God In Place Of Us
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
In the previous posts (Click here for ‘God For Us” and here for “God With Us”), I mentioned that the resounding message of Christmas was that God was for us, and that answers the heart’s question of purpose and meaning. God is not just for us, but Christmas asserts that God is with us; and that answers the heart’s question of loneliness. But there is a question that has burdened every human heart since the fall, and it is the question of guilt. Every person who has honestly considered the facts has to admit that there is something fundamentally wrong with our hearts. No matter how hard we try, our thoughts are often impure, our actions less than gracious, and intentions often wicked. What am I to do with all that I have done that I cannot undo? How do I deal with the guilt of my sin? What do I do with this overwhelming power of sin? To all those questions, Christmas declares “He will save His people from their sins.”
How? The Bible reveals that this babe in Bethlehem was born to die and would do that by dying for us. God for us is encouraging, God with us is cheering, but Christmas declares God in place of us! He will save us from our sins by dying in place of us.
Why will He save? Should I not be responsible for my own sin? Can I not do good to pay for my bad? The common responses to guilt are to either deny it or minimize it by comparison to other greater sins. All of these responses minimize the gravity of sin, and the pervasive nature of sin. Sin is not simply occasional wrong action offending no one in particular, it is a systemic problem in man and offends the Holy God. Amy Carmichael who translates of the struggle of HA Krishna Pillai the famous Tamil poet of the 19th century, quotes him “I tried to put away everything I knew to be wrong in my life … Nevertheless though an outward transformation took place to some extent, there was no inward cleansing.” It is something man ought to, but cannot do. Man may be able to do good, but that is required anyways. Man may effect outward transformation but what about the tendencies of the heart? We are in essence corrupted. All our inclinations are corrupted. You can clean a dirty pig, bit you cannot keep him clean long. His nature is to lie in the mud. And God answered that question of guilt once and for all at Christmas – “He will save His people from their sins.”
The angelic choir sings, “goodwill toward men.” It tells me of God for us, and it gives me purpose and meaning. The prophet says, and the angel affirms, “they shall call Him Immanuel.” It tells me of God with us, and that liberates me from the prison of my loneliness. The angel pronounces, “He shall save His people from their sins.” It tells me of God in place of us, and that takes my burden of guilt.
Christmas was not simply unusual events surrounding the birth of a homeless baby born in an unknown stable in Bethlehem, it was God, lifting the veil of Heaven, entering the fabric of humanity to meet our deepest needs, and to give us life!
Danesh Manik
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"A Soul’s Anchor” is a daily inspirational message prepared to challenge your mind, inspire your heart, and motivate you to anchor your soul in the person of Jesus Christ. If you know a friend who would enjoy receiving "A Soul’s Anchor" in their email box each day, tell them they can sign up by emailing us at subscribe@asoulsanchor.org . The messages may also be read at our website, http://www.asoulsanchor.org. To unsubscribe, please email, unsubscribe@asoulsanchor.org with your email in the subject line. To change to a weekly instead of a daily subscription, email weekly@asoulsanchor.org with your email in the subject line. For receiving messages by mail, please write to us at A Soul’s Anchor, India International Church, 3654 Okemos Rd., Okemos, MI 48864
In the previous posts (Click here for ‘God For Us” and here for “God With Us”), I mentioned that the resounding message of Christmas was that God was for us, and that answers the heart’s question of purpose and meaning. God is not just for us, but Christmas asserts that God is with us; and that answers the heart’s question of loneliness. But there is a question that has burdened every human heart since the fall, and it is the question of guilt. Every person who has honestly considered the facts has to admit that there is something fundamentally wrong with our hearts. No matter how hard we try, our thoughts are often impure, our actions less than gracious, and intentions often wicked. What am I to do with all that I have done that I cannot undo? How do I deal with the guilt of my sin? What do I do with this overwhelming power of sin? To all those questions, Christmas declares “He will save His people from their sins.”
How? The Bible reveals that this babe in Bethlehem was born to die and would do that by dying for us. God for us is encouraging, God with us is cheering, but Christmas declares God in place of us! He will save us from our sins by dying in place of us.
Why will He save? Should I not be responsible for my own sin? Can I not do good to pay for my bad? The common responses to guilt are to either deny it or minimize it by comparison to other greater sins. All of these responses minimize the gravity of sin, and the pervasive nature of sin. Sin is not simply occasional wrong action offending no one in particular, it is a systemic problem in man and offends the Holy God. Amy Carmichael who translates of the struggle of HA Krishna Pillai the famous Tamil poet of the 19th century, quotes him “I tried to put away everything I knew to be wrong in my life … Nevertheless though an outward transformation took place to some extent, there was no inward cleansing.” It is something man ought to, but cannot do. Man may be able to do good, but that is required anyways. Man may effect outward transformation but what about the tendencies of the heart? We are in essence corrupted. All our inclinations are corrupted. You can clean a dirty pig, bit you cannot keep him clean long. His nature is to lie in the mud. And God answered that question of guilt once and for all at Christmas – “He will save His people from their sins.”
The angelic choir sings, “goodwill toward men.” It tells me of God for us, and it gives me purpose and meaning. The prophet says, and the angel affirms, “they shall call Him Immanuel.” It tells me of God with us, and that liberates me from the prison of my loneliness. The angel pronounces, “He shall save His people from their sins.” It tells me of God in place of us, and that takes my burden of guilt.
Christmas was not simply unusual events surrounding the birth of a homeless baby born in an unknown stable in Bethlehem, it was God, lifting the veil of Heaven, entering the fabric of humanity to meet our deepest needs, and to give us life!
Danesh Manik
____________________________________________________________
"A Soul’s Anchor” is a daily inspirational message prepared to challenge your mind, inspire your heart, and motivate you to anchor your soul in the person of Jesus Christ. If you know a friend who would enjoy receiving "A Soul’s Anchor" in their email box each day, tell them they can sign up by emailing us at subscribe@asoulsanchor.org . The messages may also be read at our website, http://www.asoulsanchor.org. To unsubscribe, please email, unsubscribe@asoulsanchor.org with your email in the subject line. To change to a weekly instead of a daily subscription, email weekly@asoulsanchor.org with your email in the subject line. For receiving messages by mail, please write to us at A Soul’s Anchor, India International Church, 3654 Okemos Rd., Okemos, MI 48864
posted by Danesh Manik | 2:47 PM
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