January 22

Suppose you came across a dead person and you had the power to save people. What would you do? Would you give the person life? If you did that, that person would only die again. To save dead people you have to perform two functions. First, you have to cure the disease that caused them to die. “The wages of sin is death, . . .” (Rom. 6:23a). Jesus cured the cause of our death, when He went to the cross and died for our sins, but that is not all He did. Let’s finish the verse . . .”But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23b).

Under the inspiration of God the apostle Paul knew that we would see only the cross and not the resurrection. So in his epistle to the Ephesians he prays that our eyes would be opened to see our rich inheritance in Christ. To the church in Rome he writes, “For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His” (Rom. 6:5). For all you who think that Christ came only to die for your sins, the apostle Paul wants you to know that there is much more for you as follows (with my comments) in Rom. 8-11:

But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Isn’t that great Christian, God proved His love for you, but is that all there is for us know? Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. Isn’t that great Christian, you are not going to hell. You have your “fire insurance,” but is that all? For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall be saved by His life. Isn’t that great Christian, someday we shall be saved, not only by His death, but also by His life. Do you feel in limbo? Then read on. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:3,4).

Dr. Neil

For Spanish, see http://ficmm.org/blog

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