Freedom is Good News Part 139

Breaking news!!  We interrupt this series of articles concerning the “worthy walk with God” to bring you an important message.  Wow!  That sounded pretty interesting, didn’t it?  But I do have a couple of comments to make about this up-coming weekend.  Do you know that there is a very special Sunday coming?  One that is a very special and unique day in the year.  And all of us who are striving to understand the “good news” of God’s word should pay close attention to it.

There are many groups, churches and organizations that may mention this day but the bible would say, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:8)  Let us get our hearts into God’s truth!

What is this special day?  Most of us will know the day as Pentecost and in the bible we will find this day to be of extreme importance as we consider God’s “good news”. 

The word Pentecost, in our English, is taken from a Greek word that means “fiftieth”.  That in itself should cause a series of questions in many minds, “fiftieth what”; or “fiftieth from when”?  So let’s take this from the beginning.  We are introduced to this particular day in the book of Leviticus 23:15-22, “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.  You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath.” 

There is much to say concerning God’s festival day, but today we have only one column to look at, so we will move a little quickly.  But remember this; God the Father is always painting pictures of His Son, through symbols and types in the Old Testament.

If you were to consider the gifts that God has given to His people, what would you say was the greatest?  I am going to imagine your answer might be, “God gave His only begotten Son to be the Savior of mankind.”  And I cannot argue with that.  But concerning fifty days after the resurrection of our Savior, we read this in the book of Acts 2:1-4, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  Divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The crowd that gathered to see this sight wondered greatly.  Peter stood up and spoke (See Acts 2:13-36).  As he finished his message the crowd asked, “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.”

This day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day, for everything else that it signifies, stands out as the day the Church received this great gift of God’s Holy Spirit.  Many have called it the birthday of the Church.  God promises a gift in the Old Testament (see Joel 2:28) and then provides it in the New!  Oh yes, this is good news.

Freedom is Good News Part 123

In our last article we talked a little about the Godly concepts of justice and mercy.  You see, if God were not a God of justice He could not show forth His mercy.  For mercy does not, yea cannot, exist where there is no justice.  How can someone show forgiveness if there is nothing to be forgiven of? 

There is a third aspect of God’s character that must be introduced at this point: grace!  May I give you a succinct definition of these three aspects of God’s character?  Justice is getting what you deserve; mercy is not getting what you deserve; and grace is getting something that you do not deserve. 

And so, we are sinners – what is the result of sin?  “For the wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23)  You and I as unrepentant sinners will find, in the justice system of God, the verdict of “death”.  We cannot complain for God has spelled it out for us.  But God has provided a way out and lets us know that He has sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice to take away our sin.  1 John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  WOW – now that is mercy, tremendous mercy.  But wait!  God does not stop there.  He goes on to express unto us the third element of who He is – grace!

What is this grace that God showers upon His children?  What is this gift of God that goes beyond what we deserve?  Let’s go back to finish the scripture quote in Rom. 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the grace of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  So does this ‘three part trail’ go from: 1) we are sinners worthy of death to; 2) we accept the mercy God has provided through the blood of His Son to; 3) eternal life in our Savior?  If that were so, then once we repented and received baptism we would be whisked away into the kingdom of God to be with Him forever – no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, just joy and bliss with God.  Guess what, that did not happen.  Not even with the Apostles!  In March of 1979 after I came up out of the waters of baptism, the same people were in the room, the same snowstorm was happening outside.  That was almost 40 years ago and this physical life is still all I see around me.

God is good!  Remember, Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone”.  And so God in His goodness provides for the repentant sinner in many ways.  Acts 2:36-39 says, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”  Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”  And Peter said to them, “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.  For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

The gift of the Holy Spirit!  To have a piece of God in-dwell the new child of God is an amazing concept – so let’s take a look at that next time, God willing.