To Be Sin for Us: Understanding Jesus’ Love and Sacrifice“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
– – – – 2 Corinthians 5:21 – – – –
A search on Facebook reveals a number of groups and fan pages that have been set up to focus on Jesus Christ. You can “Like” and “Follow” Jesus on Facebook, but you can’t “Friend” Him. He doesn’t have an account. Why then are we speculating about what He would do if He were on Facebook? Well, that’s not really our aim. Many of His people are on Facebook. All Christians must be careful how we use Facebook, for what we do will reflect upon the Lord and His church.
If Jesus Were On Facebook: Imagining His Impact On Social Media
IS THAT REALLY WHAT IT MEANS?
Every serious Bible student understands that grace and faith are essential components in any discussion about salvation. The Bible is emphatic, using the word grace 128 times in the New Testament and words like faith and believe (from the same Greek word) in excess of 300 times.
Hear what Paul wrote to the Ephesians:
Salvation By Grace Through Faith in Christ…by grace you have been saved … by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:5, 8-9)
Did Jesus keep the holidays? Absolutely, but His holidays (better described as holy days) were not the same as what people today keep. Born under the Law, Jesus observed the seven holy days as described in Leviticus 23:
SERIES: DO YOU REALLY KNOW JESUS?
The teaching that Jesus will reign upon the earth for 1000 years is part of the Premillennial doctrine common to many denominational churches in today’s religious world. The teaching relies in large part on Revelation 20:1-7, which speaks of the devil being bound for 1,000 years, and the faithful of God living and reigning with Christ for the same period of time.
Jesus Will Not Reign on the Earth for 1,000 YearsSERIES: DO YOU REALLY KNOW JESUS?
For many people in Jesus’ day, it was a challenge to accept His divinity. In fact, it was His claims to divine nature that caused the Pharisees to oppose Him so vehemently, even to the point of seeking His life. After Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, some who believed in Christ went to the opposite extreme—affirming that Jesus did not come in the flesh. The apostle John wrote:
Jesus Christ is God Come in the Flesh
SERIES: DO YOU REALLY KNOW JESUS?
At the time this article was written, the #1 result for the words “Jesus” and “legalist” on the internet is an article titled, “Why Jesus Hates Legalism.” The author calls legalism a sin and tells us that “Jesus had more conflicts with the legalists of His day than any other group.”1 In fact, the writer tells us that Jesus deliberately provoked the legalists by not following their hand-washing customs and by healing people on the Sabbath. Obviously, the writer of the article in question, like many others, identifies the Pharisees as legalists.
Was Jesus a Legalist? What the Bible Actually TeachesSERIES: DO YOU REALLY KNOW JESUS?
From time to time, I’ve had conversations with folks who insist that Jesus speaks directly to them. Some borrow language from an encounter Elijah had with God in 1 Kings 19:12 (“a still small voice”). One described the Lord’s voice as being loud and authoritative. Another said that she hears multiple voices, and must discern which of them is God speaking to her.
That Voice You Hear – It’s Not JesusSERIES: DO YOU REALLY KNOW JESUS?
In 1980, The Commodores released their 11th album, “Heroes.” The final track was a song written by Lionel Richie entitled, “Jesus Is Love.” Some warned Richie that the song would ruin his career. Anyone familiar with 80s pop music know how his career turned out.
Jesus is NOT just about love
It’s a good practice when we study a book of the Bible, to focus on key words. Recurring words will help us understand the theme of a book. For instance, in John’s gospel, the word “Father” is found over 100 times. Jesus’ relationship to the heavenly Father is a major theme of John’s writing. In John’s first epistle, we see “know” over 25 times. His purpose – to establish the true knowledge we have in Jesus Christ. In the book of Philippians, the words “joy” and “rejoice” appear more than 15 times. There are certainly other topics addressed throughout, but the need for us to rejoice permeates the epistle.
You Children of God – Rejoice In The Lord Always