I feel like ambulance driver trying to get to the scene of a multi-car, more a semi-truck accident that blocked the highway for miles on both sides and caused more rear-enders as people plow in those who have already stopped. Where to start?
I think it is a good place to start is with Jesus. It is always the best place to unravel the mysteries of God. When he preached his first sermon in his hometown synagogue of Nazareth, did not provide an answer at all, the answer that corresponds to both questions before us today.
response to all
1 Why are people saved?
2 How can God be so mean to send people to hell?
"Jesus came to Nazareth, where he was raised. And as was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. I come to the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled book and found the place where it was written: "Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty the oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord's favor (16-19 ).'"
What a beautiful passage Jesus chose to preach his hometown people, the people he grew up and whose life was familiar with. He knew their poverty. He knew pain of aging carpenters and stone workers, loss of vision for those who have lived long enough to escape the second death. He felt the oppression of Roman rule, as they do. And he had the answer, right answer, the good news of the gospel of forgiveness of sins.
You see, when Isaiah wrote these words, God's people have been experiencing any of these things. They had a good life, slaves to no one. Outside. But God does not look to external circumstances of our lives. He looks into the heart. And in your heart, God saw sin. This is what Isaiah speaks of in the picture language. Sin keeps us all captive. well we do not do. the evil we do not want to do, to work. Each of us are blinded by flattery or partiality - toward you! That is why it is so easy to pick out another person's negligence, and completely overlook our many shortcomings. Every day we land down under "the man". Oh, is not from God but from the devil. The Bible says that the ruler of that era. He carries us down with a constant temptation, sexy ads here, the enticements of the drunkenness and jealousy. He raises the other to try to destroy what we have achieved.
We need to break. We need forgiveness of debt - debt forgiveness of our sins. We need corrective lenses to see life the way God sees life. We need someone to buy us from the slavery of sin. And that is what Jesus meant when he talked about the "year of the Lord's favor." time debt forgiveness, sin, forgiveness, and not slogans, but the full and free pardon.
This is the Gospel. This is news that God is ready to forgive all our sins and freely take them to heaven, because it's just kind of God is. Loving, forgiving and giving.
And then Jesus brings closer, showing how God will thou great things for them. "And he rolled up scroll and gave back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. and he started talking to them, 'Today this scripture has been ringing in my ears filled (20-22)." "
He was anointed apostle of peace through the forgiveness of sins. Jesus was a courier sent by God to open the prison of sin and death and let the people go free. He was a healer prescribed father opened his eyes to see all the good gifts God has given in this life and the one to get. Jesus is the way to heaven. Jesus was a payment that will settle the debt of our sins. Jesus is the Savior of Isaiah was talking about. Why are people saved? Jesus is the answer for everything. They are saved only because of the message and work of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
and he still is. I have lived with you long enough to know your sorrows, your Heartbreaks, their injuries and illnesses. I know that your life is not easy. And everyone else in the world, looking at us not to wonder what in the world I'm talking about - we're Americans! We've got it made! But we are also sinners, who live in sin-filled world and that's what makes this life is hard and this is what finally makes this life come to an end. wages of sin are death. She is from Adam and Eve and will be until Jesus comes again in the last day. We can not undo the ravages of time, we can not compensate for the sins of our past. Absolutely helpless to return to a wicked word. Too poor to buy the second attempt on this day went wrong. We need Jesus. He is the only answer to all our woes. With your indulgence, from heaven assured us that his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, and we can go forward knowing that we will get through. We are saved only because of the messages and words of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
response at all. How can God be so mean to send people to hell? To help us answer that question, let's see how this is a wonderful sermon about Jesus ended.
"And all spoke to him and admired the gracious words that came out of his mouth. And they said:" Is not this Joseph's son (22 )?'"
They think of him. Man, they sounded nice. But wait! How can this child be the Savior? He is a son of Joseph! They reject God's offer of forgiveness of sins because they rejected the Savior God sent. Maybe they were expecting Superman.
Jesus is not going to let these people slip through the fingers of God easily. He goes on to try to show them what a terrible thing they were about to do and how often God work in ways that are, say, unexpected.
They are expected, if the guy was a doctor, he made it and could not help his cause by laying down their own medicine and give their diagnosis. I'll pass on the wisdom of thinking - these people were from Nazareth Hicks, after all. Jesus was supposed to cocaine at least a horn that he was the Savior. Do some miracles among us and we will believe. But remember what I told you last week - miracles do not convert the infidels. They are designed only to strengthen the faith of believers. Jesus shows that men are often sent by God got rough treatment from among its, indeed, they were unable to work because of their unbelief among scientists have discovered.
And right about here they are starting to get hot under the collar because it was Jesus who claimed that he is the Savior and that they are unbelievers just because they do not believe his cockamamie story?
But this is the reason why God must act in a way he does. Man's infidelity narrows your options. Eight hundred years ago, in the days of Elijah there were many people starving in Israel, but God sent Elijah to them? No, he sent Elijah to a widow woman in a foreign country, where he Elijah miraculously held her and her son alive. And later, when the next prophet was alive, Elisha, there were many sick people in Israel, but God miraculously heal them? But he healed a stranger who had come all that way, because he believes in the God of Israel.
and that's when the good people of Nazareth had heard enough. "They were all full of anger. I got up and drove out of town and brought him to the edge of the hill on which their city was built, so that he could throw down the cliff. But through them, he went (28-30)."
You see, they were not so good after all. Their hearts were hard, their murderous minds, their hands fast. How much self-righteousness not have to have the right to hustle preacher from the Church? Oh, but do not stop there. How to chutzpa you have to push him, riding him out of town? I think tar and feathers were in short supply in Nazareth. Oh, but do not stop there. You must fill your heart be the judge, jury and executioner, enveloped in the one you want to push Jesus rocks your town was built so that it will fall to his death?
Nice people, right? Now, how can God be so mean to send people to hell?
how crazy! Is God making these people do terrible things? Is God playing a twisted puppeteer only that Jesus was a little cardiovascular exercise? How evil thoughts! And how wicked transfer guilt and shame, and deserves the punishment of evil men with God. Here, too, Jesus gives the answer to everything. God sends people to hell. He does not choose people for cursing. They choose it for themselves. They select it from the rejection of God's greatest gospel news, rejecting the word of life that comes from Jesus' lips.
I wonder if this incident is what Jesus was remembering when he told Nicodemus: "Whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he believed in the name of the only Son of God and this is the court.: Light has come the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who are not evil things hates the light and does not come to light, that his deeds should be exposed (18-20 )."
people of Nazareth did not want the Saviour from sin, because they obviously did not want to admit they are sinners. As we go through the life of Jesus and see their interactions with people, to the vicious cycle repeats. Pontius Pilate does not need the Savior - "Am I a Jew?" inquisitors of man Jesus gave sight, when the man was confessing Jesus said, "You were steeped in sin at birth! - how dare you lecture us, " They have openly objected to Jesus' teachings about the world coming to give a spiritual view of the spiritually blind , "Are you blind, too?" And Jesus gives the answer to cooling. "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim that you can see, your guilt remains (John 9.41 )."
It's easy to say: "Oh, they baaaaad people in Nazareth. I would never be like them." But beware! To claim Jesus as our Savior, it means that we are saying we are sinners. We can not make that argument, and then go home today, no dirt on our husband or wife, a claim that they are without sin. We can not play at work and expect to escape blame if we just keep our mouths shut. We can not lose our mistakes in the red tape covering each other's tails. My sins caused Jesus to die. Your spiritual blindness brought him to the head sink into death. When it all comes crashing down on us, we stop asking those kinds of questions, because it is in Jesus, we have the answer to everything.
1 Why are people saved?
2 How can God be so mean to send people to hell?
Then we stop looking at others and wonders why and how. Then we start looking at ourselves and said, "Get on your knees, boy, and thank God for his goodness." "Get off the tail, gal, and start running to the Lord, who is so good for you." And to all, access to our lives with fear and trembling knowing all this would be our self-righteous, sinful stubbornness to get hold of us to throw away the sky, and Jesus.
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