Tag Archives: pardon

Three Ps in a Pod. part 3

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Pardon. Have you been enjoying the freedom that comes with being pardoned?

Have you ever felt guilty about something? That feeling of having made a mistake is stuck with you. Maybe after some time the feeling fades. But you still know that the guilt is there.

But God changed all that. Last week, we were able to see how “one died for all.” God gave Jesus as a sacrifice for us. If you ever wonder why Jesus had to die on the cross, read Leviticus. Perhaps the most dull book in the Bible, Levitcus explains and details all of the sacrifices, festivals, and rituals that the Israelites were supposed to follow.sacrifice-priests

 

What a bloody mess! Literally everyday, animals were being cut open; their blood being poured out and sprinkled on the furniture in the tabernacle. Some of the animals were eaten by the priests while others were completely consumed on the Altar of Burnt Offerings. Leviticus 17 mentions “the life of every creature is in the blood.” The blood was important.

priest-covered-in-blood.jpg

The blood of Jesus bought our pardon.

And because we are pardoned, we can have peace.

First the pardon and then the peace. Never the other way around.

Here are verses 17 and 18 from 2 Corinthians 5, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ,”

Verse 17 gives us the Pardon. Verse 18 contains the Peace.

We need to define reconciliation. Reconciliation is the result of Christ precisely exchanging His righteousness (his blood) for our guilt.

If someone is in Christ, that exchange has taken place.

That means that you and I stand before God completely free of guilt because our sins have been covered by the blood!

Can I end with a math equation?

math-beauty-equation

Actually, I was thinking of something considerably more simple.

Being guilt free = peace.

Three Ps in a Pod, part 2

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You are pardoned. You are forgiven. And that is the first P! You already knew that though, if you read last week’s post, Three Ps in a Pod, part 1.

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Even as I type, this biblical truth baffles me. It does not seem like it should be. Why can you or I be pardoned? My feelings tell me that I don’t deserve it. My actions certainly don’t warrant it either. I am not worthy. At all.

But am I going to let my feelings dictate my actions?

Am I going to let my circumstances guide my behavior?

Am I going to let the devil’s lies provoke me?

In short, am I giving permission to believe anything other than God’s holy, unwavering, encouraging, inspired, and truthful Word?

If we go back to 2 Corinthians 5, specifically verse 14, we can see why we can answer “No” to the previous question.

Here is the second part of verse 14, “…because we are convinced that one died for all,” 

Convinced…are you convinced? Or do you just have an opinion? Is what you believe just that or is it a deep conviction that motivates you to act accordingly? More on this later…

The first P in the Pod is Pardon. You and I can have a full pardon from sin. WHY?

Because ‘one died for all’.

Listen, this is the bottom line. You want the meaning of life? Jesus died for you. Why are we put on this earth? Jesus died so we can live.

There are so many scriptures that point us to the cross on which Jesus died. The Easter season is coming up soon. People will go to church for the first and perhaps, the only time this year. The point is that life (and everything else we seek answers for) is found in the cross.

I don’t fully understand how God loved me enough to let His son die for me. But I will accept the pardon. Anyone can.

I was originally planning on explaining some of the Old Testament sacrifices that God required. All the blood! Then, in Hebrews, Jesus is described as better than those sacrifices. He used His own blood! Maybe a series on the Blood?

Know that His death and shed blood obliterated sin. The penalty of sin is gone. Remember two posts back? A new creation? Yes, that is you and I. We have been forgiven.

Pardon (noun)-that action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offense.

Our sin was an offense to God. We were cut off from Him. He wanted to love us and wrap His arms as a father hugs his child. But the bars of sin prevented such expression.

prison-bars

 

Hey, no problem. Here is the key to open those bars:

God’s son will be born as a baby.

Jesus will live as a human.

He will be sentenced, beaten, broken, and finally crucified.

He will die on that cross.

They will bury his body in a borrowed tomb.

But then he will rise. He will ascend to heaven.

And then he will sit down because his work of salvation is complete.

Now we are free to be hugged by God because the bars of sin are no longer between us.

We have been pardoned.

Let God hug you right now. He is waiting.

 

Three Ps in a Pod. part 1

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2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here!” NIV

Doesn’t that just sound great reading that verse? I am filled with hope just knowing that I am a new creation! But there is still more so for the next two minutes, let’s see what we can discover!

Therefore…how many times do we see that word in Scripture? In 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, the NIV has it listed 3 times. So what is it there for?

Our verse, verse 17, starts with “Therefore…”. So we need to ask the question,
What is it there for?

 

Paul is writing to a church that is having some issues. Many of these issues are similar to ours today. I think that the Corinthians were having an identity issue. Christ had done a redeeming work but the people were not translating that to their daily lives very well.

Chapter 5 starts with Paul describing how our bodies are temporary. We will be clothed with glory when we die. Verse 10 talks of the judgement seat of Christ. All will stand before Christ someday. This should galvanize us to live all the more for Christ!

There is a transition, then, into verse 11. The author is trying to explain why he preaches and lives the way he does. Jumping to verse 14, it reads, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all,…”

I love the strong language…compels. Who is compelled these days? Wow!

And more strong words…

“one died for all…”

Because my two minutes is almost up, I will get right to it.

You have been pardoned for your sin. I have also been pardoned.

The sin is gone.

I will jump into this blissful pool of sin-eradication next week.

Until then, enjoy your Pardon. =-)