Bad News, Good News, And A Fanastic Bonus

Read Hebrews 9:1-28

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to
face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away
the sins of many people; and he will appear a second
time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those
who are waiting for him.”
(Hebrews 9:27-28)

Thoughts… This is really the essence of the Bible, the plan of salvation in a nutshell: Sin brings death, Jesus provides pardon, God grants eternal life.

The most distressing, unavoidable reality for human beings who have never submitted their lives to God is that upon their death, they will stand before Almighty God, Judge of all creation, to give an account for their lives. That is why the fear of death, even if it is a subconscious fear, grips the hearts of humanity. It is that fear that motivates people to do all sorts of things in this life to salve the pain, yet the fear remains because the eventuality of death and judgment are unavoidable.

“For the wages of sin is death…It is appointed unto
man once to die, and after that, judgment.”
(Romans 6:23, Hebrews 9:27)

That’s the bad news! And it is really bad.

However, there is good news! The death of Jesus Christ on the cross trumped the wages of sin and cancelled eternal death. Jesus paid the price for sin, so that repentant sinners wouldn’t have to. He died in the place of sinners so sinners could live through his death.

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the
offering for our sin, so that we could be made
right with God through Christ.”
(II Corinthians 5:21)

“But to all who believe and accepted Jesus, God gave them
the right to become the children of God.”
(John 1:12)

That’s the Good News! And it is really good.

But there is some more news. And it is really great news. To those who were once far from God, hell-bound sinners whose just punishment was trumped by their acceptance of Jesus’ death, not only have their sins been forgiven and forgotten by God, heaven is thrown in, free of charge.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God
is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 6:23)

Forgiveness and pardon were more than we deserved.  But heaven, now that is a fantastic bonus!  No wonder King David sang, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!” (Psalm 32:1)

I bet you can sing that too!

So when I say, “have a great day!”, you really can have a great day!

Prayer… O what joy is mine! My sins have been forgiven, put out of sight. You remember them no more, O God, and I am no longer under their bondage. I am saved, set free, brought into your family, and given a place before you for all eternity. Lord, this truly is a great day!

One More Thing… “He hideth our unrighteousness with His righteousness, He covereth our disobedience with his obedience, He shadoweth our death with His death, that the wrath of God cannot find us.” — Henry Smith