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Why Did Jesus Have to Die? by Michael Lane

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?
By Michael Lane, Executive Director, Delve Christian Ministries

"Christ took our sins and the sins of the whole world as well as the Father's wrath on his shoulders, and he has drowned them both in himself so that we are thereby reconciled to God and become completely righteous". - Martin Luther

Justice
As much as it is true that God is love, it is also true that God is justice and judgment. We may initially have a negative view of this quality, for it comes with the image of God high in the clouds, watching our every move and sending fire and brimstone to consume those who step out of line. In reality, justice is what makes it possible for there to be a sharp line between good and evil. It's what makes the distinction real, for without it, the two will blur and become meaningless. Without justice, we will fail to even comprehend what goodness is.

For me, the hardest part of understanding God's plan of salvation is simply this - why did Jesus have to die? If I cry out to God to be forgiven of my sins, why can that not simply be done and over with? Why did Jesus have to suffer and die? On the surface, it seems horribly unfair. Jesus was the most perfect person who ever lived, yet he suffered unimaginable pain and agony for my sins. Why did God allow this? Why not just make my sin vanish away?

Imagine this idea in your own home, if you have any young children. Every time your child does something wrong, let's pretend you will simply forgive them, clean up the mess and say nothing. There will be no punishment and no cleaning of their own mess so long as they ask for forgiveness. If they hurt you then say sorry, you must forgive and say nothing else. You must not hurt them or upset them in any way. If they destroy something but then apologize, you must replace it without saying another word. There will be no punishment or judgment for this child so long as they ask for your forgiveness. You will still have to try to do your best to teach them right and wrong, but there will never be a consequence for bad behavior. In this scenario, it's easy to see that your child will learn to do what feels best for them, for they cannot possibly have a sense of other people's needs and feelings. Without consequence and punishment, they will become ultimately selfish because it is impossible for them to know what it feels like to hurt another person - we have taken this away from them. There is no doubting that this child will become a terror and a monster, even though we have tried to teach them right from wrong in our own way. You see, it's justice and judgment that are missing from this example and without these, a sense of right and wrong can never fully develop. You can love a child all you want but if you take justice and discipline away from them, your love will not be able to save them.

And so it is with sin in our lives. If there is no consequence for sin, then how can we truly repent? If God redeems me for a time until I sin again, I am not truly forgiven, I am only forgiven until the next time I sin, which is sure to be very soon. But worse still, how could I ever really be sorry? Like the child who utters a quick, "sorry" with no thought or feeling, our cries for forgiveness will be hollow and automatic. We know that God will forgive us no matter what, so why bother getting all upset and emotional about it? Soon, it will not matter anyway. We will truly be bad and will seek forgiveness as a ritual for no other reason than to avoid punishment. We will not just do evil, we will be evil.

No, the consequences for sin must be real, and as much as it seems objectionable on the surface, the punishment must be real. It is consequence and punishment which makes good really good, and evil really evil. Without it, we could never hope to know the difference. As hard and potentially unfair as it may seem, the debt we incur for sin is death. If we have sinned, we can never be with God in Heaven. We will be eternally separated from Him unless the debt is paid.

And here we find yet another dilemma. We cannot pay the debt, for it is too much and we are not good enough. Yet no matter how much God loves us, He cannot simply ignore the debt, otherwise there will not be any justice in the universe. As we have seen, without justice there can be no appreciation of right and wrong and there can be no redemption. The answer, of course, is that another can pay that debt for us if we will permit Him to.

Jesus Took Your Place.
I am indebted to Pastor Leroy Pennell for the following illustration, which I have found incredibly helpful.

There was once a tribe where the chief was a wise and powerful man. He was respected for his physical strength as well as his tough and fair laws which everyone respected and obeyed. However, one day, it was discovered that someone was sneaking into the tents and stealing. The chief ordered that this person be found and that the punishment for this crime would be 40 lashes with the whip. "No one is exempt!" he declared. "This punishment must be served." The tribe agreed that it was a fair punishment. However, the chief was devastated when he discovered that it was his frail old mother who was the thief. "Surely in her old age, she will never survive 40 lashes," he thought, "but I cannot change the punishment, for it is fair and just and has already been announced." At the thought of losing his mother whom he loved, he was heart-broken. When the time came for the punishment to be administered, the chief gave the order to begin and at once, his mother cried out, "Save me my son!" Immediately, the chief ran and embraced his mother, shielding her entire body from the whips. As the whips came down upon his back again and again and the pain filled him, he quietly whispered to his mother that he loved her.

This is what Jesus Christ has done for us. As we cry out for mercy at the moment at which we understand that we cannot save ourselves, Jesus takes our place upon the cross and pays the debt on our behalf. It is a sacrifice that He alone can make, for He is God - he is perfect and has never sinned. Yet at the same time, Jesus was fully man and understood what it meant to live, to love, to truly feel pain and to freely and completely surrender his will to the Father. It was not a sacrifice which God demanded and took, rather, it was a loving and merciful gesture by Jesus as part of his Father's plan. Jesus freely gave himself to take your place, suffer on the cross and free you from your sin.

For those of us who have accepted Christ's sacrifice, we know that although we did not literally share his pain on the cross, this does not mean that it was not real for us. This is not the same as the parent who fixes the mess and replaces the broken furniture. Jesus' pain and death were a real event and His suffering will be felt for all time. Each of us will carry a piece of that memory with us as we understand that every time we sin, that sin was in part responsible for the agony he endured that day. We know that our sin has real consequence and knowing that this consequence was suffered by someone totally innocent makes it all the more real. As Christians we still stumble and sin from time to time, yet we know that the Holy Spirit is working to purify us and make us holy. Each time we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us and reminds us of what Jesus did for us, so that we do not fall back into our old ways.

To be saved from sin, you must accept what He has done and express to Him that He is our Lord and Savior, for God will not force you to accept his offer of salvation. Once you have made this choice, when God looks upon you, he will no longer see the stain of your sin. He will see only the righteousness of His Son who clothes and surrounds you. With the holiness of Jesus in your life, you can stand before God and He will accept you because of the sacrifice His perfect Son has made. That is God's plan for salvation and that is how we can truly be saved.

Answered Prayers in Egypt by Carl Moeller

In terms of watershed events and turning points, my last visit to Egypt in 2009 now seems a near eternity ago. Just three years ago deep mistrust hindered interaction among the nation's Coptic Orthodox, Roman Catholics and Protestants. The rifts thwarted Egypt's Christians from working together for the kingdom of God.

For many years, some Egyptian Christians prayed for revival. Then as 2010 drew to a close, they heard God saying something big was going to happen in 2011. Many Christians prayed for the Lord to open new doors of ministry in the coming year. Others prayed for political change. A few minutes into 2011, a car bomb exploded as worshipers were leaving midnight Mass at a Coptic church in Alexandria, killing 23 and injuring about 100. Ten days later a police officer opened fire on Copts on a train, killing one and injuring five.

Such heinous acts of terrorism seem an anti-answer to these prayers. Violence against Christians in Egypt ramped up as a secular political revolution began to unfold, driving Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak from power. The country plunged into a violent free-for-all. Many Christians feared the worst.

One day last year amid the turmoil, the protests and violence arrived at the doorstep of an evangelical church in Cairo. The smell of tear gas permeated the room where church leaders had gathered to pray. A pastor at the gathering knew how to make an antidote cocktail to remove the sting of the gas. That's when the church's leaders came up with a simple idea: Go downstairs, greet people and offer the building's front patio as a shelter to treat the injured.

Earlier this month I traveled back to Egypt with some fellow Christians. Just a few blocks from that church, some of Egypt's youth were demonstrating against the government. We visited the church following a prayer gathering attended by a thousand Christians interceding for the nation. There we found church people on the patio treating the wounded and tear-gassed.

When I visited this church three years before, we had coffee on this same patio. Now it has become a triage hospital in the middle of a war zone.

These events have stirred Egypt's Christians to come together across denominational lines to seek the Lord. On Nov. 11, 2011, over 70,000 Copts, Catholics and Protestants held a nationally televised prayer service marked by miraculous healings. One report said the 12-hour service was the largest Christian event in Egypt for over a thousand years. "That's when we knew this wasn't a political revolution but a spiritual one," a Coptic priest told me. "Something very big is taking place."

The priest commented that 50 days later was Pentecost for Egypt's Orthodox church, which observed the event with a celebration in Tahrir Square. Christians are sharing the gospel, and Muslims are coming to faith in Christ.

But challenges abound in building a new Egypt. Before the revolution, Islamic government officials working in Parliament held prayers and Quran readings in a mosque next door. Recently, however, a fundamental Muslim read the Quran aloud on the floor of Parliament and called everyone to Muslim prayer, which halted all other activity for a time.

The past year has brought spiraling lawlessness. Days after our arrival a few weeks ago, a Presbyterian church leader driving from the airport never arrived home. He is feared kidnapped or murdered. The absence of institutional authority, combined with an absence of civil restraint, makes for big danger. We heard a lot of gunfire and agitated, chanting crowds.

Egyptians refer to this post-Mubarak reality not as "the revolution" but as "the chaos." Burned-out government buildings are everywhere, yet no one is working to repair or tear them down. The tourism-based economy is in shambles. Lack of security keeps visitors away. Extremists in Parliament have stated they want to both ban alcohol throughout the country and require female tourists at the beach to wear veils.

Trials abound. Egypt's Christians understand that greater persecution will come. But greater still is their hope. They believe Egypt's revolution isn't political, but spiritual. Many Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus, and Christians are deepening their commitment to Christ. "Salt that is in warehouses is not effective," said Yusuf (not his real name), a Muslim Background Believer. "The salt has to be in the food.

"We Christians have to go out and not only work in churches. The revolution remains incomplete. Worse things will take place first.”

The Coptic priest concurred. "We believe Egypt will come to the Lord," he told us. "We are praying for a revival to sweep all of Egypt. We're not putting hope in politics but in the Lord."

God's Word tells us that persecution is inevitable. But persecution will prepare Egypt for revival as the nation's people see the futility in any belief system not built solely on Christ. Jesus tells us that in this world we will face trouble. But through Him we can obey His call to take heart in every hardship. He has overcome the world.

Fromk Crosswalk

What Did Jesus Teach?

What Did Jesus Teach?
By Michael Lane, Executive Director, Delve Christian Ministries
Love
Jesus taught us about love. On a few occasions, He was asked which is the most important commandment, and His response was, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Jesus gave us some examples of what it means to love through His teaching and His words. Through His compassion and healing of the sick, Jesus taught us to care for one another and take care of those who are in need. At the last supper when He washed the feet of His disciples, He taught us that we need to serve those we love.

One of Jesus' most famous and difficult teachings is to love not just our friends and family, but also our enemies. Jesus explained that there is nothing special or extraordinary in loving those who love us back - even wicked people do as much. He said, "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back."

Forgiveness
One of the reasons why the Pharisees (a strict Jewish sect of that day) hated Jesus is because he claimed that He could forgive sins. They knew that only God could forgive sins and since they did not believe Jesus was the Son of God and had this authority, they plotted to kill Him.

Jesus taught us that when we repent of the bad things we've done and ask God to forgive us, He will hear us and forgive us. But first, we must forgive those who have wronged us, otherwise God the Father will not forgive us. It is not enough to forgive only once - we must forgive every time we are wronged. Jesus said, "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."

Judging Others
Jesus warned us not to judge others since we are all sinners. Jesus said, "How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Even though Jesus was perfect and never sinned, He had mercy and compassion for sinners. The Bible gives the account of a woman who was caught in adultery and was about the be stoned to death. Jesus said to her accusers, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her." They understood what Jesus was saying and they all left. Jesus forgave the woman and told her, "Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more."

Wealth and Poverty
Jesus taught us to be faithful and generous in our giving back to God and giving to other's who are in need. While sitting with His disciples, they watched as people came and gave their money to the temple treasury. One poor widow came and put in two small coins worth less than a penny. After witnessing this, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Jesus never said that it was a sin to be wealthy, but He did teach that having wealth would make it very difficulty for people to follow Him. The wealthy may become too attached to their possessions and if we are to follow Jesus, nothing can be more important to us than He is. To prove his point, one very wealthy man who had kept all the other commandments came to Jesus and asked Him how to have eternal life. Jesus replied, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." The man went away sad because he could not part with all of His wealth. When he saw this, Jesus said to His Disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."

The point of this teaching is that we must not become too focused on what we have in this world. We are here for a but a short time, so we must remain focused on things that are important -loving and serving God. When we die, our possessions will mean nothing.

Hypocrisy
Jesus despised hypocrisy and no one was more hypocritical in His day than the Pharisees. On the outside, they appeared holy and righteous as they prayed loudly in the streets, clamored for the best seats in the temple and obeyed the law strictly and to the very letter. On the inside, they did not truly know God and their hearts were hard.

Jesus taught us to love God genuinely and not to make a show of it for others. When we give and when we pray, we should do it privately. When we fast, we should not try to look ill and weak. Finally, Jesus taught us that love is the most important commandment and that our love and compassion should guide how we treat others, not strict, man-made rules.

Prayer
Jesus prayed to His Father often and taught us that we should do the same. As an example of how to pray, Jesus taught His disciples the following prayer, "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."

Jesus taught that He was the Messiah
Near the end of His life, Jesus began to reveal to His disciples that He was the long awaited Messiah which God had promised would come to save the Jewish people. This was something most of His disciples had believed very early on, for in John 1:41-42 it is written, "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah' (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus" In some respects, Jesus was not what everyone had expected because He came from such humble beginnings. Some had been expecting a king or a mighty warrior who would free Israel in a military or political sense. Instead, Jesus came to save them from themselves and their sinful nature. Despite all of His miracles, many of the Jewish leaders of that day could not accept Jesus as the Messiah and eventually, He was put to death.

Jesus Taught that He was the Son of God
Jesus claimed to be more than just the Messiah, He also claimed to be the Son of God. Jesus often referred to God as "His Father", but it soon becomes clear that Jesus has a very special relationship with God which is greater than any other man. It also became clear that Jesus, while fully man, is also God, (what we might call, "God The Son") who has all the attributes of God, yet is subservient in will to God the Father. Jesus explains in the Gospel of John:

The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?" "I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?" Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Jesus Taught that He Is Our Savior
Finally, Jesus explained to His disciples that His purpose in coming to them was to offer a way to the Father. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." When we believe in Him, follow Him and place our faith in Him, Jesus becomes our path to God the Father and Heaven. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was made to save each and every one of us, and those who place their trust in Him will be saved. Jesus explained,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."

The Bible And TV Guide...

Bible And TV Guide:
They lie on the table, side by side: The Holy Bible and the TV Guide.

One is well worn, but cherished with pride (Not the Bible, but the TV Guide.)
One is used daily to help folks decide. (No! not the Bible; it's the TV Guide.)

As the pages are turned, what shall they see:
Oh, what does it matter?.....turn on the TV.

Then confusion reigns, they can't all agree
on what they shall watch on the old TV.
So,they open the book in which they confide.
(No, not the Bible.....it's the TV Guide.)

The Word of God is seldom read. Maybe a verse e'er they fall into bed.

Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be... not from reading the Bible
-- but from watching TV.

So then back to the table, side by side, lay the Holy Bible and the TV Guide.

No time for prayer....no time for the Word.
The plan of salvation is seldom heard.

But forgiveness of sin so full and free is found in the Bible...........not on TV.

Maine's Giant Lobster!