THE PLAGUE OF SIN

Sin is a plague, and we are all infected. The entire earth is under quarantine, because of this disease. The only antidote is the blood of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. He offers this cure to every human being on the planet, free of charge. God has vowed to destroy sin from the universe one day, and he will do that by burning the entire earth, at the second coming. The sad thing is, ALL those who have rejected the antidote, will still be infected at that time. Sadly, they will have to be burned along with sin to wipe out the plague forever.

We don’t have to end up in that cleansing lake of fire. 1 John 4:9 says, “In this, the love of God was manifested toward us because God sent his only begotten Son into the world so we might live through him.” That’s not talking about just living here on earth. It means we can live forever, with Jesus our Lord, and Savior. The one who loves us so much that he suffered and died to save us from the power and the consequences of sin.

Soon, Jesus will return to earth to rescue us from this plague. If we are still holding on to sin, then we will be destroyed along with it. Not because God is mean, or sadistic, but because we have allowed sin to become part of us, and God has set a time to destroy it. Jesus wants to set us free from sin and give us eternal life so we can spend eternity with him. He pleads with every person on earth to turn from sin and be saved. The love that our creator has for us is beyond our understanding. Even though we sin, and reject him over, and over again, he still loves us. When we realize he has that kind of love for us, it causes us to love him. When we truly realize how wretched, vile, and sinful we truly are in God’s sight, then see that he loves us anyway, it’s so amazing.

We have to be holy in God’s eyes to be saved in the end, but there’s no way we can possibly do that on our own. We have to be covered by the blood of Jesus, the holy Son of God. We have to believe in him and ask for his forgiveness, and he will hear us and save us (John 3:16, Romans 1:16). Then he will place a robe of righteousness on us. He becomes our substitute. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Eternal death. We have all earned death. We deserve to die because we have broken God’s law. This is called sin.

For sin to be forgiven, it requires a blood sacrifice. This was symbolized in the Old Testament sacrificial system, where animals were sacrificed for the sins of the people. It sounds archaic now, and maybe a little morbid, but God has a reason for everything he does. The sanctuary services represent the plan of salvation. If you want to understand this plan more fully, just study the sanctuary service in the old testament.

Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus, the pure, holy Lamb of God, left heaven and came to earth, lived a sinless life, suffered, and died. In this, he became the ultimate sacrifice for sin. We don’t sacrifice animals today because the blood of Jesus is all we need. He died for us all. He died in our place. God gave his only Son so you and I would not have to pay for our own sins (Luke 24:46-47). Now, all we need to do to receive forgiveness for those sins is to be sorry and want to stop sinning, then tell him so (Acts 3:19). He will apply his sacrifice to our account, and our debt will be cleared, and God sees us as holy. We are free from the plague of sin and have eternal life. Amazing. Right?

One day soon, the trumpet will sound from heaven (Matt. 24:31, 1 Cor. 15:52). The sky will burn (2 Pet. 3:10-11), and we will see Jesus coming in the clouds (Rev. 1:7, Matt. 24:30, 1 Thes. 4:16-17). What a glorious sight that will be to the ones who have been freed from sin by the shed blood of God’s Son, but for those who have refused his free, cleansing gift of salvation, it will be a day of sadness, and tears.

Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Isaiah 13:9-13 says, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel, both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.”

In Ezekiel 33:11, God says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked:”

The fact is, hell fire was designed for Satan, who started the sin problem, and his evil angels, not for humans. Hell fire is the method God will use to destroy sin from the universe forever. Again, if we are still holding onto sin, loving sin more than God, then we will be destroyed when he destroys sin. God doesn’t want that, but the choice has to be yours. Let go of sin today. Don’t hold on to it. Don’t let sin destroy you. Accept God’s free gift today, and live forever. 

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WHAT'S IN A NAME?

“What’s in a name?” That’s part of a famous quote from the popular play, Romeo, and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. The full quote says, “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” I’ve heard the first part of that quote from time to time as long as I can remember. I’ve never really thought about it for more than a few minutes each time though, until recently.

It got me to thinking about all the names I’ve had over the years. Other than all the sweet names my wife calls me, I’ve been called Daddy, by my children, Fred, by my friends, Ted, Teddy, Teddy Ruxpin, Tetty Theodore, Bobby Q, Christopher, and occasionally, a few other names I’d rather not mention.

I’ve always been fascinated by names. Names have the ability to define us. In Bible days a name actually meant something. For example, Abraham means “Father Of Nations.” We see several examples of people having their names changed because of something they did. For example, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Simon’s name to Peter. We also see name meanings change to reflect something someone did, like Judas, which now means Traitor.

In thinking of all the names I’ve had over the years, I started thinking of all the names of Jesus we see in the Bible. It’s amazing how many names and titles he has.

I think “Jesus” is his most popular name in Christianity. The angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to the Son of God, and she was to call him Jesus (Luke 1:31). He also told Joseph to call the baby, Jesus and added: “because he will save his people from their sins” (Mathew 1:21). The name Jesus means “salvation.”

The New Testament writers often refer to him as Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus, and sometimes just Christ. The word Christ is the English translation of the Greek word Messiah. It means “Anointed One.” So saying “Jesus Christ” and “Jesus, the Messiah” is the same thing. Jesus is the Messiah.

In the New Testament, he is called the Son of God. He is also referred to as the Son in the Old Testament (Psalm 2:12). In Isaiah 9:6, he is called “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Other names include Shiloh, Emmanuel, Lord, Master, Rabbi, The Word, the Lamb of God, The Son of God, the Son of David, The Son of Man, Savior, King of Kings, Rose of Sharon, Redeemer, and many more.

That’s a lot of names and titles, and each one reveals a different aspect of his character. So, what’s in a name? A lot, but no matter which name he is called, he is just as sweet.

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SACRIFICE

I love John 3:16. It has been one of my favorite Bible verses for as long as I can remember. It was the very first scripture I ever committed to memory. It says,

John 3:16
16 Because God loved the world so much, that he gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

I also like verse 17. It was the second Bible verse I memorized as a child.

John 3:17
17 Because God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.

Actually, this entire chapter is awesome. Here Jesus beautifully explains the plan of salvation to Nicodemus, the Pharisee. He reveals the story of an all-powerful God who loves us so much that he was willing to sacrifice his only Son so he could have us with him for eternity. He desires to spend time with us, just like he did with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden before they sinned. Jesus left his home in heaven, became a man, and gave his life on the cross, so we could be free from the power of sin, and live in God’s presence once again. But freedom is never free. To secure freedom of any kind, a sacrifice has to be made by someone.

A few years ago, as I was going door to door offering Bible studies, a lady asked me how much I was charging for them. When I told her they were free, she said, “nothing is free.” After thinking about it for a while, I came to the conclusion that she was right. Nothing is free. Someone, somewhere, at some time, has to pay something for whatever is being offered for free. Someone sacrificed their time to write those study guides. Somebody sacrificed the money it took to print them, and I was sacrificing my time to present them, but they were offered to this lady, at no cost. The Salvation that God offers us cost him everything, but he offers it to us free of charge.

In Romans 6:23 we saw that “the wages of sin is death” but that’s only half of the verse. Here’s what the second half says.

Romans 6:23b
23 …but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

He offers the gift of eternal life to every person on earth. If you have never accepted that gift, it’s yours for the taking. No matter what condition you’re in right now, no matter how bad you’ve sinned, no matter what you’ve ever done in your life, he willingly offers it to you, free of charge. You don’t have to wait until you get your life straightened out, or until you become a better person, or until you get back in church. You can come to Jesus just as you are, anywhere you are, and he will change you into the person you need to be. Look at 2 Corinthians 6:2 and let’s focus on the second half of the verse.

2 Corinthians 6:2b
2 Behold, NOW is the accepted time; Behold, NOW is the day of salvation.

Now is the time. Today is the day. Make the choice, and come to Jesus today, accept his free gift, and be saved so you don’t have to suffer, and die for your sins. We face many choices in life and, unfortunately, we don’t always make the right ones, but whether or not to accept the free gift of salvation is the most important choice any of us will ever make. It literally means the difference between life and death.

Don’t wait. Life is short, and we are not promised tomorrow. The sacrifice has been made. Come to Jesus today, accept his free gift, and be saved so you don’t have to suffer the penalty for your sins.

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