Take the cheque

Last week we talked about why the cross was necessary. Some may be wondering, if God is just, why did He let Jesus pay for our sins? I find sometimes that question comes when we don’t really understand who God is. Sometimes people think God, being Father God, forced Jesus to die for us on the cross. That line of thinking comes when we don’t understand that Jesus is as much God as Father God is.

Jesus has free will just like we do, and He had every bit as much choice to choose to go through with the cross as He did to decide, “Nope, they can all go to hell.” (See Luke 22:39-71) Aren’t you glad He chose the cross! Because we deserve hell, but Jesus paid the price for our sins so we would not have to die the second death (eternal separation from God), see Revelation 2:11, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 20:14-15, Revelation 21:8.

Jesus had to die in our place, that was the only way for us to be redeemed. Imagine someone gifts you a Ferrari. You drive that Ferrari at top speed and break all speed limits, you run through red lights, park wherever you feel like because you can and you seem to be getting away with it. You do this for years and it just seems like the law is not catching up with you.

You get a few warnings not to do it, but you choose to continue driving that way anyway. One day, you get a fine in the mail for all the traffic violations you have committed, and the fine is in the amount of 1 trillion dollars. You have 7 days to pay, or you will be thrown in a dungeon to be tortured for the rest of your life as your sentence, because you broke the law repeatedly. No one can loan you the money, they all have their hefty fines to pay.

At your sentencing, the Judge’s Son comes to Court and says, “I have a cheque for 1 trillion dollars here to pay the fine if you want it. You just have to believe that the cheque will take care of the entire debt, and you are free to go.” Do you take the cheque?

See the Ferrari represents our free will. We can use it to live life God’s way, or we can choose to live life any way we please. As Christians we accept that we have made some mistakes and that we deserve the fine, but we take the cheque from Jesus, and we spend the rest of our lives loving and serving God because He is just so amazing! God does not want to send anyone to hell, people choose to go to hell.

Easter is a reminder that we need a Savior. That we have a Savior and that we do not have to die the second death. We do not need to be thrown in the dungeon, we can take the cheque. There is no third option as others may think. We take the cheque or the dungeon, life or death – we choose, see Deuteronomy 30:19.

Last week we mentioned how God is righteous. There shall come a day when His righteousness/ justice must be exercised, when He sends the fine in the mail and we all have to give account for our actions. For everyone who believes in Jesus, it shall be a great and glorious day because we will have a cheque in hand to pay the fine! For everyone else it shall be a terrible day.

Joel 2:31-32 says, “The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…” Has the sun gone dark? We have had some solar eclipses over the years. Has the moon turned to blood? We have had some lunar eclipses where the moon looked red. That means the Lord is soon to arrive.

I’ll leave you with this, Romans 10:8-11 and13 says, “In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” …For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

This Easter you have a choice. You can choose to believe in Jesus unto salvation. If you already believe in Jesus, share this message with someone who needs to hear it. Eternity is a long time. Let’s point others to the One who’s death and resurrection saves us from experiencing the second death.

Have a blessed Easter celebrating our risen King!

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.