Getting to the Heart of It —
Redemption and Release
When people hear the word “Christianity” today, most imagine scenes of Gothic stone, or white clapboard churches, well-dressed parishioners, one-hour services, twenty-minute sermons…. Unfortunately, these notions effectively obscure what real, living Christianity is all about. They substitute ritual for an intimate, personal and living faith in God and in Jesus Christ His Son.
The Christian life is a life of freedom in which daily events take on new meaning. It is a life centered on Jesus Christ, full of the love of God.
Getting to the Heart of It — Redemption and Release
When people hear the word “Christianity” today, most imagine scenes of Gothic stone, or white clapboard churches, scores of well-dressed parishioners, one-hour services, twenty-minute sermons, the weekly offering, and shaking the minister’s hand upon leaving to face another week.
To many, a “Christian” is simply a gentile who is a member of a Protestant or Catholic church.
Unfortunately, these notions effectively obscure what real, living Christianity is all about. They substitute ritual for an intimate, personal and living faith in God and in Jesus Christ His Son; they fail to take into account that the founding fathers of this faith were all Jews, and they place a label of “only on Sundays” on an experience that is to be enjoyed every day of a person’s life.
The Christian life is a life of freedom in which daily events take on new meaning. It is a life centered on Jesus Christ, full of the love of God.
Jesus’ ultimate goal was not to show the world the right way to treat others, to set a good example for others to follow, to be a famous teacher, or to heal the sick. He certainly did all of these, but His supreme work was that He gave Himself to be crucified as the sacrifice for sin. “For God hath made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that there are things in our lives that we cannot make right or change by our own will power: wrong emotions, attitudes, actions, which have a power of their own. This is sin working in our lives, and everyone experiences it.
People have tried to get help from counselors from A to Z for solutions to their problems, but they really cannot deal effectively with the root causes. One might be taught to suppress the jealousies or resentments, or to live with them, but that does not make them go away.
However, when we come to the conclusion that we need help from God, that is when we first begin to discover true answers. Why? Because only God, on the basis of Jesus’ death, can solve the problem of sin by forgiving us.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Thousands of years ago, after Moses had received the Law from God on Mount Sinai, no person who broke the Law could be forgiven unless a blood sacrifice was offered by a Levitical priest on behalf of the person. These sacrifices had to be repeated every time a man or woman transgressed the Law.
God’s final answer to sin, however, was to send His own sacrifice, which would be perfect; and that sacrifice was to be first for the Jews, but also for all the gentiles.
God’s final answer to sin, however, was to send His own sacrifice, which would be perfect; and that sacrifice was to be first for the Jews, but also for all the gentiles.
“And now the Lord has spoken: It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I will make you the light of the gentiles so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) Therefore, the fact that the gentiles shall receive the Jewish Messiah is recorded and promised in the Old Testament.
God’s perfect sacrifice was to be for all man’s sin, one that would never need to be repeated. That is why God sent His one Son, Jesus, as a man to experience all the temptations a man goes through, yet without sinning.
We come to Jesus because we know we need help. The world and society today are full of pressures that few can withstand. The pressure to conform drives people to extremes of action and thought, the pressure to forsake the right ways because they are supposedly obsolete is not easily resisted. But God will give you strength by His Son if you want to life a righteous life and the beginning of a righteous life is accepting Jesus as your Saviour. There’s no need for a middleman. All of us can go directly to Jesus and in simple trusting faith invite Him to be our Lord and Saviour and ask Him to cleanse us from all sin.
If you seek the Lord with your heart you will get a response, not with flashing lights or crashes or thunder and lightning, but the deep inner realization that you are forgiven.
When you receive salvation, you experience definite changes in your life. Things that meant much before lose their importance. Old prejudices, lusts and strivings lose their power to persist. St. Paul wrote: “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
God is practical in His dealings with us, and realizes that all sin has to be gotten out of our lives, because sin acts like cancer. Unless the cancerous material is removed by the surgeon the danger of death still remains. A doctor’s one goal is to remove it all. Likewise, when we ask forgiveness and cleansing by the blood of Jesus we are entirely forgiven for all we have done. God gives us a new heart and a new start.
You may have thought about taking this step many times and yet haven’t; you may never have heard about it. In any case, the opportunities God provides a person are precious. Do not lose them. Many let them slip through their fingers like grains of sand, but only to their own harm and loss.
God’s call to man is a challenge: Will we believe His Word and trust Him? He wants you to give Him the opportunity to put new meaning and joy into your life. The Psalmist wrote: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusteth in Him” (Psalm 34:8)
God’s call to man is a challenge: Will we believe His Word and trust Him? He wants you to give Him the opportunity to put new meaning and joy into your life.
In Jesus Christ you will experience power to live day by day with a joy and peace of mind and soul that most people know nothing about, because it is given by God. He will also use you throughout your life for the blessing and benefit of other men.
If you know you need a new deal, and a different route than you’ve been taking, Christ is the answer. No matter how many hang-ups you may have, or how messed up your life might be, if you invite Jesus to be your Saviour, He will begin to straighten out your life.
