To Review:
Step One – He paved the way long before we were born;
Romans 5:7-9
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!
Step Two – Recognize we are separated from God by our actions
Romans 3:10-12
10 As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
Step Three – We have to believe.
That is the first part of our part of the price. To believe.
Acts 16:30-31
30Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Which brings me to Step Four – RECEIVE!
Faith through Grace. IT’S A GIFT!
A GIFT
The other person in a deal can GIFT the item to you. That is the other way a deal can be made!What is our responsibility in the event of being offered a gift? RECEIVE!
And now, on with Part Three. Picking up with Step four.
Step Four – Receive the Gift!
The only way to own a gift is to receive that gift from the original owner.
To say yes to the dealer, that is giving you a gift – the ability to pay for the vehicle you wanted, without you having to do anything, really.
Why wouldn’t someone want to receive a gift?
They may not believe that they deserve the gift,
In the area of salvation, that is correct. As I’ve discussed, we are all sinners, no one is worthy. That is why Jesus came to die on the cross on our behalf.
What is this gift? Payment for Sin
Romans 6:23
The wages of sin is death.
Because of sin, we are separated from God. In any relationship, a separation can determine the priority of that relationship.
What is the ATTITUDE? This shows the importance of the relationship.
Adam and Eve were so embarrassed about their sin that they hid from God.
God was so invested in that relationship He came looking for them.
Was He surprised that they ate of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil? Of course not! He wanted to show them how important it is to follow his rules to live and his paradise. He also wanted to show them that he had their back. He had a plan.
First the plan had to do with sacrificing animals to pay the price for their sin with one animal per person. This was the promised that He gave to not only Adam and Eve, but also to Lucifer. Genesis 3:15
He will send a deliverer who will be bruised in his heel(death) but will crush the head of the serpent(ressurection). That is how much God wants to have a relationship with you and me.
The sacrifices started out one-for-one for Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:21-24
One for Cain and one for Able. Genesis 4:3-7
Noah sacrificed for his family. Genesis 8:20-22
Then there were sacrifices for houses ( Exodus 12) and then for tribes and then for nations.
The ultimate sacrifice was One Man for the World!
Jesus paid the Price
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
The issue is blood of goats and Rams was not satisfying the debt but rather delaying the consequence of sin which is death. The sacrifices the Old Testament did not pay the debt they only delayed it until the time that the perfect sacrifice, the perfect lamb could be given. There was no one that could walk perfectly enough to pay the price for themselves much less pay the price for all of creation, until Jesus!
The rest of Romans 6:23 –
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
1 Peter 1:18-19
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
Hebrews 9:11-12
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He entered the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands (that is, not of this creation).
12 He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
The item (US) is so desired by God that He chose to pay the price for us, or in more detailed terms, he wiped the Slate clean.
2 Corthinans 5:17-19
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them.
The story of Cain and Abel(Genesis 4) explain to us how there are heart issues behind our sacrifices.
Attitude.
One’s offering was received, one’s was not. And Cain did not take heed, and went on to commit the first recorded murder.
Just because we pay a sacrifice it doesn’t mean that it’s received. Anything that we have to give was given to us in the first place!
1 cor 13….if I speak in tongues…and have not love…it is nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
But there are going to be those that stand at the gate and say Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name did we not heal in your name did we not raise the dead and your name? And he is going to say depart from me you evildoers, for I never knew you. To me that implies that evil doers can cast out demons, heal the sick, and raise the Dead. That means that they are evil teachers prophesied that do not know the Lord Jesus!
Matthew 7:22-23
22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’
There’s the parable of the 10 Virgins – five did not prepare. Matthew 25
There are all the people that were the religious leaders of the day – they were condemned for hypocrisy by Christ. Matthew 23
It is said many times when we stand in the Kingdom we’re going to be very surprised you got it and who didn’t. That kind of brings to mind the thing about the pharisee and the tax collector before the altar. The tax collector, a despised man, is on his knees saying “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.” The pharisee is standing up, which in and of itself says a lot about his attitude’ and saying “Lord I’ve done this and I’ve done that and I’ve done the other.” ( Luke 19:9-14)
Where do I fall in the room between these two? Does this mean rich men can’t get to heaven? Oh, thank heavens, NO! It means it’s harder for a rich man to enter in than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. (Matthew 19:23-24)
It also means that God is interested in our hearts.
We are like the person not making our relationship a priority. The whole point of making relationship priority is you have to actually know that is a priority! You have to know that you want that relationship! You have to know the value of that relationship! When we are lost in sin and we didn’t have any desire for Jesus Christ, He chose to state how valuable is the relationship to him. He gave his life for us because he wanted to spend eternal life with us.
Romans 5:9
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The value of this gift is not dependent upon OUR goodness, but solely upon the perfection of Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
The fact that God the Father chose to allow His own son to die on the cross IN OUR PLACE, is what imparts worth and value to us.
If we say NO?
Walking away from a gift?
I think just about everyone can say that there was one person in their life that “got away”.
Was it because you didn’t say that you love them?
Was it because you didn’t recognize you needed them in your life?
Was it because you were just too of your full of yourself at that time? Whatever the reason there are so many people that had a person that they gave up on, and that person left them.
The point is, to actually OWN a gift, you have to say YES, and receive that gift.
And the beauty of the Love of God is that, we can say no.
Unlike Sheep.
Though, like sheep, if we say no, our lives will end in eternal death. and we do not have the protections that are provided to the sheep by having a shepherd looking over them. But that comes in more detail in my discussion about Jesus being my shepherd.
So, we can’t pay, but there is a price.
We are told to COUNT THE COST in several parables.
Luke 14:28-30 and Luke 14:31-33
Matthew 8:18-22
Matthew 19
Payment Plan
So what’s the payment plan?
That is walking out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
That is walking a life where we are persecuted for Christ sake, we sacrifice the lusts of the flesh for the growth of the spirit.
That is choosing live as much like Christ as we possibly can.
That is coming to him when we fail, because he rose again from the dead his blood continues to be effective as the price to pay for her since.
There is no longer any need for sacrificing lambs and goats and Rams and Bulls. There’s not even any reason to sacrifice doves and pigeons.
Romans 12 1-2
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
1 Cor 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Yes, there is a payment plan – and that means there is someone to whom we make payment.
The gift of God is eternal life, Peace, Joy, and love, unconditional love. I do not understand why anyone would say no.
Part four and step five of MY and the word Shepherd are combined.
That will come next!
Merry Christmas!
Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I want to thank
- Blue Letter Bible and
- Bible Gateway and
- Bible Hub
for the ability to search the Bible online.
“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest
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