Blogs
YOUR ANGELS ARE WATCHING OVER YOU
WHAT DOES THE WORD "GOSPEL" MEAN? WHEN YOU TELL SOMEONE SOMETHING AND SAY "THAT IS THE GOSPEL TRUTH", YOU ARE SUGGESTING THAT THIS IS ONE MEANING OF THE WORD? (Gospel: Something regarded as true and implicitly believed.) WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT THE "GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST", TWO DEFINITIONS ARE 1. The teachings of Jesus and the apostles; the Christian revelation. AND 2. The story of Christ's life and teachings, especially as contained in the first four books of the New Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. DON'T DWELL ON THESE TWO DEFINITIONS.
Accept The Gift Of Forgiveness
Luke 23:34 'Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.'
Forgiveness of sins is one of the great themes of the Bible. There is so much that scripture says about it that it would take volumes of books to adequately deal with the subject. It will suffice to say that the blood of Jesus is what provided us with forgiveness of sins. That sacrifice was so great that it outweighed all our sins. It covered all the sins of the world-past, present, and future.
Most Christians have the concept that the sins they committed before they professed faith in Christ are forgiven at salvation, but any sins that are committed after that time are not forgiven until they repent...
Where's Your Focus?
Matthew 27:4 'Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.'
These Jews, who had courted Judas' favor to obtain his cooperation in arresting Jesus, cared nothing for Judas. They had simply used him. The devil's crowd may flatter as long as they can use you, but you can be assured that when there is no longer anything in it for them, they will forsake you just as the chief priests did Judas.
The serpent didn't come to Eve in the garden threatening to bite her if she didn't eat of the forbidden fruit. Instead, he came with deception, presenting himself as being concerned for her welfare. Satan's greatest weapon is deceit.
Just as a football player, a boxer, or...
Jesus Freed Us From Sin
Luke 23:18 'And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:'
What happened to Barabbas is a picture of what happens when a person is born again. Barabbas was guilty; Jesus was innocent. Yet Jesus suffered the death that Barabbas should have experienced, and Barabbas went free.
Likewise, we were all guilty (Rom. 3:23) and condemned to death (Rom. 6:23), yet Jesus suffered our punishment so that we may go free (2 Cor. 5:21). Just as Barabbas didn't ask for this substitution, so 'God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us' (Rom. 5:8).
Barabbas was freed, but he had to choose whether or not to accept this new start and remain free, or go back...
Pilate Condemns Jesus
Matthew 27:24 'When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.'
This washing of the hands was not only a symbolic custom of the day that showed innocence, but was also a ritual prescribed in the Jewish law (Dt. 21:6-7; Ps. 26:6).
Matthew is the only writer to record Pilate washing his hands of guilt, just as he was the only writer to record Pilate's wife coming to him with the details of the dream she had about Jesus. Secular accounts record her name as Claudia. She is the only one who spoke for, instead of against Jesus' life during the trial.
This dream, no doubt came...
...