“Therefore,
remember … that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from
citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without
hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were
far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians
2:11-13
This is God’s grace in action; His
unmerited or undeserved favor. Man deserves nothing from God but judgment and
wrath for the way they have lived.
Scripture clearly says in Romans 3:23 that ALL have sinned and
fallen short of God’s glory. Revelation
21:27, speaking of heaven, says, “Nothing
impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or
deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.” We
are entitled to nothing. We could never
be good enough. Any good deed done under
our own power for our own honor is worth nothing in God’s kingdom. It is the selfless man, the humble man, the
merciful and kind man who lives to honor God that receives praise from the One
who made him.
At one time anyone who was not a Jew*
was far away from God. The Jews were
God’s chosen people. Their rejection of
Jesus Christ as their Messiah opened the door for all non-Jews to be given the
opportunity to enter in to the life that God now provides for all men. It is the blood of Christ that takes away the
sins of the world; however, it is not a blanket pardon for all men. Some refuse to believe in the existence of a
Creator God. A blanket pardon would
allow for men to trample on God’s incredible and gracious gift of
forgiveness. It’s a gift and like all
gifts one must take possession of it and make use of it. If we receive it and place it in a catch-all
room, never opening it, how can we receive any benefit from it.
Prior to Christ’s substitutionary
death man was lost in sin with no hope.
After His blood was applied to sin all those who received the gift of
forgiveness were free. Their shackles
fell off. They were given a new
life. It’s what happened to you when you
asked for and received God’s forgiveness. What we do with that second chance is
up to us. Remember what scripture says
about those who are forgiven and then walk away from their newfound faith. “It would have been better for them not to
have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn
their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” (2 Peter 2:21)
No matter what is happening in your life, trust God and never walk
away. You’ve been bought with a high
price. Live like Christ matters to
you. Until next time, walk with the King
and be a blessing!
* A
gentile was anyone who was not a Jew
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