Five Questions

S

ome years ago I was on a train leaving Quebec. After taking my seat in a crowded coach, a Roman Catholic priest sat down beside me. It wasn’t long before he noticed a small Bible case which I carried, and he asked me if I were a businessman.

“No,” I replied, “I preach.”

“Where?”

“Wherever the Lord opens a door,” I replied.

“Do you believe there is a heaven?”

“I do,” I said.

“Do you believe there is a hell?”

“I do,” I replied.

“Do you believe there is a purgatory?”

“No, I don’t,” I answered.

“Now,” I said, “you have asked me three questions; I would like to ask you two. My first is this: Is the Roman Catholic Bible the Word of God?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Well, my next question is just this: Is purgatory God’s judgment for my sins?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Now,” I replied, “the Roman Catholic Bible says in John 5:24, ‘Amen, amen, I say unto you, that he who heareth My word, and believeth Him that sent Me, hath life everlasting; and cometh not into judgment, but is passed from death to life.’ Therefore on your own statement that the Roman Catholic Bible is the Word of God and that purgatory is judgment for my sins, I have the assurance that, whoever you may believe will go to purgatory, I will never go there. This has made me so happy that I am trying to get others happy about it too! You would not blame me for that, would you?”

Happiness

With some hesitancy, he replied, “No, I would not.” I then asked him if he would object to me showing him how to be happy as well. After a thoughtful pause, he said, “No, I would not.”

“Well,” I replied, “that is the very thing I want to do, for according to your own admission, there is no purgatory for the one who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Continuing our conversation, I remarked that I, like him, had witnessed people dying. I told him of one I had once visited who was about to die and to whom I had quoted Ephesians 1:4, which assures the believer that he is “holy and unspotted in His sight in charity” (Roman Catholic Translation). The dying believer replied, “Isn’t that lovely, and I only have to wait until He takes me home to Himself.”

Then looking at the priest I said, “Wouldn’t you like to die like that?” A lump seemed to come in his throat and he couldn’t answer, but later when he got up to leave, he shook hands with me, remarking as he did so, “I hope I will meet you again.”

“Put your trust in the Word of God,” I replied, “and we will meet with Christ in glory.”

You too can believe the precious Word of God and know by faith that there is no judgment for you. Although we have all sinned and deserve God’s judgment, He in love has found a way of blessing for lost sinners, for our verse says that He sent His Son — sent Him to bear our sins on the cross.

Let us once again quote from the Roman Catholic Bible, Hebrews 9:28: “Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many.” Yes, He exhausted all the judgment for all who believe, and now God gives everlasting life as a free gift to all who believe in Him.

I want you to be happy about it too!

Do not forget to read John 5:24 in your own Bible — believe it and rejoice in it!

“Amen, amen, I say unto you, that he who heareth My word, and believeth Him that sent Me, hath life everlasting; and cometh not into judgment, but is passed from death to life” (John 5:24, Roman Catholic Bible).

One Quick Call

On February 25, 1955, a young mother in San Francisco made her doctor swear he would keep her secret. He would never reveal her name to anyone who came asking about the child he’d just delivered. But about thirty years later he was dying and the secret burned in him. He sat down to write a letter. The doctor finished his letter and then died with it still on his desk.

Steve Jobs, billionaire founder of Apple and mastermind behind the iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad and so much more, was put up for adoption at birth. His adoptive parents, Paul and Clara Jobs, loved and understood him. Steve later said, when referring to their understanding of his gifts and needs, “Both my parents got me.”

But when Steve reached his thirties, he had a hunger to know more. Where did he come from? He spent years hunting for answers, but each clue ended in a dead end. Finally he was given the name of a doctor. But the doctor told him that he knew nothing about Steve’s birth or adoption.

Do you know where you came from and where you are headed? Dig deeper than mere genetics. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27). God not only has created us, but He wants to enjoy a loving relationship with us. However, our rebellion against Him has ruptured that relationship. Like one of the first people to ever live, Cain, we’ve decided we don’t want to be around God and His authority. “Cain went out from the presence of the Lord” (Genesis 4:16).

Missing Clues

Steve Jobs went home without hope. Weeks later a letter arrived from the executors of the mysterious doctor’s estate. The letter, left on the doctor’s desk, contained the clues Steve had been searching for. Before long he had discreetly contacted his birth mother and found out about a sister, Mona Simpson, who’d become a successful novelist. But Steve didn’t like what he heard about his father “John” Jandali. Steve had no desire to meet his birth father.

Mona went to see John Jandali with the express instruction from Steve that she not tell John anything about him. Mona and John sat down for a few hours’ chat at the small restaurant he managed. John’s a good storyteller and the conversation flowed. He casually mentioned he’d had a baby boy that was put up for adoption before Mona’s birth. Mona asked, “What happened to him?” John replied, “We’ll never see that baby again. That baby’s gone.”

But many years later Jandali discovered his link to Steve. In 2006 Mona confirmed the truth to him but told him Steve Jobs had no interest in meeting him. The years slipped quickly away and Steve refused to connect. John Jandali sent a few unanswered birthday emails but never tried to call his son. As Steve’s pancreatic cancer dragged him into the shadow of death, John told reporters, “Now I just live in hope that, before it is too late, he will reach out to me, because even to have just one coffee with him just once would make me a very happy man.”

Waiting for the Phone to Ring

John Jandali did very little to restore his relationship with Steve Jobs. But God, who isn’t at fault in our ruptured relationship with Him, has done everything He possibly could to reestablish contact with us. “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). The Lord Jesus Christ as a baby entered into the world He had created. He grew up. He was hated for His purity and crucified. But when He died, He died to pay the price to remove the sin barrier that blocked our relationship with Him. He says, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). If we receive His love and forgiveness, then our relationship to God can be restored. But some people are too proud to admit they need to be forgiven.

John Jandali said, “This might sound strange, though, but I am not prepared, even if either of us was on our deathbed, to pick up the phone to call him. … Pride in me does not want him ever to think I am after his fortune.” On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs entered eternity. John Jandali’s iPhone — yes, he carried an iPhone — never rang.

Will you call on God? It’s essential for you to say something like this: “As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me” (Psalm 55:16).

Improving the Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa may not be your favorite work of art, but it would be hard to find a more famous or imitated piece. Painted in approximately 1504 by Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa has had a pretty unique journey.

  • She was stolen from her place in the Louvre and hidden in a small apartment for two years.
  • Pablo Picasso was picked up for questioning about her theft.
  • She has appeared in over 2,000 different advertisements.
  • Joconde, as she is also called, hung in the bedroom of Napolean Bonaparte.
  • She is guarded in a concrete and bulletproof glass viewing case.
  • The Mona Lisa has over 500,000 distinctive cracks in her protective varnish.
  • The information desk at the Louvre answers the question “Where is Joconde?” far more than any other.
  • She is estimated to be worth in excess of $700,000,000.

What Could You Do to Make It More Valuable?

Suppose you or I were to touch up the painting just a bit. Salvador Dali, the famous painter, created a version with some special flourishes that isn’t worth anywhere near as much as the original. Suppose we just make the background a touch more interesting and then sign our names to the bottom. All we would succeed in doing is to reduce its value. Suppose the lady who sprayed red paint at it in April 1974 had succeeded in coating more than its protective casing, would she have improved it or its value?

An Even More Famous Masterpiece

There’s an even more important work that cannot be made more valuable by the extra touches you or I could add. Each one of us has made what we call “little mistakes” in our lives. Most of us are willing to admit that we aren’t perfect, have “messed up” or have occasionally acted in a way that we now regret. God, the holy God we must answer to, says a very uncompromising “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). He had a masterpiece planned for our lives that would have been for His credit and our joy. We have defaced it with our self-will, lust, anger, jealousy and selfishness. No amount of touch-up is going to make it any better.

But, amazingly, God loves us deeply in spite of our rebellion against Him and spoiling of His treasures. So that God could express His love in a perfect way that would let Him have a right to receive us into His presence, Jesus Christ came to pay the ultimate penalty for sin — death. He came to fully and completely wipe out the guilt of any who would trust Him as their Saviour. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). After He completed His work on the cross of suffering for the sin He hadn’t committed, Jesus announced, “It is finished” (John 19:30). God’s ultimate masterpiece — His fair and righteous work to take away sin so that the undeserving could be saved — was completely finished. Nobody would ever need to come along and improve it.

Trying to Improve the Masterpiece

Sadly, there are many people who think God’s beautiful and perfect plan of salvation needs a few of their finishing touches to make it complete. Many religions offer people activities like prayers, penance, pilgrimages and acts of charity that are supposed to make God a touch more favorable toward the pious person. But Jesus’ work was perfect, complete and finished. “After He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). Most of us would be appalled if someone grabbed a can of spray paint and started to “improve” the Mona Lisa’s smile. How could we possibly think that we can improve on God’s smile of love toward us? It’s really an all-or-nothing gift. Either we gratefully receive God’s gift or we not so subtly deny its value by saying we can add to it, improve its worth or pay for it with our own good works. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). What will you do with that masterpiece?

There Is Nothing Left for You to Do

Many years ago Nicholas was raised in religion, but he was notorious for his pursuit of pleasure. However, like you and me, he had both a memory and a conscience.

Nicholas began to remember the many wicked things he had done and the warnings he had received. His conscience convicted him. He thought, “It may be true that there is an eternal punishment for sinners!” He had heard of the “lake of fire” and thought, “If anyone is ever likely to be there, it is myself — for I have never seen or heard of anyone who has sinned as I have done.”

His sins lost their pleasure. The horrors of hell haunted him — he longed for deliverance from his past, from his guilt — from himself! He despaired of ever discovering a way for sinners to be saved. He feared that a long life of penance and a thousand years in purgatory would not be enough to find the favor of a holy God. What could he do?

He had heard of a monastery whose rules and restrictions were the most severe of any, and he decided to go there to seek his soul’s salvation, if possible. He would become a monk and endure all of the harsh discipline demanded, if only he could be sure of pardon.

That monastery was about 1,500 miles from his home, and he walked the whole way because he thought that the long, hot journey might count as a part of his penance. Finally, faint and fearful, he reached the old building and rang the bell. An old monk slowly opened the door.

“What do you want?” asked the aged monk.

“I want to be saved,” replied Nicholas.

“Tell me what you mean,” said the old man.

Nicholas answered, “I have been a far greater sinner than anyone I ever heard of. I do not think it is possible that I can be saved. But I am willing to do whatever may be done, if only I may have a faint hope of escaping eternal punishment. If it must be by spending all of the rest of my life in penance, the harder it is, the more I shall be thankful. Only tell me what to do, and I will gladly do it.”

A Surprising Answer

“If you are ready to do what I tell you,” replied the old monk, “you will go back to Germany. There was One down here who has done the whole work in your place before you came — and He has finished it. He did it instead of you, so there is nothing left for you to do! It is all done.”

“Who has done it?” asked a stunned Nicholas.

“Did you never hear of the Lord Jesus Christ?” replied the old man.

“Yes, of course I have heard of Him.”

“Do you know where He is?” enquired the old man.

“Yes, of course I know. He is in heaven.”

“But tell me,” said the old man, “do you know why He is in heaven?”

“No, except that He is always in heaven.”

“He was not always in heaven,” replied the old man. “He came down here to do the work you want to do yourself. He came down here to bear the punishment of your sin. He is in heaven now because the work is done. If it were not so, He would still be here. He came down to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself!

“Do you not know what He said on the cross? ‘It is finished.’ What was finished? The work you want to begin! And now, if you want to do something worse than all you have ever done — you may cast contempt on the blessed and perfect work of the Son of God by trying to do what only He could do and has finished. It would be as if you said, ‘Christ has not done enough. I must add to the work which He has declared is finished.’

“I stay here where Christ is insulted because I am old and can only walk to the gate. But you can go, and I urge you to go back to your friends and to tell them what the Lord has done for you.”

Said Nicholas, “I stayed three days, and the old man told me much more of the work of the Lord Jesus — not only what His death had done for me, but also how He had risen again to give me eternal life and how He had won a place for me in heaven, above the angels, where He is waiting for me and for all who believe in Him. Now I tell any who will listen the wonderful news of the perfect work of Christ.”

“Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

“Now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

Friend, do you rest in Christ and in His work?

 

 

 

Serious Things Tomorrow

Many years ago there lived in Greece a ruler named Archias. A very selfish man, he lived only for pleasure and cared little or nothing for the needs of his people. Many hated him, and at last some plotted together to kill him.

Archias knew nothing of the plot, but a friend in Athens heard of it. Immediately, he wrote a letter to the king warning him of his danger and pointing out a way to escape. Urgently the vital message was sent on its way.

Archias was busy holding a great feast when the messenger arrived, but since he came all the way from Athens with an important letter, he was admitted at once into the presence of the king.

Last Chance

“My lord,” he said, “your friend earnestly begs you to read his message at once as it speaks of serious things.” Archias, merry with wine, bent on pleasure, was in no mood to read the letter then. Never guessing what it contained, he laughingly cast it aside, exclaiming as he did so, “Serious things tomorrow!” Then he returned to his pleasure.

Poor man. His tomorrow never came. No further warning was given. His evening’s pleasure came to a sad and abrupt end. At the height of the feast, those who had plotted against the king rushed forward and killed him.

Perhaps you are enjoying good health and looking forward to an evening of fun and pleasure. Thinking about your soul is too serious for you to consider just now, and like Archias, you say, “Serious things tomorrow!”

But stop! Tomorrow may never come. This may be your last night on earth. What if God should say to you as He said to a prosperous farmer long ago, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee” (Luke 12:20)?

A Crucial Warning

You may not like such serious thoughts, but Satan, the enemy of your soul, is trying to persuade you to put down this tract and forget its warning. Meanwhile, God is sending you a warning of coming judgment and at the same time pointing out a way to escape.

That way is through Christ crucified on the cross for you. In those three hours of darkness He bore the judgment of God against sin—a judgment that you and I deserved. He died; He rose again; He is seated now at God’s right hand in heaven. Through Him God now offers a free pardon to all who will believe. The pardon states:

“BE IT KNOWN UNTO YOU THEREFORE . . . THAT THROUGH THIS MAN [JESUS] IS PREACHED UNTO YOU THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS: AND BY HIM ALL THAT BELIEVE ARE JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS” (Acts 13:38-39).

Won’t you pay attention to this warning message and come to Christ for safety? Or will you, like Archias, throw it away, saying, “Serious things tomorrow”?

No More Chances

You will have plenty of time for serious thoughts—and for nothing else—when you find yourself without a Saviour, without a friend and without a hope in the darkness of a lost eternity.

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3).

A Story About Nothing

This story is about nothing — nothing at all. That’s what you brought into the world with you when you were born. Just nothing … zero.

There was a man in Italy who added a great deal of money to his first zero, and he became a rich man with a lot of zeros after the number one. He had an expensive car and much more. He also had in his car one little New Testament which he had stuffed out of sight in his glove compartment, because he didn’t know what to do with it.

Think of that! The eternal Word of God, showing the way to everlasting joy with the answer to all the sins and sorrows of life and death … and he didn’t know what to do with it! He knew how to handle money and how to make more. He knew how to get a beautiful house and how to meet im­portant people, but he didn’t know God’s simple way of salvation. How poor can a rich man be?

Then came the car accident. The ambulance was called, and there was nothing he could do but wait. His injuries were not severe, but he knew very well that he could have been killed. His hand reached for the ownership papers of his car, and his fingers came up with that little New Testament. For the first time, he opened it and read that verse about “nothing.” It was 1 Timothy 6:7. “We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”

“I felt as if I had been struck by lightning!” he said later. He realized that if he had been killed, all his possessions would be reduced to the original zero. Nothing would be left for eternity. Not a single penny of all his riches would still be his the moment after his death.

Please Visualize This

But after death there is something that would still be his. His sins! These you cannot get rid of after death. They must be gotten rid of before death or they are yours forever, through the endless ages of eternity. Will you please, at this mo­ment, picture this awful truth — stand­ing before God in your sins!

However, the awful debt of my sins has been paid by the One who loves me and died for me on Calvary. His pre­cious blood cleanses from all sin now, and this cleansing is forever. After I’m gone, everything I own will also be left behind for someone else. But, Jesus is mine forever. I cannot lose Him because He cannot lose me. When God looks at me, He sees Jesus, now and forever.

What About You?

The rich man in the car accident be­gan to read the Bible earnestly, and he soon accepted the Lord Jesus as his Sav­iour and was then baptized. Will you also receive this loving Saviour as your own? “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salva­tion” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

 

Rescued From the Rubble

The rubble, dust and dirt were products of the renovation project in the bathroom. But staring out from underneath it all was a small glistening object. Turns out the plumber in Calgary, Alberta, had uncovered a heavy $50,000 gold bar the size of a cell phone. It had the jeweler’s stamp on it as well as its serial number. The owners were thrilled, of course.
The news brought to mind Jesus’ story about the woman who lost a coin and who swept and searched the house until she found it. It says she also rejoiced. See Luke 15.
Through neglect or carelessness, your life may be like the lost gold bar. Maybe life is mostly an environment of dusty rubble, mislaid plans, broken promises and disappointing results. Maybe, as in the case in Calgary, there is a personal renovation job going on, an attempt to reform and restart, to turn a new page. But you’re finding it difficult to get out of the rubble.
Your Creator’s Workmanship
Remember this: In our ruin we still show the stamp of our Creator’s work — and retain our value to Him. And you have your own serial number in your personal DNA. In your darkness and loneliness, you still have the same value that God put upon you. That has never changed, and that’s why God never stops looking for you.
In fact, it is God who has initiated the search in the debris of our sinful world. It is God who sent Jesus here to sweep, to search, to turn the light on, and to pursue the lost sinner. He came here and lived among sinners, among the filth and debris, yet He was without sin. In rich grace, He went as far as the death of the cross where God’s wrath fell on Him, because of my sin.
An Unimaginably Good God
How could humans ever invent a God like this, a God who seeks and saves unworthy sinners, because they have an undiminished value in His heart of love? Where else is there a God like this who seeks out His enemies and makes them His friends?
It is God’s hand that can pick you up and restore you to the usefulness He intended for you when He made you. You are the object of His search. In the story Jesus told, the woman searched until she found her precious coin. God is not quitting either.
There is a verse in John 3 in the Bible that sums up these thoughts, that speaks of the worth you have to Him and the cost of His search. It says that God loved this evil world so much that He gave us Jesus, and everyone who believes in Him will not stay lost forever, but will have eternal life, right now.
The exact words are: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Will you believe in Him? Will you simply trust Him to sweep away the rubble of sin and restore you to what He intended you to be? You can receive Him as Savior today.

Not Just Ancient History

The historical evidence for Jesus is long-established. Within decades of His life, He is mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians, as well as by many Christian writings. Compare that with, for example, King Arthur, who “maybe” lived around 500 A.D. The sources for events of that time do not even mention Arthur. He is first referred to only 300 or 400 years later. The evidence for Jesus is not “folklore.”
The Christian writings are evidence that is early and detailed. There are early writings by the Apostle Paul, and scholars agree that these were written within about 25 years of Jesus’ death. The detailed biographical accounts of Jesus in the Gospels date from around 40 years after He died. These all appeared within the lifetimes of numerous eyewitnesses and provide descriptions that agree with the culture and geography of first-century Palestine.

Non-Christian Authors
The first non-Christian author to mention Jesus is the Jewish historian Josephus, who wrote a history of Judaism around 93 A.D. He has two references to Jesus. One of these is controversial because it is thought to be edited by Christian scribes, but the other is not suspicious — a reference to James, the brother of “Jesus, the so-called Christ.”
About 20 years later we have the significant Roman high officials, Pliny and Tacitus, who ruled at the beginning of the second century A.D. Their reports fit with the time frame of the Gospels and we learn that Jesus was executed while Pontius Pilate was the governor and that the Christians worshipped Christ as “a god.”
Not Just Ancient History
These abundant and significant historical references by various writers leave us with little reasonable doubt that Jesus lived and died. But another important consideration is that Jesus died and LIVES.
The Bible says that because He lives, “He is able also to save them to the uttermost [completely] that come unto God by Him” (Hebrews 7:25). He knows your situation, your sins and your attempts to break free. He’s not shocked, surprised or repulsed by anything about you. “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). But just like a doctor that scans a patient to expose a cancerous tumor, God exposes our sin so that we will run to Him for treatment to have it removed. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Only God is able to save you, to change your life. And He does this from the inside out. He can cleanse your heart, bring forgiveness to your soul, and put a song in your mouth. He promises to be with us forever. He says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). Those aren’t the words of a long-dead historical figure, a mere inspiring example or a religious dogma. They speak to you at this moment about a living person, Jesus Christ, who wants you to come to Him today to begin a living relationship.
Not Just Optional
But meeting Jesus Christ face to face isn’t just an optional appointment, a mere bonus upgrade to life on earth. Everyone will meet Him. Some do it in this life and begin a personal relationship with Him as their Savior and friend. But here’s another important part of His message: God “commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30‑31).

Seeing Is Believing

Can you see the black dots?

The black dots you see don’t really exist. Whenever you look at one directly, it disappears.
We live in a visual age. Seeing is believing! We only believe in what we can see and touch. To believe in anything else is thought to be misguided faith and fantasy — those who are weak-minded have to depend on “God” as a crutch. However, it’s interesting that as soon as life throws its worst at us, we blame and curse the God that we don’t believe in and become bitter towards Him.
Deep within all of us there is an innate awareness of the God who made us. Some people suppress this inbuilt consciousness. We question, Why should God hide Himself from humanity? Although this might seem a reasonable way of thinking, we have presumed that God should think and act the way we want Him to.
God speaking through a man called David in 1000 B.C. said, “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself” (Psalm 50:21).We try to bring the God of the cosmos down to our level, thus minimizing His awesome splendor and greatness. The Bible says that God dwells “in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Timothy 6:16). Let me introduce you to the Man who has changed my life. He lived 2000 years ago. He is the historical figure who split history in two, the Man whose name is either praised or cursed all over the world.
His name is Jesus, which means Savior. He performed many spectacular miracles in His day, healing the sick and even raising the dead! Many people saw these miracles and yet still refused to believe. One close follower of Jesus wanted to put all doubts to rest and asked him, “Show us the Father” (John 14:8). Jesus replied, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). Now that’s a big claim worth looking into!
Many people saw and believed that this man was the promised Messiah who was to come and save them from their Roman oppressors, but it’s clear upon reading the eyewitness accounts that He was on a very specific rescue mission: He came to save you and me. Jesus Himself said these words: “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). We don’t like to think of ourselves as sinners. It makes us feel uncomfortable, but Jesus here gives us a warning. The Bible says that “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). Whether we agree with God or not, we stand guilty before Him, for it is when we appreciate the ultimate goodness of God and the offensive nature of our sins that we acknowledge our dilemma. The good news is that we don’t need to fear hell because Jesus didn’t come to condemn us, but to save us.
Jesus was eventually crucified because He said that He was God and the Jews believed this to be blasphemy. At least, this is the human perspective of the historical events. Here’s God’s perspective in a nutshell:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
God has given you a gift — His perfect Son, Jesus. He died in your place so that you might be forgiven of all your wrong and receive life forever.

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?
The incredible news is that the tomb of Jesus was found empty three days later. Jesus conquered death and offers us the free gift of eternal life.
Will you agree with God about your sins and put your faith in the God-Man Jesus, who died in your place, taking the punishment that those sins deserved?
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Some would call my Jesus a crutch, and yet we all choose to lean on something. The question is this: Is your crutch strong enough to hold you when your time is up?
Jesus said Himself, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). SEEING IS NOT BELIEVING; rather, BELIEVING IS SEEING. We are faced with a choice, to believe or not. Eternity is too long to be wrong about Jesus.

I Just Couldn’t Help Myself

“I just couldn’t help myself; that bud smelled sooooo good,” said David Allen Thompson as he was booked in the small Pennsylvania town of Charleroi. The list of charges looks pretty nasty …
– theft by unlawful taking,
– receiving stolen property,
– tampering with/fabricating physical evidence,
– possession of a small amount of marijuana.
So where did 27-year-old David get his marijuana stash? From the desk of Officer David Kimball at the Charleroi Regional Police station. David Thompson had dropped by of his own free will to do the good deed of telling the police where they could find some real criminals. In the process, he noticed an evidence bag of “weed” sitting on the officer’s desk for a case that he was writing up. While the officer was distracted, he slipped it into his pocket.
When Officer Kimball couldn’t find the bag, he headed outside the police station hunting for David. Within five minutes, Kimball spotted him walking by. Upon being asked, “What did you do with the weed?” David dropped the baggie back into Officer Kimball’s hands.
Inside the station while he was being booked, David said, “Man, I’m guilty. Can’t you just give me a fine or something?”

A Different Questionnaire
Before you stop shaking your head and wondering about David’s IQ, answer this little questionnaire for yourself:
– Are there any big criminals out there that you’d be happy for God to take care of?
– Do some sins sound soooo good that a little bit once in a while is irresistible for a mere human?
– Do you tell God the size His “fine” should be?
Remember, “a just weight and balance are the Lord’s” (Proverbs 16:11). He’ll do a perfect job of examining our “rap sheets.” Will it be wiped clean by the blood of Christ, or will it require you to answer for yourself for what you yourself have to say “Man, I’m guilty” about?
Did You Know About These “Crimes”?
– “The thought of foolishness is sin” (Proverbs 24:9).
– “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
– “Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5:22).
The Really Good News
While God takes sin very seriously, He’s also made a perfect provision for any who wish to have their “sin charges” cleared from His official record. Here’s one way that He expresses it: “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Societies adjust the penalties for crimes with plea bargains, reduced sentences, adjusting the legal penalties, and clemency programs. All of this helps deal with overburdened criminal justice systems that can’t handle court backlogs and prison costs. Certain actions, such as some marijuana sales, are even decriminalized. God never needs to adjust His standard to accommodate unforeseen problems or because He isn’t able to deal with the flood of sin. Instead, He carried out the maximum penalty against sin on the cross of Calvary when Jesus Christ suffered to put away sin. Now God offers free pardon — and so much more — to any who receive His free gift. But the offer is only on His terms. It is never a negotiated settlement. He says, “Repent … and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15), not “do your best and I’ll let you off the hook.” Will you say, “I’m guilty as charged and I just can’t help myself. Thank You for your free gift of undeserved eternal life”? Or, “I just couldn’t help myself last time, but now I want to try and be better next time”? Only one of those two is acceptable to God.