Have you ever read or heard that one line?
You know, the line that the author or speaker throws out there as tangental to their main point, but it strikes a chord with you. It grabs you so much you wish they would expand and expound on that one sentence before moving on to anything else.
I have to admit I love those lines, both as a writer and as a reader/listener. They create hunger and interest. They incite participation and learning. They inspire thought and action.
Yesterday, my pastor dropped one of those lines in his sermon from Acts on Paul standing trial before King Agrippa. I'm not sure how he got to it or even if it was in his notes. He was speaking about the life we have in Christ and then this:
He was referencing John 3:17. Following up on the most famous verse in the Bible, Jesus explains that God did not send Him into this world to condemn, but to save.
He connected it with John 10:10, where Jesus contrast the mission of Satan and His mission as the Savior. Satan wants to steal from you, to kill you and utterly destroy you, but Jesus desires to give us life - not just life, but abundant life.
Jesus offers life and doesn't condemn because He didn't have to. Before He came, we were already in condemnation. He doesn't have to do what is already done.
Ever since sin entered the world at the Fall, we have stood under the curse, under condemnation. The Law was instituted to show us what was already the reality - we fell short of God's holiness. As Paul wrote the Law was to be used as a mirror, a teacher, to show us how far we had fallen and how hopeless our situation was. We were apart from God with no means of reaching Him.
There was no need for God to send Jesus into the world to condemn it. We are already condemned. Humanity existed in a perpetual state of condemnation.
Instead, Jesus came to offer life. He came to offer a way of escape from the coming judgment and the present condemnation. We had already been judged and found guilty. We were simply waiting on the sentence to be carried out.
Jesus stepped in with an offer of His life for ours. His innocence for our guilt. His freedom for our condemnation.
Paul express the sentiments perfectly in Romans 8:1-2
Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn. He didn't have to, we were already condemned. He came into the world to save us from that condemnation and give us abundant life.
You have that choice - to exist in condemnation, waiting for your death sentence to be carried out or to possess eternal, abundant life. If you've never experienced the freedom and life that comes from a relationship with Christ, click on the image in upper right hand corner that says "the Story" or click HERE.
That will explain exactly why we need the life offered by Christ and how you can embrace it, escaping from the condemnation that weighs on everyone who lives apart from Christ.
Even better than that one line you hear that inspires you, is that one life that is changed by God's grace.
You know, the line that the author or speaker throws out there as tangental to their main point, but it strikes a chord with you. It grabs you so much you wish they would expand and expound on that one sentence before moving on to anything else.
I have to admit I love those lines, both as a writer and as a reader/listener. They create hunger and interest. They incite participation and learning. They inspire thought and action.
Yesterday, my pastor dropped one of those lines in his sermon from Acts on Paul standing trial before King Agrippa. I'm not sure how he got to it or even if it was in his notes. He was speaking about the life we have in Christ and then this:
Jesus didn't come to condemn. He didn't have to.Maybe that doesn't strike you quite like it did me, but let me explain why that line and the context surrounding it is so Gospel-saturated.
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| Photo from RGBstock.com Miguel Saavedra |
He connected it with John 10:10, where Jesus contrast the mission of Satan and His mission as the Savior. Satan wants to steal from you, to kill you and utterly destroy you, but Jesus desires to give us life - not just life, but abundant life.
Jesus offers life and doesn't condemn because He didn't have to. Before He came, we were already in condemnation. He doesn't have to do what is already done.
Ever since sin entered the world at the Fall, we have stood under the curse, under condemnation. The Law was instituted to show us what was already the reality - we fell short of God's holiness. As Paul wrote the Law was to be used as a mirror, a teacher, to show us how far we had fallen and how hopeless our situation was. We were apart from God with no means of reaching Him.
There was no need for God to send Jesus into the world to condemn it. We are already condemned. Humanity existed in a perpetual state of condemnation.
Instead, Jesus came to offer life. He came to offer a way of escape from the coming judgment and the present condemnation. We had already been judged and found guilty. We were simply waiting on the sentence to be carried out.
Jesus stepped in with an offer of His life for ours. His innocence for our guilt. His freedom for our condemnation.
Paul express the sentiments perfectly in Romans 8:1-2
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.In Christ, there is no condemnation. Outside of Christ, there is nothing but condemnation.
Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn. He didn't have to, we were already condemned. He came into the world to save us from that condemnation and give us abundant life.
You have that choice - to exist in condemnation, waiting for your death sentence to be carried out or to possess eternal, abundant life. If you've never experienced the freedom and life that comes from a relationship with Christ, click on the image in upper right hand corner that says "the Story" or click HERE.
That will explain exactly why we need the life offered by Christ and how you can embrace it, escaping from the condemnation that weighs on everyone who lives apart from Christ.
Even better than that one line you hear that inspires you, is that one life that is changed by God's grace.
