I thank God for Jesus today

I thank God for Jesus today. I'm thankful that God truly did and does "so love the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (Jn. 3:17). That's really good stuff now, you have to admit. Truth is, no matter how many times that verse is quoted or held up on a sign at a football game, it cannot possibly be overused or overrated. The fact that God did truly send his Son to this world to pay the cruel price for the sins of fallen man, so that man could be rescued from his alienated state, is simply the most marvelous and magnificent thing that has ever happened to this battered and bruised world. Yes, Jesus really is the only begotten Son of God, and yes he did truly come as a man and die on the cross of Calvary for your sins and mine. And yes he really did raise from the dead on the third day, and he's still alive at the right hand of God today; "who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. 8:34). The beauty of the Gospel is that it is all about Jesus, and it's all about believing what he did for us and what he wants to do for us now. It's all about taking God up on his offer of unfathomable love and grace. It's not about anything we are able to do. If it were, then Jesus would not have had to come and do what he did. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9). It's not a matter of whether we're 'good enough' or not. Of course we're not good enough! If we were then Jesus would not have had to die in our place, nor would we need him to make intercession to God on our behalf. On the other hand however, we ARE good enough because God deemed us worthy for his Son to die a brutal death in our place, just to have us back in his presence. With those few basic things said, I would just like to say that the most wonderful aspect of this glorious Gospel is, that IT IS REAL!!

So just how is this Gospel real? It is real in that Jesus really does take sin away from our life and our inner being when we put it all on him. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized [with the Spirit] into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:1-4). In like manner the scripture says again: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (II Cor. 5:17). Yes my friend, Jesus did not die for nothing; he died for SOMETHING! That something just happens to be transforming human beings from hapless sinners into "new creatures" who are able to walk in the love and peace of God without sin. To these things the scriptures continue to agree: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:1,2). The scriptures also tie the element of God's grace to the reality of our being transformed from sinners to true children of God: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" (Tit. 2:11-14). Now you do have to admit that according to what the Bible plainly and consistently declares, we're not "all just sinners saved by grace."

If we're truly born again, which is to say baptized BY JESUS with his Spirit, then we are not sinners at all; or at least we have no excuse to be. But let's not rely on me saying that. How about the beloved apostle, the best friend of God's own Son? "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous" (I Jn. 3:6,7). That's pretty simple math for the honest of heart. We can even throw in the fact that this particular apostle said of himself, "and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe" (Jn. 19:35). We shouldn't try to dispute the truth of the scriptures, but rather we should beseech the Lord to give us the grace to measure up to them, because we can. But again I say that the sweetest thing about it all to me is that it's all real, and it's all true! I know it's true because God has done for me the things that are written in this article, and confirmed by the Bible; and that simply makes me a normal child of God. Too much erroneous Christian tradition today has malformed too many of God's children to not have a clue as to who they are. If we are baptized with the holy Ghost into Christ, then we are literally princes and princesses of a heavenly order, because we are the children of the King of heaven and earth! We are no longer to be the beaten down subjects of sin and of Satan, "the god of this world" (II Cor. 4:4). Rather we are to "walk in [the] NEWNESS of life" that Jesus purchased for us with his own blood. That life is the "life more abundant" that Jesus promised us, which is in fact the identical same life that dwells in himself and in his Father (Jn. 10:10; Jn. 5:26). That life is in fact his Spirit which literally cleanses us from sin, and sets us free from the power thereof (Rom. 8:1,2; I Cor. 6:19-11). Yeah, this Gospel is definitely real, and all we have to do to abide in the reality of it, is to be real and honest before God; and simply refuse to be defeated by the lies and assaults of our common adversary. Jesus died for us, and he rose again to give us divine, eternal life from above. It just doesn't get any better than that. Amen.