Reflection
It's hard to know how to answer some questions. One of the things that
is often talked about is the belief that religion is the cause of problems
like wars that are going on at the moment and have gone on seemingly for
ever. We have questions about religion in one way but in another we have
own questions about our destiny because we believe that God will judge
us on how we've lived our lives. We have tried to live it to the best
of our ability haven't we? In one sense we say that God is the cause of
all our problems. But on the other hand we say that what God thinks of
us is important. We try to do the right thing and on judgement day we
hope that God will say we're okay. What does the Bible say about what
God thinks? If we look at the life, death and resurrection of God's Son,
we see that all that we have done in our lives, the things we have done
wrong are paid for by Christ's sacrifice, both the things we have done
and the things we will do. Our judgement is covered by Christ's actions.
Yet at times it seems that we are not convinced by this, for we often
act as though we believe that we don't need Christ's sacrifice.
We find in Hebrews 9: 24-28 some of the things that I have been talking
about, for in the last part of those words, the writer to the Hebrews
says that Men and women die once, by divine appointment, and in their
case is followed by judgement. Death and judgment are both mentioned.
"So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people;
and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation
to those who are waiting for him." Some of us believe in judgement
but not in salvation. We believe our own life and the way we have lived
will save us before God, not the life of Christ. In believing in judgement,
we believe that there are grounds for God to examine our lives. FF Bruce
says in his commentary on the epistle to the Hebrews that the purpose
of Christ's coming was to be the removal or cancellation of sin. So sin
has already been dealt with, for Christ has already born our sins and
when he comes again it will be to bring salvation. He will not bring judgement
to those who are waiting for him. Yet the writer to the Hebrews wants
us to realize that our salvation was not bought cheaply. He spells it
out when he says, "Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again
and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year
with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many
times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for
all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgement,
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people."
Our Lord suffered and died once and for all by the sacrifice of himself
to do away with sin. Christ does away with sin. I believe that we do not
like being saved by God for we do not really acknowledge the seriousness
of our own sin. Only God can open our eyes to the seriousness of our own
sin. This is the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is significant as the
commentator William Lane says that the great barrier to the presence of
God is the defilement of sin which Christ removes by his sacrifice once
and for all. Consequently it is poignant that we don't see how significant
this defilement is to God unless our eyes are opened to it, and even as
Christians we can forget the truth of this and consider our own righteousness,
forgetting that our righteousness is secured only by the blood of Christ.
Our righteousness is Christ's righteousness not our own.