Saved!

Saved!

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 3:17 KJV

The Context and Charge:

Today's extract follows the popular verse that speaks about the love of God that gives. That love made God give up his best: his Son, so that the world could be saved from the power and destruction of sin. His love wasn't the type that waited for us to deserve it; this love is freely given, so that we come to Him out of a heart that appreciates and embraces what it has been given. There is an end to that love though, and it is that all of us may come to Jesus and accept his gift of salvation. Have you responded? Have I? 

This is such a critical juncture in our human experience. The world didn't deserve redemption, but God gave it anyway. He wasn't looking to condemn the world, but to make the world realise it needed God. Jesus came in the form of the people he was sent to save, but He did not share in the Adamic chain of conception, so He could be free from the power of sin, and so be the perfect sacrifice for sin. The gift has been given; blood shed and life restored. Think about this: would God do all of these things and there will not be both eternal benefits and consequences for whatever response I have to the gift given? 

The Contention and Conclusion:

If God has not condemned me, I must not listen to the devil's alternative messages. He has no idea of the fullness of God's eternal plan, so he will try and deflect, deceive, distract and destroy all that God seeks to do in me. All I need to do is embrace all that I have been given, so that I can lay hold of all that I have been given. The price for rejecting this gift is also eternal; if I turn my back on that which was given to save my soul, who or what else can save me? If Jesus can't, who can? 

The gift is for the whole world; do not let the devil deceive you into thinking you are beyond redemption, or that your past is so filthy that the blood of Jesus can't cleanse you. Remember, the blood was shed long before I sinned, so the blood has gone ahead of my sin before God. There is nothing the blood cannot cleanse, as long as I confess it before God and renounce the old ways. It is a free offer to everyone; no one is excluded. What is my response? What is yours? God's time of favour is here.