The One and Only Luther

 Take it to heart and doubt not that you are the one who killed Christ.Your sins certainly did ,and when you see the nails driven through his hands ,be sure that you are pounding, and when the thorns pierce his brow ,know that they are your evil thoughts .Consider that if one thorn pierced Christ you deserve one hundred thousand.   Martin Luther

 The need to get this crucial truth drilled into out hearts is so central . Apart from understanding what Christ accomplished on the cross , we will fail to grasp our own depth of sin and really experience the love that flowed from the cross .


Psalm 22:16
For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet

I'm a Murderer , A Liar , A Thief ......

  "Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.

                                                                                                                                   John Stott

The great theologian Stott nails it on the head with this very simple statement . Until we take a honest look in the mirror to see the sinner , we cannot see the Savior on the cross. Our sin nailed Him on that cursed tree , it was I who drove those nails , it was I denying who He is . I was in the crowd shouting crucify Him. 

Unless convicted and humbled we will not see the cross as the greatest symbol of love ever displayed.  But if you can see yourself like that repented thief , crying out I deserve wrath , for I am a wretch , a worm of a sinner , then hear the Lord of all say , today you will be with me in paradise. May the Holy Spirit convict you of your sin and open your dead eyes to see the Lord of life who died and rose again that we may be reconciled , justified before a holy God this Easter week.

Romans 4:25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

 

Telling it Like It Is

1 Corinthians 15: 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and  you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only,  we are of all people most to be pitied.
 
There are those who cling to a fuzzy , spirituality. They say  believe in a god, hope in life after death and  Jesus as a good teacher , great moral example or use him as an example of love . But they do not hold to the fact he rose from the dead.  They have what I call crisis belief that comforts them when someone dies or bad things happen. Its disjointed and has no depth but their own imaginations.

You also have those who deny God , life after death out right . That this material universe is all that exist. But at the same time they still talk about meaning , hope and purpose. They practice a form of morality , holding  you shouldn't lie,steal,murder etc.. you get the picture. However why should they? From what truth can they hang the hat of the need to be moral at all if we are just a random bunch of cells , evolved by accident and all our love,joy,awe and wonder are nothing more than chemical reactions in our brains making us feel these things that ultimately serve and have no purpose.

I was in both of these camps at one time or another. But God was very gracious to me , a sinner who deserved no mercy , awakened me from my dead walk of sin to repentance and faith.

So I love what Paul says to both of these camps . That as plain as possible , that if Jesus has not been raised from the dead , then there is no resurrection. Without Christ risen , then we are dead , period. No hope , no nothing.  Even if you say you follow Christ , apart from the resurrection , your faith is futile.Its useless and we are to pitied . We would be fools to even follow him or exult him in anyway .

Paul goes even further in verse 32 . "What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” If Jesus just died , his corspe laying , rottening in a grave , who cares what he said , did . It means nothing . If it means nothing then what of life . Should we try and be nice , form a type of morality . Paul says it very clear . Its party time.If I do not have to worry about ultimate judgemnet , what does it matter if I pursue pleasure to satisfy my cravings . Do not talk to me about being concerned for those in Haiti , Africa or wherever , its all about me . Thats there problem . I will eat , drink and be merry for if this is all I got , maybe 70-80 years fill my cup with whatever I can to numb my senses form this meaningless life. Thats the honest reply , you may not like it buts too bad . I don't care what you think.

But , and that's a big word , Christ has been raised .If He is raised, it means He is who he said He was , God the son , the one true Savior who  calls sinners to repentance and faith in Him . It points to the fact one day a judgment will happen , all will stand before a holy God . He is Lord of every life and all authority has been given to Him form the Father to execute judgment . So I will tell you like it is , there is no fence seating . If Jesus Christ is not risen , then why worry , party , drink and live only for you .Indulge your sin , oh wait if there is no "god" , no sin , no morality . But here is the deal , He lives and you are a sinner , a wretch to the core . Christ came to give His life a ransom to satisfy holy justice for our rebellion and in His perfect , sinless life , death and resurrection we can be saved , justified . So repent , believe the gospel or face the wrath to come .

The Only Thing

1 Corinthians 2:2
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified

If the preaching you get on Sunday morning makes barely a mention of the cross of Christ and the resurrection , then your not getting the gospel .

And Now the Early Good News .............

Genesis 3:15
"I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring  and  her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”

Protoevangelium , that is what this portion is called by theologians. It is the very first mention of the gospel , good news to come in Christ when he crushes the serpents  head.  The serpent is Satan and the enimity is the person of Jesus Christ. To think of the mercy of God towards man should humble us. Adam and Eve had rebelled , sinned and deserved more than what they were given . Yes ,they were punished, but God in his mercy and love shows his eternal plan of redemption by giving them good news of the one to come and rescue depraved sinners for from sin,death and the Devil.  Oh what love and grace given .

By His Stripes....

Isaiah 53    

 Verse 5 : But he was wounded for our transgressions;
                he was crushed for our iniquities;
                upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
                and with his stripes we are healed.

The atoning work of Jesus revealed in this prophetic passage . Spend some time in this deeply moving portion of God's word .

To The Point

As Easter comes closer I want to share scripture verses and quotes concerning this pivotal weekend that changed everything . It shook the world then and still does.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

If you want to share a verse that in a brief but powerful way , communicates the gospel ,this is it.  Jesus was made to be sin , so that we who repent and believe on Him are made the righteousness of God. In this verse the doctrines of the atonement and justification are clearly displayed.  What amazing love , what amazing grace.