NO GREATER LOVE AND NO GREATER GIFT THAN THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE TO ALL! THIS IS YOUR CHRISTMAS OR SEASON PRESENT There are two most scary things to humans. These are death and failure. But amid the two, death is the number one enemy of humans. Because of its imposing threat to the human life and its ability to terminate it, many succumb to it with tremendous fear, deserving attention and great concern. Most people do not want to associate their names or link with death in any reference form. They assume this behavior as perhaps the best possible way to stop the wrath of death against their souls or avert its sting to their lives. However, in the face of all these human reverence or extreme respect for death, the Scripture comes in to predestine death to every Adamic born, mankind. This Scripture verse in the book of Hebrews is perhaps well known to many Bible readers and Gospel hearers. It states thus: “It is appointed unto man to die.” In other Scripture translations, it states the same thing about death thus: “It is destined for every man to die.” We’ve already indicated the two things that people all over the world fear the most, they’re the fear to die and the fear to fail, that’s, the fear not to succeed in what we love to do and hope for in life. From time immemorial death and failure have been a part of human dilemma. We’re pretty much aware and associated with these yet weve never come to grips with them but have lived in their perpetual reverence for these, why? Actually, it’s not necessarily the death or failure situations that humans are scared and fearful of. After all, when an individual dies his life departs from him. Now, he has no consciousness and memory to note let alone be scared of what goes on around him. This is the reason he is called a dead person. And in the case of failure, we fail in our lives all the time. Especially, in the area of our finances, many that include me are poor. When you become a poor person you’re no more scared or fearful to be poor. Why? It’s because you’re already a poor person. Your next concern for fear is how to become a rich person rather. In every society we observe the poor in our midst who even outnumber the rich yet we’re all not dead but alive and living. Whether you’re a rich or poor person, life goes on unabated! The American, Francis Bacon said on his Tribute essay some four hundred years ago: “Nothing is to be feared but fear itself. Nothing grievous but to yield to grief.” The late President, Franklin D. Roosevelt probably paraphrased his thought from Francis Bacon when he also said at his first inaugural speech. “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself!” Fear is a suitable and intimidating weapon for the devil. And primarily, human fear concerns his death and failure. Fear will bring lack of faith and thwart your hope in God. When you live your life in perpetual fears you are bound to attract your trust in the devil and in the promises of his agents. It’s the faith from the infallible Word of God in the Scripture alone that will attract your faith and confidence in God. The devil uses fear as his bait to attract human attention. And with it, he subdues humans to become subservient to him and keep us in his domain and control. Through this cunning tactics, the fear to die and the fear to fail, the devil is able to intimidate all that become his subjects, servants. So we observe that it’s not necessarily about death or failure but the fear that we may die or fail. However, the fear to die is usually the more disturbing news that humans may not want to experience. It’s because the fear to die prevails over the fear to fail. The reason for this is that once an individual dies he ceases to function any longer. It’s death that puts an end to all the good things that we hope for or anticipate in our life. Death is the end to the story of all our aspirations and intentions in life. Even the human wise saying validates the thought of our conversation. It says: “When there is life (in a person) there is hope.” When an individual retains his life, he can then hope to succeed in his aspirations by divine providence or, perhaps triumphs through his self determined means. The driving force or motivation for success is very dependent on life. And in my Akan language it literally translates thus: “When you have life you have got something.” This adage means that when you possess life it possibly appears that you have achieved or succeeded with the dreams of your life. Why is man so scared about his death, to die? Is it because of his predestination by his Maker, God about his death stated in the Scripture? Or, is it because man has misunderstood what His Maker said about his death? Or, is it because he attributes his supposed death to a wrong being who has no power at all over life and over death? We’ve to remember that death is the opposite of life and life, is vice visa, the opposite of death. Ultimately, however, God the human Maker alone has the power of life and over it and also the power of death and over death. As much as we distort Scripture to understand about death and the consequences of it in the book of Hebrews even so do we distort the same Scripture in the Gospel of John chapter 10:10. In relation to the Hebrew chapter 9:27, many also know only the first part of John chapter 10:10 which says: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.” However, the full statement of the verse states thus: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life (Jn. 10:10 NLT). The first part of Jn. 10:10 talks about the devil, the non-creator of the human life. He has no power for life or over death. Yet, he imposes himself on mankind with his fake death threats because of humans fear for death and failure. In the first part of Jn. 10:10 verse, it says that the devil is like a thief whose purpose is to come and steal and kill and destroy your life. However, our comfort and assuring hope comes from the second part of the same verse. And it states about the God-Man, Christ Jesus, our Creator, Redeemer and Savior God concerning the human life that He came to give us a rich and satisfying life. In other words, He came to give us abundant life or life in its abundance, everlasting life. Earlier in our conversation, we’ve stated about death but only in its part that humans are familiar with in the book of Hebrews. This is how the Scripture concludes the King James Version and the New Living Translation that we quoted from the book of Hebrews chapter 9:27: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27 KJV; NLT). So when the Scripture had said: “It is appointed unto man to die” or, “It is destined for every man to die,” it greatly disturbed man, to the extent, even dashed all his hopes, aspirations and the good things that he anticipates to do in his life. However, the part of the Hebrew verse that many are somehow unfamiliar with is the full statement that includes even the consequence thereafter when you die. You do not just die to solve your life concerns and human problems. However, that’s not the case at all. Even, you will die to face everlasting consequence for your death without a relationship with Christ Jesus. The full statement went farther to inform that death should be the least of our human problems or concerns but the consequence for our death should rather be the great human problem and concern. What makes the Scripture sometimes a bit confusing and unintelligent to understand is not about the Scripture itself but the way we pick and read and try to understand the pieces out of its perspective context. When we conclude this popular Hebrew text with the succeeding last verse of 28, the meaning and fear for death for many vanishes and diminishes completely from us. Let us relate to the entire two verses. “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him” (Heb. 9:27-28 NLT). Now we come to observe from the Hebrew text that there are two characters that are predestined to die in the context. However, death as an eternal condemnation judgment is only for and applicable to one of them. As much as both two characters are to die, one dies in his sins to face criminal charges for his death, eternal condemnation judgment. This is the individual who is without the Christ. This individual dies to receive his eternal judgment by his Creator and Savior, Christ Jesus because he did not accept Jesus to pay his sins for him with His blood and give him a new creation birth. However, the other individual, the one who accepted Christ Jesus as his Lord and personal Savior eagerly waits for the second coming Jesus with his judgment in his favor, salvation. When you accept Christ Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior, you do not die to or in your sins but out from them. The reason is that Christ Jesus has paid for in full all your sins with His blood. Again, He gives you a new creation birth with His blood and establishes you with an eternal relationship with God the Father. “For God the Father loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God the Father sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants” (Jn. 3:16-21 NLT). Jesus came to die but resurrected to give humans a new guarantee life, that’s, transition us into His eternal life so that all who will believe in Him, will have eternal life to establish eternal relationship with God the Father. Let us not the greatest gift ever any person can give to another. As we come to celebrate the season of Christ, please remember the greatest of all gifts ever given to you and all mankind, the gift of everlasting life. To this the Scripture states: “There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for ones friends” (Jn. 15:13 NLT). For God the Father loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16 NLT). In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with the Father God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with the Father God. God the Father created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Christ Jesus. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it (Jn. 1:1-4 NLT). The Scripture states about Christ Jesus that He is the Author of life which means He is the Creator of life. “You killed the author of life, but God the Father raised Him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!” (Acts 3:15). In the book of Acts it states about Jesus the Christ that: “For in Him, Christ Jesus we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, We are his offspring (Acts 17:28 NLT). And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life (1JN. 5:20 NLT).
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 08:57:02 +0000
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