Approaching the Cross - The Payment

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STORY:

We need the old testament to really grasp God’s plan

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Jesus came not to condemn, but to rescue

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Jesus came to make a home in us and with us

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But see,

there’s still this thing called sin

And let me describe sin in a nutshell. You may have already heard this a hundred times, but just in case. It’s important.

Everybody disobeys God

Everyone. It doesn’t matter how good, or how terrible a person may be - we’ve all done it.

And the problem with sin is that it’s absolutely fatal. Because it disconnects us from God - and therefor eternal life - but it also pollutes us - and makes it so we can’t reconnect, because God is so unbelievably holy and pure.

We disobey - but straying from God means death, because

Only God brings life

There’s a bunch of things you can do without and still live. There’s some things you can’t.

A while ago, when caleb was little, he asked me a question. He said, ‘why do we die?’ WENT THROUGH A FEW REASONS. Caleb’s conclusion? I think we die because we don’t eat enough bacon.

But the things is - all of these things, they only prolong death.

God is the one and only thing in the universe that can actually give life, fully and completely, without limit

And here’s the last, big problem with sin:

We can’t fix it by ourselves

And this is the kicker. It’s way beyond our power to be able to fix by ourselves.

STORY - I can be FAIRLY handy. I had a horn die on a car once.

It’s not something that can be educated out, or removed with enough good deeds or practice or repeated rituals.

And this is the scenario that Jesus stepped into. That we all faced death - and it was a death we created, it was a death we earned, and it was a death we couldn’t escape. We had a debt to pay, that we couldn’t possibly ever satisfy.

But here’s where the really good news comes in.

Jesus paid everything we owe through the cross

and we’re going to go into a lot more detail about that on Good Friday and Easter sunday, so come back for those. But for right now, that statement will summarize it well - the debt we earned, the price we were supposed to pay - Jesus came, and he was executed, he was crucified - to pay that debt. He had no sin, he had no disobedience in him. He was the perfect ‘sacrificial lamb’

My message today is about one last point I think we need to understand before we can really and truly approach the cross.

Romans 6:23 NIV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus came to offer us a gift - eternal life with God

And this isn’t technically anything new. This was the plan from the very beginning - that we would live forever with God. But we messed it up.

This is what God told the snake about in the garden. This is what the suffering servant came to pave the way towards.

This gift, this offering from Jesus, this is the culmination of everything through history that God had been working towards.

And paul has a bit of a word play here. Because, notice what he says.

First,

Death is what we have earned

the WAGES of sin are death. AKA, you work for sin - death is your payment.

Eternal life is a gift from God

STORY -

This is opposite from wages.

It’s not earned - so we don’t have any right to demand it or expect it.

but also, it’s freely given. It’s not something we HAVE to earn, or deserve.

and if you’re new here, if this is new info to you, the response is simple.

Pray with me

This is what I want you to do. I’m gonna pray at the end of the service. A simple prayer. And I’d like you to just pray with me - just close your eyes, listen to what i’m saying, and repeat the words - in your heart, out loud, whatever. And then I want you to tell someone about it. Leave a comment on the video. Send me an email - [e-mail]. Find me on facebook messenger. or call the church at 807-229-0530

Do something about it

If you already have a relationship with God, here’s something I want you to do. Do something with the gift you’ve been given. Find a practical way to share it, or expand it. Maybe you’ve been feeling like calling and praying with someone else who has been on your mind - do that. Or you have been interested in getting together with some other people to start reading through the bible together. Or you wanted to start setting aside a time every week to pray more. Or you wanted to start volunteering at the church in some fashion.

But find something you can do with this gift, something new, something stretching. and do it.

Prayer

This coming Friday, we have our Good Friday and Easter Sunay services. Both are at 11am.

We would love to have you join us online for each of these services.

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The grave may seem very, very deep sometimes. But we can’t EVER forget that It’s also empty.