Sunday 5th April, 2015.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world were and are still the most significant and unique events in the annals of the history of mankind. The life He lived was unequalled. He lived and won the victory over sin, Satan and death, the most dreadful enemy of mankind. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rm.3:23). The word ‘here’ means all human beings regardless of race, colour, social status and the rest of that.
That Jesus won the victory over sin, Satan, and death are facts that cannot be contended with, for they are recorded in the Scripture:
· SIN: Jesus was the only human being that ever lived without committing a single sin. He was bold to challenge His detractors if any of them could convict Him of any sin (see Jn. 8:46).
Ø At His baptism when others were confessing their sins, Jesus had no sin to confess (see Matt. 3:1-6, 14-17).
Ø During His trial before Pilate, more than three times, Pilate said he found no fault in Jesus (see Luke 23:4, 14; John 18:38, 19:4,6). No other single person has ever lived that kind of life. Why? Jesus is greater than the greatest of all human beings but unbelievers do not realize that. He is more than what people say He is.
Ø His conception by virgin Mary was unique, it was by the Holy Spirit not by a man (see Lk 1:34,35)
· SATAN: Satan defeated Adam & Eve in the garden of Eden and in the same way tempted the Lord Jesus, but Jesus defeated him. Three times successively, Satan tempted Jesus to sin or do what was contrary to the will of God but Jesus came out victoriously over the three temptations (see Matt. 4:1-11).
· DEATH: Jesus willingly surrendered Himself to die so that everyone who believes in His death for our sins could be saved. (see Jn. 10:17,18) Salvation is deliverance from sin, the power of sin and the penalty of sin which every human being has need of. Since the fall of man in Eden, everyone has been sentenced to death but Jesus came and paid the penalty of that sentence which He accomplished on the cross: “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”.On the cross Jesus suffered the penalty and sorrow which our sins deserved. Space will not permit me to mention those things that Jesus accomplished on the cross.
Ø When Jesus was crucified on the cross, He carried our sins. The judgment of our sins on Him was so serious that there was darkness on the face of the earth in the space of three hours, to show how severe the penalty for sin is. (See Lk. 23:44).
Ø On the cross vertical Jesus reconciled man to God.
Ø On the cross horizontal, Jesus reconciled man to man, Jews with the Gentiles and human races that were hostile to one another. Today all believers in Jesus are one in God’s family. There is neither Jews nor Gentile, neither slave nor free (see Gal. 3:26-29).
Ø On the cross, Jesus exchanged His righteousness for our sins. He carried our sins in order to give us His righteousness so that anyone who believes in Him might stand righteous before God. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”. (2 Cor.5:21)
According to the scripture, Jesus was crucified together with two criminals on the cross, that is three different crosses. To this an unknown author wrote these words:
A Hill with three crosses
One cross where a thief died in sin.
One cross where a thief died to sin
A centre cross where a Redeemer died for sin
I advise you not to die in sin as the first thief on the cross.
· RESURRECTION: Above all that Jesus did was His resurrection from the dead on the third day as He promised when He died on the cross and was buried, the Jews thought that all was finished, but to their surprise Jesus triumphantly rose from the dead on the third day. His resurrection could not be disputed because He lived on earth for forty days after His resurrection and appeared to people on several occasions which I cannot mention in this discuss for space constraint. When those women came to anoint Him on the third day, they could not find Him in the grave, but the angels asked them “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again”. (Lk. 24:5-7). He rose from the dead that all those who believe in Him, though they die the naturally but rise again to eternal life. (see Jn. 5: 25-29, Jn. 11:25-27) By the time of His ascension to heaven, “He decalred”…All Authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age, Amen (Matt. 28:18-20).
The bottom line of this discuss is (a) that all sinners should repent of their sins now and accept what Jesus has done on the cross for us (Acts 17:30,31). (b) that all believers should proclaim this gospel message of the cross to the whole world before the second coming of Jesus Christ our Lord. By what Jesus has done and accomplished, true believers in Christ can confidently sing: Jesus conquered the world and gave us victory, victory Halleluah. Spread the news when it is convenient and when it is not convenient. Jesus is the only way to the Father (Jn. 14:6).
Dimanche 5 April, 2015.
(Jean 19:28-30 ; Luc 24:1-8)
La mort et la résurrection de Jésus-Christ, le Fils de Dieu et le Sauveur du monde, étaient et sont encore les événements les plus uniques et les plus signifiants dans les annales de l’histoire de l’humanité. La vie qu’il mena était sans égal. Il vécut et remporta la victoire sur le péché, la mort et Satan, le plus grand ennemi de l’humanité. La Bible dit : « Car tous ont péché et sont privés de la gloire de Dieu» (Romains 3:23).
Le fait que Jésus ait remporté la victoire sur le péché, Satan et la mort représente une vérité incontestable car ce sont des faits rapportés dans l’Ecriture :
La conclusion à cette présentation est (a) que tous les pécheurs se repentent maintenant de leurs péchés et acceptent ce que Jésus a fait pour nous sur la croix. (Actes 17 :30-31), (b) que tous les fidèles doivent proclamer l’évangile du message de la croix à tout le monde entier avant le second avènement de Jésus-Christ, notre Seigneur. A travers ce que Jésus a fait et accompli, les véritables fidèles en Christ peuvent en toute certitude chanter : « Jésus a conquis le monde et nous a donné la victoire. Alléluia ! Répands la nouvelle quand c’est convenable ou pas. Jésus est l’unique chemin au Père. (Jean 14 :6).
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