The young rich man ( Matthew 19 v 16 - 30)

He was a seeker,he was rich, but he felt empty, he was not only rich,but he was also very religious. He had everything, but there was a something that was missing,and so he comes to Jesus,surely this noted Rabbi could give the answer. He addressed Jesus as good teacher,and asked what good thing shall he  do that he may have eternal life?. Jesus had to challenge him, reminding him that his efforts to be good would never be good enough.  This young man would eventually be brought to the place were he would have to make a decision ,Jesus told him ,if you want eternal life then you must keep the commandments.,his reply was,'' which ones''?,I think it was a strange thing to say,for as James points out that if you break one commandment you break them all ( James 2 v 10 ).Jesus nevertheless goes along with him ,and mentions  5,and adds  ,to love your neighbour as yourself,  CP Matthew 22 v 37 - 40. The young man declares ,''all these have I kept'', ''what else must I do?'' Jesus tells him to go and sell all his  possessions and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven,then come and follow me. The young man went away sad,for he had many possessions. but the fact is, he went away poor , it could have been so different,today he could be in heaven instead he is in  hell.  Everyone is not challenged to give up all their money by Jesus, but we are all called to follow Him on his terms,it must be unconditional surrender.

The rich farmer ( Luke 12 v 13 - 21 )

'I'II pick up the bill', this is the promise made by Bill Gates, he says if the vaccine made by Oxford scientists works, he will help to get it produced on a huge scale. Bill is reputed to be the second riches man in the world.He is spending a large sum of his fortune on paying for research into various diseases. We commend him for his generosity, I don't see any problem in having riches,it  is what you do with your money that matters, and that applies to all of us.Our Saviour highlighted aspects of being rich. He told the story of a rich farmer ( Luke 12 v 13 - 21 ) who left God out of his life,all he cared for was gathering up things for himself.  Consider how we in the West are rich compared to so many in this world,and the sad thing is this,that so many are only interested in gathering up things for themselves. Jesus tells us how God dealt with that man and how he viewed him, He took him away in death from his riches ,and he called him a fool. The Message paraphrases  what Jesus said ,' That's what happens when you fill your barn with self, and not with God'.

The Lord is good to all. ( Ephesians 2 v 1 - 10 )

In Psalm 145 v 9, we read,'The Lord is good to all;he has compassion on all he has made',Because I love all my children, does not mean that I will not help those outside my family circle. So it is with God he does not limit his goodness to those just within his family,just to clarify ,Gods family are those who have been born again , when they trusted Jesus as Saviour ( John 1 v 12 ).,God has never forsaken this world he created,he is still a faithful creator,yes there is much suffering in this world,and that is because we live in a fallen world,let us remember ,God owes this world nothing,but this world owes God everything,the very breath that  we breathe comes from him.In the prosperous west many have  so much,cars homes,money etc,we have doctors,hospitals,and yet  never a word of thankfulness to God,instead he is denied,ignored,yet in spite of his goodness ,they live without him,and sad to say they die without him. It need not be so,if we turn to him ,we will find him merciful,kind and forgiving,Jesus said behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and open the door ,I will come in  ( Revelation 3 v 20)

Don't Tell ( 1 Timothy 2 v 3 - 7 )

I read a line from a poem ,which reads,'I'm still waiting to be saved,I'm afraid', that's all I know of the poem,  the words, made me think. A friend told me about a friend of his, a Christian, who was asked to give a little word of testimony of his Christian experience. Later the man who had asked him to speak requested him not to mention about being saved as it might offend people. So what do you think happened?,when he got up to speak,and he told how he had got saved. If God saves you ,then surely one would be delighted to tell others about being saved,The sad fact is ,that in so many churches ministers are not preaching about being saved,not because it offends others ,but because it offends them. Does it offend you? possible, because ,only you can answer that because,why do I preach or speak to individuals that they need to be saved?. The word of God tells us clearly ,that we are sinners ,I remember a person who  became irritated with me,why?,because I kept mentioning sin. As one person wrote the grim logic of history leaves me in no doubt that sin is a reality . The next reason for telling others that they need to be saved ,is because what awaits all who die with their sins unforgiven ,is to spend eternity in hell..The next reason would be because God has given me the awesome responsibility to warn people. Last but not least ,my love for sinners,it breaks my heart that people need my Saviour,yet ignore him ,for he is the only Saviour there is, his name is Jesus. His death shows the seriousness of sin,and the importance of trusting Him, for the forgiveness of your sins.

Raised ( Revelation 1 v 18 )

We finish looking at Gods answer as regards sin, and I just want to finish on the last bit the resurrection,in Romans 4 v 25 which reads 'He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification' Charles Hodge writing on this says, The resurrection of Christ,, is an historical fact, established by the most satisfactory evidence ( see 1 Corinthians 15 ),authenticates the whole gospel'.A quotation from the ' Believers Bible Commentary', is helpful.' Our justification is the result that is assured by Christ's resurrection. There could have been no  justification if Christ had remained in the tomb. But the fact that He rose tells us that the work is finished, the price has been paid,and God is infinitely satisfied with the sin atoning work of the Saviour'. Trust in Jesus,follow Jesus,know Jesus,love Jesus,and you will never be disappointed.

Removed ( 1 Thessalonians 1 v 10 )

I mentioned last time the word propitiation, we have this word in Romans 3 v 25/ 1 John 2 v 2 /4 v 10. it is a controversial term to use,because it involves the removal of wrath, L Morris writes ,'Some commentators find the the concept of divine wrath  distasteful and unworthy,so they write it out of scripture'.I can assure you that the wrath of God is clearly mentioned in God's word, in many places,I mean many. CP  2 Chron 28 v 11/ Ezra 10 v 14 /John 3 v 36 / Ephesians 5 v 6.These are just some of the verses with the wrath of God in them.L Morris rightly points out ,'If there is no wrath there is no propitiation'. It means the removal of wrath,now the question is this how can it be removed from sinners?.the answer Christ would become a sacrifice ,and would bear the wrath of God for sinners.The words of Isaiah 53 which is a clear foretelling of Christ's death , speaks of Him being punished by God,pierced for our transgressions,crushed  for our iniquities, the Lord laying on him the iniquities of us all, and bearing the sin of many'.If this is not so, how then can wrath be removed? but praise God it can be removed from all who trust Jesus as there Saviour. When we do trust Him,we are no longer living under the wrath of God,following the removal of wrath,sin can then be removed .To sum it up, wrath is removed ,sin is forgiven it means our sins our sins are removed, this is expressed   wonderfully  in the words of Psalm 103 v 12,'as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us'

What does it mean?. ( Isaiah 53 )

We move on to consider the death of Christ,on the cross, we cannot escape the cross, Islam has a Christ with no cross ,there had to be a cross , so what was involved in his death ?First  it would  show his love, in 1 John 4 v 9.it would show a love that meant Him going to Calvary,to die on that cross.But there was more to his death than love,it would mean justice being satisfied,sin cannot be overlooked by a holy God.Those who sin must face the consequences ,that means everyone would be judged,and a sentence would be passed,which means facing the wrath of God. The wrath of God abides on  every person without Christ John 3 v 36, but will only come into its full effect the moment we die,as we lift up our eyes in Hell in torment,there will be no escape,no way out. In Isaiah 53 v 10 we read, 'Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;he has put him to grief,Now we will begin to understand Gods answer for our salvation.Why should he be crushed?,why should he endure punishment?,after all he never sinned. In 1 John 4 v 10 ,we read,'Herein is love,not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins'. we will continue this next time.