Jesus is not done with us. While He ascended to heaven and is reigning and ruling, He has been preparing a place for us, and that place is a city that is so large that it defies physics. It is described as a cube of 1500 miles in each direction, including vertical. Due to the curvature of the Earth, this is an impossibility on Earth. So clearly, the new earth is going to be operating under a different set of physics, or at least a very different type of planet. But not all are going to be there.
Every person is going to face God on Judgment Day. I recently wrote about the resurrection and how everyone is going to have resurrected bodies that will not perish. But there, everyone will give an account for their lives. Every one of us is going to give an account for our time, our choices, our actions, etc. Jesus is going to step up and proclaim to the Father who are His and who He died for. Those whom Jesus defends will be saved from the judgment, and those whom He does not will be cast into Hell.
We have a severe problem in our day and time because we think Jesus is going to cover for everything. The issue of “free grace” and that it doesn’t matter what we do, Jesus died for it all, is not exactly true. It is true, but it’s not the whole picture. Jesus’ death covered our sins; however, Jesus did not die for us to live our own lives. And many people will call upon the name of Jesus, and Jesus is going to say, “I don’t know them.” I am disturbed by the many I hear speak about their salvation with such great confidence, and yet what I hear come out of their mouths is so antithetical to Christian thinking that I really do have to wonder if they have ever heard the Gospel. I am not talking about perfection here; I am talking about direction. I do not believe you are saved if you consistently and regularly put Scripture into question and promote the academics of the world, who are in opposition to God instead. Jesus is not just going to cover for people just because they proclaimed faith in Him. We need to get that through our heads.
Jesus is going to defend those who have His “seed” in them. The Bible speaks of marriage, the most intimate relationship between two people, as our relationship to Christ. Jesus is going to turn away those whom He did not “know.” To “know” is the euphemism of sexual intimacy. I have been trying to figure out a way to describe this discretely, but those who are saved are those in whom Jesus’ “seed” has been planted and which bears fruit. Read all of Jesus’ warnings and parables. If we are the Bride of Christ, we have the “womb” to bear the Seed of Christ, which is supposed to nurture and bear fruit and life. But the problem we have due to modern evangelical methods is that we think we can do the salvation thing without that intimacy, because we are just playing intellectual games, and our religion is just what we intellectually choose to believe. But where is Christ in it?
Do not hear what I am not saying. I am not saying we have to have all our ducks in a row doctrinally, though we cannot ignore them. I am also saying we can’t just claim the name of Jesus and do our own thing. Read Isaiah 4. I heard about it from David Wilkerson, who pointed out that of seven virgins taking hold of one man to have his name to take away their reproach, but he has no obligation to take care of them, and they’ll do their own thing. That is what is happening today. Many are taking the name of Jesus so they can deal with their sin, but it is all on their own terms and doing their own thing. That is not Christianity.
Jesus is not just going to save people because we say His name, do good deeds, or proclaim great doctrine. Jesus is going to save people with whom He has had an intimate relationship AND seed that bears fruit. That’s the other half of it. Having the seed of Christ is not enough; it has to grow and bear fruit. The Parable of the Sower shows that only good soil is going to bear fruit. And pay attention: of the four soils, only one of them was worked and prepared by the farmer for good fruit. The rocky soil and weedy soil were left unattended. And in John 15, Jesus speaks about branches that don’t bear fruit to be cut off and burned. Now, many people will argue back and forth about free will vs predestination, and I’m like, “I see both doctrines running side by side here.” We need to understand that the vine that bears fruit is the one that Jesus works on, prunes, trims, and waters. And if we are a branch that is going to be a hindrance, we will be cut off. Now, Jesus still works despite our flaws and with our flaws already in mind, but we need to take this seriously.
Is Jesus working in your life? Are you being made closer to Him? How do you know? Here are some clues. Are you longing more and more to be like Christ? Are you desiring the world’s pleasure less and less? Are you seeking to be right with God more than you are seeking to be in alignment with the world? What direction are you heading? Do you believe what you profess to believe, or is it actually someone else’s beliefs you are riding? Jesus is going to save those whom He knows and who do His will. And those are the ones in whom we will see the work of Christ being made manifest. But not everyone is going to show this. There are unsaved people in every congregation, just according to statistics, and some of them are the most dedicated, most doctrinally sound, and moral people you know. But are they actually saved? Are you saved? Am I saved? Just before I came to write for Worldview Warriors in 2014, I went through a thorough self-examination, and I had to truly evaluate if I was saved or not, and I praise God that He confirmed I was. Because before them, I honestly don’t know if I could say if I was saved or not, even though I made my first profession of faith when I was seven. For 23 years, I lived riding someone else’s faith. It really did not become mine until I was about 30. I cannot say that I was truly saved prior to this. I may have been, but I don’t know. And I thank God that He did not let me continue that way. It is one thing to say you know Jesus. The real question is: Does Jesus know you?
This concludes my series on Snapshots of Jesus. For December, I have a very different message and direction God is leading me towards, and I’ll share about that then.
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The cross is the singular most discussed topic of all of history. There is literally no other event in all of world history that remotely compares to the crucifixion of Jesus. It truly is the singular most important world-changing event. It is because of the cross that we have BC and AD for our calendar. If we did not have the cross, we would be either still counting years by ruler or like the Jews, who started from creation and counted forward. We count from the birth of Christ forward. But the reason we start with Christ’s birth is that that is when the most important person in history was born. But without the cross, Jesus’ birth doesn’t have the same weight. The cross is why Jesus came to us to begin with. All Jesus did and experienced was for this one moment of history that literally changed how everything operates.
The physical torture Jesus endured is beyond harrowing. At the time, it was the most severe form of torture known to man. The whipping was just the opening. Roman soldiers, taking their cat o’ nine tails, edged with glass, rocks, bones, or whatever would rip into flesh easily. And they made a sport out of it – who could make the most devastating blow. Scripture describes Jesus being unrecognizable, just a standing hunk of meat. Some would not survive such a beating due to the loss of blood, let alone any infection that would finish the job. The crown of thorns, the mocking, and the mob assault added to the mix. The crown of thorns not only drew blood but would cause serious head pain that would make anyone lose concentration easily. Getting beaten up and having your beard ripped out in chunks doesn’t help either. And that’s all before being driven down the streets of Jerusalem outside the city, being forced to carry the very cross that would be used to execute Him. Jesus was so weak from all this that He could not physically carry it anymore, and so they had to pull a man from the streets to finish the job. Then, finally, He was nailed to the cross and hung naked, having to rely on His very weak body to get a breath. The very setting of the cross into the hole would make most joints get dislocated.
Often, it could take 2-3 days for someone to finally die on a cross. Jesus didn’t make it for at most six hours, to include the events we know and the three hours of darkness. Jesus died of a burst heart, indicated by the water and blood flowing out of the chest wound from a soldier’s spear, meaning it was already settling out from each other. Then the earthquake happened, and even the centurion on site acknowledged that Jesus was the Son of God.
Jesus’ death on the cross was unlike any other death or self-sacrifice. While it has been echoed in Narina and Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter, Jesus was the root of it. The notion of a sacrifice preceded Jesus, going all the way back to Genesis. What is unique in the Bible and in Jesus is the key component that the sacrifice must be pure and innocent, and a substitute for others. Absolutely perfect. While other myths would have the concept of a pure maiden giving her life, none of them have a sacrificial element. Only Aslan in Narnia, who is hard to deny was meant to BE Jesus, gets close. But these are all snapshots, pictures, and shadows of the one reality that Jesus did.
Jesus did not die merely sacrificially; He died as a substitute. We had sinned, and we deserved the full wrath of Almighty God. Throughout history, man has sought to downplay the severity of our crime against deity or to increase the value of humanity. We love trying to make our own sins not very significant, and we also love making ourselves victims deserving of being rescued. So we’ll call our sins “mistakes” or “imperfections,” but we’ll say that we are so valuable in God’s eyes that He couldn’t live without us. That’s heresy. Jesus didn’t die to show us how valuable we are to Him. He died because of how heinous our sin is. And we need to remind ourselves every day of the severity of our sin, developing a hatred for it so that we would put it to death. It is such a slap in the face of Jesus to proclaim His death and resurrection and our salvation just to live however we want.
The thing about the cross that we have missed is that we, too, must die. Jesus didn’t merely die as our substitute, representing us. We have to be “in Christ,” which means we must die, too. We won’t face the wrath of God as Jesus did, but our old sinful selves must be put to death so that we may be raised in new life. We love citing John 3:16, but we recoil at Luke 9:23. If we are in Christ, we have a new master, and it’s not sin and it’s not self.
Jesus didn’t die to free us from the hands of the devil; Jesus died to free us from ourselves. Satan is just a deceiver, but he would be completely powerless if we simply didn’t listen to him. All he can actually do is just dangle carrots in front of us, and because we are our own problem, we lunge at those carrots and get ourselves in trouble. And if Satan didn’t do that, we’d still find our own trouble. That’s why Satan simply leaves most people alone because they are so good at their own sin. Jesus died to save us from that. He died to save us from ourselves, so we need to put self on that cross daily so that we live not the very lives that cost Jesus His life to begin with, but that we might live a resurrected life in Christ, which we will cover next week.
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Special Note from our president, Jason DeZurik: In April 2025, my earthly father went to be with His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Though it has been incredibly hard losing him physically here on earth, I am so honored to share with you writings of his from over many, many years of journaling from his personal devotion time while here on the earth. Admittedly, I considered just keeping these for our family to enjoy, but I know my father would want these to be shared with the world. If these writings will help to bring only one person into God’s Kingdom, that is enough for my wonderful earthly father, Frank DeZurik. I believe he has not only given to me and our family a great gift but also a gift for all of us to meditate on and enjoy as well. The following is just the first of many installments to our blog from my father posthumously.
1 Peter 1:3-9
Even when Christ died on the cross, there were many who taunted and jeered and looked upon Jesus’ crucifixion as just the death of another criminal. They knew His death was very different from those they observed in the past, and even with all the happenings were blinded because of the choices man made. Yes, God could have stopped it, BUT God’s plan for His son was drawing to a close.
All through Scripture, we’ve read how the blood was an atonement for sins, and it needed to be one spotless and pure. From the Old Testament to the cross, we read and come to our understanding of the purity, the cleansing power, and its atoning power, the last sacrifice necessary to cleanse us and usher us into God’s throne room of grace.
Today, those so inclined go to, of all things, a blood bank. Of course, the importance here is to give life to someone whose own supply is dangerously low because of some injury, whether an accident or because of bad choices made by others.
Now, not all who donate or want to donate can because of something they’ve contracted through tainted food, or because of some bad choice made, and someone has HIV-AIDS. Now, I know accidentally you can contract AIDS. The thing is, we should not even be dealing with this disease if, through the course of time, man had chosen to follow God’s law and teaching rather than his own selfish, lustful desires, but this is a whole other matter.
Let’s see Christ’s death, a perfect sacrifice, His blood shed for the atonement of the world, when He took His last breath, and the heavy curtain that separated man from God was torn in two, meaning we can all now have direct access to God. BUT each of us, like in the Old Testament, needs to bring before God a perfect sacrifice for our sin. That is our personal relationship of knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. NOTHING else will do, nothing else in and from this world can take the place of the cross, not even our own self-believed perfections.
Yes, we can donate blood, give blood to help save someone to live for another day, BUT how about offering them the blood of life to save them to live for all eternity?
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He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
- Titus 3:5b-7
This passage builds on Paul’s thoughts to Titus from the previous few verses, beautifully conveying the true heart of the gospel message of salvation. These verses remind us of the Spirit’s transforming work, the generosity of God’s grace, and the eternal hope we share as heirs of His kingdom. We were once foolish and enslaved by passions, but now we are saved, not because of anything we have done, but because of God’s mercy.
The second half of verse 5 picks up the thought and expands it, showing how salvation works and what it means. Paul begins with an image of cleansing: “the washing of rebirth.” The word rebirth refers to being “born again,” a complete new beginning. It echoes Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus in John 3:3 that “no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” The idea of washing suggests not just forgiveness of sins but also purification and transformation. It is more than a surface cleansing; it is a new life created by God’s Spirit.
Many people today search for a “fresh start,” whether through self-help books, therapy, or “reinventing themselves.” But the gospel offers something far deeper: an entirely new nature. For the church, this means we must continually proclaim that Christianity is not about self-improvement, but about God’s power to make people new.
Paul then speaks of “renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Rebirth marks the beginning, but renewal is ongoing. The Spirit doesn’t just save us and leave us; He continues to shape, sanctify, and empower us daily. Renewal implies growth, change, and transformation into Christ’s likeness. Paul reminds us that genuine Christian life is impossible apart from the Spirit’s continual renewing work. Our preaching, worship, and community life must be Spirit-dependent, not merely human-driven.
Then in verse 6, Paul describes the Spirit as one “whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” God is not stingy with His Spirit. The phrase “poured out” suggests abundance, not scarcity. Salvation is not a minimal transaction but a lavish gift. This echoes Acts 2, where the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, empowering the church for mission. Many Christians live as if God’s resources are limited, as though He gives just enough grace to get by. But Paul insists that God’s Spirit is poured out abundantly! This truth should fill us with confidence and hope. Churches should cultivate a culture of expectancy, believing that God will supply everything needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
In verse 7, Paul shares that we have “been justified by his grace.” Justification is a legal term, meaning to be declared righteous before God. It’s not about earning righteousness but receiving it as a gift through Christ’s sacrifice. In our modern, performance-driven culture, justification by grace is a radical message. Many people, even in the Church, live as though God’s acceptance depends on their achievements, morality, or religious devotion. Paul shatters this illusion: we are justified solely by grace. Churches must be vigilant against legalism and remind believers that our identity and worth are rooted in God’s declaration, not our performance.
Finally, Paul describes the result of all of this: “we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Being heirs means we are children of God, entitled to His promises and His eternal Kingdom. Eternal life is not just a future reality but also a present assurance. It gives believers resilience in trials, confidence in uncertainty, and motivation for holiness. It is so easy for us to only focus on the here and now, but our hope should truly be eternal. Churches should cultivate a forward-looking faith that shapes how we live now. The promise of eternal life should give us boldness to serve sacrificially, endure hardship, and invest in what truly matters.
Being a Christian is not just about moral improvement. It is a radical transformation through the power of the Holy Spirit. Churches must clearly present the gospel of rebirth in a world that craves change but resists surrender. Programs, strategies, and efforts are good, but without the Holy Spirit, they are powerless. Churches and individual believers should emphasize prayer, dependence, and openness to the Spirit’s renewing work.
Instead of a mindset of scarcity, we as believers should rejoice in the abundance of God’s Spirit. Our worship should reflect gratitude, and our mission should be fueled by confidence in God’s overflowing grace. Legalism is always a threat, but we must hold firmly to justification by grace and resist cultural tendencies to base our worth on performance or success. Finally, the eternal hope we have in Jesus should shape our daily lives. We should live with heaven in view by investing in people, serving sacrificially, and enduring hardships with joy.
In a time when many feel exhausted, disillusioned, or uncertain, this passage encourages us to refocus on what God has done for us and how we should live that out through the power of the Holy Spirit. God has done a complete work in us, is continually renewing us, and has secured for us a glorious future. That is good news worth holding, celebrating, and proclaiming.
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At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
- Titus 3:3-5a
Few passages in Scripture capture the “before and after” of Christian salvation as powerfully as this one. In just a couple of verses, Paul moves from the dark reality of our life without Christ to the glorious light of God’s saving mercy. He reminds Titus and us that the gospel is not about what we’ve done for God but about what God has done for us in Christ.
Just before this, Paul called for believers to live peaceably and gently in society. Christians should live this way because we know firsthand what it means to be lost in sin and found by grace. Remembering who we once were keeps us humble, compassionate, and thankful. Remembering how we were saved keeps us centered on mercy rather than pride.
Paul begins in verse 3 with a sobering description of human life apart from Christ: foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved. The word “foolish” here does not mean lacking intelligence but lacking spiritual discernment. Apart from Christ, we lived without the wisdom of God, following our own ways. “Disobedient” underscores our rebellion against God’s commands. This is the universal human condition; we resist God’s authority and seek independence.
Not only are we rebellious, but we are also deceived. Sin blinds us to truth. We think we are free, but in reality, we are enslaved. We chase satisfaction in places that cannot satisfy, believing lies about what will make us happy. The language of being enslaved is strong but necessary. Our desires, instead of being good gifts under God’s direction, dominate and control us. Whether it’s lust, greed, gluttony, or selfish ambition, sinful desires trap us. The modern world often celebrates “following your desires” or “following your heart,” but Paul reveals the tragic reality: apart from Christ, desires enslave us.
But sin is not just against God; it is also against others. A life without Christ is marked by the breakdown of relationships: malice (ill-will toward others), envy (resenting others’ blessings), and cycles of hatred. This description may sound extreme, but look at the anger, division, and hostility in our world today. It is the natural fruit of a heart estranged from God.
After painting this bleak picture, in verse 4, Paul shifts to one of the most beautiful contrasts in Scripture. Human sin is not the end of the story! God stepped in. Salvation is not the result of humanity climbing its way up to God, but of God coming down to us. God’s kindness and love appeared and were made visible in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Notice what motivated salvation: kindness and love. God is not distant or indifferent. His heart toward sinners is compassion. Even while we were foolish, deceived, and enslaved, His love moved Him to act. This is crucial for us to grasp. Many imagine God as perpetually angry, waiting for us to earn His approval. But the gospel reveals the opposite: God moved first, out of love. His kindness and mercy are the fountain of salvation.
At the start of verse 5, Paul makes it absolutely clear that we were not saved by anything that we had done. No amount of moral effort, religious rituals, or good deeds could save us (see Ephesians 2:8-9). Even our best attempts at righteousness are tainted by sin and fall short of God’s perfect standard (see Isaiah 64:6 and Romans 3:23-24). Salvation is not a reward for human effort.
Mercy means God withholds the judgment we deserve and gives us grace instead. Salvation is a gift, not a wage. It is rooted in God’s compassion, not our merit. This truth is the heartbeat of the gospel and the foundation of Christian assurance. If salvation were based on our works, we could never be certain. But because it is based on God’s mercy, we can rest secure that we are saved through God’s grace and our faith in Christ Jesus.
Paul didn’t write these verses as abstract theology. He wrote them to shape how Christians live in the real world. If God’s kindness and love moved Him to save us, then kindness and love should be foundational in our lives. The truth that we were saved not by works but by mercy should shape how we relate to others. We must not demand that people earn our love or forgiveness. Just as God extended mercy freely, so should we.
But the most important part of this to apply to our lives is that salvation is God’s work, not ours. This gives us confidence and security. It also directs all glory to Him. We should not be glorified for anything that we do, but rather, we should direct all glory to God, who truly deserves it. That should be our greatest witness and testimony: what God did for us and how He gave us salvation through His great love and mercy.
For followers of Jesus Christ today, this truth should shape everything about our lives. May we never forget where we came from, and may we always live in the light of God’s mercy.
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The final 24 hours of Jesus’ life on earth before His crucifixion had arrived, and it was so critical to John that he dedicated chapters 13 through 19 (about 1/3 of his book) to this night alone. The other Gospel authors give a lengthy chapter on these events, but none go into detail like John does. The only part John skimps on is the Passover Meal itself because John instead focuses on the teaching that took place during the meal. So I will focus on Matthew’s take on this meal. But this meal was crucial; only one meal ever served compared in significance: the original Passover Meal on the night before Israel left Egypt.
Jesus longed to eat this meal because this would trigger the final sequence of events that His earthly life was designed for. The Jews had been celebrating this meal for 1500 years as the marker for their God being their God of salvation. To the Jew, every time they thought of their salvation and deliverance, they all looked back to this one moment of history when they ate the meal in which the death of the firstborn would pass them over, and then God brought them out of Egypt. In the morning after that meal, every one of them would be packing up and staging to leave Egypt for good. This Passover meal was to be a perpetual reminder that the judgment that was due to all and to be placed on all would be passed over by the blood of the lamb, and in that passing by, the deliverance and freedom from slavery would take place. Israel would never serve as slaves again as a nation. This was the marker moment, and throughout the Bible, God would identify Himself as, “I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” This Passover meal was the moment in which Israel ceased being a family and became a nation. This was the moment that Israel became Israel.
But all of it was for a much greater purpose. The Passover and the Exodus were a physical picture of the ultimate reality that would come this very night as Jesus sat down with His disciples. It was a private setting in an upper room in Jerusalem where Jesus would give His final teachings and carry out His final act of service before locking in and facing the greatest trial any man could ever face. This was the meal of meals that we honor and celebrate today.
I am not going to go into the details of the ritual, but the meal was marked by several dishes that each had their own symbolic meaning, including remembering the times of slavery, and several cups that had their own meaning, too. But it was during this meal that Jesus changed it up. No longer would people be remembering the exodus from Egypt and slavery, which was only a memorial for Jews. Instead, Jesus made this a memorial for the exodus from sin itself, and it would be something that people from all over the world would be able to experience.
Jesus identified two things: the bread and the cup. The bread would be the body, broken for us, and the cup would be the blood shed for us. As I am writing this, my pastor has been preaching quite a bit on the Lord’s Supper, and there is good reason to believe, like with Israel in Jesus’ time, that we’ve lost sight of what this meal really is. Too many of us take it way too lightly, and I have been guilty of that myself. Jesus said we must eat His flesh and drink His blood, and most understood precisely what He was saying. Jesus is to be our sustenance – our source, our food, the very thing that we rely on for our life.
Now, some will say that the bread and the wine become the literal body and blood of Christ, and others will say that they are just symbols of the body and blood. I believe both are wrong. Christ is not still on the cross, but at the same time, to merely treat the bread and wine as symbols takes away the sacredness of this meal. It is worth noting that the demonic, the witches, etc., will take the bread and cups from Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, but not from most Reformed churches. Why not? Because the spiritual side of darkness knows that the power in the Lord’s Supper is hardly present in most Reformed circles. And no, I am not supporting those churches here, but I’m addressing a concern in doctrinally sound churches.
One thing I am learning is that the Lord’s Supper is so much more than a mere remembrance of what Jesus did. When we partake in it, it is also a declaration of war against Satan and his minions and against sin. Yet so many of us will sin all week long, all day long, then go to church and take the Lord’s Supper and act like sin never happened. There have been times I have wondered if I should partake due to what had been going on in my head that morning, and it’s a battle that I keep losing. The taking of the Lord’s Supper is to remind us of the victory over sin, that we are not to live that way anymore, and not be a cover for our sins. People have been sick and literally died because they were taking the Lord’s Supper unworthily and put a curse upon themselves.
The Lord’s Supper is for believers who have professed the faith and begun to live according to those principles. It is not for anyone who lives an open life of sin. John Calvin denied a group of immoral men from partaking because they were living lives of sexual fornication. They came in one service, demanding to be served, and Calvin barred the way. They drew swords, and Calvin did not budge. They left, and Calvin protected the sanctity of this precious ordinance of the church.
There is power in the Lord’s Supper that we simply don’t recognize in our Protestant, Reformed circles anymore. And it’s time we get a grip that we are to live supernatural lives, battling against supernatural foes, and living for the supernatural God. And yes, there is rationality behind it, but not according to human wisdom. Jesus established the Lord’s Supper as one of the two ordinances that mark and identify the Christian as being separated from the world, as being delivered from sin, as being the people of God and not of this world, and on the journey toward holiness in the process of sanctification. Let us return to what this meal is truly about and not lose its true meaning.
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God has a special heart for the outcast. He has more commands on dealing with the lowly, the outcast, the poor, and the needy than any other demographic. Many psalms describe God as being the protector, the shield, and the provider for the afflicted, but also the avenger of those who oppress such people. In Jesus’ ministry, I want to focus on three particular outcasts: the woman caught in adultery, Matthew, and Zacchaeus.
The woman caught in adultery was a social outcast because of her promiscuity. Due to the societal stigma upon her, she was unable to make a living for anything other than continuing her sinful relationships. While upholding moral standards is absolutely vital, Jesus’ dealing with her showcases the problem when the system provides no escape from the pit. Jesus never rebuked the Pharisees for their moral standards. He rebuked them for not helping anyone live up to them and making a system that, once in the pit, there would be no escape to get out. The Pharisees never did anything to help people get out of a sinful lifestyle.
In this account, a crowd dragged a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. Clearly, there are many problems with this setup, but Jesus was doing what He was doing. The one question every sermon asks about this account is: “Where’s the guy?” And if a second question is asked: “How did this crowd know she was doing this unless they were Peeping Toms?” It is not out of the realm of possibilities that the guy was in the crowd himself, and it was all a setup to try to trap Jesus. They asked Jesus if they should stone her according to the Law, and Jesus basically said, “Yes,” however, that the first person to carry it out should be without sin himself, especially that sin. And each person was cut by that from the oldest down. They dropped their stones and walked away. Jesus refused to condemn her; however, He sent a very stern warning to sin no more, or her fate would be even worse.
Matthew and Zacchaeus were Jews who chose to make a living by working for Rome as tax collectors. It was a rather lucrative position because all it took was playing a few of the books to make the taxes more than they actually were and pocketing the rest. It was easy to steal money because Rome never did audits on the tax collectors who charged above what they needed to collect. They only did audits when money was short. And for a Jew to work for Rome was an additional stigma. They were outright hated, and I imagine turnover rates were rather high because it wouldn’t take much for them to be caught in the open and get pummeled to death. The Romans didn’t care who collected the taxes as long as someone did.
With Matthew, Jesus called him out from his booth while he was working. Matthew left immediately. We don’t know what caused Matthew to drop everything so suddenly, but he clearly must have learned about Jesus, hearing about His teachings and miracles. Matthew very likely may have seen some himself, and so for Jesus to call him was something special. He was wanted for the first time in his life. In those days, the goal of many Jewish boys was to be selected by a Rabbi to learn under him and would be given a position of influence. If not, he would most likely take on the job of the father in some trade. Matthew didn’t even have that option. When he went for the Roman position, chances are his own family turned on him, and here, Jesus calls him and wants him.
Zacchaeus was another tax collector, a chief tax collector in fact, who heard about Jesus, and he had the same problems as Matthew. Zacchaeus had another issue: he was short. Very short. He couldn’t see through a crowd, and Jesus was coming. So he climbed a sycamore tree just to see Jesus and call out to Him. But Jesus actually called out to Zacchaeus and invited Himself to his house. Zacchaeus was so moved by Jesus that he surrendered his lifestyle and offered to repay all that which was stolen 4 times over, the requirement by the law when a thief was caught. Now that is repayment with interest.
All three of these people were unwanted, appeared to have no friends, and the only recourse they had was to continue a lifestyle of sin. They had no other direction. The woman was stuck in promiscuity, and tax collectors had to make their living through theft. The general society didn’t want them other than for their own pleasure, either sexually or to humiliate them. The religious leaders considered them even lower than the Romans, which was quite a feat to do. But Jesus had compassion on them. Jesus wanted them to be part of what He was doing. Jesus shared God’s heart for the lowly, the weak, and the outcast, and little drove Him mad more than the very religious system that was designed to help people out of their sin and instead sought to keep sinners in their sin. It is people like this woman and Matthew that drove Jesus to unleash His woes upon the Pharisees, who do all the little religious things but prevent sinners who want help out of their sin from getting out. The Pharisees saw the sinners as “less than” and never recognized their own sins and their own need for a Savior. Jesus didn’t come to make the self-righteous feel good. He came to find His sheep and get them out of the pits they had wandered into, chose to go into, or were led into.
Notice that all three of these people felt compelled to take on the careers they had. I don’t believe any of these three actually wanted such jobs. The woman definitely did not want to be a prostitute but had little choice. Matthew and Zacchaeus knew the social stigmas of being a tax collector, but they had the skill and talent for the job, and it paid well. They didn’t have skill, talent, or training in any other field. And so, the system drove them to those careers, and none of these three had an out. Then Jesus showed up. Jesus is the “out.” Jesus is the escape. But the escape is designed so that you don’t return to the very thing that imprisoned you. Jesus is the escape from an entrapped lifestyle. Jesus is the escape from a societal dungeon that was placed upon you by no fault of your own. Not all who live sinful lifestyles do so because they love their sin; some do so because they were told that is what they were supposed to do, and that was who they were.
Imagine how things would change if society stopped forcing these racial, economic, and social barriers on certain people, and instead, if we were like Jesus, where there is freedom for each person to do what they were meant to do. I was one that society tried to force through the cracks, and my parents would not let that happen. I cannot be grateful enough to them and especially to Jesus because I would have ended up like the woman, or Matthew, or Zacchaeus, someone society discarded and put to use in some sinful activity for the pleasure or benefit of others.
As I write this, I feel a great compassion for the trafficked, especially the sex trafficked, who are forced into promiscuity and are not given an out. They did not necessarily sin willfully, but sin was forced upon them. And Jesus is the escape. I am also thinking about the many people who were forced into false teachings by the world and prevented from hearing the truth. They didn’t choose to believe it. It was shoved down their throats, and they really don’t know any better. Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the out. Jesus is the one who can lift the fog off their heads so they can be free in the mind, too. Jesus saved us, and He can save those trapped by such evil teachings and deeds. Let Jesus continue saving us, and let Him use us to save others.
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Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
- Ruth 4:1-4
As we begin the final chapter of the book of Ruth, the scene shifts to the town gate, where Boaz, the guardian redeemer, makes a pivotal move toward securing redemption for Ruth and Naomi.
When verse 1 says, “Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there,” this isn’t just a casual place to catch someone in passing. In the ancient Near East, especially in Israelite society, the town gate was the epicenter of public life—it was the place for legal matters, public announcements, business transactions, and social interaction.
The town gate was functionally a courthouse. Judges, elders, and respected citizens gathered there to make decisions, settle disputes, and validate contracts. It was like a blend between a city hall, a courtroom, and a town square. Boaz knew that if he wanted his business to be conducted lawfully and publicly, it needed to be done at the gate. This move shows both wisdom and integrity. By handling the matter at the gate, Boaz also ensured transparency. The community would witness the transaction, and thus it would be legally binding and socially recognized. In a society without centralized record-keeping or written contracts for the average person, public memory was the legal ledger, and witnesses were your signature.
Boaz doesn’t wait for events to unfold; he takes initiative. Previously in Ruth 3, after Ruth’s bold proposal at the threshing floor, Boaz promises to do things "properly" and by the book. Here, we see him make good on that promise. He goes to the gate early, deliberately positioning himself to meet the other potential redeemer. The term used in Hebrew refers to a kinsman (relative) with the legal responsibility to rescue or redeem a relative in difficulty. This could involve buying back land, avenging wrongful death, or—as in Ruth’s case—marrying a widow to preserve a family line.
Boaz’s character and integrity shine here. Though he clearly cares for Ruth and it appears that he wants to marry her, he gives the nearer kinsman first right of refusal. He doesn't manipulate, deceive, or force the outcome. He operates within the law and cultural norms, putting integrity before personal desire.
Boaz doesn’t approach this alone. Verse 2 says, “Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, 'Sit here,' and they did so.” These elders are more than passive observers; they function as legal authorities and cultural anchors.
The number ten was significant in ancient Jewish thought, symbolizing completeness and serving as a quorum for certain public decisions. In rabbinic tradition (which was developed later), ten men form the minimum number required for communal religious activity. While this tradition may not have been formalized in Ruth’s time, the principle of completeness and legitimacy attached to ten elders was already meaningful.
These elders are convened not just to witness a land transaction but a deeply moral act. Boaz is ensuring that Naomi is cared for, Ruth is protected, and Elimelech’s family line continues. These were not small things. The elders validate not only the legality but the righteousness of Boaz’s actions. Their presence adds weight and finality to the proceedings.
Boaz’s words in verses 3-4 are strategic. He first presents the opportunity to redeem the land, which was an attractive offer. The nearer redeemer responds, “I will redeem it.” But Boaz hasn’t mentioned Ruth yet; we’ll see in the next section how that changes the other redeemer’s response. This sequence shows Boaz’s wisdom. He frames the offer, secures interest, then presents the full cost. It’s not manipulation; it’s reality. True redemption is costly.
Boaz’s actions are public and deliberate; he doesn’t redeem Ruth in secret. This reflects a spiritual truth for us, that God’s redemption is also public. Jesus died in a very public way before the watching world, offering a legal and moral satisfaction for sin. The cross, like the town gate, was a place of judgment and reconciliation, though the cross, of course, has significantly greater implications and a wider reach for redemption. The cross of Jesus can redeem the whole world, rather than just one family line.
Boaz stands as a type of Christ, a redeemer who willingly pays the price to restore the broken and secure a future for those without hope. His actions at the gate are a foreshadowing of what Christ would later do: fulfill the law, redeem the undeserving, and bring outsiders (like Ruth) into the covenant community.
Interestingly, the gate is also symbolic in biblical theology. Jesus says in John 10:9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” In Ruth, Boaz stands at the gate as a potential redeemer; in the Gospel, Christ is the gate and the true Redeemer of all mankind.
While our human attempts at redemption are beneficial and noble for this life, it is the redemption we receive through faith in Jesus Christ that truly matters.
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To go along with watering down the Gospel, to dilute it so much as to make it utterly powerless, there is another severe problem with modern evangelicalism, especially in the apologetics realm. I won’t forget watching a clip of William Lane Craig, the man who is often deemed the “face” of Christian apologetics, openly declaring to his audience that his purpose is to lower the bar so as many people can accept Christianity as possible. He seeks to lower the standards necessary to become a Christian. I knew this was going on, but for him to so openly declare that is what he was doing just floored me. My response was: “Heresy! You have no right to do that!” Many, both believers and unbelievers alike, were stunned at this statement, but surprisingly, I did not hear about it till just recently.
With the approach that so many take regarding the Gospel, to water it down and reduce it to sets of doctrines and lower the bar so as many “get in” as possible, we have seen the results: one Scottish minister said, “You Americans! Your doctrine is 3000 miles wide and six inches deep.” A Chinese man came to the US and said, “When I look at a Buddhist monk and I see his practice and his devotion and his study, I think, ‘holy man.’ When I look at a US preacher, I think, ‘businessman.’” These guys would only be wrong if they were under-representing the case, not exaggerating.
What has happened is not only pathetic, but it has literally redefined what it means to be a Christian. People are no longer capable of recognizing that what much of what they are hearing today is totally un-Christian. The sting of the Gospel has been taken away. The focus of the Gospel has been taken away. The standards for Christian living have been removed and therefore anyone and everyone can proclaim to be a Christian; yet only 6% of them, according to recent polls, can even get the basic doctrines right. The church is so full of goats and wolves that the tiny group of genuine sheep who are left are being starved to death. Only one thing can happen when God looks at this: judgment.
Rob Bell opens his book Velvet Elvis complaining about doctrines and how they are “brick walls” that “keep people out.” He instead suggests that these doctrines should be treated more like springs to a trampoline that will stretch and mold according to the weight of the person jumping. What is he saying? He is saying that doctrine has no place to divide people and if people want to come and play Christianity, let them come play. And he mocks those who stand for truth and calls it “Brickianity.” Like William Lane Craig, the goal here is to lower the bar so anyone who wants to get in can get in.
I see this mindset in origins debates, too. The way that those who believe in millions of years approach young earth Creationists is much akin to one on the outside asking the gatekeepers to get in. The whole thing is “open-door policy,” “let everyone in,” all the while seeking to get the benefits of heaven and of God for nothing without surrendering self in the process.
What did Jesus say and do about such things? He didn’t lower the bar, knowing not a single person could carry out the Ten Commandments. He raised the bar. It wasn’t enough to not physically murder someone; just hating them in your heart and wishing them dead was enough to count as the deed. It wasn’t enough to restrain self from engaging in sex outside of marriage to break the commandment on adultery; just looking at someone else with lust and longing for such a person counts as doing the full deed. When it comes to Christianity, the bar is set so high that literally no human being can meet it. That is the point of needing a Savior. You can’t do it, and you don’t cut it.
But that offends people. Tough. We accept it in sports to some extent. Every sport has cuts. There are cuts to make the team, and there are cuts for playoffs. But now we don’t offer championship trophies; we offer participation trophies. And when the boys simply can’t compete with other boys, they just need to declare themselves a girl and play at the girl level and suddenly they can win. There is so much worry about hurting someone’s “self-esteem” that they don’t know how to handle loss or a defeat, and that is why they throw fits as adults when they don’t get their way.
In Christianity, we have actually LED the culture in this insanity because we have stopped preaching the Gospel and catered to feelings long before the culture did. The culture saw the church catering to feelings, so they took that green light and what we have seen is the full fruit of that sin.
But let’s face reality here. The church in each culture and age does not determine what reality is; God determines what reality is. The church is sent to proclaim that reality, and we have chosen to conspire against God and proclaim a message God did not say. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see people saved, but when the message changes and the standards are lowered, no one is getting saved. The standard for getting into heaven is absolute perfection just as God is the standard of absolute perfection. And yes, NO ONE can do that. But that’s the standard.
So how can God hold us accountable to a standard that none of us can meet? How is that fair? Who said being able to meet the standard is necessary to be fair? In baseball, a pitcher has to be able to throw a ball over a 19 square inch home plate. Those who cannot do that will not last long as pitchers. So what do we do? Do we change the plate size so those who can’t throw the ball accurately can play? No. They simply don’t have the talent to be a pitcher. They don’t get to make the cut and they don’t get to play. It’s tough, but those are the rules. And they are fair rules because they apply to everyone the same way.
But in Christianity, God did something that makes the objection to fairness null and void. He sent Jesus to be perfection for us. Not only did He pay the penalty for our sin, but He imputes His own righteousness onto us. Going back to baseball, this is like having a ringer. Instead of us, who cannot throw a ball or hit a ball, we get the absolute best player ever to not merely play for us but to play with us, and His score counts as our score. It is like Jesus taking our hand and carrying us through the motion of pitch or gripping His hands around ours on the bat and swinging with us. He does all the work, but the stats go to our name. THAT is not fair, but it is allowed in the rules. God wrote the rules, and it was His plan for this to be the agenda all along.
We need to stop trying to change the rules on God. God set the rules, and we have no right whatsoever to change them or play with them. We are to proclaim them as they were given – nothing more, nothing less. And then we need to play by those rules. But one thing I have noticed in sports is that when one knows the rules and plays by them appropriately, it is a fun game, even if I lose. There is strength in order and structure that enables you to do above and beyond what you could do otherwise. Don’t try to lower the bar. You can’t do it and God will not honor any “contract” which was not authorized to do such things. No one will be able to stand on Judgment Day and say, “I wasn’t told.” And when God deals with those who do lower the bar, it is not going to be a time of rejoicing. Don’t do it. Just preach what God said as God said it or get out of the way.
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“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
– 1 Corinthians 2:2
Paul had one message as he went out from city to city to plant churches and to make disciples of Christ: he preached Christ, and he preached the crucifixion and all that came with it. He absolutely knew far more things than that, but he saw no value in any other topic unless they could point to Christ. Paul knew the Greek culture and Greek mythology, and that’s why in Acts 17 when in Athens, Paul could not only use their own statue to the unknown God but cite two Greek poets who had echoed the truth of who Christ is, even if they did not know it. But in all his preaching, he had one goal and one destination: to proclaim Christ.
Paul understood what it means to be an evangelist. He described himself as a herald. In those days, a herald was the official “news reporter.” A herald would get a message from the king, go to the assigned town, get his soapbox, and then proclaim the message, precisely as the king gave it. The herald would only clarify when questions were asked but never depart from the message. At any point, if word got back to the king that the herald did not give the message in the exact way the king meant it, the herald would be put to death.
The prophets in the Old Testament were treated the same way. If they were going to claim to speak for God, they had to have a 100% fulfillment rate. Any prophecy not fulfilled in their lifetime was held until validation or failure took place. God had a purpose in all this: He wants any who speaks for Him to say exactly what He said and only what He said. It is amazing how God chose to use any of us at all to give His message, but He has chosen to work through weak, frail, fallible, and untrustworthy humans to get His message across. This is not what man would ever think of, but it absolutely is what a God who wants to prove without question that it was His doing and not anyone else’s.
What does this mean? It means we have no say in what the message is. I can picture many readers picking up on that and immediately thinking that everyone has to listen to what I say because I am the only one with the truth. That is not what I am saying at all. But those who think that way are doing precisely what Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for doing: searching and seeking their favorite celebrities and chasing opinions and appearances instead of chasing after Christ. If anyone takes my advice here properly, they won’t need me afterwards, because all I am doing is pointing the way. My book Biblical Foundations has a testimony of a couple getting back to Christ and their marriage being saved. I did not write about marriage; I wrote about following Christ. That saved their marriage. It wasn’t any fancy trick. It wasn’t special counseling (though I do not knock a right application for that). It was simply preaching Christ.
As I wrote over the last several weeks, the Gospel reaches every type of person; I just sampled out seven categories. It is the Gospel that has the power of God unto salvation in every area of life. The Gospel can even deliver someone from writer’s block or answer some scientific mystery by putting everything in the right perspective. Knowing the supremacy of God and how He will determine how much we need to know and when we need to know it can often remove blinders that keep us from seeing the answers. The Gospel has it all, so we need to preach the Gospel as God gave it.
One of my greatest peeves today is when I hear someone professing some very obscure teaching found nowhere in Scripture and then say that “the Gospel doesn’t change” or “it’s not necessary to deal with that to be a Christian.” Watch out for that, because most of the time, those are mere excuses to say, “I can believe whatever I want as long as I agree to a core set of doctrines, and I’ll get into heaven regardless.” That mindset is not a Christian one; it’s a humanistic position that is using God as a means for the self’s end. With that mindset, these people are not seeking after Christ because He is worthy to be worshiped; they are using Jesus as a means to get to paradise where they can celebrate eternity without any regard for their sin.
This false gospel came primarily in the mid-1800s spearheaded by Charles Finney who sought to make sinners as comfortable as possible for when they came to repent of their sins. He is the one who made the “altar call” popular and just by professing doctrines one is proclaimed to be “saved”. That is nonsense. The Gospel was changed from man needing God to save him to God needing man in heaven so He would not be lonely and from God-honoring to man-glorifying. That’s not the Gospel. I’ll address more of these issues as I continue in the series, but I will wrap up this post with these final words.
We have one message to share: one message and one message only. Anything we have to say must have that goal and target in mind no matter where we start from. Every text of Scripture is about Jesus in some way, shape, or form. Therefore, there is a message of the Gospel that comes out of every passage of Scripture, from Creation to the Fall, to the Flood, to the Tower of Babel, to the Old Testament history, to the law, to the judges, to the kings, and to the prophets. They all point to Jesus. We are to proclaim Jesus no matter what our context is, but we are ALSO to proclaim Jesus as He is revealed and not as anything else. Many people would indeed be better off staying silent than opening their mouths and preaching something other than what God said. That is why so few of us should be teachers. It is a serious position to take, but those who do it faithfully will be greatly rewarded. I have much more to share about how to preach the Gospel and how to handle responses to the Gospel over the next few weeks.
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Another area where evangelicalism has greatly dropped the ball is with the notion that all that matters is getting someone saved and everything else takes care of it. This reduces the Gospel to a one-time thing and ultimately nothing else matters, because once you get saved, you are in, and once you are in, you can’t lose it. This is an abuse of the “Once Saved, Always Saved” doctrine because the Gospel does not teach that you can live your life however you want once you get saved.
The Christian life has two major parts to it: sanctification (the removal of sin and the purifying of the heart/mind/soul) and sharing the Gospel with others. My pastor made this very clear in his sermon series on Exodus. He said when God rescued Israel from Egypt, they were freed from slavery to Egypt, just as we are saved immediately from slavery to sin. But it took 40 years in the wilderness to get Egypt of out Israel and likewise, it takes our entire Christian life to get the sin in our lives out so we can be ready to meet Christ as a pure and spotless Bride.
The Gospel is an ongoing process. The moment of salvation is not a one-time thing but something that started at a single point in time and continues, ongoing. It is a work that Christ started, and He will see it through to completion. That is why we can have confidence that we will not lose our salvation; if we could, then Christ would have work ruined and never finished. And that’s not the God I worship. I worship a God who finishes what He started, whether salvation or judgment. It is our job to see that we have made terms of peace with God before that judgment happens. It is still God’s job to save. We can only ask for it.
But the Christian has this war with sin that will not go away while we are on this earth. The unsaved don’t have a war with sin; they are fully indulged in it. We do have the war, and the holier we get, the fiercer the war gets. This is why we as believers need the Gospel. We do not need the Gospel just because we need reminders; we do need reminders. We need the Gospel because it is the Gospel that has the power of salvation from leftover sin and struggles. It STILL has the power to continue to deliver us.
If we are struggling and not seeing the victory of sin, there are a couple of reasons for it. One, we aren’t believing the Gospel for THAT sin. Or, we love that sin too much to want to let it go. If the latter, a follow-up question should be asked: are we actually born again? Again, I don’t knock true and real struggles. I have them myself, and that is why I need the Gospel still. I need to keep listening to the Gospel. I need to keep going back to the same message, that Christ died for sinners, and we are to give up the sinful life to be able to take on the new life. This needs to be done on a daily basis. I have learned that when I actively and intentionally deny myself and ask God what I need to do that day, my struggles with sin all but disappear. But when I do struggle, it is very clear why.
We as believers need the Gospel. We always need the Gospel. If we don’t remind ourselves of the Gospel daily, we get hard-hearted and proud because the Gospel is not being allowed to continue the work it started in us. We begin to think we no longer need the Gospel, and we can just live out intellectually correct and moral lives the rest of the way. I know this danger very well because it is such an easy trap for me. I need the Gospel, and so do you. We must never let the thought that we move on from the Gospel or that we “graduate” from the Gospel enter our minds.
It is the Gospel that enables the prodigal to return home. It is the Gospel that gives the saved the grace to seek the salvation of the lost. It is the Gospel that keeps the saved freed from sin. It is the Gospel that restrains lingering sin from getting too strong of a hold. It is the Gospel that was preached to us that makes us want to preach the Gospel to others because it has the power to save us and it can save others too. It is the Gospel that has made terms of peace between us and God. And if we truly have been saved by the power of the Gospel, why would we be ashamed of speaking of it? Over the next several weeks, I will address how to share the Gospel, how not to share it, how to receive it, and how to deal with those who will either receive it or reject it.
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The Gospel is for everyone, including those who openly and defiantly reject it. The Word of God never returns void and never fails to accomplish what it was intended to do. The Gospel is a call to sinners to repent and turn back to God, but what happens if someone rejects that call? Did we fail as a preacher? Did we fail as an evangelist? Did the message not do its job? These are serious questions because modern evangelicalism has answered these questions by changing the message and going “seeker sensitive,” literally seeking to lower the bar of acceptance so anyone can get in. That was the wrong answer because they lost the point and purpose of evangelism, which is not to win as many people as possible but to proclaim the truth regardless of who accepts it.
So how does the Gospel reach the reprobate, the ones who refuse to listen? It is like the sun. It will give heat and energy to good plants, but it also hardens hard soil. The Gospel will be received by those whom God has been plowing and preparing, but it will also harden those who have no intention of hearing it.
Pharoah is such a great example of this. He endured all ten plagues and his heart only got harder and harder. God finally convinced him to let Israel go in the emotional grief of the loss of his son, but even that grief turned to outright rage when he chased after Israel only to get buried in the Red Sea. God gave him more and more evidence, and all that did was make his heart harder and harder. Some people get so stubborn that any rebuke will only make them hate further.
By giving the Gospel message to the reprobate, God shows such great mercy by still offering the opportunity to get saved. Cain is another example. He refused to do things God’s way and got mad when he was rejected. But God still offered Cain a way out. Cain refused to take it and killed his brother over it. But the offer for rectification was there. This makes Cain’s rebellion even worse because he was offered a chance to make things right and knew it and intentionally refused to take it.
The word gospel literally means good news, but the good news requires the bad news for the good stuff to be able to work its magic. The bad news is that each of us is a stubborn sinner set in our ways with no intention of departing from them unless God miraculously pierces through our hard hearts. Only the Gospel can do that, but there are some whose hearts the Gospel will only harden further. The bad news is that we are all condemned already, and without divine intervention, we will all be going to hell. The good news is there is a way out and there is a means of salvation. But the bad news is that rejection of that offer only seals the doom that is already placed upon us.
The Gospel enables none to have an excuse when they face God on Judgment Day. Those who receive the Gospel and submit their lives to Christ will have Jesus be their defense attorney and intercede on our behalf. Those who reject the Gospel will have all the evidence laid before them showing every time where they heard the Gospel and refused it. There will be none who have an excuse. There will be none whom God will hold accountable who did not hear. God judges based on the light and truth someone has heard and received or rejected. So the innocent child who died before having a chance to hear, let alone understand the Gospel, will be judged according to God’s righteous standards including what they had access to. But those who have heard cannot use those who haven’t heard as an excuse.
The Gospel will save those who God has chosen to save, but it will also harden those who love their sin and want to stay in it. And as with King Saul, there comes a point where God says, “Enough! He can no longer be saved!” God did that with the Flood too. He gave Noah 120 years’ notice, and while there are some who may have been saved had they listened and gotten on the ark, God knew none would, and thus only Noah and his family were saved. Yet for 120 years the message of warning and salvation was preached even in just the building of the ark.
The message of the Gospel is not to be taken lightly. It also is not able to be received at anyone’s convenience. It can only be received when God offers it. It tells that every person is given the opportunity to be saved, and it only further reveals the condemnation of those who reject it. The Gospel is a two-edged sword. It rescues and saves those who receive it, and it judges and condemns those who reject it. The Gospel does the latter to the reprobate.
However, the Gospel is still needed by another group of people (among others because this study is not comprehensive): the saved. Yes, the Gospel is for those who have been born again as well.
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The role of Jesus at the cross did not end with His death. It ended with the resurrection. We do not celebrate a dead Savior who gave His life for us, and we simply remember what He did. We celebrate a risen Savior who did die for us but now lives and is reigning, ruling, and interceding for us. When Jesus died, the disciples fled in fear and terror. When Jesus rose and then imbued them with power, they became the boldest and most fearless men who ever lived. They make all our modern heroes in our movies, books, and games look like pansies, and that is no knock on those heroes. The disciples became that and much more. They were given the “elixir,” the new life in Christ by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
This part of the Gospel is frequently neglected due to simply tying it to the cross. The ascension of Christ is another neglected doctrine that should be preached once again. They both relate to this part of the Gospel. Jesus did not merely rise from the dead, but He has ascended and is reigning and ruling now as the King. Jesus is the only person ever to hold the three primary offices of prophet, priest, and king all at the same time. Jesus did not merely die to cover for our sins. He rose again so that we might have new life that He lives in and through us.
Many preachers, books, and presentations miss this so vital part of the Gospel. They may state that Jesus rose, but they don’t go into what that means. Most people treat it as Jesus “completing” a gap in our lives or “Jesus fills a God-shaped hole in your heart.” There is truth to that, but the Christian life is not an add-on to an already established life. Because we treat the character of God lightly and the severity of our sin lightly, most modern evangelism has garnered rightful critiques that you can live whatever life you want, confess your sin before you die, and you can get away with it all. That’s not the Gospel. While Jesus will wipe the slate clean on a legal basis, there are some sins we commit that no amount of faith in Christ is going to remove the stain on our earthly lives with the consequences thereof. David and Paul are prime case studies. David lived with his sin of adultery and murder for the rest of his life, and he was permanently marked for it. Paul persecuted and murdered Christians before becoming one himself, and he would be haunted by this fact for the rest of his life.
But with Paul in particular, we get to see what the Gospel is and what the Gospel does. It literally changes your life. Christianity and the substitutional atonement are much more than Jesus being our literal substitute for the judgment of God where Jesus takes our sin as though it was His own and then gives us His righteousness as though it was our own. It is much more than that. Jesus takes the sinful life upon Himself, the sinful desires, wishes, and dreams, and the desire to rule one’s own life without God. He gives us His life, a life that longs after God, seeks the things of God, and seeks to be with God forever. But to get this new life, we have to give up the old life. I’ll unpack this a few more weeks, but Jesus said that to be His disciple, we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. We no longer want the sinful life. It grieves us when we sin; it disgusts us, and we no longer want to associate with it. We may be stuck in it for a season, but we don’t want to be, and we will start seeing more and more victory over it the holier we become.
The resurrected life means that sin and death have no more grip on us. When the disciples learned and grasped the resurrection of Christ, they no longer feared death, which means absolutely nothing could faze them. Most of Western Christendom only understands the resurrection in theory as an event from 2000 years ago, but not Jesus as the living Savior today. How can I say that? Because of how easily people cower and are willing to change the message at the mere question of a slave girl or a college professor. The fear of man still grips us, and it has a strong grip. That is why we are so weak today. We don’t know the power of the resurrected life.
Yet, there is still hope to get it. I’m noticing a trend brewing among those who are genuinely born again. There is a call to return to resurrection life and away from pure intellectual Christianity. My pastor has been preaching on this for the last year, and I am writing this series because I see a need for this in my own life, let alone needing it in others. And I am seeing others still starting to push more and more for a Biblical-centered thinking and Christ-focused life. There is a call to return to sound preaching and then for true revival that is not pure emotionalism but genuine repentance and holiness. It is time we get the resurrected Jesus back in our view. Personally, I still have too much of an intellectual, fact-driving faith. It is absolutely necessary to have the intellectual understanding and the facts correct, but that is not good enough. We need the true, practical faith that calls for denial of self and self’s understanding of things and true reliance upon Christ and what He did for us once again.
The resurrection life is also much more than no longer wanting the sinful lifestyle and replacing it with a God-centered life. It is also eternity focused. The Gospel deals with much more than just our sin here and now and the judgment that will come; it also deals with eternity and when God will come to bring all things to an end once and for all.
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The center part of the Gospel is Jesus Christ. While God the Father is the author of this epic story called the Gospel, Jesus is the hero, the lead actor, the one who comes to save the day. Last week, I wrote about the fall of man and what sin did. The rest of the Old Testament is two-fold: it showcases the history of Israel along with their continual depravity in sin, but it is filled with images and snapshots of the Messiah, both what He would do and be like and also what He would overcome. One key reason the Jews missed Jesus when He came was that all of their previous deliverers were physical deliverers against physical enemies. They missed Jesus because He would not deliver Israel from Rome…but from a far greater enemy and oppressor, sin itself.
There are 300+ prophecies that describe the Messiah, and Jesus fulfilled every single one of them. I do not have the time or space to go through them here other than to just hit a couple of major passages. Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 are among the most famous passages that detail the death of Jesus.
Isaiah 53 is more about Jesus not being a superstar, a model, or a glorious figure. He was not a good-looking guy. And that’s a severe problem missed by all attempts to put Jesus on film. They focus on His glory and His deity, but when they focus on His humanity, they give Him this “shampoo model” form who never learned hardships or difficulties or ever worked a day in His life. That is one thing that The Chosen series does better than others, however, even there, they still give the character some of that “shampoo model” look. So it’s never going to be perfect, and we simply need to understand that Jesus wasn’t good-looking.
Psalm 22 was written 1000 years before Jesus came about and describes crucifixion – a Roman invention that didn’t exist until 50 years before Jesus’ time on earth. When comparing Psalm 22 to the crucifixion, we see almost a literal word-for-word description of what took place when Jesus was hung on the cross, including the very statements that were made by both Jesus and His enemies in mocking Him.
Everything in Scripture points to Jesus, from the opening creation statements to the closing of all time in Revelation. Jesus is at the center, through His role as the hero of the story, the true knight in shining armor, whose armor has indeed seen battle. Central to the story are His birth, life, death, and resurrection. Jesus could not be any ordinary person. He had to be fully human and fully God at the same time, which is called the hypostatic union.
In being fully human, Jesus went through life as a normal human being. He went through the normal birthing process, though His miraculous conception was definitely not normal. He grew up with human parents and human siblings, and He had your standard human needs including food, sleep, water, family connections, emotions, air, etc. He ate the same sin-cursed food, breathed the same sin-cursed air, and dealt with sin-cursed people. It is no wonder He longed to have alone time with His Father.
But Jesus was also fully divine – fully God. He did not lay down His identity when He became a human. He was without sin. While He lived in a human capacity, He also had that connection to God through the Holy Spirit that gave Him knowledge no one else could or would ever get. He could read people’s hearts and minds. He could outthink them all. He knew the future, who would betray Him, and how everything would play out. He performed miracles upon will and even refrained from doing some just to win a few converts. Every time He had the window to make Himself popular, He would give a message that would squelch it. And the biggest thing of all, Jesus raised from the dead.
Jesus came to deal with sin. By being fully human, Jesus was able to perfectly represent man before God, therefore being the true and ultimate High Priest. Being the perfect man who had no sin to atone for Himself, Jesus could do what no other man or high priest could do: offer Himself as the necessary substitution that had been taught all along throughout Scripture. But Jesus had to be fully divine, fully God, to be able to do that because God is infinite with omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. As a mere perfect man, Jesus would only be able to cover for one person. Adam was able to do that with Eve, and that is what he should have done. But for Jesus to cover for the sins of the whole world, of all who would believe, He had to be fully God and be the true prophet of God, representing God to man. By being fully God, Jesus was able to take the infinite wrath of God upon Himself. It wasn’t the Roman crucifixion that dealt with our sin; the crucifixion itself was merely the instrument of death to be used to help identify Jesus as the Messiah. The real dealing with sin was God pouring out His judgment upon Jesus, and Jesus, who wore a crown of thorns, the physical symbol of sin, died on that cross. With His final breath, He declared: “It is finished!”
When Jesus died, the great and final sacrifice was made. The righteous justice upon sin was met. The forgiveness for sin that all the Old Testament saints had been longing for had been accomplished. The salvation they were faithfully waiting for but did not see with their own eyes had arrived. And while Jesus did say “It is finished!” there was one final thing to do for salvation to be realized: the resurrection. The death on the cross paid the penalty of sin, but it only settled the debt. It does not restore, fix, or bring new life. The resurrection would do that, and it is because we worship a RISEN Savior that we can know and understand the fullness of Christ, which we’ll look at more next week.
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
