by Cleek, Caleb
For the first time in human history, a completely righteous person walked the face of the earth. Unlike the rest of world, He was free from the penalty of judgment. His freedom from sin enabled Jesus to do something nobody else could have done. He willingly offered himself as payment for the sin debt of the world. He allowed himself to be killed in order to satisfy the judgment of death that had been decreed upon all men for their sin.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
The amazing thing about Jesus dying in our place is that sinners are the enemy of God as evidenced in the passage from which the previous excerpt was taken:
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. (Romans 5:10)
This is a demonstration of the purest love that exists. Short of my family, there is nobody I would willingly trade for their sentence of death, not even my closest friends. Yet, God did this for his enemies in order to reconcile the relationship with them.
Without getting into a long theological discourse, God exists as a triune being. In short, this means that there is one God but He exists as three distinct persons or parts. Although it may be an overly simplistic example, an egg is similar. It consists of three distinct parts: the shell, the white, and the yolk, yet it is still one egg. God exists as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each is distinct from the others and each plays different roles, but they still exist as one Being, if such a word can be used to describe God.
This becomes important in light of a statement Jesus made while hanging on the cross:
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)
In paying for the sins of the world, Jesus took upon Himself every sin committed by every person who has lived and every person who will live as well as the consequence for that sin.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
In those hours Jesus was on the cross, God’s wrath was poured out on Him, the same wrath that should have been poured out on me and on you and on everybody else that has sinned or will sin. For the first time in eternity, two parts of the triune God, the Father and the Holy Spirit, cut themselves off from the Son. Not only was Jesus, the Son, suffering an excruciating death for the sins of the world, He was forsaken and cut off from part of Himself.
Considering the lengths God went to in order to redeem sinners to Himself, I don’t believe anyone can make a reasonable argument against God’s loving nature.
In order to satisfy the penalty of death on sin that God’s justice demanded, God sacrificed the Son in place of sinners. Jesus bore the penalty for our sin.
Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
God’s provision for sin is available to every person in the world, but just like winning a raffle, holding the winning ticket isn’t enough. The gift must be accepted.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
The key is “whoever believes in Him.” Faith is the means by which we accept the redemptive gift being offered to us.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
The only way a person can have his sin debt forgiven is through faith. It is not something we can earn. Our best efforts do not produce anything that is pleasing to God. Even if we could perform a work that was truly good, it would be tainted in His sight by the stench of sin that permeates our lives. It isn’t a matter of doing more good than bad. If it were possible for a person to only commit a single sin during his life, that one sin would make him guilty and bring him under the punishment of death. Forgiveness from our sin is an unmerited gift from God. There is nothing we can do to earn it.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)
The forgiveness of our sins goes much further than simply relieving a person of spending eternity in hell. Part of the curse associated with the original act of sin by Adam in the Garden of Eden was physical death. That does not go away with the forgiveness of sin; however, those who accept the “gift” receive “eternal life” as promised in the previously quoted scripture, John 3:16. The spirit of each person who believes will be resurrected upon physical death and that person will be given a new body and welcomed into heaven, where he will spend eternity. Before His death, Jesus said the following to His disciples:
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:1-4)
The hope for the resurrection to eternal life in heaven for those who believe and have accepted God’s gift is given credence by God resurrecting Jesus following His death on the cross.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 15:50-57)
There are many religions in the world, and each claims a unique path to God. The question that many people ask is, “Can I come to God through any of those means?” The answer comes from Jesus himself:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Jesus also said the following:
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:23,24)
Whether we like it or not, if we want to come to God, we have to come to Him according to His terms, according to the truth laid out in the Bible. He is the one we have transgressed against through our sins. He is the one who made the provision for the forgiveness of our sins; therefore, if we are to come to Him, it must by His rules and not ours.
While there are many religious books, the Bible stands alone in its inerrancy because the authors who penned its pages did so under the direct inspiration of God. They wrote the words He wanted to be written and He kept them from writing words He did not want to be included.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (1 Peter 1:20,21)
While the examples I gave earlier of proofs to the Bible’s veracity were brief, there are many, many more. As stated earl
ier, I believe Biblical prophecy is the most compelling support for it being authentic, but archeology supports its historic claims. I also believe it speaks to the heart of the problems faced by humanity where other religious books fall short.
I will be the first to admit that professed followers of the Bible are not always its best advertisement. We, like the rest of humanity, live in a world tainted by sin. We struggle with sin just like everybody else.
We should begin to live a life more in tune with God’s proclamations on how one ought to live, but it is a process that does not occur immediately. Sometimes the difference is not obvious, but over time, it should become more and more so.
God calls His believers to walk in obedience to His word, not to earn salvation and His approval, but out of a thankful heart for the redemption He has offered us through faith.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
I am not a preacher or a theologian, and this is only a brief introduction to what I wholeheartedly believe to be the most important message the world has been given. My prayer is that the passages I have shared from the Bible will resonate within you. If they do, pick up a Bible and read the Gospel of John, which is the story of Jesus’ life. I would also highly recommend a book entitled The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John Cross. It provides a better summary and explanation of the Bible than any other book I have read. If the price is too steep, I will happily give you a copy of the Bible or The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus; these issues are that important to me.
Finally, please contact me personally. I would love to have a further discussion if you are interested. My email address is [email protected]. I answer every email I receive. Although I would like to consider myself a writer, I also have a “real job” so I don’t always get to my email every day. Be patient. I will get back to you.
About the Author
Caleb Cleek lives in a small California town with his family. He enjoys hunting, shooting and spending time with his kids. He is currently working on the third installment of the Infected Series. Feedback left on Amazon.com is greatly appreciated. Caleb can be contacted by email at [email protected]. Look for The Infected Series on Facebook for the latest information.