The Way Out
April 19, 2011 • By Ed Wrather
04.19.11
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. - Isaiah 53:6.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. - Hebrews 4:15.
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. - Hebrews 9:27-28a.
We have all heard many stories about postal mail being delivered many years after the letter or postcard was actually sent. Some letters were sent 50 or 60 years before and they somehow appeared at the post office or someone found them elsewhere. Recently I received an email dated January 15, 1970! Amazing! Now, I know that you can change the date and time on your computer, but without knowing that it would certainly be an eye opener! A somewhat similar thing happened last month when Elizabeth Taylor passed away. As you would expect there was an obituary for her in the New York Times. The obituary was written, at least he was listed as the author, by Mel Gussow. Nothing unusual about that except that he died nearly six years before Elizabeth Taylor!
What do those two stories have in common? We know what happened, someone made a mistake. Someone set the date wrong, really wrong, by mistake. Someone listed Mel Gussow as the author of the obituary, by mistake. We're not really all that surprised by it. Why? Because we are used to it. People mess up all the time. I make mistakes, you make mistakes, everyone I know makes mistakes of one kind or another.
Not only do we all make mistakes, all of us also sin. There are times when we all do bad things that we know we should not do. We have all sinned, done bad things, and "come short of the glory of God." All of us, are sinners, and the bad news is that "the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a)." The plain ugly truth is that what ought to happen to us is that we should go to hell when we die, because we are sinners.
The Good News is that we have a way out if we choose to take it. In comparison to all of us, Jesus Christ who was fully God, and at the same time fully human, never messed up, never made a mistake, never sinned. The Bible tells us in the Book of Hebrews that Jesus (Our high priest) "...was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." Because of this Jesus was able to be the perfect sacrifice, dying on the cross for all of our sins; past, present, and future. He became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). The writer of Hebrews explains: "For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever (Hebrews 7:26-28)."
God has given us a way out, a way to be reconciled with Him through Jesus Christ. Believe upon Him (John 3:16). Let Him in (Revelation 3:20). Receive Him (John 1:12). Call upon Him (Romans 10:13). Confess Him (Romans 10:10). Jesus says, "I am the WAY, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6)." Jesus is the WAY out. Take it!
Visitor Comments (0)