Scripture: Romans 5:10-25, 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13
Next Sunday is the beginning of Advent, a time of expectant
waiting. And what are we waiting for? First, to celebrate the first coming of Jesus
Christ at Christmas. This day is
symbolized by a manger, and initially by the lack of room in our hearts for
this Child of God. But the second
coming, which is seldom proclaimed at Advent, may be just as important for
Christians as the first coming is.
And what are these “comings” all about? They proclaim God’s great plan to overcome
the condemnation that our sinful lives have created within us. When Jesus first came into our world, He
taught us the truths of the Father, which, even though scripture had already
revealed the deadly truth of our sin, as well as the consequences of faithless
living. But the ultimate gift in that
first coming, was the Lord’s destruction of the hold that sin had on our lives,
and the eternal life that His sacrifice created for all who would simply
believe that He is God!
That which we could never accomplish has been
completed by our Savior Jesus Christ.
Almighty God, in His infinite wisdom, has paid the penalty for the sin
that we have chosen to allow into our heart.
But how about that second coming that has also been
promised. If Jesus has already destroyed
the power of sin, what is left for Him to do?
There is still one more task, also one that we could never do on our own,
and that is the destruction of every sin that will still exist throughout the
entire world! And there are still a lot of people who will suffer in sin, and
if they continue to trust in their own capacity to know the difference between
the righteous life and the errant life of sin, there will be a day when they
will discover the difference, but it will be too late for them to make any
changes in their own life. And at that
point, they will never be able to understand the eternity that a life in Jesus
will offer, for that door is going to remain closed for them.
Read Romans 5:10-11
The Father, through His Son Jesus, has completed the
most difficult part of our reconciliation with God. By Jesus’ sacrificial act at Calvary, the
righteous life has been won for all who will put their trust in Him! The death that our Christ accepted was the
death toll for the sinful life, and without faith in Jesus, no one will be able
to endure the judgment that their life will be subjected to!
Without the Son of God in our heart, we will remain
the Lord’s “enemy”, and God’s enemy will never know the life that He offers. But by being one with His Son we also become
the children of God. And the effect of
kinship means that not only do we know God, but God knows us! This is the hope that Jesus was revealing in His
parable of the 10 Virgins. The ten were
waiting to honor the arrival of a bridegroom.
5 were alert and ready, while the other 5 were foolish and failed to be
prepared to welcome the groom. They had
to leave the banquet to obtain oil for their lamps, but while they were gone,
the bridegroom arrived. He and the 5 who
were ready to honor him entered the hall, and the door was closed.
When the other 5 finally arrived and tried to enter,
the master told them “I say to you, I do not know you.” (Matthew 25:1-13) This will be the fate for those who have
never prepared their lives for the return of the Lord Jesus. Anyone who is not prepared to welcome Jesus
upon His return, will be unable to enter God’s Kingdom, because the Lord won’t
even know them! God will only know those
who have prepared for that time by committing their lives to Jesus.
Read Romans 5:12-14
You may have heard Jesus referred to as ‘the second
Adam”. The human forms of each came to
be through the grace of God. But they
differed in the way they responded to this blessing – Adam, by turning against the
way that the Lord instructed him, and Jesus, by obeying every single thought
that the Father placed in His heart.
Adam’s sin of disobedience (Genesis 2:15-17; Genesis3:1-7) has carried through to all of humanity that came
after him. Jesus’ righteousness has been
made available to all who come to Him by faith.
And even though sin has been prevalent since the time of
the first Adam, consequences for sin was held back until the Law was given to Moses
– in other words – other than the Lord’s command to Adam and Eve, humanity
didn’t know the difference between what was righteous and what was sinful. God gave Moses 10 commands that were to be
respected and obeyed, as a sign of what was to be expected from the lives of
Israel, as well as from all of humanity throughout the earth.
God has blessed us all with the beauty of His
creation, but when we begin to celebrate and desire the beauty that
surrounds us instead of the Creator who brought all beauty into our life, it is
then that we have broken from the relationship that the Lord has always desired
for us. And you may be wondering
why the world doesn’t know this! It may
very well be that they have never heard!
The problem is that the church has been much too quiet outside of our walls,
and others are going to suffer for our silence.
Read Romans 5:15-21
Paul now makes another comparison and distinction
between the two Adams. He claims that
through each, the life that we live has spread from each of their lives. Through the first Adam, we strive to be God-personally,
instead of God-obedient. Through Jesus,
we strive to live Godly lives instead of becoming God-deniers. And both sin and obedience flow from each of
these two Adams.
In comparison, Paul tells us that with sin through
Adam, we inherit death, while, by faith in Jesus, we gain forgiveness for our
sin, and inherit righteousness! Paul
never suggests that the choice that we have to make is between two balanced
opportunities. As a matter of fact, they
are as different as the distinction between night and day, and yet, they are
still our only options. And what has the
church done to help the masses understand that the differences are so vastly
important?
And for those who believe that their personal ways
are just as valid as God’s are, Isaiah 55:8-9
would have us understand that the two ways – ours versus the Lord’s – are truly
and uniquely different, just as the
results of each will be. And the outcome
all hinges upon the way that we choose – will we copy the way of disobedience
through Adam, or will we look to Jesus for restoration, healing, forgiveness,
and redemption?
So what will it be?
Sin or righteousness? Death or
eternal life? And what will we do about
our decision?
Read 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13
Paul offers a thanksgiving to God for the faithful
witness that goes out from the church in Thessalonica. And, depending on the scriptural translation,
we might read that Paul is elated that the Lord has increased their love beyond
all understanding, so that it might overflow from their hearts to rest upon
everyone whom it touches.
In Romans 5, Paul wrote about the choice that we
have to make, regarding the way that we will follow. Either way will be observed by the people of
this world, and yet, he now calls us to understand what choosing Jesus will do
for both us as well as for those who receive the blessing of love that
overflows from our lives. And as love
abounds within all who are blessed through the love that comes from faith in
Jesus Christ, so will the message of eternal hope that it carries!
This, too, is a choice that we have to make – to
share the love of God with others, or to keep it all safely hidden away within
our heart! And when we deny others the
love of God, it will gain us nothing.
For when we spread the love that we have received from the Lord, we also
can’t help but share the message of eternal life that comes by faith in Jesus
Christ – and it will overflow throughout the world!
No longer silent, no longer condemned, no longer
under judgment, no more submission to the darkness of earth. Isn’t this the better way? Break the silence and let the Lord's way flow throughout
the earth.
