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HOUSMAIL HM092
16 June 2002 IT WASN'T
FAIR! By
any recognised standard of human justice, the torture and crucifixion of
Jesus was UNJUST, UNFAIR, and UNDESERVED! Wicked men suborned false witnesses
to perjure themselves against Him. When that didn't work, they managed to
manoeuvre Him into a position where failure to reply truthfully, would be a
denial of His God and His Divine parentage. So He confessed THE TRUTH that He
is indeed the Son of God -- and for that they convicted Him of Blasphemy and
put Him to death. There
was no law He had broken -- nothing at all in Him -- NOTHING AT ALL -- to
warrant such a death. Although created exactly like other men, in EXACTLY the
same sort of mortal flesh (Hebrews 2:14-17) -- and although subjected to all the same temptations (Hebrews 2:18, Hebrews 4:15) -- He OVERCAME, where
all others failed! He was, all His life, HOLY, HARMLESS, UNDEFILED!! (Hebrews 7:26) -- The "beloved
Son" in whom God is well pleased. (Matthew 3:17) And
when men had done their worst, GOD declared His Son INNOCENT, on all counts,
by raising Him from the dead! (Romans 1:4) How can we explain such delay on God's part? Why didn't God
intervene BEFORE men had dealt with His Son in such wicked ways? Whether
we like it or not, -- whether we agree with it or not -- God needed it to
happen that way -- for our salvation! The Scriptures say that this terrible
injustice done to Jesus by wicked men -- this undeserved PENALTY for sins of
which He was not guilty -- was a BLOOD SACRIFICE which has become a RANSOM
paid by Jesus for our pardon from the guilt and the penalty of sins which we
did commit! (Mark 10:45, 1 Timothy 2:6, Galatians 4:5,
Titus 2:14) Without
that, we would have no pardon -- no hope of immortality -- no hope of an
eternal inheritance! *
Jesus, Paul says, "died for
the ungodly". In this "God has
shown His love for us". Through this, if
we are willing to accept our guilt and repent, we can find a way to
forsake our enmity against God -- and be reconciled! (Romans 5:6-10) *
Peter says that Jesus
has "suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might
bring us to God". (1 Peter 3:18) *
And John says, "We love
because He first loved us". (1 John 4:19) A
SUBSTITUTE? Somehow,
in this awful miscarriage of human justice, a RANSOM has been paid for our
pardon! Ransom in this context means that the life of Jesus was given in
exchange for ours! And although the Scripture does not use this word, it is
inescapable that in some way, Jesus has made Himself a SUBSTITUTE for US! BUT
...... IS THAT FAIR? How
can it be FAIR -- How can it be JUST -- that God should require the death of
an innocent man, in order to forgive us? In human terms, THAT isn't
"FAIR" at all! BUT
neither was it FAIR that we committed the sins which made it necessary! And
it wasn't "FAIR" at all that God should have to give His Son to
save us from the penalty of OUR SINS! But God went the second mile about
that! And He gave Jesus anyway! It
wasn't "FAIR" at all that Jesus should have to allow Himself to be
condemned to death by wicked men, without a single word in His own defence,
when he wasn't guilty of anything! But Jesus went the second mile about
that and gave Himself -- NOT for any need of His own -- but because we
needed a Saviour -- to save us from the penalty justly due for our sins. "Second
Miles" are never "fair". That isn't how you measure them! They
can't legally be required of you! If they were a "legal
requirement" there would be nothing given! Second
Miles are something you CHOOSE to GIVE -- because you see a need which you
choose to meet -- and you willingly PAY the PRICE of your voluntary choice. GOD'S
STANDARD OF FAIRNESS God
does have a standard of "fairness" for dealing with sinners. It is
based on attitudes and actions! For
wilfully unrepentant, sinners: For
repentant pardoned sinners: "Yet your people say, 'The way of the Lord
is not just'; when it is their own way that is not just. When the righteous
turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he shall die for it. And
when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does what is lawful and right,
he shall live by it. Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house
of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways." IS
REPENTANCE ALONE, ENOUGH? NO!
-- To be forgiven, and pardoned, requires MORE than our repentance! It also
requires the death of Jesus as a "Blood Sacrifice", in which He
surrendered His life as a Ransom for sinners. Whether or not we
understand all about exactly how that "works", and whether or not
we "like" some of the implications of that, the overwhelming
message of Scripture is that a human BLOOD SACRIFICE is also required. (Hebrews 9:22) And
just for good measure, we need to know that IGNORANCE is NOT a valid excuse
for sin! "The wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness
suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because
God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible
nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in
the things that have been made. So they are without excuse!" (Romans 1:18-20) Under
the Old Testament laws of God, when a man who sinned in ignorance became
aware of his sin, he had to make the same repentance and the same
blood sacrifice as any other sinner! Paul
says the same thing in Acts 17:30-31. When we become aware of our "sins of ignorance", we
also become responsible for repenting of them, just like any other
sin! The Gospel is designed to bring us to awareness of ALL sins, whether
of ignorance or otherwise! It calls us to make an adequate repentance, which
means admitting what we did was wrong, that the fault is ours alone, and that
we need to change our ways. It requires us to accept the sacrifice made for
us by Jesus. Then
-- and only then -- "Though I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' yet if
he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, if the wicked
restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in
the statutes of life, committing no iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall
not die. None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against
him; he has done what is lawful and right, he shall surely live." (Ezekiel 33:14-16) HOW
CAN WE BECOME AWARE OF OUR SINS, INSTEAD OF IGNORANT? "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving
the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the
precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the
LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; .....by them is thy servant warned; in
keeping them there is great reward. THE
BOTTOM LINE FAIR?
If we ask it about Jesus, THAT is the wrong question! It is about US!! What
is FAIR is that WE admit our guilt, and our need for pardon, and in HUMILITY,
gratefully accept the GIFT which has been offered -- far, far beyond the
limits of all human concepts and standards of "fairness"! And what
is also FAIR, is that we should choose of our own free will, to accept our
need to give ourselves to love Jesus in return for what He has done and obey
His commandments! (John 14:15, 23) That is FAITH in action. That is Grace in action! PRAISE GOD FOR HIS LOVE! Allon |