Good Morning Friends,
“Paul, an apostle – sent not from men nor by
man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – and
all the brothers with me. To the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to
rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and
Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Galatians 1:1-5)
We’ve been rescued!
That is an image that implies that we were
being held in bondage. We were being held in bondage to our sin – incapable on
our own of overcoming its grip on our lives. We were being held in bondage to
our guilt – there was nothing we could do on our own to erase the mark of guilt
from our souls. We were being held in bondage to the temptations of the evil
age – on our own, the temptations were too powerful for us to be able to
resist. Even when we didn’t want to give in to the temptations – even when we
knew it would be harmful to us if we gave in – we didn’t have the power to keep
from giving in.
We were being held in bondage! We needed
someone who had overcome the bondage or someone from the outside to come and
set us free. And that’s what Jesus did for us. He came from the outside – from
heaven itself. He entered our world of bondage – being subject to the same
temptations and the same powers that held us in bondage – but was able to
overcome them. And having overcome the power of the evil age in His own life –
He then came to us with the key to the chains that bound us. He offered us the
opportunity to be set free. Set free from sin’s power so that it no longer
controls our lives. Set free from sin’s guilt so that it’s mark is completely
erased from our souls. Set free from the power of the temptations of this evil
age – He has given us the power to resist the temptations that trapped us.
In order to rescue us, it cost Jesus. He had
to “give himself.” He had to leave the comfort and glory and power and security
of heaven. He had to restrict Himself to the constraints of human life. He had
to face the evil one face-to-face. He had to experience the full power of
temptation. He had to experience the
pain of rejection. He had to experience the torture and pain of death. He gave
Himself to rescue us!
For what He has done, He deserves to be
followed. For what He has done, He deserves to be praised. For what He has done,
He deserves to be loved.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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