Cross

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17, NIV).

It’s quite interesting to hear marginal Christians, the secular media, politicians, and liberal theologians describe Jesus’ essential message as one of tolerance without any expectation of change or conformance to his Father’s moral code and standards. In fact, the primary, essential, and original message of Jesus has almost been drowned out completely and hijacked (to divert from the original message, destination, or purpose) by a chorus of voices demanding that the Church of Jesus Christ cease its stand for righteousness. Jesus certainly came to this earth to die for the sins of mankind because of love, but Jesus’ first message was not tolerance or love. His first message to the world was, “repent” which means to change your mind with a corresponding change of behavior. People today want the love and favor of God but they do not want the message and mandate of repentance that goes with the broader message of the gospel. Jesus has been hijacked so that people can live how they want to live, justify that lifestyle, and decry any divine accountability for living that way.

Take, for example, the woman caught in adultery (John 8). Jesus knew this woman was being used to try to trap him into saying or doing something that the Pharisees could use as a basis to accuse him. Jesus’ response is amazing but it also reveals the connection between his love, compassion, and the need to embrace his requirement of repentance. He challenged her accusers to go ahead and throw the stones and let the one without sin begin the execution. Of course, one by one they withdrew starting with the oldest among them. Jesus then issued the powerful statement together with a caveat: “Then neither do I condemn you…Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:31). Notice he did not say, “I don’t condemn you and feel free to sin even more.” This is the missing element. Yes, there is grace, love, and mercy for the sinner – for all of us, but there is also the command to “sin no more” not to sin all the more. In one powerful moment Jesus gave this woman God’s compassion, God’s correction, and God’s power to make the necessary changes, for the Lord never gives us a command without giving us the power to keep that command.

In this current environment where what is wrong is called right and what is right is called wrong (Isaiah 5:20 – “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil”), the Church needs to stand up boldly and declare that we do preach the love and mercy of God but we must also follow Jesus’ example and preach repentance as well, which means to stop the offending behavior (stop the behavior that is offending God’s heart and His Word). To preach mercy and love without repentance is to hijack both the message and mission of Jesus Christ and to totally misrepresent the truth (the misrepresentation of the truth is also known as a lie). In the end it is not loving or compassionate to let people believe a lie to their own destruction. The handwriting is on the wall and the moral trajectory has become clear – our society more and more is rejecting the clear teachings of Scripture and choosing a philosophy where everyone does “what is right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Yes, it would be less controversial and we could save ourselves from further name calling and vilification if we just say the “ship has sailed” on opposing the moral slide of this nation, but the consequences of this would be to hijack Jesus ourselves, dishonor His sacrifice, and then render ourselves completely irrelevant in the process.

“God blessed them and said to them. ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground’ ” (Genesis 1:28, NIV). “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3, NIV).

From the beginning in Genesis it has always been God’s desire to bless his people profusely. In fact, the very first words the newly created man ever heard were the blessing (Genesis 1:26-28). The Lord could have said anything at this point to get across his will for man, but he plainly desired that his people would be blessed – that is they would be empowered to succeed, to excel, to increase, to be very fruitful, to have longevity, and walk in dominion on his behalf in the earth. If it was ever God’s will to bless his people, it’s God’s will today because he does not change. The implication is that this blessing would be used to spread the garden of Eden throughout the earth. But because of sin, the curse, not the blessing, would fill the earth prompting the Lord (Genesis 3:15) to unleash his prophetic word about the plan to restore the blessing that was compromised by sin and disobedience. Without the coming covenant with Abraham and the eventual disclosure of Jesus, his descendent who would go to the cross for our sin and bring back what sin had taken from us, we would be totally lost and without hope for all eternity.

We often think of the benefits of the cross to human beings like the fact that God’s justice was fulfilled by what Jesus did, or the reality that we are now forgiven of our sins and have access to the Father and to heaven. But the Scripture itself points to the foundational reason Jesus went to the cross: “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:14). Justice has been served and we have been forgiven but the cross points to the reality that because sin (that which compromised the blessing – sin is anything that blocks, hinders, or stops the blessing) has been obliterated for those that repent and express faith in Jesus, the curse (the empowerment to fail) has been removed and the blessing has been restored.

It’s time for the born again believers to say “goodbye” to the curse and embrace once again God’s original desire for us – the blessing. Let us be quick to resist any remnant of that curse that is trying to linger in our lives and press in by faith to see the fullness of the blessing manifest in every area of our lives. That empowerment is standard equipment for us to get the job done in these last days. This is why we can say with great confidence and boldness, “if God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). As we pause to reflect on the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, let’s remember that the far-reaching and destructive power of sin has been neutralized and celebrate that the eternity shaking power and influence of the blessing has been restored. Develop a new habit in your life – declaring the blessing: “I’m blessed, I can’t be cursed. I’ve been redeemed from the curse.”

FOR FURTHER STUDY ON “THE BLESSING” GO TO THE STUDY CENTER.