It is probably one of the first verses we all memorized.
It's short.
It's important.
It's from the pen
of Paul.
It's God's Word!
"For all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God." Romans 3:23
But that little
verse, fundamental as it is to understanding the Gospel, is only
part of a critical Bible Paragraph.
In a short Bible
Study that is being called "The Heart of the Gospel," Romans
3:23-26 will be analyzed. Analyzed with awe and wonder and
appreciation!
But before anyone
can enjoy the eternal life Jesus has provided, he or she must be
saved or born-again or washed in the Blood of the Lamb, to use
some of the old-fashioned terms. They still work, by the way.
And in order to be
saved, one will realize that he is first of all "unsaved!" That
he is lost and undone in his sins. That he or she is a sinner.
"Dead in trespasses and sons," Paul
wrote in Ephesians 2:1.
So, let's begin:
"For all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God."
The first word in
the Text literally is "all." In Greek this is spelled "pas" and
means "every" or "each" or "full." It conveys a sense of
absolutism also. No exceptions exist.
The verb "have
sinned" is spelled "hamartano" and has quite a significant
background. The "h" is pronounced but not written in Greek. In
fact, Greek has no "h" in its alphabet. The second letter, "a,"
indicates here a negative meaning, reversing the idea the stem
of the word normally would suggest. This "a" is sometimes called
the "alpha privative." Then the root of the word is "meros," a
part or piece or share or division of an allotment!
Then, to sin is to
miss out on something that had been intended for you! To rob
oneself of an inheritance!
And sin does just
that!
Sin can deprive a
man from Heaven! Sinners can't go there! Sin is an indicator
that I wish to rule my own life, rejecting Jesus as Lord! A man
under the dominion of sin will never bow his knee or close his
eyes or confess with his mouth Jesus Christ as the Son of God!
And to miss Jesus is to miss everything!
Sin, which is said
to be so much "fun," is really a thief and a murderer!
It will swipe from
you true joy and peace and love!
After all, as
another short verse thunders, "the wages
of sin is death!" And that means eternal death in an
everlasting place called Hell! Real fire and pain and
consciousness too!
The verb "come
short" is "hustereo" and means "to be later" or "to be
inferior!" It also can mean "to be worse." It is built upon the
root "hupo," meaning "under." Sin never brings with it the
"better" things of life! Such a belief is an illusion.
In the King James
Bible "hustereo" is three times translated "to lack" and once
"to be destitute." It is only used sixteen times in total. Here,
and only here in Scripture, it is an indicative present passive
third person plural verb! Its passivity suggests that sin brings
with it its own spiritual lethargy! Its own spiritual paralysis!
One's sin and God's Glory cannot possibly coexist! Furthermore,
the plural number here tells us that Paul is talking to all
humanity. Because of Adam's and Eve's behavior in the Garden of
Eden, we all have been plunged into an abyss of iniquity!
"Glory" too is a
critical word. "Doxa" means several things, depending on its
context. Grammatically it requires the idea of its mother verb,
"dokeo." That means "to think or to consider" but in this sense;
to evaluate, to account something's worth! God's very Glory is
the sum total of all That He is! The combined essence of all His
attributes! Imagine His love and grace and righteousness and
justice and eternality and omnipotence and omniscience and
omni-presence and immutability and veracity, blending them all
together into One ... and you have It, God's Glory!
Sin can thwart my
ever truly seeing God, enjoying Him and adoring Him and
worshipping Him!
That fact alone
makes sin tremendously expensive!
And we are all
cursed with its blight!
That's where any
accurate presentation of the Gospel must begin!
"For all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God."
Indeed!
Thank God, there
now is a solution to the sin problem!
Come back
tomorrow. You don't want to miss the next verse!
Jesus saves!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2, VERSE 24:
The salvation of a lost soul is perhaps the greatest miracle of
all time and eternity!
So much happens
when a sinner gets saved that we will never fully understand it
all, until Heaven of course.
The Bible often
explains or describes our being born again through the use of
certain "word pictures." These are factual yet practical ways of
teaching us spiritual truth.
Here's one now,
taken from Romans 3:24. "Being justified
freely by his grace ...." These short words comprise only
half the verse at hand, but their spiritual weight would have to
be expressed in tons!
Keep in mind that
today's half-verse does not give the whole picture of salvation.
That truthfully takes all the Bible! But we have a good
beginning place here.
It is obvious that
anything dealing with God's redemptive plan must be based on
Grace, His amazing Grace! "Being justified
freely by his grace"
certainly proves that. The Greek noun "charis" is
"grace." It is often defined as "unmerited favor." Also "that
which affords joy, pleasure or delight!" It's old-fashioned
"good will" or "lovingkindness" too. The noun "charis" is
derived from the Greek verb "chairo," translated "to be
cheerful!"
We are saved "by"
God's Grace. The "case" in which "grace" appears here is dative.
Another way the grammarians express this is by calling it the
"instrumental" case. We are made right with God "through the
instrument of" His manifold Grace!
Now here comes the
word picture! We are "justified" by grace. "Dikaioo" is the verb
that is borrowed from the courtrooms of earth. The judge would
use it often. Literally it means "to declare innocent." It is
that which is legally right, even, equitable, hence ... just.
But "justified" as
a Bible term may mean a lot more than just "not guilty." It well
might imply that the original charges brought against us here in
the courtroom can no longer be found! It's as if they
disappeared! Justification may not be just saying "arrested,
arraigned, indicted, tried and acquitted." It might be
saying, "freed, no record of any wrongdoing at all, just as if
he never broke any law!"
"Diokoo" here is
expressed as a present participle in the passive voice. It also
is in the nominative case, being in the "subject" part of the
sentence. And it's plural in number. Paul is addressing the
Church at Rome. Once a man is justified, he keeps on enjoying
that state of being justified! In the present moment! Also he
did not and can not justify himself! The passive verb says it
was done to him or for him by Another!
Now all we lack is
the adverb. "Dorean" means "without cost." The noun "doran"
means a "gift." A gratuity! Free to me and you by God's Grace,
but very costly to God! Another idea "dorean" conveys is
"without a cause," being translated exactly this way in John
15:25. "Without an ulterior motive." God saved us "freely," not
because of what He could get out of us, which initially is
nothing anyway. Just because He loved us!
"Freely" using "dorean"
exactly as here, is truly the New Testament word for salvation!
Watch as I capitalize it for you. "And he
said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the
fountain of the water of life
freely."
Then, "And the Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life
freely."
Revelation 21:6 and 22:17
I a sinner was in
jail. The day of my trial had come. I was cuffed and brought to
the courtroom. There they were: the judge and lawyers and jury
all! Suddenly a conference, an "aside" is held! Then the
announcement is made: this man is no longer accused! Not only is
he not guilty, no charge against him can be found. He can walk
out of this courtroom free and unaccused! Justified indeed!
Thank you, Lord,
for saving my soul!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3, VERSE 24:
When God saves a soul, washing away his or her sins, He does so
by means of a miracle called "redemption."
Read this.
"Being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus." Romans 3:24
We are "made
right" with God "through redemption!"
The preposition
"through" is spelled "dia" and, when used with a genitive case
noun as here, indicates "by means of" something. God acts to
redeem us, being motivated by His sheer Grace and Love and
Mercy!
We just must
examine that word "redemption." In Greek "apolutrosis" combines
the prefix and preposition "apo" with a short little root verb,
"luo." When blended they mean "to be loosed," specifically "to
be loosed from" something! The initial word picture is one of a
person who is bound, in chains perhaps, hopelessly constrained,
being set free from his shackles! But somehow "apolutrosis" made
its way into the world of finance, the marketplace. Precisely,
the Roman slave market! I was a slave to my sinful nature, my
sins holding me down ... but Jesus came and paid the Ultimate
Price, His Shed Blood, and set me free! Such a price is called a
"ransom."
Jesus IS our
Ransom too! Listen to Him in Matthew 10:45.
"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many."
The noun "ransom" here is spelled "lutron."
But this
redemption, great as it is, cannot be obtained just anywhere!
Only one Source
exists!
Again our Text
speaks, "through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus."
Redeemed ... "in"
Christ Jesus!
This preposition
is spelled "en," and with the dative case "Christ Jesus" means
"in, on, at, near, by, before, among or within!" It is as if I
could step "into" the very Person of Christ Jesus, and thereby
experience His great plan of Redemption! In fact, that is
exactly what Paul teaches in Romans chapter six among other
places! The Holy Spirit takes us old repenting sinners and
places us, baptizes us, immerses us, into the very Body of
Christ! "By one Spirit are we all baptized
into one body," declares 1st Corinthians 12:13. This
happens the very second we are saved!
And Who does this?
Literally ... "The
Christ, Jesus" does so!
Jesus is the
Christ! He is Messiah! He is God's Anointed One! He is the
Saviour, the Deliverer!
The Virgin-born
Man is God indeed!
God came to earth
in a human body!
Lived sinlessly!
Died vicariously,
in our stead!
Was buried, but
three days later literally arose from the Grave!
Forty days later
ascended to Heaven!
Now sits at the
Right Hand of God, saving sinners and interceding for saints!
A glorified
Redeemer!
Like the great
Hymns of the Faith have said for years, we have been redeemed!
Set free! The Price has been fully paid! Jesus paid it all!
I, an old
ex-slave, have now been "loosed" from my chains!
May God be
praised!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4, VERSE 25:
Today the word is "propitiation."
This noun, along
with a verb and a prepositional phrase, give us a powerful
picture of what God was doing at Calvary.
"Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood," announces Paul
in Romans 3:25.
The pronoun "Whom"
has as its antecedent the last two words of the previous verse,
"Christ Jesus."
God the Father,
being the great Architect of salvation, required "propitiation"
before any sinner could be saved. This word, "hilasterion," is
interesting! It literally means "to please" someone. That is,
"to placate" him. In other words, "to conciliate" a person.
While this
old-fashioned definition is no longer used as much, liberals now
inventing new "models" of the Atonement, "propitiation" is the
act whereby Jesus through His holiness and obedience and
precious Blood being shed on the Cross, satisfies the Holy
Righteousness and Sinless Anger of an Almighty God!
God, who is angry
at sin, must judge it harshly! Sin's wages demand death, eternal
death in a placed called Hell! Truthfully the wrath of God right
now still abides on any sinner who has not repented. But Jesus,
by His vicarious Death, took that Vengeance of God upon Himself,
bearing our stripes, pleasing and satisfying and fulfilling the
Requirements and Character of Father God, thus making salvation
possible for the likes of you and me!
One definition of
"hileos," a root word behind "hilasterion," is "cheerful!" An
angry God, Hater of sin, is so pleased through the sinless Blood
and ineffable Death of Jesus, that sinners can now accept Jesus'
propitiation of God His Father as something done in their stead!
Oh, one more
thought! The only other time in the whole New Testament that "hilasterion"
is used is in Hebrews 9:5 where it is translated "mercy seat!"
Read it. "And over it the cherubims of
glory shadowing the MERCYSEAT; of which we cannot now speak
particularly." Literally, Jesus "mercyseated" God the
Father at the Cross! Jesus' Death, with its substructure of
sinlessness and obedience and coming resurrection, essentially
included Blood atonement! Such a Death proved effective and
successful at redeeming sinners!
God is satisfied!
Pleased!
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased;
hear ye Him," said the Father of Jesus in Matthew 3:17
and 17:5 too!
It is this Jesus,
God's propitiating Son, Whom God "sets forth" as the Means of
Salvation! The verb "protithemi" means "to place" (in Greek "tithemi")
"before" or just "in front of" (in Greek "pro") someone. It
means "to expose to view!" At times even "to expose to public
view!"
When "protithemi"
is framed as an indicative aorist middle verb, much is being
said. God did this only once. That was enough! Jesus will never
have to die again! The Price of our redemption has been paid ...
in full! The Cross of Calvary is a fact, not a wish or longing!
And its enactment, Jesus' Death there, changed the heart of God!
Changed Him in this way, a lost sinner now coming to God through
Jesus our great Propitiation can also, once washed in the Blood
of the Lamb, please God! Can be saved! Born again!
Men of God, that's
Preaching the Gospel! Holding forth and announcing and focusing
our attention on Jesus ... crucified and buried and risen from
the grave!
But how is this
"propitiation" made a reality? On our side? "Through faith in
Jesus' Blood!" The Greek noun "haima," father of such English
words as "hematology," means blood! But Jesus had special Blood!
Incorruptible Blood! Sinless Blood! Divine Blood! Saving Blood!
Essential Blood for our salvation!
"Whom God hath set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in His Blood."
The preposition
"through" is great also. "Dia" when used with the genitive case
"faith" means "by means of" such a thing! Faith is the "channel"
or the "pipeline" through which our salvation flows, our
propitiation! But not just any kind of faith, "faith in Jesus'
Blood" is required! Now another preposition is used, "en" in
Greek. With its accusative object, "Blood," this little "en"
means "at, near, by, on or before," as well as "in!" Then, it's
all about the Blood too, Jesus' Blood!
And ladies and
gentlemen, that's the Gospel!
The very heart of
the Gospel!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5, VERSE 25:
Yes, the Bible does have some places that are "hard to
understand."
This inspired Book
of God is designed by the Lord Himself to be helpful to those
who are spiritually "little children," then to the more mature
"young men," and finally to those who are long settled in their
faith, "fathers" as John called them. See 1st John 2:13.
Peter said this
about some of Paul's writing. "Even as our
beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him
hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles,
speaking in them of these things; in which are
some things hard to be
understood ...." 2nd Peter 3:15-16
Well, today we
have come to such a place, a "hard to understand" line of Holy
Scripture.
Here's our whole
verse, half of which we studied yesterday. It's talking about
Jesus, "Whom God hath set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through
the forbearance of God." Romans 3:25
As you already
realize, that last part, "to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through
the forbearance of God," must be today's focus.
God is righteous!
He is never wrong!
Any sin that's
ever forgiven, past or present or future, must be washed away
according to some plan that remains consistent with God's
Person, His Character and Essence. Not to do so would make God
less than Holy, less than Righteous, therefore less than God!
He has therefore
designed a way by which He can forgive sins, doing so without a
single violation of His Own Nature! Yes, God can be both
"faithful and just" and still "forgive us our sins!" That's what
1st John 1:9 says: "If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness."
God wants His
Righteousness "declared" too! "Endeixis" is the verb. Its root,
"deiknuo," means "to show" or even "to show off" something! Once
in the King James Bible, Philippians 1:28, it is translated
"evident token." And once more, 2nd Corinthians 8:24, it is
rendered "proof."
God did right even
when He allowed Abraham into Paradise, and Moses and Elijah, and
all other Old Testament saints too! He did not "excuse" anyone's
sin ... at least not permanently!
Old Testament sins
were "covered" or "atoned" by the blood of an innocent animal.
Those transgressions were temporarily set aside until Jesus
could come and die for the lost, thereby washing away such sin
by the power of His Blood, by His substitutionary Death! Yet
there's a vast difference between sins being "covered" and their
being "washed away!"
This Righteousness
of God is clearly "preached" at the Cross of Calvary! If Noah
and his kin are to be saved ... Jesus would still have had to
come and die! This is true from patriarchs to prophets to
peasants!
The noun
"remission" is spelled "paresis," blending "eimi" (the verb "to
be") and "para" (the preposition "alongside") into a unit. It
means a "letting go" or a "loosening" of something. It means "to
overlook" or to "pass by" something. Now remember, this "passing
by" of former sins, Old Testament violations, is NOT a matter of
divine disregard, but merely of temporary necessity, until Jesus
could come and die as our Sinless Savior!
"Sins" here is the
common noun "hamartema," errors and failures and rebellions and
wickednesses which have caused mankind to miss God's richest
blessings!
Remember our
verse, declaring God's goal,
"to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past, through the forbearance of God ...."
The participle or
verbal adjective "past" translates "proginomai," things that
have "happened" or that have "come to pass" during a "former"
time, a time "prior" to the present.
Even then, God has
allowed such only through His great "forbearance." This gracious
noun, "anoche," is built upon a verbal stem, one meaning "to
hold" (in Greek "echo") "up" (the prefix "ana") something. To
"put up with it" until a better thing has arrived! To tolerate
it!
Paul in Acts 17:30
literally says that God "winked at" such sins! There the verb "hupereidon"
means "to overlook" or "to take no notice." Again, only until
Jesus could come and die on the Cross! And even with that ... an
innocent little lamb or dove or goat or an innocent big ox or
bullock had to die as an emblematic atonement.
God is so good!
Looks to me like
the Old Testament saints were "saved" by looking forward to
Jesus' Death on the Cross ... while we alive today are "saved"
by looking back to it! We all have the same Savior, believe in
the same Bible and are washed in the same Blood!
Today it is as if
we have visited a courtroom of civil law or maybe just a judge's
chambers or office! The technicalities of our salvation must be
clearly delineated. The contract must be precise. No "loopholes"
can exist!
Romans 2:4 uses a
term that is certainly applicable here,
"the riches of the goodness of God!"
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6, VERSE 26:
Paul mentions two periods of time.
In Romans 3:23-26
he does.
There are
"sins that are past," with which
God dealt at Calvary.
Then there is
"at this time" also a great
declaration of God's Righteousness, again being a reference to
the old rugged Cross of Christ.
Our last Lesson,
easily accessible on "The Heart Of The Gospel" Page, analyzed
those "past" sins. Apparently these are the sins of Old
Testament people, sins committed before Jesus came to die for
our salvation.
But today we must
concentrate on the phrase "at this time."
Here's the whole
verse, Romans 3:26. "To declare, I say,
at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
Remember that
"declare" is in Greek "endeixis." It means to prove something!
To clearly show it to be fact! To demonstrate! To manifest by
action!
The Cross at
Golgotha was God's Road Sign! A giant Billboard! It still is!
God's very "Proof" that He loves us! The single greatest Act of
history!
And the noun
"time" is not just a chronological term. Spelled "kairos," it
means something like "a window of opportunity!" Or a "season" of
time. Twice in the King James Text it is "due time!" For
example, "For when we were yet without
strength, in due time
Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6
The preposition
"at" is in Greek "en" and illustrates how Jesus stepped "into"
time to be our Virgin Born sinless Saviour! Heaven apparently
knows no time constraints!
Then comes the
noun "righteousness," which we've already studied back in Verse
24 when God "justified" us sinners! But let's notice it again.
Bible words are so vast in meaning that one cannot exhaust their
treasures in one sitting anyway!
Plus this fact,
the heart of the word "righteousness" is used three times in our
current verse! That's unusual! Watch as I capitalize the word "dikaioo"
or one of its cognates. "To declare, I
say, at this time his
righteousness:
that he might be just,
and the justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus." Romans 3:26
Here we have a
noun, an adjective, and a verb ... all kin to each other! All
having the same basic meaning, just adjusted to reflect the
duties of each appropriate part of speech.
"Righteousness" or
"dikaiosune," means the "straightness" of God! He is not
crooked! It means the "evenness" of God! He is not inconsistent!
The "innocence" of God! He has never done wrong!
The fact that God,
at Calvary, never once compromised His being "just" is a
beautiful thought! "Just," spelled "dikaios," indicates the
state in which God was found as He saved the lost, redeemed
sinners ... because of the Cross!
God did not
"fudge" at the Cross!
He did not lower
His Standards one bit!
He had to devise
some way in which sin-stained long-imperfect men and women could
be made pure and holy, just as pure as God Himself! In fact,
that's an accurate "Sunday School" definition for
"justification." That is, "Just-as-if-I-had-never- sinned!"
God stayed right,
yet was able to forgive the lost! Because of Jesus' powerful
Death on Calvary!
That makes God the
"Justifier" of sinners, the Just Justifier! God is not only
Right, by means of Jesus' Sacrifice, Jesus' Blood, now God makes
us Right too! In Jesus, believing on Jesus, trusting Jesus,
having been apprehended by Jesus ... I am now "right" in God's
Eyes also!
And that's the
last key verb here, "believeth!"
Literally it says
that God is the One "justifying the believing ones, those
'leaning on' and 'trusting in' Jesus as their Saviour!"
What a verse!
This is a poor
illustration but it's as if the same man hit a baseball, then
instantly ran to centerfield and caught that same ball, then
hurried into second base and executed a double play on a
sluggish runner who had fallen down! What a ballplayer!
God initially had
the idea of Salvation! He's the Originator!
Then God came to
earth to die for us sinners!
Then God drew us
unto Himself, imparting to us the very desire to be saved!
Then God keeps us
and, from Heaven as The Perfect Intercessor, prays for us
constantly!
Then God, as you
know, is coming back to get us some day!
God has done it
all!
Mankind can't brag
about a thing!
Indeed,
"For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of
works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7, CONCLUSION:
Such great words of salvation!
Romans 3:23-26,
inspired Scripture indeed, presents to us the very heart of the
Gospel. "For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins
that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I
say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just,
and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
See "justified"
and "justifier" and "just," classic courtroom terms!
Then there's
"redemption," straight from the world of commerce, usually
involving a slave-market in Paul's time.
And "propitiation"
comes from the Temple, the world of religion!
While "remission"
is a banker's term, the world of finance being implied!
And even "sins,"
perhaps most surprising of all, is an expression often used in a
will, a legal document! Literally, "to miss one's inheritance"
is the precise term we have here! Also "to miss the mark" is an
acceptable definition. That might come from the world of the
archer, bows and arrows and such!
Word pictures of
salvation!
But today even
more need to be added. These all loosely fit under the glorious
banner of being "saved!" What a word, Biblical to the core! From
Acts: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved."
From Romans: "For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved."
From Corinthians: "For the preaching of
the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is
the power of God." From Ephesians:
"For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God." From Titus:
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy he saved
us." And we have just begun!
But what does it
mean to be "saved?"
Thinking these
thoughts gives the Believer in Christ a fuller picture and
deeper appreciation of what Jesus did at Calvary!
For example,
consider 1st Corinthians 15:57, "But
thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ." This verse takes us to a battlefield!
A war zone! Salvation is the victory Jesus won when the devil
was defeated at the Cross! Satan was attacked and robbed,
"spoiled" Paul says, during those Hours of agony! The devil has
already lost the battle!
Then Galatians 4:5
tells us that God sent Jesus ... "To
redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption of sons." Here we visit family court! Upon being
saved, the new Christian is adopted into God's very family,
being legally placed there as a adult son or daughter! An infant
spiritually, needing the milk of God's Word to grow, but an
adult with full family privileges legally!
And 2nd
Corinthians 5:19 gives us an interesting view too.
"God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them."
Reconciliation, a Latin term, means "to bring together again!" "Concilare"
is a verb, "to make friendly!" Two people who have been
separated, divided by whatever, having been brought back
together in peace! Now we're in a Counselor's Office! A
therapist is at work!
Let's close with
at least one Old Testament reference. Jesus is often prophesied
there! "But He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we
are healed." Isaiah 53:5 tells us this. Sinners are sick
people, spiritually sick! Read Isaiah 1:4-6.
"Ah sinful nation, a people laden with
iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters:
they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of
Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be
stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head
is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot
even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but
wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not
been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."
But Jesus the Great Physician has come! He intervenes and heals
our sin-sick souls!
I once hard a
Preacher say that he had counted 64 things God did for us the
moment He saved us!
I was astounded!
And while this
Preacher no doubt is quite a brilliant man, surely he has
underestimated!
We will not know
until we reach Heaven just what all God did for us ... when He
saved our lost souls from Hell!
Praise His Good
Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
