He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
I was watching a video on YouTube. It was a sermon by a Pastor named Chuck Vuolo. The video was about the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. Pastor Chuck talks about the absolute grace of Jesus and the absolute truth of Jesus. Its a great video. If you want to watch it, look it up. Its called "Behold, The Grace and Truth of Jesus Christ". There is a story I would like to share with you that I heard in this video.
A brother and sister were walking home from school. That day they had received their report cards. The brother asked the sister "So how did you do on your report card"? The sister answers "I didn't do very well. I have failing grades and I am going to get a beating when I get home." She then asked her brother "How did you do on your report card?" Her brother answered "I did well. I have all passing grades". The sister began to worry because she knew that when she got home, she would be punished for having such bad grades. She said "I am scared because I got bad grades and I am going to get punished by our father." The brother, who felt compassion for her sister said the following" Lets switch report cards so that you wont get punished and get all the glory." The sister was in shock. He continued by saying" I will take your report card and I will say it is mine and I will take the punishment you deserved so you wont have to suffer for it." Who would be foolish enough to pass a deal like that up? What God offer surpasses this and yet its turned down.
2 Corinthians 5:14,21
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again....God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I am not condoning switching report cards, but for the purpose of this story and the point that is trying to be made, this is what occurred when Jesus was nailed on a cross. Jesus lived a perfect life and got all A's. Jesus lived a perfect life in righteousness and in every thought, word and deed was perfect. We have lived a sinful life and got all F's. We have broken each moral, spiritual and ethical rule and we deserve the punishment of hell. When we believe in Jesus Christ, God exchanges our imperfect lives for the perfect life of Jesus Christ. Jesus is so full of grace, He exchanges His perfect life for ours so we can be the righteousness of God. When we exchange"report cards", Jesus gets our F's and gets punished. When we get the A's Jesus got, we are accepted by God in this life and when we die and go to be with the Lord. We are ushered into His eternal presence and welcomed.
1 John 4:9-10
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
If you are a sinner, you have to love Jesus and hate your sin so you can love Jesus. Jesus Christ is the cure for sin. He heals what is wrong with us. In John 3:16 the scripture says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God loved us first. So God gave us His only son so that anyone who believes that Jesus died on a cross for sins and was raised from the dead to let us know that the payment of Jesus Christ's life was good enough to purchase us back from sin. If you do not believe, God still loves you. The bible says that God makes the sun rise on the righteous and the unrighteous and makes it rain on the righteous and unrighteous. But He will not take pleasure in you. Just like us Christian husbands, we are to love others, but we only take pleasure in our wives. We who believe are the bride of Christ. So in that same way, God loves everyone and desires no one to go to hell. But God only takes pleasure in the saints. Church, He is our prize and we are His portion. Those who are saved belong to Christ and are undeservedly favored by God. This undeserved favor is called "Grace". Thank God for His endless mercy because He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve.
Romans 5:6-10
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through te death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Some might say "Well, why should I be sorry for being human?" God created mankind and His intention for mankind was to have fellowship with God, for us to worship Him and obey Him. God made all of this for us. Another gift He gave us was free will. See, God is love. Love does not force itself on anyone. So God being a God of love, gave us free will so we can choose to love Him or not love Him. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and as a result of it, and punishment because God is a just God, God judged their sin and He cursed Adam's descendants and cursed all of creation. God did not make the choice to sin. Remember that God is a holy God. Because He is the most holy, no sin can be in His presence and there is no sin in Him. The only one who live up to God's criteria is God. So He sent Himself to earth...to become a servant for the very people who nailed Him on the cross.
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