In spite of the sin and rebellion that God knew lurked in the very next generation of Noah’s sons and would increase with every subsequent generation, God committed Himself to spare the earth His previous judgments. While He did not remove the curse He had placed on Planet Earth following Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden, He vowed He would not increase the curse. And He promised that never again would He destroy all life on the planet as He had done during the Flood.
As evidence that He was good and would keep His promise, God pointed to the very cycles in nature. As you and I see the winter snows give way to spring flowers and the summer’s heat give way to autumn’s briskness, we are reminded that in back of the changes is the God Who never changes. The sun that rises every morning and sets every evening, the stars that come out in the night sky, and the moon that goes through its monthly phases—all reveal the glory of God, Who is good! How do your daily habits and lifestyle bear witness to the glory of God?
In the Old Testament, when a person sinned, he was required to take the very best, blue-ribbon lamb he could find, one without any spots or blemishes, to the priest at the temple. There, in front of the priest, the sinner would grasp the lamb with both hands and confess his sin. His guilt was transferred to the lamb. The priest would then hand the sinner a knife, and the sinner would kill the lamb so that it was obvious the lamb had died as a result of the sinner’s action.
The pervasive misconception today is that since Jesus died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, then we are all automatically forgiven. But we overlook the vital truth that we must grasp the Lamb with our hands of faith and confess our sins. We then must acknowledge that He was slain for our sins as surely as if we had plunged the knife into His heart. At that moment, the Lamb becomes our High Priest and offers His own blood on the altar of the Cross on our behalf. And, wonder of wonders! God accepts the sacrifice and we are forgiven!
Do you ever get frustrated with the habits of sin in your life? I do! Even though I have been to the Cross and received forgiveness for all my sin, I still sin. I don’t want to. I try not to. I hate sin! But I still sin. The reality of sin is the single most discouraging, defeating, depressing fact in my life. But I can look forward with hope. Because one day, when I get to my Father’s House, all of my sin . . .
my sinful tendencies,
my sinful thoughts,
my sinful actions,
my sinful words
my sinful feelings . . .
all my sins are going to fall away like a stinking garment that finally drops off and is discarded. What will be left will be the character of Christ that has been developed in me during my life on earth, and I will be like Jesus!
King Solomon wisely admonished, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends” (Prov. 17:9, NIV). One of the definitions for love given in the New Testament is that, “Love does not delight in evil. . . . It always protects” (1 Cor. 13:6-7, NIV).
One of the greatest failures in the Bible was the apostle Peter. His most notorious moment of sin was when, after vowing that he would die for Jesus, he actually denied ever having known Him. And he denied Him not just once but three times. Yet God, in His mercy and grace, restored Peter so completely that he was given a prominent leadership position within the early church, opening the door of opportunity for the Gentiles to receive the gospel. And Peter, who understood the shame of failure and the humiliation of sin, encouraged Christians to “love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
After nine hours of standing on His feet, after being scourged, slapped, and manhandled, after six hours of hanging on the Cross, the average person would have barely had enough life and breath left to even whisper. But Jesus, the Lamb of God, with life still fully flowing through His body, shouted out in a clear, ringing, triumphant voice, “It is finished.” The price for our redemption had been paid! The sacrifice for our sin had been made! Sin was forgiven! Guilt was atoned for! Eternal life was now offered! Heaven has been opened! It is finished!
You don’t have to do more good works than bad works.
You don’t have to go to church every time the door opens.
You don’t have to climb the stairs to some statue.
You don’t have to be religious.
You don’t even have to be good!
It is finished! Sin is forgivable for everyone! The price has been paid!
