Good afternoon, ladies! How many of you recognize the phrase "Space--the
final frontier"? If you're nerdy like me, you can probably quote the
rest of the opening from the television show "Star Trek." If you aren't
familiar with it, the show's basic plot was to show the crew of the
starship Enterprise as they explored the universe and interacted with
various alien life forms. It was a star trek--a journey through space, exploring the last territory known to man.
Dictionary.com
defines frontier as "the land or territory that forms the furthest
extent of a country's settled or inhabited regions." Knowing the plot of
the show, and of course, the actual space exploration done by man, the
phrase "space--the final frontier" seems to make pretty good sense. What
can be beyond space?
But of course the Christian knows about a frontier that lies beyond
space, one that isn't bound by our understanding of distance and time.
Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he
will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered
before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on
his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are
blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for
you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me
something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I
was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed
me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to
visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry
and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we
see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the
least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are
cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For
I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave
me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I
needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and
you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a
stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help
you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
There is a frontier of eternal judgment that awaits all of us. Some will
go to eternal punishment, and some to eternal life. This frontier has
already been explored by all who have gone before us, but there is only
one who has returned and can describe it to us.
Luke 16:19-26
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and
lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus,
covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s
table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to
Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where
he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus
by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and
send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
because I am in agony in this fire.’
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received
your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is
comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us
and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to
go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
Don't forget that the same man who told us about this eternal frontier also told us how to get there…
John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Judgment--the final frontier. It doesn't have quite the same ring to it
as the original version, but it's a little more accurate. :)
In Christ alone--
Elena
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Barnabas Letters, part 8
Hello Barnabas ladies! Hope everyone is having a lovely week!
"Redeemed--how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am."
Sound familiar to anyone? It's one of those songs that gets stuck in my head. :D Redeem is an interesting word. I searched at Biblegateway.com and redeem in its various forms is in the NIV version of the Bible 107 times, plus another 24 times for redemption. It's also a Bible word that gets a lot of day-to-day use.
I can't be the only one who has saved up the little stamps from the grocery store and redeemed them for a free saucepan or other cookware. We also receive gift certificates and redeem them for whatever goodies we want to buy. Maybe we spend time clipping coupons and redeem them for discounts on our purchases. It's pretty clear that redeem is a word that relates to buying things. In fact, I found this definition for redeem:
To purchase back; to regain possession of by payment of a stipulated price; to repurchase.
To pay the penalty of; to make amends for; to serve as an equivalent or offset for; to atone for; to compensate; as, to redeem an error.
(http://eastonsbibledictionary.com/r/redeem.htm)
That definition makes a lot of sense with my little examples. I use my collected stamps to purchase a saucepan from the grocery store, because they have determined that a specific number of stamps is equivalent to one saucepan, even though my stamps have no real value, they're just little scraps of paper.
But what about Biblical examples of the word redeem?
Galatians 3:12-14
The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+3:12-14&version=NIV
Galatians 4:4-6
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+4:4-6&version=NIV
Both of these passages mention the old law, and how we've been redeemed from that law. The old law was full of regulations that Jews were held to. As shown throughout the Old Testament, they were never able to keep that law, so Jesus came to redeem them from it. Remember my saucepans? In the little booklet where you collect your stamps, there's always a retail price listed for the saucepan. It's usually something outlandish, like $50. You might even say that no one could pay $50 for such a small saucepan. We can trade our stamps for it, but we can't really purchase it outright.
So what does redemption get us?
Ephesians 1:7-8a
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.
Colossians 1:13-14
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We can't pay $50 for that saucepan, and we can never be perfectly obedient to the Old Testament law. But God has determined that Jesus is an equivalent price for the forgiveness of my sins--and not just mine, but everyone's. If that doesn't make you shake in your boots, I'm not sure what will!
So what do you think will happen if I just walk into the grocery store and demand my saucepan from the manager? Of course, he's going to tell me that I can either go ahead and pay the $50, or I can spend the time collecting my little stamps. God's salvation is available to all, but there is something we must do to obtain it.
Acts 2:37-39
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%202:37-39&version=NIV
"Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed, his child, and forever, I am!"
In Christ alone--
Elena
"Redeemed--how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am."
Sound familiar to anyone? It's one of those songs that gets stuck in my head. :D Redeem is an interesting word. I searched at Biblegateway.com and redeem in its various forms is in the NIV version of the Bible 107 times, plus another 24 times for redemption. It's also a Bible word that gets a lot of day-to-day use.
I can't be the only one who has saved up the little stamps from the grocery store and redeemed them for a free saucepan or other cookware. We also receive gift certificates and redeem them for whatever goodies we want to buy. Maybe we spend time clipping coupons and redeem them for discounts on our purchases. It's pretty clear that redeem is a word that relates to buying things. In fact, I found this definition for redeem:
To purchase back; to regain possession of by payment of a stipulated price; to repurchase.
To pay the penalty of; to make amends for; to serve as an equivalent or offset for; to atone for; to compensate; as, to redeem an error.
(http://eastonsbibledictionary.com/r/redeem.htm)
That definition makes a lot of sense with my little examples. I use my collected stamps to purchase a saucepan from the grocery store, because they have determined that a specific number of stamps is equivalent to one saucepan, even though my stamps have no real value, they're just little scraps of paper.
But what about Biblical examples of the word redeem?
Galatians 3:12-14
The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+3:12-14&version=NIV
Galatians 4:4-6
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+4:4-6&version=NIV
Both of these passages mention the old law, and how we've been redeemed from that law. The old law was full of regulations that Jews were held to. As shown throughout the Old Testament, they were never able to keep that law, so Jesus came to redeem them from it. Remember my saucepans? In the little booklet where you collect your stamps, there's always a retail price listed for the saucepan. It's usually something outlandish, like $50. You might even say that no one could pay $50 for such a small saucepan. We can trade our stamps for it, but we can't really purchase it outright.
So what does redemption get us?
Ephesians 1:7-8a
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.
Colossians 1:13-14
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We can't pay $50 for that saucepan, and we can never be perfectly obedient to the Old Testament law. But God has determined that Jesus is an equivalent price for the forgiveness of my sins--and not just mine, but everyone's. If that doesn't make you shake in your boots, I'm not sure what will!
So what do you think will happen if I just walk into the grocery store and demand my saucepan from the manager? Of course, he's going to tell me that I can either go ahead and pay the $50, or I can spend the time collecting my little stamps. God's salvation is available to all, but there is something we must do to obtain it.
Acts 2:37-39
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%202:37-39&version=NIV
"Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed, his child, and forever, I am!"
In Christ alone--
Elena
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)