“But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
This text states what God did in order for us to be able to become His children. He sent His Son into the world to save us from sin. Jesus was Immanuel – “God with us.” This act of God changed the world and brought on the three great acts of God that would, indeed, change the world- though the world does not always agree. The Manger When God sent forth His Son, He did not send Him forth as a king, but as a baby. The amazing thing is that when this occurred, it didn’t happen in a palace or some ritzy Roman resort of its day. It happened in a stable and His crib was a manger – a feed trough. On top of that, He was born into a carpenter’s family. Carpentry was a noble line of work, but it was not a job of the elite. It is also noteworthy that when Jesus was born the announcement was not made to Herod, or any other important Jewish dignitary. The announcement was made to shepherds. Shepherds were important to the economy of that day, but it was considered to be a lowly job. It was to shepherds that the angels made the big announcement, and it was these shepherds who were the first to see the Savior of the world, “wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” The manger reminds us that Jesus came to live a perfect life and to die for all people. In Luke 2:10, the shepherds were told: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.” This baby lying in a manger in Bethlehem was destined to change the world. He left great teachings that we have in the four gospels. He left a great example of what it means to live a good life, but what He mainly did was to give His life so that we could be saved, which brings us to the second great act of God: The Cross I don’t mean to diminish the life of Christ, for we can learn a lot from His sojourn on earth, but His main task took place on a cruel Roman cross. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. 2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Something took place at the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross that changed the world’s access to God. When Jesus died, the veil of the temple that separated the presence of God from people was torn in two, which meant that at His death, Jesus opened up full access to God. The Empty Tomb The manger and the cross would have been all for nothing except for the empty tomb. Three days after He was crucified, Jesus arose from the grave. He taught His disciples for forty days, and then ascended to the Father. He is alive forever, and still has input in the world that He created. There is a lot of scriptural evidence for this, but I think that Hebrews 7:24-25 sums it up for us: “But this man, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25. Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost that come to Him, seeing that He ever lives to make intercession for them.” The resurrection of Christ changed the world forever. I think that you will agree that these three acts of God did, indeed, change the world forever. The birth of Jesus, which we celebrate at Christmas, and His resurrection, which we celebrate at Easter, make all of the difference in the world in our salvation. Without these the world would be doomed forever. I know that a lot of people do not believe this and scoff at it, but it is nevertheless true. If you are reading this, it is almost certain that you are not scoffing, but rejoicing. Bro. Joe
0 Comments
“And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.”
The word “access” is not used in this text, but it is definitely demonstrated. For example, when one is given access it means that he or she is free to enter. Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice to give us access to the salvation that He offers. I can’t explain why Jesus had to die for us to be saved, but I know that this is explicitly what the Bible teaches. I want to take a look at the advantages that this access to salvation adds to the lives of those who take advantage of it. The death of Jesus on the cross gives us access to a new day. The “veil of the temple” was the curtain that separated the “Holy of Holies” in the Jewish temple from human access. Only the high priest could enter the most holy place of the temple, and then only on the Day of Atonement. To enter that holy place was to die –period. Even the high priest had to take certain precautions when entering into it. The rent veil meant that this had changed. The rent veil ushered in a new day for all who would take advantage of the access that was offered. Everyone who would come to the Father through the Son would now have access to the throne room. God is available to all who will call on Him in the name of Jesus. This access was gained because of the love, mercy and grace of God. It is free, but it’s not cheap since it cost the blood of Jesus. The death of Jesus on the cross gives us access to prayer. The rent veil means that when we pray we go directly to the Father through the Son. Other people can certainly intercede for us, but no one needs to pray in our stead, for we have access to the throne of God without the aid of anyone. This means that you have access to the eternal God 24/7. Hebrews 4:16 invites us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” This was written from the perspective that Jesus is our high priest. Jesus entered the heavenly “Holy of Holies” for us and He awaits our prayers. We can breathe a prayer any time that we want, we can even think a prayer any time that we want. Prayer is not complicated. If we have a need of any kind, we can go directly to the throne through Jesus. If we need forgiveness, which we surely do, we can take it directly to the throne of God and receive it. We are told in 1 John 1:9 that any time that we confess our sins, “(Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive them." Whatever our need, we have access to God. While we might have places that are more conducive to prayer than others, we do not need a certain place to pray. There is not a certain posture for prayer. We do not need to pray in a “holy voice” to God. We just need to pray – period. We can get through to the Father any time when we pray in the name of Jesus. All of this is true even if we do not feel like praying. The death of Jesus gives us access to fellowship with God. In other world religions God is closed off from the people. Proponents of these religions worship a god who is “out there somewhere.” In the Christian faith, we serve the God who is not closed off from us. He has promised to be with His children all of the time. He is never out of touch. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can have fellowship with God every hour of every day of our lives. We can worship Him freely, knowing that He loves us and that He is with us. Isaiah 55:6 tells us: “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.” Thank God that in Jesus God is near us all of the time. The rent veil certainly means more than I have covered here. The three points given are meant to remind us of the access that Jesus’ death on the cross gives us. Rejoice! Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|