How long do we have to labour under a load of sin? How much effort does it take to shed our guilt before God? Massive!
1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
On the cross Jesus groaned under the weight of all our sin. Some sadly do not believe this way. It seems too good to be true. Surely there is some catch. We must have something to work on. Something left undone perhaps? No! God can only accept perfect obedience which is why we receive obedience to Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ESV
For a sinner to claim what he or she does measures up to Jesus is the height of arrogance. One can hope it is a misunderstanding in his or her mind rather than a firm belief of the heart. It is truly a horrible act of unbelief to trust in one's own work as having some merit. Much better is to trust totally in the receiving through faith of the righteousness of Jesus. This declaration of God is as real as the earth we see around us. The very same God who spoke all this into existence is doing the same to us. Taking what is Jesus’ righteousness and gifting it to us. What a wonderfully radical truth indeed.
We can rejoice when Jesus comes to us in the bread and wine of his Supper as the delivery of the forgiveness of sin. And daily return to our baptism as clothing us with Christ. Trusting in the promises associated with these gifts in spite of what little sense it makes to us.
Let us live in the peace this offers.
In the name of Jesus. Amen. †
1 comment:
St. David,
You are so right, it does make little sense to us. It does seem to good to be true. There is no free lunch. The old sinner in us is just itchin' to get a few licks in...be a part of it...do something, anything at all, to justify himself.
But God in Christ Jesus will have none of it. He nailed ALL OUR EFFORT to that cross and it was out to death, right there, and then tangibly for each of us in our baptisms. And He does the same in His supper.
"He sets a table before me in the sight of my enemies." That's us...His enemies whom He has made His children.
What a God!
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