Tag: Willingly

Jesus, Put Forward

Jesus took away our sins by dying on the cross. He willfully came forward to atone for our sin, all of us. He accepted the punishment for our sin so that we would be spared the wrath of God. Our only part in the process is to have faith in Him and the actions that he took on our behalf.

“23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” – Romans 3:23-25 (ESV)

“6For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 (ESV)

But wait, there is more to the scene. I tend to forget this part, even with likely the most quoted verse from Jesus, John 3:16. I tend to forget that Jesus was sent. God purposefully made the decision for Jesus to come to this world and die for me. Jesus was put forward to pacify the wrath of God on us. God intentionally sent His son for me and you. God gave the way out through Jesus.

We are filled with sin and deserve to die, yet God made a way for us to avoid that death, Jesus. All we have to do is believe, trust and have faith in Him and what He did for us, and we avoid the consequence of our sin, death. But we cannot forget that Jesus was sent by the Father, His Father, to pay the price for our sin. Yes, Jesus willingly came and obeyed, but we must also remember that He was put forward on our behalf.

There is so much for me to be thankful for in this world. I have a wonderful mother, a beautiful wife, and two great sons. Yet even with all of those things, the most important and valuable is my faith in Jesus and the thanks to Him and my Father in Heaven. Jesus came willingly after being put forward to atone for my sin. Thank you Jesus, LORD!

What do your remember of Jesus coming to save you? Do you only remember Jesus dying for our sins? What do you remember about how Jesus came, that He was put forward intentionally to pay for your sins?

Bow, Willingly

“9Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV)

Someday, we don’t know when, everyone will bow before Jesus Christ as LORD. There is no escaping the bowing. It will take place. The question really is whether we do so willingly or as a point of process. James MacDonald writes, “In fact, compared to what Jesus Christ has already done throughout history, including the creation of the universe itself, getting all of the people from this tiny planet in our little solar system to bow before Him will be a nonissue.” My reaction to that sentence was “WOW!” I had not thought of it that way. Bowing before Jesus as LORD is going to happen and there is nothing that will get in the way to stop it.

When we choose to wait for judgment to bow we do so beggingly in an attempt to escape eternal condemnation in Hell. This will not work out well. Our choice had already been made. We only have this one life to choose Jesus Christ as LORD. Once we leave this life, we are subject to the consequences of our choice and that is condemnation.

“27And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” – Hebrews 9:27 (ESV)

But, we can escape eternal condemnation. We can choose Jesus Christ as LORD of our life. We do so in the everyday decisions that we make. It starts with accepting Jesus as the bringer of salvation and that He died so that I would not have to as a result of my sin. Then we choose to follow His teaching as we wander in this world.

We only have this life to choose Jesus Christ as LORD. We have a finite amount of time to bow to His authority willingly. Someday, although we do not know when, all will face the judgment of Jesus Christ as LORD and will bow before Him. Those of us who missed our one earthly life opportunity will bow and beg for an escape (to which it is too late). Those of us who have chosen to bow before Him in this world by giving our lives in service to Jesus Christ as LORD will inherit the kingdom of Heaven and reign with Jesus for eternity.

How will you bow? Are you looking for the way out to avoid bowing at all? What if you accepted Jesus Christ as LORD willingly and choose to follow Him in this world so that you can avoid eternal condemnation as you cannot escape bowing before Him at the judgment day?