THERE is one true God, self-existent and eternal, gracious, compassionate and merciful, just and holy, the God of love. He is the Creator of heaven and earth and of all that there is in them, which makes him Sovereign over all things. Further, He is a triune God, being one God in three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each alike equal and eternal.
He has given us a revelation of Himself on the pages of His inspired Word, the Bible, in which He calls all mankind to keep His Ten Commandments, that by so doing we shall be clothed in the righteousness we shall need when we stand before Him after death for judgment.
However, we have not kept, and do not keep, these Commandments and so we lack that righteousness we so sorely need. We must therefore of necessity look for salvation elsewhere than to ourselves and ‘there is no other name under heaven, given amongst mankind, whereby we must be saved’ (see Acts 4:12), than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the only mediator between God and man.
He was born, God incarnate, to a virginal mother at Bethlehem in ancient Israel, and in thought, word and deed He lived a life of perfect obedience to those Commandments. When aged thirty He commenced a ministry of preaching, teaching and healing, but at the end of three years and a half He was accused, condemned and crucified, because He asserted that he was the Son of God. But in His death He was standing in our place, bearing the punishment for our sin, for which He made a full atonement on our behalf when He yielded up His life on the cross once and for all. Here on the cross His blood was shed, the price He paid to redeem us, to pay off our debt of sin and to propitiate the just wrath of God upon us. So doing, He effected a blessed reconciliation between God and man.
On the third day from His death He rose from the dead. In His resurrection he overcame death and was shown to be the Son of God in power (Rom. 1:4). He appeared to His disciples on the day He rose and then subsequently on varied occasions over a period of forty days, at the end of which He ascended back into heaven, where He sat down at God’s right hand, the place of power and honour
From there He sent to earth the Holy Spirit to be the Guide, the Counsellor and Comforter of His people. In addition, from there, as THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jer.33:16), He clothes in His own perfect righteousness all those who come to Him in faith, confessing their sin, their need and their helplessness. To such as these He dispenses forgiveness, pardon and peace of mind, things which are the witness of a conscience sprinkled with His blood (see Heb.10:2,32) and which He grants to all who put their trust in Him.
Further, He puts God’s laws into our minds and writes them on our hearts (Heb.10:16), as a result of which we become inclined to virtue. Also, consequent upon our faith in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit to indwell us, Whose indwelling is the pledge of our redemption (Eph.4:30), and without Whom we could not walk the Christian way.
Life as a Christian begins with the second birth, a sovereign act of the Holy Spirit when, unsought, He visits the soul. In this divine work the soul is born again in newness of life with a mindset re-orientated toward God, but it is when we come to faith in Christ alone, having abandoned all our attempts to make ourselves acceptable to God, that we receive the Holy Spirit to indwell us. That first visit and the indwelling may occur so closely to each other as to appear one act, or they may be separated by a space of up to years.
In addition, He, Christ, is the Bread of Life to us He maintains us in eternal life, by His heavenly ministry in which He intercedes with God for us, since we still fall into sin.
He is also the Good Shepherd, Who exerted His care for us to the point where He laid down His life in our defence thereby gaining us eternal security, for the salvation he has worked can never be undone, because He ever lives as our Surety
Further, He is the Light of the world (John 9:5) and He dispels the darkness of our minds, thereby enabling us to grasp divine truth.
Finally, He will return for all who have put their trust in Him to take us to Himself, and on that resurrection morning, those of us who have died He will raise to life, re-uniting soul and body, and we, with those of us still living, will put on immortality and be with Him for ever.
Death, where is your sting,
Grave, your victory?
Thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Cor.15;55,57)
Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen indeed.
(Revelation 22:20)
TO GOD BE THE GLORY. AMEN AND AMEN