Nm 21:4-9
Psalm 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
Jn 8:21-30 Full Readings
Don't Die in Your Sins
"For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” said Jesus to the Pharisees who found it hard to believe in Jesus. Jesus warned his opponents that if they continued to disobey God's word and to reject him as Lord and Savior, they would shut themselves off from God and die in their sins. Jesus' words echoed the prophetic warning given to Ezekiel that people would die in their sins if they did not turn to God and ask for his mercy and pardon (see Ezekiel 3:18 and 18:18). In every age God warns his people to heed his word before the time is too late to seek his mercy and forgiveness. The same warning is given to us each and every day when we read the scriptures, when we go to Church, when we listen to sermons or reflections like this and in our conscience too. God gives us time to turn to him and to receive his mercy and pardon, but that time is right now. Christ taught the stubborn Pharisees that remaining “of this world,” refusing to believe in the Christ or the Father who sent him (that is choosing to remain in our sins) carries a death sentence. Do you and I want to die in our sins?
St Augustine warns us about the immediacy of repenting and returning to God before it is too late: "God has promised forgiveness to your repentance but not tomorrow for your procrastination." And again he says, "God is not now so long-suffering in putting up with you that He will fail to be just in punishing. Do not say then: 'Tomorrow I shall be converted, tomorrow I shall please God, and all that I shall have done today and yesterday will be forgiven me.' What you say is true: God has promised forgiveness if you turn back to Him. But what He has not promised is that you will have tomorrow in which to achieve your conversion." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 144,11). The time is now, Let us repent and believe in Jesus so that we are not going in our sins and get the punishment of eternal death.
Jesus took away our sins through his sacrifice on the cross, and so it is humbling ourselves under the cross of Christ can all our sins be forgiven. Do you know the healing power of the cross of Jesus Christ? When the people of Israel were afflicted with serpents in the wilderness because of their sin, God instructed Moses: "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live" (Numbers 21:8). The visible sign of the "fiery bronze serpent" being lifted up in the sight of the people reminded them of two important facts - sin leads to death and repentance leads to God's mercy and healing. The lifting up of the bronze serpent on a wooden pole points to Jesus Christ being lifted up on the wooden cross at Calvary where he took our sins upon himself to make atonement to the Father on our behalf. The cross of Christ broke the curse of sin and death and won pardon, healing, and everlasting life for all who believe in Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the world.
God loved us so much that he sent his only son that whoever believes in him will not die but have life everlasting (John 3:16) and “...as many as received him–to those who believe in his name–he gave to them authority to become children of God” (John 1:12). To fail to recognize who Jesus is and where he came from is to remain in darkness - the darkness of sin, ignorance, and unbelief. But if we look to Jesus and listen to his word of life and truth, then we will find the way to lasting peace and joy with God. The Lord Jesus invites each one of us to accept him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Our time here in this present world is very limited and short, but how we live it today has consequences not only for the present moment but for our eternal destiny as well. Which direction is your life headed in right now?
Let us Pray
Lord Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner. Many times I have promised not to sin again but once again I fall into sin, have mercy on my weakness, and forgive me. Give me grace to always repent here and now so that I will not die in my sins. Amen
Be blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment