Category Archives: redemption

When the Righteous Die and the Wicked Live – Ezekiel 33:18-19

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“When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. And when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this.” This warning spoken by God through the prophet Ezekiel hardly seems fair. The formerly righteous person dies while the formerly wicked person lives! God explains His position on this matter in vs. 13-16. If a righteous person trusts in his own righteousness, which causes him to act unjustly, then none of his righteous acts matter and he is responsible for the injustice he has inflicted and he shall die. But if a wicked person repents and turns from her sin and begins to do what is just and right, then she shall live. God’s redemption is always tempered by divine justice. What matters is Who you trust in–yourself or God. The self-righteous person really only trusts in himself, not God. The penitent person no longer trusts in herself, but God. What matters in the end is what was the transforming effect of God’s redemption on your life? In fact, it is a matter of life or death!

Willing to Do God’s Will – John 7:17

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“If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority” (John 7:17, ESV).

In this verse the teaching of Jesus is clear. To be His disciple requires a conscience act of one’s own will–a personal decision–to believe in Him and obey Him.

No one can make the decision for you. You can’t inherit salvation. Each person must come to the place in his or her own life where it is your will to do God’s will. Those whose will is to do God’s will, then comprehend the reality and truth of the teachings of Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins and are saved. Be willing to do God’s will!

Supreme Faux Pas? – Ephesians 1:4, 9-10

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“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him…making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:4, 9-10, ESV).

The way we usually begin the story of God’s redemption of humanity is that that God created a perfect world—a beautiful, wonderful place where communion with God was as easy as an afternoon walk through a garden.

Then Adam and Eve, who were God’s own created beings, disobeyed Him resulting in a catastrophic rift between God and His own creation. Seemingly, God’s perfect world was defiled and so He developed a plan to fix it.

When we begin the story in this way, it suggests that God made a big mistake when He created a universe that resulted in human beings falling out of fellowship with Him.

In Paul’s greeting to the Ephesians he begins the redemption story from its actual beginning. Paul makes it clear that God planned for the redemption of humanity even before the creation of the world! God wondrously and purposefully created this world and its redemption has always been God’s plan before the beginning of time.

So God is not trying to fix any supreme faux pas He made during creation. Instead, God is expressing supreme love through His creation.

And supreme love is best demonstrated through redemption: “For God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all.” (Romans 11:32).

God’s love and the redemption of His creation and human beings has always been God’s plan–let’s tell the story that way.