1. If God treated you the same as you treated others, what would your condition
be?
2. If God forgave you in the measure of your forgiveness to others, would
all your sins be gone?
3. If God accepted you the same as you accepted others, would you be accepted
before His throne?
4. If God judged you by the same standard you judge others, would you be justified?
- Pastor Donnie Bell
When the Lord confronted some people with the doctrine of election in Luke
4, they turned into an angry mob. The Scripture says, “When they heard
these things, they were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust Him out
of the city, and let Him to the brow of the hill whereon the city was built,
that they might cast Him down headlong.” According to some, these people
may have actually loved God, but their hearts were much better than their
heads. They simply did not understand the doctrine of election and that is
why they opposed Christ. Their hearts were right, but they were befuddled
in their doctrine. If this were brought to courts, do you believe a judge
would make that kind of judgment? I do not think so!
*****
Understanding human responsibility is fundamental to an understanding of the
Gospel. If I do not understand that my sin is my fault, not somebody else’s,
I will never acknowledge my own personal guilt. If I do not acknowledge the
guilt of my sin, I will never ask God for mercy, nor will I ever look to Christ
to save me. While the Bible does not teach human ability, it does teach human
responsibility.
*****
WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR ME
Let me tell you what Jesus has done for me. He assumed my human nature so
I could partake of His divine nature (John 1:1, 14; II Peter 1:4). He became
poor so I could become rich (II Cor. 8:9). He was born of a woman so I could
be born of God (Gal. 4:4; John 1:12). He became the Son of Man so I could
become a son of God (Luke 19:10; Galatians 3:26). He was born under the law
of God so I could be free from the law of sin and death (Gal. 4:4; Romans
8:2). He was made sin for me so I could become the righteousness of God in
Him (II Cor. 5:21). He was condemned so I could be justified (Isaiah 53:11).
He endured God’s wrath so I could enjoy God’s grace (Isaiah 53:4;
Romans 5:12-21). He died so I could live (Romans 5:8-10). He suffered the
hell I deserved so I could enjoy Him in heaven (Psalm 18:4; John 17:24). He
saved me by His grace and gave me faith to believe in Him (Ephesians 2:8).
He did this for all who believe in Him. Do you?
- Daniel E. Parks, Missionary to St. Croix