Why did He have to die?
Hi EveryoneThis will be the last EmmDev in this series.
Don't forget to read the remaining three chapters over the next three days:
- Fri 7 Apr - Jesus Rises: Luke 24
- Sat 8 Apr - Jesus rises -- death dies! 1 Cor.15
- Sun 9 Apr - How it all Ends: Revelation 21
After Easter we will be going on leave and so I will take a break from EmmDevs until May 2.
I wish you a BLESSED EASTER and pray that it will be a special time of growth and closeness to God.
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| 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, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans5:6-19) |
I had planned a more technical devotion unpacking the "first Adam" and "second Adam". (You can go to "Why did Jesus die?" to see that.)
Here's a tweaked version of something I wrote back in 2006.
My son Caleb, at six years old, was a demonstrative child. When I came home after being out a lot, he would launch himself at me and hug me as hard as he could! I had to coach him to be a bit more gentle with his mother who at one stage had bruises to prove her son's love!
We are not left to doubt God's love for us. He has demonstrated it to us. (The Greek word implies "made tangible") Our newspaper's date bears testimony to the fact that Christ came into our world!
We were in no position to demand that God prove the reality of His love. We were sinners. Not only does it mean that God was not compelled to love us or show He loves us, but it also means that we are sin-blinded to the demonstration that has been given.
But consider the facts:
He came,
He died,
He rose,
He established the church so that you and I could be reached
and He is coming again.
The inescapable conclusion is that we are loved.
BLESSED EASTER!
