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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.
Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it!
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 (The Message)
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
We are so blessed to have the very word of God accessible through the Bible, scriptures that have spanned the ages for well more than 2,000 years now. Over that time, we have seen the emergence of many different translations of God’s word and in my view, they all hold value. Yes, we all have our go-to Bible translations, the one we prefer most (mine is the NIV if you’re wondering) but in my nearly 30 years of Bible teaching, I have come to learn that all translations can have value and we shouldn’t ever rule out reading them. So often, they give us a better understanding of what a passage means.
Today’s scripture verses fall into this category as we look at very important words from the Apostle Paul regarding the transformation that happens within anyone who chooses to accept Jesus as Savior. I love the way The Message translation presents these verses as they come alive for us. Look again at them here:
Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.
Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! vv. 14-17
Before God’s offer of salvation could be extended, the problem of sin had to be addressed. There wasn’t a single person on earth who was innocent. All had transgressed and therefore fell short of God’s glory. Short of some incredible divine intervention, they were going to face God’s wrath and judgment which would mean a ticket to Hell.
But God didn’t wish for any of His people to perish. He so loved the world that He came up with a way for atonement to happen, a way that had His only Son Jesus at the center. This is the focused center Paul is talking about in our passage today. One man, Jesus, “died for everyone”, one final atoning sacrifice of epic proportion orchestrated by a God of epic mercy, grace, and power.
Why did Jesus die for all people?
Because God wanted every person to have the opportunity to “be included” in His Son’s life, a life that was no ordinary one but a “resurrection life” far better than anyone could achieve “on their own”.
This salvation opportunity comes to a person by grace and faith alone not works. It’s a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), a Holy Spirit centered blessing. Someone’s value isn’t found in what they have or their external appearance. Rather, it’s about the condition of a person on the inside. If they are in Christ, having accepted Him as Savior, then they are like new, justified from their old sinful past life and pointed toward an eternal future, one that death can’t take away.
Are you new today, assured that death will not be the end for you but rather the start of an everlasting existence free from any and all afflictions of this life?
If not, come to Jesus now and don’t delay. He will transform you forever in the best way possible and ensure the final chapter of your life will have the best ending ever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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