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| Kate Gosselin And The Divine Scandal |
| Tuesday, June 23, 2009 |
 We live in an age of scandal. If it isn't Jon & Kate Gosselin, it's Perez Hilton and Carrie Prejean, or swimmer Michael Phelps and his bong. The darkness inside of us thrives on human train wrecks; it feeds on the demise of people that our world has made into little gods. We scream "hypocrite" every time we see good people go horribly wrong, as a way to justify our own bad behaviour.
This is why Jehovah God needed to remove the scandal that hung around His own good name for thousands of years. Accused of hypocrisy, He was seen by unbelievers as a two-faced God. On the one hand He demanded holiness; on the other hand He was the friend of sinners. Men like Abraham, Jacob, Moses and David.....all men steeped in sin.....all men He dared to call His friends.
First, there was Abraham, a coward, a man who farmed his own wife Sarah out to other men in order to save his life. Yet God called Abraham "the friend of God"?
Then there was Jacob, the liar and cheat. Yet God identified Himself as "the God of Jacob"?
And how about Moses, the murderer and fugitive from the law. Wasn't he the one that God gave His holy commandment to "Not Kill" to wave before the people? Wasn't this pure hypocrisy on Moses' part, and bad judgment on the part of God?
And then there was David, an adulterer and murderer: God actually called him "a man after God's own heart". Doesn't that seal the scandal for those who don't believe? How could a holy God keep company with, and exalt, such seedy and imperfect men as these? Wasn't this a scandal of epic proportions?
Yes it was!!! God knew that it wasn't righteous or just to forgive guilty sinners and not punish them: He said so Himself. So how could He keep company with these kind of men, calling them "friends of God", and "men after His own heart"? Wasn't this the ultimate in unholy hypocrisy?
Without question it was a stain on God's good name for almost 4,000 years. Until He sent His Son Jesus, He had to endure the catcalls and accusations of people who questioned His integrity. But then, He sent Jesus to pay the penalty for Abraham, Jacob, and David's sins...going all the way back to Adam....and all the way forward to you and me.
"To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be known as just, and the Justifier of those who believe." (Romans 3:26)
In Christ the scandal is removed! In Christ God punishes all our sin. In Christ God fellowships with believers from every age, so that even men like Abraham (and you and me) could be justified and pardoned through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 4:1-8).
The cross is the scandal removed! Not only does it remove the stain of our sin from our own record, it also removes the stain of apparent hypocrisy on God's part. In Christ He carried out justice for all our sins, and cleared His own Name in the process!
Amen to that?
Labels: blood, salvation |
posted by Alan @ 2:19 PM   |
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Name: Alan
Home: Canada
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