My
dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody
does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the
Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours
but also for the sins of the whole world. (I John 2:1-2)
Don’t
you just love the hero in stories, who arrives when he’s most needed and saves
the day? I hate to think that I might be a romantic at heart, but I often wish
for a knight in shining armor to ride in, fix whatever situation I’ve broken,
and generally, to ride away again until the next time I need him. Except for
the riding away part, that’s Jesus’ role.
When we separate ourselves from God, He is the one who speaks in our defense. I have yet to hear of this role being filled by the leaders of any other religion. Mohammed, Buddha, the Dalai Lama, the two hundred million Hindu gods – as far as I know, none of them defend anyone. Jesus alone has paid the price. Jesus alone defends us. And as we saw yesterday, if we claim we don’t need a defense, we are calling God a liar.
It is the last phrase that gives pause. What does it mean that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world? Does it mean that everyone’s sins have been atoned for? Yes. Does that mean that everyone goes to heaven? No. Quite simply, if I paid for everyone in a group to get into the movies, they could all go. But if someone in the group decided he was going to pay his own way, and at the same time happened to not have the money to pay the full price of the ticket, unless that person changed his/her mind (a.k.a. repented,) he/she would not get into the movie. At the very least he would have to accept from me the difference between the cost of the ticket and the money in his hand (a.k.a. grace.) It would do no one any good to be mad at me, or mad at the movie theater. The fault and the problem lie with the one who refuses to accept it, who refuses to be part of the group for which I’ve paid. I can defend that person’s right to go see the movie until I’m blue in the face, but that person has to change in order to participate.
When we separate ourselves from God, He is the one who speaks in our defense. I have yet to hear of this role being filled by the leaders of any other religion. Mohammed, Buddha, the Dalai Lama, the two hundred million Hindu gods – as far as I know, none of them defend anyone. Jesus alone has paid the price. Jesus alone defends us. And as we saw yesterday, if we claim we don’t need a defense, we are calling God a liar.
It is the last phrase that gives pause. What does it mean that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world? Does it mean that everyone’s sins have been atoned for? Yes. Does that mean that everyone goes to heaven? No. Quite simply, if I paid for everyone in a group to get into the movies, they could all go. But if someone in the group decided he was going to pay his own way, and at the same time happened to not have the money to pay the full price of the ticket, unless that person changed his/her mind (a.k.a. repented,) he/she would not get into the movie. At the very least he would have to accept from me the difference between the cost of the ticket and the money in his hand (a.k.a. grace.) It would do no one any good to be mad at me, or mad at the movie theater. The fault and the problem lie with the one who refuses to accept it, who refuses to be part of the group for which I’ve paid. I can defend that person’s right to go see the movie until I’m blue in the face, but that person has to change in order to participate.
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