He did it for us!

As we go into Holy Week/ Passover and feast of Unleavened bread we tend to get focused on what this period means to us as Christians. There is a lot of self-examining that goes on beforehand and there is a lot of celebration as to what this time means.

One thing that is and always should be is what this time is all about. And it is Jesus Christ. The son of God who gave his life as a ransom for many. Including us.

As in the same time when He walked the Earth and long before, death was common and often trivialized. In those days there were a lot of myths about what happens when you die and the afterlife. Many felt that it wasn’t the finality that it is in physical death. Egyptian Pharaohs, and Chinese Emperors beforehand thought they would be elevated to a god status and were able to keep their possessions from this life to the next life. Many felt that no matter how they lived their lives that the next place after death would be a reward. Oftentimes relying on broken facts and pagan lies about what will happen after life ceases. Many still did not care at all for what happened. For those who were atheists they just believed they died and that was it. Nothing after.

Today it’s still the same in many ways even in our modern culture. Shows and movies give the false interpretation of what death is and what happens next. It’s amazing how so many superhero movies have some sort of reincarnation aspect in them or revival of some sort. A large amount of entertainment shows the ending of life in one form or another without the true impact of what it means and what really is happening in death. It is much trivialized and does not have the impact it should have on most people. Then you have the wide spread abortions today. This is actually not new either. The miracle of life trivialized to just being tissue by a powerful minority. The deep question is, if it is only tissue, why do they buy and sell body parts?

 Christ died for us so we who believe in him can be free of the penalty of death. Death is the complete cessation of life, separation from God. Something no living man has ever experienced and would want to. Nobody knows how bad it truly is. Our bodies still heal. We still have our life and we still have the pleasure of life. This is also the same for those who do not know Him or refuse to. We know from what the bible says Hell is not a place we want to ever go. The worst way you can find that out is when it is too late. There is a reason he gave Himself to save us from it. If it was nothing to concern ourselves with then why would God go to such extreme lengths to save us in allowing His Son to die and save us from it!

When Christ came and died for our sins he paid them a penalty for all of mankind by putting our sin on him. That sin we have separated us from God and made us worthy of death. The punishment we had awaiting us is a place often referred to Hell or the grave. The true separation of us from our creator. For a number of people that separation will become permanent.

Christ experienced the death we deserve in order to free us from that end. He was the only one who could do it and the only one who was sinless on this Earth making him qualified for the job. It was an act of love from the Father and from Him to give us a future we would not otherwise have.

The Apostle Paul put the wonderful act in a very wonderful way in Romans 5:

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

This wonderful act frees us from the penalty of death and allows us to be reunited with our creator. Looking forward to his Kingdom coming to Earth and being established forever with His future return.

Your Brother in Christ,

Steve Koenig

Lakeshore Fellowship