Lesson 372: "Jesus Paid the Price"
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:23)! Christ paid for the penalty of our sin because we all deserved the wages of death but God offered, through the Birth, Death and Resurrection of His Son, a Ransom for all. Scripture speaks about consequences but it is called discipline. Everyone will pay for their sin unless they come to Christ who has paid the penalty for us with His Blood. Adam and Eve suffered consequences by being expelled from the Garden of Eden but totally remained the children of God. “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son” (Hebe 12:5-6).
Jesus called God’s children sheep and stated that these sheep listened to His voice, whether He speaks softly or firmly, sheep should listen. He continues with the fact that no one can snatch them out of His hand once they are God’s (John 10:27-30). God loves His children with an agape love that is extremely hard for human to understand. He shows this love by correcting us or using discipline to bring us to where He wants us to be. Just as an earthly father wishes for his child to grow up doing right and corrects him when he sees the child doing wrong, so does our Heavenly Father wish for us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).
“Will the evildoers never learn” (Ps. 53:4)? “He says to himself; ‘God has forgotten”’, and “He will not call me to account” (Ps. 10:11, 13)! Wow! These are the words of the Psalmist speaking of the evil but have they ever been our words? Do we sometimes fall into “self” so deeply that we believe we will not be held accountable for our every word and action? God not only knows your deeds (Rev. 2:19), He also knows your thoughts (Ps. 139:2) and each and everyone of us to account (2 Cor. 5:10, Matt. 12:36, Rom. 14:12). Jesus paid the price but we alone must run the race so that we will not be disqualified for the prize (1 Cor. 9:25-27).
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8-10)! Jesus paid the price and we can never pay Him back for the Blood He shed for our sins. However we can strive to make Him proud to call us His sheep by following in His steps and giving it our best to stay out of trouble. I know this is harder for some than others, just like those of you who have more than one child will surely understand. But just as you love each and every child the same, our God loves us without favoritism (Acts 10:34-35) but trust me, He will thump you or pull you aside to whisper in your ear or whatever it takes to bring you back to the right path. Whether you see the light through discipline or trials, count it all joy so that you may be mature and complete (James 1:2-4).