WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE WITHOUT MESSIAH?

This morning as we listened on the radio to Dr. Charles Stanley, beloved teacher of G-d’s Word, he said something that brought home for us in his message about the free gift of God’s salvation in Messiah. He said that when we sin, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9), if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and the truth is not in us. (1John 1:10)

When we confess our sins to Him, we are not forgiven because we confessed our sins (that is simply an admission of our guilt), we are forgiven because Messiah died for our sins and paid the penalty for them. This is why we are forgiven. Because of this, we are forgiven by G-d and cleansed by His blood from all unrighteousness. It is the sacrifice of G-d’s only Begotten Son, Who paid the penalty for our sins, having taken upon Himself the full force of G-d’s wrath that paid the price required by G-d for our redemption. This is why we are forgiven, and redeemed for G-d by the offering provided by Jesus the Messiah on our behalf.

Our confession to G-d of our guilt and repentance for having broken the commandment, asking for G-d’s pardon is our confession that we understand that we in and of ourselves are unworthy of G-d’s mercy, and cannot save ourselves, or do anything on our part to obtain our forgiveness (from G-d), but that we entrust ourselves, putting our complete trust in the complete sufficiency of G-d’s provision on our behalf to provide for us that which is needed to spare us of G-d’s wrath, and that such a provision has been made for us by the Lord Jesus the Messiah, for by faith you have been saved, and that not of yourselves, it is the free gift of God, lest any man should boast. (Romans 3:21-31, Ephesians 2:8-9) This is what is meant to live by faith; by faith in whom or what? By total faith in Him who died for us, rather who was raised and is seated at the right hand of G-d the Father; that He is who He says He is – the way, the truth, and the life, no can come to the Father but by Him. (John 14:6)

But the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart in taking this truth a step further – that is in giving me deeper appreciation of this life transforming truth – and this is what He disclosed and made so real to me, and brought it home.

Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. (Hebrews 9:22) If Jesus had not surrendered His life to pay the price for our redemption, and had not resurrected from the dead – defeating the price and power of sin over the grave; when coming to G-d to confess our sins before Him, the guilt would remain because there would be nothing to expiate the wrath of G-d for that sin upon us, and we would be lost, and still in our sins – the commandment bearing witness against us in the court of G-d’s assembly, making it abundantly evident that we are violators of G-d’s Law. Without Messiah there is no forgiveness for sins. What am I saying here? I am saying that without Jesus, every time we’d come before G-d to confess our sins, admit our guilt before Him, and ask for His forgiveness, there would be nothing to appease the wrath of G-d we merited for those sins, and we would remain with our guilt, separated by the holiness of G-d, and dead in our sins. The Law through the commandment would continue to bear witness against us that we have violated the Law by breaking the commandment through the sin committed, and there would be nothing to remove this guilt from us. We would be without an Advocate with the Father.

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:4-7) We were slaves to sin and were guilty before G-d, but now in Messiah we have been made righteous with the righteousness of G-d, granted to us who are undeserving, and yet made deserving through the blood of the New Covenant G-d has made with His people. Just as the Scripture describes this magnificent work of G-d in Messiah, through whom He has reconciled the world to Himself, just as He created it through Him and for Him.

But God commended His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us, (Romans 5:8), and having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross, (Colossians 2:14) We are forgiven because of Jesus, not because of ourselves. No man can save himself by himself, but he can obtain salvation by G-d through that which G-d has provided on his behalf – Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29)

There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did; sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4) He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2Corinthians 5:21) Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Messiah, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Messiah reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2Corinthians 5:18-19) We are forgiven by G-d and reconciled to Him because of what He did through Jesus the Messiah, not because of anything we did. He has done it all. All we have done is admit our guilt and surrender to His mercy in Messiah. And we do this every day, as we continue to live under His grace, trusting implicitly the G-d and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has become salvation for us. (Exodus 15:2, Psalm 68:19, 118:14, Isaiah 12:2)

So having been forgiven by G-d through Messiah, cleansed by His blood; the price of our redemption paid in full by the Lord Jesus, we are resurrected in our spirits to a new life – a new reality - awakened from our death sleep of sin and corruption; for though we were alive, we were dead in our sins without G-d in the world – but now we have been made alive again through a new birth to this new life by the power of that life which death could not keep in its clutches – the life of G-d – we are now joint heirs with Jesus of the glory of G-d’s wonderful realm, being made partakers of that secret unseen kingdom (all around us), even as we live in this life, as living letters as testimonies of the faithfulness and truth of G-d’s limitless love – His eternal grace. No one is beyond the reach of G-d’s love, and because of the reality that our salvation, our redemption, and the penalty for our guilt has been paid in full by the Lord Jesus, we know what it means when the Scripture declares with great boldness:

Salvation is FROM the Lord, (Jonah 2:9) It is not from us, nor do we possess the power of it or for it; it is exclusively G-d’s. This is why the Scripture also says, Salvation BELONGS to the Lord. (Psalm 3:8) Salvation begins and ends with G-d. It is not in the power of man to redeem himself, but it is in G-d’s power through the redemption He has provided, the forgiveness He offers, and the salvation He freely gives to all who come to Him through His lamb of sacrifice; His Son. If not for the lamb, and His shed blood, our sins would remain, and our guilt would follow us to the grave, and we would be separated forever from the Presence of G-d; but G-d has provided the Lamb for the sacrifice, and because of this, we are saved, having been reconciled to the Eternal Father by the Eternal Son, Who has given us the Eternal Spirit as His Pledge of this redemption (2Corinthians 5:5) – G-d in us, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27). So it says in the Scripture, therefore if any man is in Messiah, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come. (2Corinthians 5:17) And Peter bears witness of this in describing it so beautifully and fully in the following Scripture:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Messiah, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God though faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1Peter 1:3-5)

To sum it all up, we can’t save ourselves, but we know who can save us, and has, and the evidence of this salvation is this new life which we share; a common faith in One G-d, being of One Spirit, One Lord, One Savior, through whom we also have this magnificent salvation which we share. This is G-d’s unmerited favor; this is His grace. Praise be to G-d!

This is what Christmas is really all about. It is about the Gift of G-d in His Son whom He brought into the world through a nation – Israel, of a tribe – Judah, of a Royal Dynasty – David’s, of the Highest Priesthood – Melchizedek’s, born of a virgin – Miriam of Judah, conceived by the zeal and power of G-d – the Holy Spirit, born in a town – Bethlehem of Judea, precisely at an hour of G-d’s choosing according the prophetic word He gave to Daniel – during the politically-charged and religiously troubled Second Temple Era when Israel was under Roman Occupation, immediately following the reemergence and appearance of Elijah the prophet – John the Baptist who came in the spirit and power of Elijah preparing the way before Him. Yes, all of these things specifically having come to pass two thousand years ago from which time itself and every event known to man has been marked – B.C. (B.C.E.) and A. D. (C.E.); yes, Yeshua/Jesus the Glory and Hope of all Israel, amen.