John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
All mankind due to the sin of Adam is going to eternal perishment. There is no difference between anyone because of their sin (Rom 3:23). But God so loved all mankind that He did not want anyone to perish. This Loving God came up with the solution of giving His only begotten Son for this grave problem of sin and death. Jesus came to this world and died for the sin of all mankind (1 Cor 15:3-4). Then the righteous God declared that the only way of escape from eternal damnation is by faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16). By faith in Jesus Christ we can get eternal life- the same life of God.
Rom. 5:6-8 “ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”The love of God towards the mankind is very unconditional. Man does not have any contribution in this perfect and complete work that Jesus did on the cross of Calvary. In the world, no one will die for another man. Very rarely someone may die for a very good man. But God demonstrated His love towards us by the death of Jesus Christ; that when man was totally helpless, ungodly and an enemy to God; Jesus died for us in the right time. By the death of Jesus Christ and faith in Him we not only get the eternal life (John 3:16) but we see how much God loved and values each and every one of us. Our value is shown by how much God paid for the redemption of you and me. God give His only begotten Son for us.
Apostle Peter declared in Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Apostle Paul also reaffirmed in 1 Tim 2:4-5 “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”
All religions teach and think that man can please God by their good deeds and they are always trying for the same. But the Bible tells very clearly that all these self-centered efforts are not only useless; but God hates it (Isaiah 64:6). If any religion is acceptable for God then it will be the one of Israelites. They are the only ones who had all the prophets and law. When they came to God with an outward obedience and without purity in heart see what God is saying to Israelites, who received all the commandments in Isaiah 1: 13-18: “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. “Let Us Reason”18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
God instructs His people (Israelites) not to bring offerings to Him anymore because they were unworthy in His sight. The Israelites were holding grudges, lust and all kinds of sin in their heart and outwardly portraying a religious attitude. They pretended to be holy outside but remained sinful inside, and God saw that. So God invites them to come to Him and He will wash their sin completely. God is looking in our heart and our attitude towards sin. The only way to cleanse our sin is by the blood Jesus Christ (1 John 1:7). The only way for the man to come to God is through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Rom. 3:20-27).
By the death of Jesus Christ, God established the New Covenant and abolished the Old Covenant. One of the main privileges man gets through the New Covenant is the forgiveness of Sin and justification by faith in Jesus Christ (Rom.3:24-26).
The First promise in the New Testament is very life giving for anyone who is burdened about their sin. Many believers are not at all aware of this great promise in the first page of New Testament.
Mathew 1:21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”Many believers are using the name of Jesus very frequently but they do not know what it really means and are not experiencing the great promise through it. The name Jesus means “He will save His people from their sin”. This is the great privilege anyone can get by believing in Jesus Christ. Salvation from sin means complete forgiveness and justification from all the past and present sins and freedom from the power of sin. So in this New Year let us come to Jesus to experience this wonderful promise continually in our life. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
May God bless all of us to be real Christians following and experiencing Jesus all the time.
