and resurrected on the third day so that we also have that hope of being alive with Him for all eternity, Romans 6:3-5. Once the period of Grace comes to and end, the time God decides to send His Son back to this earth, and after the thousand years of the Lord Jesus Christ's reign on earth, then God is going to bring it all to a close and He will view the Lambs Book of Life, then the judgement comes and those who are not found in it will have their life examined and the sins revealed for judgement, Revelation 20:12. Once Jesus Christ sets up His earthly reign believing in Him is going to be at a very high price on the individuals part. You can read this in Revelation. The problem with many today is that they think they have plenty of time. What most don't take into account is that you don't know when you are going to meet death face to face and no one knows the day or hour the Lord is going to return, Matthew 24:36.
God gave his Son for you and for me, He did it out of the greatest of love for us. To reject His gift to us is to reject the love that God offered us, the price of redemption, His Son. How could anyone expect to be rewarded with a place with His Son if they could not find it in their heart before to believe in who Jesus is and what He had done? Right now, God is not holding your sin against you, He is giving everyone an open opportunity to believe in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. I want you to read this very familiar scripture about the angel of the Lord announcing the birth of God's Son. There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men, Luke 2:8-14. I want to point out two very important parts of this scripture; 1. Notice that the good tidings or good news was for ALL people, this is not just to the Jewish people, it was to all. 2. And on earth peace, and good will toward men. The multitude of heavenly host were announcing that God's anger against man's sin was over. The multitude also said that "on earth peace, and good will toward men." This was not saying that man would be at peace with each other, it is saying that God is no longer going to be angered at man's sin, Jesus was ending that war between God and man's sin. Jesus was all the difference. All of God's anger of man's sin would be taken out on His Son, 2 Corinthians 5:19. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. He was not imputing their sins or trespasses unto them, He was giving us the word of reconciliation. God, by this love for mankind and the action that He took began the dispensation of Grace. And until this time of Grace ends God is not mad at you and loves you very much.
He is not asking you to live a perfect life because He knows you cannot do it. He's not asking you to walk around all religious or become some kind of saint, all He is asking is that you believe in His Son. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..", Rom. 3:23. "As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.." Rom. 3:10. "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, Rom. 10:9. You see, if God did not love you and He is mad at you for all the wrong you have done, then He wouldn't have offered His Son up to give His life for you. Make no mistake about it though, one day soon, this age of grace will end and then things are going to change. Can you tell me that you know exactly when that may be? I don't think so, God has declared to the world Great news and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, news that in this day and age needs to be heard. You just heard it! God has given us all a way back into His presence through His Son, John 14:6. No, He is not mad at you, and He loves you very much.
Don't turn down God's love for you by rejecting His Son. He is the only hope for this world, He has paid the price for your big and little sins, in that price is included your very sin nature. If you put your faith and trust in Him He will give you a brand new nature, a nature after Jesus Christ. You will no longer be a slave to sin, the bondage and the chains that have you bound will be broken forever. There will come a day when every knee will bow before Jesus Christ and recognize Him for who He really is, the Son of God. This was spoken of in the Old Testament in Isaiah 45:23 and in the New Testament in Romans 14:10-12 and Philippians 2:9-11. Jesus has shown that His Father in heaven loves us with an unending love, so why would you put off or reject that love. To the unbeliever, repent of your sins and ask God to forgive you, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, confess with your mouth by telling others that you have put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you truly believe in Him as the Son of God and that He died in your place, He was resurrected on the third day so that we could have that same hope, then you are now a reborn child of God. If you are already a believer and are struggling with guilt and condemnation, then pick up your bible and start renewing your mind with God's word. Replace those old habits that your sin nature left behind by applying Gods word to those very things that keep you from experiencing victory in your life. God has already given us victory so start living in it. God loves you no matter what and He is not mad at you!
In my last blog post (you can find this in the archive section by date) I dealt with what happened on the cross and the why's of the cross. In that act God demonstrated His love for mankind. To many people, believer's and non-believer's alike miss the point of Gods demonstrated love. Even the Jewish people whom God chose as His special representatives missed the message that God came and dwelt or lived among them. It was not hard but because of the law that they had been living under for centuries they had a hard time looking past the law and seeing Gods grace being manifested right before their eyes. If you read my previous message on "What Happened On The Cross" you will see a little of the history and what lead up to the crucification of Jesus Christ. You will get a glimpse of what took place on the cross and why it was so necessary for Christ to suffer the way He did. I would like to carry on that message a little further to see just how deep Gods love for all of mankind really is.
There is a very familiar scripture that most have heard about, well at least those who have had access to Gods Word or heard it preached. That scripture verse is John 3:16, it sums up Gods full intent of demonstrating His love for all of mankind and the rest of His creation. There has never or ever will be no greater love shown to us than what is entailed in this verse. Let me break it down simply. In the greek dictionary the word "world" means; the world, universe; worldly affairs; the inhabitants of the world; adornment. In other words, God not only loved mankind, He loved the entire universe, and that means He even loved the worst of the worse of humanity. When Christ willingly went to the cross as a sacrifice He did so for all of humanity, He did not pick and chose the best, or the worst, He chose to die for all, period. This means that He gave His life for you just the same as He gave his life for the most evil person that you can think of. He loved everyone, no exceptions. Now you may be thinking; "that just isn't fair, I lived a pretty good life, I try to help others, I give to the poor, I even go to church sometimes, how could God love someone like Hitler, or some of the other horrible people the same as someone who tries to be good and do the right things?" You have to realize, the whole universe is Gods creation and in this word "world," it is all inclusive.
As we continue to look at the words used in this verse we can get a picture of Gods love for His creation. The word "gave" is important for us to understand. Its meaning is this; I offer, give; I put, place. In this act of giving someone may ask, "who gave"? In its context the scripture says "He gave," meaning God. So in this act of love, God "gave" His only begotten Son. Why did God do this? Because He "loved" the "world," His creation, beyond measure and His creation had become corrupted by an act of rebellion. Out of Gods love for His creation, including mankind, God, because He is perfect and cannot look on sin, had to remedy the problem and the only way to do that was to either completely destroy His creation, or offer a way of redeeming it. God chose to offer redemption, but at a very high price, it would cost Him His Son. Now that is great love.
What about the word "believes" in this verse? The greek translation renders this; I believe, have faith in, trust in; pass: I am entrusted with. This is pretty straight forward saying anyone who trusts or believes in Gods Son or as the word "whoever" is used, means everyone. This is an act or an action that is required by every individual, it is not a forced belief. In other words, you have a choice, either believe in Gods Son, or don't believe. That's simple enough, right?
The next word we must consider, actually two, they go together, would be "should perish." This word is a little harsh in that it talks of destruction or perishing. "Should perish" breaks down as this; I kill, destroy or I lose, mid: I am perishing, referring to certain death. So, if these two words refer to a destruction or death of some kind and it is an act that will be done, then the offer of "believing" must be extremely important. It is basically saying, if you don't believe in My Son, then the consequence is death or eternal punishment. This is of course meaning there is a choice and the choice falls directly on the shoulders of the individual. So, if there is a choice then there must be an alternative and that alternative is not to believe. The word "eternal" is another extremely important word. The greek definition of eternal is; age-long, and therefore: practically eternal, unending; partaking of the character of that which lasts for an age, as contrasted with that which is brief and fleeting. In other words, there is no time limit on eternal, life operates outside of time, everlasting, and beyond time.
Love is an important word, it carries different meanings depending on how and who uses them. The word "love" in this scripture comes from the word that refers to Gods kind of love, agapao. This word agape or agapao means; I love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long or; denotes the love of reason, esteem. This kind of love can only come from God and was demonstrated in Christ Jesus. So when God offered His Son it came to us because of this type of love.
The last word I want us to understand is the word "life." This carries a meaning beyond that which we generally associate life; life, both of physical (present) and of spiritual (particularly future) existence. So eternal life means not only spiritual life, but also a physical life, both which will be experienced beyond time limits or outside of time.
God has offered His love for His creation in the form of His only begotten Son being crucified on a cross, suffering a horrible death by taking on all of mankind's sin and their very sin nature onto Himself, 2 Corinthians 5:20-21. He took on all of our sickness and infirmities so that we would not have to suffer from them. We would not have to suffer an eternal punishment totally separated from the creator. Gods Son had to shed His blood and suffer immensely for the problem that mankind allowed to enter Gods creation, Hebrews 9:22. He did this so that we, His highest form of creation, would not have to suffer this horrible punishment. The definition of remission is; deliverance, pardon, complete forgiveness. Does God love you? I would say yes He does, more than anyone can imagine. Is God mad at you for the sins you do? No, He is not mad at you, Romans 4:8. The only thing that God ask of mankind is that each individual decide to believe and trust in His one and only begotten Son who He gave to us for the very purpose of redeeming us. You see, when Christ was crucified, He paid the price for our sins, there is nothing left to pay for, the bill has been paid in full. But, you must understand that only the price for your redemption has been paid, that does not mean you are redeemed yet. Understand this, the gift that God offered us is free, it is a gift, but you must receive this gift in order for it to be effective, Galatians 2:8. It will not become valid or useful until you decide to receive it. That is Gods one condition, you must receive the gift of His Son by believing in who He is, Gods Son, and that He died for your sins, and by doing this your name is entered into the the Lamb's book of life, Revelation 21:27. He was crucified, dead, buried and resurrected on the third day so that we also have that hope of being alive with Him for all eternity, Romans 6:3-5. Once the period of Grace comes to and end, the time God decides to send His Son back to this earth, and after the thousand years of the Lord Jesus Christ's reign on earth, then God is going to bring it all to a close and He will view the Lambs Book of Life, then the judgement comes and those who are not found in it will have their life examined and the sins revealed for judgement, Revelation 20:12. Once Jesus Christ sets up His earthly reign believing in Him is going to be at a very high price on the individuals part. You can read this in Revelation. The problem with many today is that they think they have plenty of time. What most don't take into account is that you don't know when you are going to meet death face to face and no one knows the day or hour the Lord is going to return, Matthew 24:36.
God gave his Son for you and for me, He did it out of the greatest of love for us. To reject His gift to us is to reject the love that God offered us, the price of redemption, His Son. How could anyone expect to be rewarded with a place with His Son if they could not find it in their heart before to believe in who Jesus is and what He had done? Right now, God is not holding your sin against you, He is giving everyone an open opportunity to believe in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. I want you to read this very familiar scripture about the angel of the Lord announcing the birth of God's Son. There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men, Luke 2:8-14. I want to point out two very important parts of this scripture; 1. Notice that the good tidings or good news was for ALL people, this is not just to the Jewish people, it was to all. 2. And on earth peace, and good will toward men. The multitude of heavenly host were announcing that God's anger against man's sin was over. The multitude also said that "on earth peace, and good will toward men." This was not saying that man would be at peace with each other, it is saying that God is no longer going to be angered at man's sin, Jesus was ending that war between God and man's sin. Jesus was all the difference. All of God's anger of man's sin would be taken out on His Son, 2 Corinthians 5:19. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. He was not imputing their sins or trespasses unto them, He was giving us the word of reconciliation. God, by this love for mankind and the action that He took began the dispensation of Grace. And until this time of Grace ends God is not mad at you and loves you very much.
He is not asking you to live a perfect life because He knows you cannot do it. He's not asking you to walk around all religious or become some kind of saint, all He is asking is that you believe in His Son. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..", Rom. 3:23. "As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.." Rom. 3:10. "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, Rom. 10:9. You see, if God did not love you and He is mad at you for all the wrong you have done, then He wouldn't have offered His Son up to give His life for you. Make no mistake about it though, one day soon, this age of grace will end and then things are going to change. Can you tell me that you know exactly when that may be? I don't think so, God has declared to the world Great news and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, news that in this day and age needs to be heard. You just heard it! God has given us all a way back into His presence through His Son, John 14:6. No, He is not mad at you, and He loves you very much.
Don't turn down God's love for you by rejecting His Son. He is the only hope for this world, He has paid the price for your big and little sins, in that price is included your very sin nature. If you put your faith and trust in Him He will give you a brand new nature, a nature after Jesus Christ. You will no longer be a slave to sin, the bondage and the chains that have you bound will be broken forever. There will come a day when every knee will bow before Jesus Christ and recognize Him for who He really is, the Son of God. This was spoken of in the Old Testament in Isaiah 45:23 and in the New Testament in Romans 14:10-12 and Philippians 2:9-11. Jesus has shown that His Father in heaven loves us with an unending love, so why would you put off or reject that love. To the unbeliever, repent of your sins and ask God to forgive you, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, confess with your mouth by telling others that you have put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you truly believe in Him as the Son of God and that He died in your place, He was resurrected on the third day so that we could have that same hope, then you are now a reborn child of God. If you are already a believer and are struggling with guilt and condemnation, then pick up your bible and start renewing your mind with God's word. Replace those old habits that your sin nature left behind by applying Gods word to those very things that keep you from experiencing victory in your life. God has already given us victory so start living in it. God loves you no matter what and He is not mad at you!
