The Heaton File

Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. (Joshua 24:11-12)

What God Did For Israel

The history of Israel was never about what Israel had done. It was always about what God had done for Israel. The Hebrew descendants of Abraham formed the nation of Israel. Formed from the twelve sons of Jacob, the Hebrew people numbered seventy-five when they moved to Egypt at the invitation of Joseph. Over a few hundred years, the Hebrews multiplied to the point that the Pharaoh feared them because of their number. Pharaoh tried to deal with the Hebrews by oppressing them, but to no avail. The king decided to thin the ranks of the people by killing all the boys born to the Hebrews. This did not prove successful.

As the Hebrew people suffered under the bondage of the Egyptian ruler, God sent Moses to deliver them from the harsh king. Ten plagues came upon the Egyptian nation that destroyed their economy, military, religion, and spirit. All these events came by the hand of God. In a final act of rebellion, Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt through the Red Sea. God parted the waters to set the people free. For the next forty years, the Lord God delivered the Hebrews from their enemies, winning every battle fought except for Kadesh-Barnea. God gave the people food and water. Their clothes never wore out, and the shoes did not wear down. Everything the people needed, God provided.

The Hebrew people did not deliver themselves from Egypt. God brought them out of bondage by His powerful hand. The crossing at the Red Sea was not a weather event but the hand of God. Every victory over the enemies of Israel came by the hand of God. When the Hebrews gathered at Sinai, God made them a nation. Israel was born of God, not man. The Lord gave Israel a law from His mouth. Israel did not write a declaration of independence to establish itself as a nation. Only God created Israel, and only God could destroy Israel. When Joshua led the nation into Canaan, God defeated all their enemies.

The great battle at Jericho was where God showed His might and power to Israel. Jericho and the surrounding area were a virtual stronghold, well defended with soldiers from the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and the Jebusites. Israel was a nation made up of second-generation bricklayers. Their victories came by the hand of God. Israel did not win their victories by their swords or bows. Victory came from the hand of God. The land they would inherit was given to them by God. It was called the Promised Land because God promised it.

God created the world and established its laws. Man was created by God to have dominion over the earth. The sun rises by God’s power, and each star is in its place because of God. Every breath comes from the hand of God. The world remains as it is because of the will of its Creator. There is nothing man can do to destroy the world. God reigns as sovereign over His creation. The larger problem man faces is how to prepare for death. Eternal life comes from the hand of God. Jesus is the gift of God. Man has done nothing. God established a law of grace to save man, and if a man chooses to obey the will of God, he will be granted eternal life. Everyone can choose to obey God or refuse. God has given man the free will to choose. That is what God has done.

So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home.” (Joshua 2:17-18)

Hope Is A Line Of Scarlet Cord

The army of Israel amassed outside the walls of Jericho, a strong Canaanite city. Its walls were so large that houses were built upon them. Israel would fight not only the residents of Jericho, but the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and the Jebusites. Before approaching the city, Joshua sent two men to spy secretly to view the land, especially Jericho. The men entered the city and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, where they stayed. When the king of Jericho heard the men had come into the city to search the land, he sent men to search for the Israelite spies. Hiding the two men on the roof among stalks of flax, the men went undetected.

Before the men lay down, Rahab came to them and asked to be spared when the attack began. She was not born when Israel crossed the Red Sea, but as a child, she grew up hearing the stories of the Israelites in the wilderness. The people were terrified of the Hebrews. Rahab came to believe the Lord God of Israel was the God of heaven and earth. She asked the two men to spare her and her family from destruction. The men promised to spare her and her household, but with conditions. Rahab must bind a scarlet cord in the window, and anyone to be saved had to be in her home. Anyone not in the home would die with the rest of the inhabitants.

The Hebrew word for the scarlet cord means “hope.” It comes from the Hebrew, “bind together.” Rahab put the scarlet cord out her window in the hope and expectation that when the army of Israel attacked the city, she would be spared. It was a few days before Israel returned and began the siege of Jericho. Rahab did not know the battle plan. When she saw the army approach the city, her heart believed the word of the men that she would be spared. She had gathered all of her family on that first day, expecting the Hebrews to attack at any moment. Instead, Israel marched around the city and left. They did this for six days. No one knew the battle plan. Was Rahab’s heart tested? Did she doubt the promises of the men? Why did Israel not attack?

On the seventh day, everything changed. Israel again approached the city and marched around seven times. Then the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua told the people to shout, for the Lord had given the city to them. As the people shouted, the walls of Jericho fell flat, and the people of Israel swarmed across the doomed city, killing all the inhabitants. As the walls of the city fell, a great noise filled the house of Rahab. The earth trembled, but her house did not fall. Soon, two men appeared at her door and led Rahab and her family to safety outside Israel’s camp. Jericho was burned to the ground.

Hope is a scarlet cord that carries God’s promises. The Lord kept His promise to spare Rahab. Her faith saved her and her family. In the days before the fall of Jericho, Rahab looked at the scarlet cord as a promise the God of Israel made to save her. She believed to the saving of her household. Her hope lay in the impossible. Hope bound her heart together to believe the promise of salvation would be her salvation. Her scarlet cord was a covenant between her faith and the Lord God.

Christians have been given the greatest hope through Jesus Christ. Instead of a scarlet cord, the crimson blood of Jesus Christ is the assurance of the promises of God. When Jesus returns, He will be looking for those resurrected in the blood of Jesus Christ. Each person who has placed the crimson cord of Jesus Christ in their heart will be spared the destruction of the wrath of God. All who are outside the church will be destroyed. Only those in the body of Christ will be spared the eternal destruction. Rahab found salvation in the hope of the scarlet cord. The only hope given to the world is the crimson blood of Jesus Christ. Hope is a crimson cord of faith.

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19)

The Grateful Sinner

Leprosy was the scourge of the Bible world. There was no cure. No medicine would heal it. The disease came with a death sentence. It was a horrible way to die. The body begins to crust over with white scales and causes terrible sores and swellings. Leprosy becomes more horrific as the disease eats inward to the bones, rotting the body progressively, leading to a final relief in death. Under the Law of Moses, leprosy was regulated by the priests who determined the severity of the disease. Leprosy was considered unclean, and lepers had to live alone.

Many lepers lived in the days Jesus taught and performed miracles. A leper appealed to Jesus to heal him, and the Son of God reached out and touched the man and healed him. Jesus sent out the apostles with the power of the Holy Spirit to heal lepers. When John the Baptist asked if Jesus was the expected one, Jesus sent messengers to tell John that great miracles were being done, including healing lepers. Scripture records many miracles, but many more remain unwritten. Lepers were among those who received Christ’s compassion and were healed.

As Jesus approached a certain village, there were ten lepers camped outside the town. They had heard of Jesus and knew of His power. When the Lord came by, the ten cried out to Jesus, calling Him “Master,” and sought His mercy. They believed He had the power to heal them. When Jesus saw them, He told them to show themselves to the priests. He did not heal them immediately, but as they went, they were cleansed. What a remarkable feeling to have the scourge of leprosy removed from the body in an instant. The cleansing was complete, whole, and powerful. What no man could do, Jesus did by directing the men to those who served the law of God.

The Law of Moses required a man who thought he might have leprosy to show himself to the priest and receive the blessing that cleared him of the dreaded disease. This would allow the man to return to his family, his place in society, and his place in the Temple. To be cleansed of leprosy was the most powerful demonstration of God’s grace toward disease known to man. From a disease that meant only a death sentence to the joy of having all the leprosy removed and cleansed of the horrible disease. Ten men went on their way healed, whole, and cleansed.

As one man went his way, he realized what had happened beyond the leprosy. One man turned and came to Jesus to glorify God with a loud voice, giving thanks for Jesus’ compassion, His love, and His abundant mercy. He had been healed of leprosy. There had been no hope. He had hope. There was no compassion. He felt the compassion of Jesus. There was no cure. Jesus took his leprosy away. He wanted to praise God for the cleansing. His heart was filled with thanksgiving because he no longer lived under a death sentence. He had risen from the putridity of disease to the healing by the hand of God.

All men suffer from the same disease. Leprosy is a horrible, disfiguring, painful, stench-filled experience that leads to certain death, but it is only a disease of the body. What all men suffer from is the disease of sin. Sadly, most do not look at sin as a horrible disease. They cannot see how it disfigures the soul. There is little pain in sin because it is such fun. And the stench of sin to the nostrils of God does not bother the sinner. When the one leper realized what Jesus had done, he returned to honor God. Sin, like leprosy, has no cure. The end is death. Yet Jesus came to take away the disease of sin from those who will come to Him for healing. Jesus has the power to wash away all sins. He will turn a death sentence into an eternal life sentence. Through the blood of Jesus, sin can be washed away.

The one leper shows the heart of thanksgiving. Everyone who has washed their sins away in baptism knows the feeling of cleansing. What may be lacking in many hearts is the heart of gratitude suggested by the lone returning leper who came to give God the glory. There must be a deep gratitude for what Jesus has done. Being cleansed of sin is a joyful, thankful time that must never fade. The healed leper rejoiced the rest of his life for what Jesus did. Do you rejoice that Jesus washed away your sins? Listen to the lone leper. Glorify God. Thank God. Show thanksgiving in the way you live – washed from your sins.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, M God, why have You forsaken Me?” Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” (Matthew 27:46-49)

Killing Jesus And Calling For Elijah

More than eight hundred years before Christ, the prophet Elijah battled the wicked duo of Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah was a powerful figure who courageously stood against Israel’s king for all his wickedness. Ahab would call Elijah the “troubler of Israel” because of his relentless attacks against the king and his wife, Jezebel. Elijah killed eight hundred and fifty of the prophets of Jezebel who served Baal and Asherah. Israel suffered a drought that lasted three years and six months because Elijah had asked God to withhold the rain. The Lord did.

During the reign of Ahaziah, king of Israel, he injured himself and inquired of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he would recover. God sent a message through Elijah that Ahaziah would not recover, and the king sent fifty of his warriors to arrest Elijah. Elijah called fire from heaven to consume the men. A second group of fifty soldiers came to arrest Elijah, and God killed them with fire. Only after a third group was spared did Elijah go to the king to confirm Ahaziah would die. When the Lord was about to take Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah met with Elisha to pass his authority on to Elisha. After receiving a blessing from Elijah, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

During the last half of the fifth century B.C., Malachi (contemporary with Ezra and Nehemiah) prophesied of the coming of Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Malachi prophesied that this Elijah would turn the hearts of the people back to the Lord. Jesus told His disciples that John the Baptist was the promised Elijah who came to prepare the way for the Messiah. Now at the cross, the people have rejected Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ and, through hatred, delivered Him to the Romans to crucify. As Jesus dies on the cross, the people mock and deride Jesus. Taunting the Son of God, they laugh with contempt, saying maybe Elijah would come down in his fiery chariot and save this man from Nazareth from the cross.

Some misunderstood the language Jesus used to cry out, thinking He cried, “Eli, Eli.” They thought He was crying out for Elijah. Others thought that if Jesus were the Son of God, Elijah would appear from the sky and save the man in the middle. Their mockery hid their fear. They mocked Jesus by asking for Elijah, but if the prophet had appeared, they would have ceased mocking. Jesus lived among His people, performing signs, wonders, and miracles, yet they did not believe He was the Christ. His teachings astounded the multitudes, and they refused to accept His words. Out of envy, they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” And the Romans crucified the Son of God.

The crowd gathered that day, mocking Jesus, and asked for Elijah to come down, not realizing who was being lifted up. Like Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness, so Jesus was lifted up to save all men. Elijah’s appearance would not have saved anyone. Thank God Elijah did not come and Jesus did not come down from the cross. Jesus died, and redemption through His blood would unite Jew and Gentile into the body of Christ. The veil in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom at the death of Jesus. Elijah did not come down, but God did. He established His divine plan to save all men through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless. (2 Peter 3:14)

It Takes Diligence

In Peter’s final message to the saints, he reminds them of Jesus Christ’s return and the need to give all diligence to be ready when that day comes. In his second letter, Peter began by exhorting the people of God to give all diligence to add to their faith the essential ingredients of character to be fruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The early church faced persecution from false teachers who brought destructive doctrines into the Lord’s church. Many had forsaken the right way and gone after the desires of the world, loving the wages of unrighteousness above holiness. Peter warns the saints that Jesus would return, and they would be wanting before God.

Remaining faithful takes effort. The Lord never suggested that once someone is saved, nothing more is required. Peter is writing to children of God who had tasted the good word of God and been enlightened to the truth of Jesus Christ, but were now turning away from that truth. The warning is that if they did not repent and change their ways, Jesus would return, and there would be no hope. A need for a diligent heart to resist the temptations of the flesh, the false doctrines of men, and the desire to cast off their allegiance to Christ was ever present in the first century.

To live the Christian walk requires walking, not sitting. The character of the child of God is an active spirit of diligence to remain faithful. A persistent mind to follow the word of God needs an active faith that seeks truth from God’s word. Divine knowledge does not come by osmosis. Paul reminded the Roman Christians that faith came from hearing the word of God, suggesting the need for diligence. The industry of seeking God is putting Him first in all things of life. There can never be a casual approach to divine knowledge. Peter ended his second letter admonishing the saints to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and this requires diligence.

Faith is proportionate to the diligence put forth to grow in Christ. Many Christians remain in a spiritual kindergarten because they have made little effort to study the Word diligently. Bearing fruit requires work, effort, energy, and exertion. A lazy man will hope the crops grow and bear fruit, but he will die because of his slothfulness. So it is with the word of God when a man is too lazy to spend time in the Word to know God. Everyone should give diligence to be found by Jesus Christ in peace, without spot and blameless.

Jesus did not return in Peter’s lifetime, and He has yet to return after two thousand years. This time of longsuffering leads men to ignore the warnings and refuse to be diligent about their faith. They become lazy and slothful in faith – and then Jesus comes. The ones who will be saved are the diligent ones. Those who are lost were not diligent. Serving the Lord God takes diligence. Workers in the vineyard of God are expected to be working. Be diligent. Jesus is coming.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

Finding Purpose In What I Am – A Sinner Needing Saving

Finding abundant life in Jesus means knowing He came to save all men and give them eternal life. Jesus said He is the door, and all who enter will be saved. Like a shepherd, the Lord will lead the obedient to pastures of green along the still waters. All of those in the flock of God will be fed abundantly, protected from the ravages of wolves, and be secure hearing the voice of the shepherd calling their names.

Jesus is not just a shepherd. He knows the frailty of the human spirit. In the beginning, man was created in the image of God. Through the Father’s promise, Jesus came to give His life as the good shepherd because all men needed the saving grace of Jesus’ blood. Animals could not redeem sinful man. No works a man could do would save him. God so loved the world that He was willing to give His Son as the blood sacrifice to redeem sinful man.

Finding purpose in Christ alone begins with man seeing himself for what he is. First, he is an eternal creature. Second, he is a failed eternal creature. When Eve took of the fruit and gave it to Adam, the tragedy of man’s story was highlighted in the requirement of a blood sacrifice to redeem them back to God. Through the ages, God allowed sacrifices to lead men to Him for salvation. All these sacrifices, multiplied by thousands, could not remove the debt of sin. Jesus is the abundant life because He abundantly gave of Himself to redeem those who killed him.

Sinful man can never find the grace of God until he admits he is a sinful creature. A man who refuses to acknowledge he is lost does not change his circumstance but shows the folly of not recognizing the state he is in. Jesus came to give the abundant life of salvation in the gospel. On the Day of Pentecost, no greater acknowledgment is given than those who cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Everyone is a sinner needing saving. Only through the abundance of God’s grace can a man imagine eternal life.

Finding purpose in life is understanding what I am. There is nothing I have done to merit the grace and love of God. All that a man can do in life is empty compared to the goodness and severity of God. “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22b-23). The abundant life in Christ Jesus comes with a cost. It cost God His only begotten Son. Saving man required the death of God’s Son. The reason for the death of Jesus on the cross was because of sin. He paid the final cost to redeem man because there was nothing sinful man could do. Man was a creature needing saving.

Life must have a purpose to be full. The Christian has a full life as they see God’s grace in their hearts, cleansing them of sin, lifting them from the dregs of wickedness, and blessing them with the eternal message of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. Salvation does not come from works, lest anyone boast. Sinful man has been saved by the grace of God to be His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). That is where the abundance of God dwells. Jesus came to bring the abundant life to save a sinner from the wrath of God. Thank God for Jesus Christ.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. (Psalm 92:12-15)

The Trees Of The Lord

On the third day of creation, God spoke, and the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit trees in abundance. Trees were created before the sun, moon, and stars. The birds and the animals came on the fifth and sixth day. Man was made on the sixth day. God used His creation to tell the story of His grace, mercy, and love. The psalmist used the natural earth in many of their psalms, including the palm tree and the mighty cedars of Lebanon. A palm tree is a noble tree sending all its strength upward in one bold column. Its strength lay in growing amid the desert’s drought as a beacon of hope for the weary traveler. On the summit of the mountain, the cedar tree stood against the harsh winds that battered it daily.

The godly man will rejoice in the knowledge of the great works of God. Creation shows the Lord’s handiwork, including lessons from the trees. Like a palm tree, the righteous will flourish in a harsh world. The palm tree was a tall and elegant symbol of life and hope. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people waved palm leaves before Him. Solomon carved palm trees into the walls of the temple. The cedar tree survived high in the mountains, facing the onslaught of brutal weather. It became a symbol of strength and was used for its lasting qualities.

Those who follow the word of the Lord and pattern their lives after the righteous judgments of God flourish like a palm tree. The abundance of the fruit of the palm brings life. His strength will be rooted in the word of God, so that when the strong winds of adversity come, the strength of the cedar will secure the heart to withstand the wiles of the devil. The heart of the righteous will be firmly planted in the house of the Lord to enjoy its blessings of divine communion. Even in old age, the righteous will remain a symbol of strength and fruitfulness. Age does not diminish the heart in serving the Lord; it enhances it.

Aged believers have much to offer the kingdom of God. Through life’s experiences, they bring the glory of the palm tree, which stands in a stark world yet remains flourishing and abundant in fruit. The strength of age is like the cedar tree, which withstands the winds of change and uncertainty. Only in the house of the Lord will true joy be found to bear fruit that is fresh and flourishing. God is the rock, and He establishes the righteous as palm trees and cedars. The world sees the glory of God in the righteous men and women who adorn themselves like the palm and cedar. God’s creation extols His glory, and in the church, the eternal grace of God is found in the righteous. Growing up to be giants in a desolate land is the glory of the Christian life. Finding security in the cedars of God’s people is where the strength of grace is demonstrated.

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1 Peter 2:1-3)

The Desire Of A Baby

Children remind the world of innocence. The humble spirit of a child is born from their lack of knowledge of the cruelties of life. They do not look at the world in the sordid, unpleasant, and evil way that characterizes the hearts of men. The beauty of childhood is its innocence. A newborn child has only a few needs: protection, provision, and a need to belong. As the baby grows, it begins to see the world in a darker light because knowledge opens the child’s heart to the depravity of man’s fall. One sad part of growing up is how the heart changes to see the evil in the world. What was once hidden is on clear display. The attitudes of the heart buried in the innocence of childhood are awakened.

There are some characteristics not found in the child’s heart. An evil heart is not found in the heart of a child. They do not understand evil behavior. A child’s heart is not filled with deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and unkind speech. These traits are learned from adults who live in a world of sin. Children naturally tend to be pure in heart and filled with an innocence of righteousness. What a child becomes is shaped by what parents teach. Only in the time of infancy is the heart pure and clean.

The Holy Spirit uses infants as an example of the Christian walk. Jesus told Nicodemus that salvation comes only from those born again. Nicodemus did not understand the metaphor Jesus was using, asking how a man can be born again from his mother’s womb. Jesus explained that the birth He meant was being born of water and the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but Jesus was teaching Nicodemus about those born of the Spirit. Paul later wrote about the new creation, where old things have passed away, and all things have become new. This symbolizes the new birth from the world of sin to a new life in Christ. To the churches in Galatia, Paul explained that circumcision or uncircumcision mattered not, but a new creation.

Babies need nourishment. They do not understand the science behind their hunger pains, but they do know they want something to eat. They have a natural desire to be fed without understanding why. Their desire is intense, and they will cry until fed. In the same way, a newborn child of God must hunger and thirst for the word of God. Christian growth comes from laying aside all the sinful attitudes of the word and desiring the pure milk of the word. The pure milk of the word is the untarnished, unstained, and unadulterated pure words of God’s mouth. There is a desire to know the character of God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Like an infant child, there is a driving need to be nourished by the pure milk of the word.

If a baby does not grow, people worry. Babes in Christ need to grow, or they will become malnourished, sickly, weak, and the condition could lead to death. Newborn Christians must grow. Having tasted the gracious mercies of the Lord, how can a new Christian not long for and desire to know all that can be known about their salvation? Growth must be a constant for the new Christian. Some older Christians, by virtue of physical aging, are still in the infancy of spiritual knowledge and have not grown to maturity. God wants His children to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Above all things – grow.

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death. (Acts 2:22-23)

Forgiveness May Not Change The Consequence Of Sin

The Day of Pentecost was the most important day in world history. It was the day the full plan of the Divine will came together to show the world the abundant mercy of God. The gospel of Jesus Christ was preached to a lost world, and three thousand souls obeyed. Peter told the Jews that God had shown His divine plan by sending Jesus to reveal the Divine power through signs, wonders, and miracles. All of the events of that day were the fulfillment of the prophet Joel, who spoke to the people eight hundred years earlier.

Peter explained that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Christ. Everything in the life of Jesus was established by the determined purpose of the Father. Jesus knew He would suffer and die at the hands of the Jews and Romans. Jesus’ death was not a failure. Everything pointed to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Peter boldly told the Jews standing before him that they had taken Jesus by lawless hands, crucified Him, and put Him to death. It had only been a little over a month since the travesty of justice where Jesus was sentenced to death had taken place. Everything about the charges against Jesus was false, His so-called trials a sham, and the Roman court’s sentence of Him to death illegal. And yet He was killed. Many witnesses testified the man in the middle was Jesus of Nazareth.

Peter told the crowd they must repent of killing the Son of God. He convicted many in the crowd of the guilt of what they had so hastily done in screaming out, “Crucify Him.” Peter declared to the house of Israel that God had made Jesus of Nazareth, whom they crucified, murdered on a cross, both Lord and Christ. When the people heard the words of Peter, they cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Three thousand souls gladly believed the words of Peter and were baptized. Their sins were washed away. The guilt of killing the Son of God was measured by the mercy of God in forgiveness.

In all the joy of seeing the hearts of devout men face their guilt of sin and immerse themselves in water to wash away their sins, there is one issue that remains clear. Jesus was killed by lawless hands. When God forgives sin, He removes it as far as the east is from the west. He buries it in the deepest parts of the sea. Forgiveness is total and complete, but that does not suggest that the consequences of sin do not remain. The death of Jesus was in the plan of God, and Jesus had to die. Forgiveness does not remove the consequence of sin.

David and Bathsheba were forgiven, but their sin had consequences. A man can commit a crime and, while forgiven before God, may have to serve out punishment in the courts of law. The murderer can find the grace of God in forgiveness and still face the death chamber. Forgiveness is in the mind of God. A man will reap what he sows, even if he has been forgiven. When a person desires to come to Christ, there may be things in life he cannot change, but the most important thing is his relationship with God. Many must live with the consequences of their sin, even as they are blessed with God’s forgiveness.

There is joy in knowing God takes away the stain of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. Those who obeyed the gospel on the Day of Pentecost were forgiven, but lawless hands still killed Jesus. The depth of God’s love, mercy, and grace will take away the guilt of sin, but most often the consequences remain. It takes courage to accept God’s grace and forgiveness and still live with the consequences that sin may bring.

And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. (Acts 10:24)

The Soldier Evangelist

When the gospel of Christ was first preached in Jerusalem, three thousand Jews responded to God’s grace and washed away their sins in baptism. The church began with the Jews, as the apostles established it with the first converts from the nation of God’s people. God always planned to include the Gentiles in the church, but it had to come in its own time. Jesus told Peter he would be given the keys of the kingdom and through the preaching of Peter and the apostles, the door of salvation was opened for the Jews on the Day of Pentecost.

A few years after Pentecost, in the Father’s divine will, the Gentiles would also receive the message of the gospel, and it would come from the most unlikely source. There were many Gentiles who could have been the first recipients of the gospel, but God chose a man who represented the Roman Empire as a centurion of the Roman army. A centurion was a commander of a division in the Roman army consisting of one hundred men. Cornelius belonged to a division of the Roman army composed of the highly regarded soldiers from Italy.

What set Cornelius apart from his cohorts was his deep faith in the one true God. He was a devout man who feared the true and living God. His devotion to the Lord was seen in his benevolence and constant prayers. However, he was not a Christian and had no hope of eternal life. An angel came to Cornelius and instructed him to send for the apostle Peter in Joppa. The angel did not instruct the Roman commander what to do to be saved but told him to send for a man who would tell him words by which he and all his household could be saved. Cornelius sent for Peter and Peter came.

The meeting of Peter and Cornelius was remarkable. Cornelius was excited about Peter’s arrival. He had followed the angel’s instructions and eagerly anticipated the arrival of a man he had never met. His anticipation was so exciting that he called together his relatives and close friends. He wanted others to hear what Peter had to say. And then another remarkable thing happened. When a fisherman from Galilee came into the home of a Roman centurion, the centurion fell down at the feet of the fisherman and worshiped him. Peter forbade Cornelius because God had shown him that all men were equal and deserved the gospel of Christ.

Peter began to teach those assembled in Cornelius’s home the good news of Jesus Christ. He showed the Gentiles that Jesus died and rose from the dead, and many saw Jesus after His resurrection. Peter explained that salvation came to those who believed in him through the remission of sins. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit came upon all those who heard the word, to the amazement of the believers that the gift of the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles. Peter then exhorted those gathered in his home to be baptized into water in the name of the Lord.

The first Gentile convert was not Cornelius – it was himself along with his relatives and friends. A man from outside God’s nation set an example of evangelism for all to follow. Luke never gives the number of relatives and friends assembled in Cornelius’s home, but he describes how Cornelius invited them to listen to Peter’s words. They responded individually to the gospel of Christ because they were invited to Cornelius’s home. Through a simple invitation to hear the gospel, Cornelius’s relatives and friends joined him as children of God.

If a Roman soldier can set an example of evangelism, everyone would benefit from learning the joy of inviting others into their home to hear someone share the gospel of Christ. Cornelius did not teach his relatives and friends. Peter did. Because of Cornelius’s invitation, others became Christians. Cornelius was a Roman soldier doing the work of an evangelist. He unknowingly followed Philip’s words to Nathanael: “Come and see.” Put on the armor of Christ and invite people to your home.