Remember a while ago Israel Folau published a response to some solid baiting on Twitter. His post warned of the need for all to repent and come to Jesus Christ in order to avoid hell. John the Baptist preached a gospel of repentance while preparing the people for the imminent coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus also preached a gospel of repentance and sent his disciples out to preach a gospel of repentance as well.
So repentance is a strong theme in Christianity. Hell is mentioned but the emphasis is on Salvation. Sin is mentioned by Israel Folau and was often mentioned by the Jesus of Nazareth. Frequently he would heal someone or save them from a band of Pharisees who were about to stone them and as he finished talking with them he would say “Go and sin no more.” Sin is the breaking of God’s Law. To repent is to turn away from the breaking of the Creator’s Law.
The basis of God’s Law is the Ten Commandments.
Exodus chapter 20 verse 1Now God spoke all these words, saying: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself any graven idol, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water below the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of them who hate Me, 6 and showing lovingkindness to thousands of them who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes His name in vain. 8 Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or your sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
The rest of the law relating to daily life and homosexuality is called the Torah and was given to the people of Israel by Moses to assist in governing the nation. Sufficient to say sin is the breaking the of God’s Law and is not acceptable in the sight of God.
However God so loved you that he devised a way of dealing with your sin. He came as a man and became the sacrificial offering. A virtual lamb of God to pay the price for your sin. All you have to do is believe that he bore your sin on the cross at Calvary and ask him to forgive your sin and make his place in your heart.
Only one condition. That you repent of your sin. When the Holy Spirit comes into your life he begins to reform you toward the perfection of the creator. He reveals the nature of Jesus of Nazareth in you. All sin has to go starting with the ones you don’t care about and moving right on to the ones that have a real hold in your life. It may take a life time but God is going to reshape you into the person he intended you to be when he first envisioned you. He loves you and wants only the best for you and won’t make you do anything against your will. But he will give you experiences that will affirm his plans for you. It may take a while but that is God’s intention for you if you accept his plan of Salvation.
Now as for Mr. Israel Folau? He finds himself in a very fortunate position. The experiences he is currently enduring are leading him to the position that God has appointed him too. Billy Graham died in February of 2018 and was an Evangelist of Note across the Western World. Perhaps Mr. Folau could fill that roll as a representative for Evangelical Christians in Australasia. Heaven knows we need one in this secular time in which we are living. Someone who isn’t afraid to stand for Jesus in the face of persecution. What do you say Issey?
No comments:
Post a Comment