“For
the Messiah himself died for sins, once and for all, a righteous person on
behalf of unrighteous people, so that he might bring you to God. He was put to
death in the flesh but brought to life by the Spirit;…”. 1 Peter 3:18
Messiah
- One who is anticipated as, regarded as, or professes to be a savior or
liberator. In the Biblical sense it was
the awaited deliverer of the Jews who would free them from oppression and
defeat their enemies once and for all.
Righteous
- Morally upright; without guilt or sin.
Unrighteous
- Not right or fair; unjust; evil. 1
The Jews were looking for a warrior king to rise up and free
them from their enemies. When Jesus came
they were offended that such a seemingly lowly common man, the son of a
carpenter, would dare to presume to be the liberator of anyone, let alone the
Jewish people. They roundly rejected him
as their savior, opening the door for gentiles (all non-Jews) to receive God’s
gift of grace (Romans 11:16-24). The
Jews were looking for an earthly overthrow, God was offering a heavenly reward.
Their inability to see with spiritual eyes what was right in front of them and
amongst them was a critical failure on their part.
God provided a way for all men to become righteous in His
sight by sending His Son to pay their massive sin debt. Those that were and are unrighteous were born
with a free will to make an eternal choice.
We make millions of choices in our lifetime, but this choice is the only
one that truly matters, for it determines their destination after they pass
from this earth. Disbelief does not
negate reality. Christians have chosen
with their own free will to place their faith in an unseen God because it
seemed right to them. The Holy Spirit
reveals the truth to individuals and they either respond positively or negatively. That is the choice all men must
make.
Those who desire to live an abundant and free life that is
neither restrictive nor mundane choose Christ.
Those who have chosen to live as they choose have had their senses dulled
by the enemy who makes them believe they are on the right path and having
fun. When misfortune or tragedy hit
them, they turn and blame the only one who can truly set them free. Christ died for all men yet so few embrace it as truth. Live a Godly life so that others may turn
from their unrighteous lives and receive God’s gracious gift of
forgiveness. Until next time, walk with
the King and be a blessing!
1 The American Heritage®
Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton
Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company and
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged; HarperCollins
Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003.
