17 For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.
Until Jesus died on that cross, humanity could not be truly reconciled to God. Since the Garden, humanity lived in a state of separation from God. But, Jesus, by dying on the cross, took away that separation brought about by sin, becoming sin for us so that we might experience His righteousness, right standing with Almighty God. Someone had to pay the price - and because Christ did what He did, we can be spared the eternal punishment that is in store for all who reject God. Praise His holy name!
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Jesus died for us, so that, when we acknowledge that substitution He performed, we can also experience death - to self, to the flesh, to our old live - so that we may enjoy the new life He has promised. 2nd Corinthians 5 says:
14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
On Good Friday, we can reflect on the fact that God can change a life. He does it by giving us a new heart. It's a glorious, supernatural work that can only be accomplished because of what Jesus did for us on the cross and through His resurrection. Our sins were put to death, and He was raised to new life so that He might give new life to those who receive Him as Savior and Lord.
There's a man who experienced God's touch and transformation named Lawrence Tureaud. According to a story on the CBN News website, he's 64 years old, "has had his share of struggles, successfully battling a T-cell lymphoma cancer diagnosis back in 1995. Today, he is cancer-free and is praising God for helping him get through the storm." He's described in the story as an "(i)conic actor and ex-wrestler."
The article quotes from a Fox News story, in which the , "“My faith was tested like Job. That’s the message I try to tell other people, just because you believe in God, serve God, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, people gotta realize, it don’t mean things not gonna happen to you,” adding, “I believed in God when cancer come to me. Now, when I speak, I speak with authority because I’ve been there.”
But, you don't probably don't know him as Lawrence - he is known as "Mr. T."!! He's a competitor in the latest season of Dancing With the Stars. He is quoted in the Fox story as saying after a recent taping of the show: "I answer only to God. I got so much, got gold…Rolls Royce [but] I didn't forget God. Every day I pray."
The article continues:
The article continues:
Mr. T, who said he will donate his entire "DWTS" salary to help the kids of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Shriners Hospital's for Children, told Fox News the biggest lesson he's learned from the Bible: "Stay humble and be concerned for the less fortunate… I take food down to the homeless. I don't call up the press and say, look at me! My mother told me, son, if nobody else know, God knows. I do it for his glory."The CBN story notes:
It’s no secret that Mr. T is a Christian, as he has been vocal about his faith in the past. He’s the son of a pastor and has routinely explained the important role that Christianity plays in his life. In fact, he told HuffPo Live back in 2015 that he once turned down $1 million to appear in a beer commercial simply because he didn’t feel quite right about it.According to the story,
"...‘I won’t do it,’” the actor told the outlet at the time. “First, it was $700,000 and then they moved the price up. Why? Because of what I stand on.”This is Good Friday - when we commemorate the day on which Jesus showed His love for each of us by giving His life. He has stood for us to the point of death, and he calls us to stand for him. One takeaway from the Mr. T. story is that it is so important to know what you stand on. And who you stand for. Jesus gave it all for us, and we can be motivated and empowered to surrender completely to Him.
I think that Mr. T. can also inspire us to think that when your faith is tested, you can rely on the power of God. And, there will be tests - God will call us to difficult assignments, as I talked about earlier this week. Because we are humans, we are candidates for suffering - but we are also candidates for strength. We can display the grace of God even in those times when we face adversity.
On this Good Friday, we can reflect that the work of the cross is internal - and can be seen through our external actions. Jesus paid the sin debt, but by rising from the dead, He also paved the way for those who call upon His name to have new life, to experience His resurrection power. So, we have a new heart, and as we grow in the Lord, we recognize that we see life and its circumstances through new eyes. If we surrender to the love of Christ, it will be demonstrated in our external actions.
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