God is love. (1John 4:8) If this be true then we can learn a lot about Him by applying this conviction to 1Corinthians 13: 4-8:
God is long-suffering, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not prideful, does not act unseemly, does not seek His own things, is not easily provoked, does not impute evil, rejoices not over iniquity but rejoices with the truth; He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. God never fails!
The importance of grasping the character of God can not be over estimated when trying to understand the gospel. One attribute of love listed above is, love does not impute evil. The scriptures bear this out in
2Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Hence, the purpose of our ministry:
We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did call you by us: we pray you in behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
God does not keep a list of sins, we do. We have guilt and shame because of what we have done to others, and we have resentment, bitterness, and anger because of what others have done to us. The purpose of the gospel is to set us free from all sin. Being able to know we are forgiven (for our sins) and being able to forgive those who have wronged us (who's sins we carry in our memories). Understanding Calvary does just that.
If God does not keep a record of sin then Christ did not die to appease God's justice. God is just in not keeping a record of individual sin. How can (spiritually) crippled people keep from responding to one another in anger in the face of the wounds they have accumulated throughout their lives? It is obvious they are hurt and just as obvious they will hurt others. The purpose of the cross is not for God to see us differently but for us to see Him as love. Recognizing the wounds we carry we can better understand the world knowing they are as wounded as we are, thus giving us the ability to love our enemies. The wages of (carrying) sin (ours and others) is death, but God's gift to the world is eternal life, for those who have ears to hear.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17
If one can believe God actually allowed His Son to die at Calvary, then one can see the long-suffering, patience, kindness, and understanding He manifested during that death. God used the death of His Son to manifest love toward those who killed Him. The power of the cross lies not in the death of Christ, but in the fact God allowed it. To take the Father out of the picture takes away the passion of the Father's love and causes us to miss the point: God loves us as much as He loves His only begotten Son. By realizing this truth, we become children of God and joint heirs with Christ. We have power to forgive and be healed of all spiritual disease. We have power to live a life of love.
God is long-suffering, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not prideful, does not act unseemly, does not seek His own things, is not easily provoked, does not impute evil, rejoices not over iniquity but rejoices with the truth; He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. God never fails!
The importance of grasping the character of God can not be over estimated when trying to understand the gospel. One attribute of love listed above is, love does not impute evil. The scriptures bear this out in
2Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Hence, the purpose of our ministry:
We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did call you by us: we pray you in behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
God does not keep a list of sins, we do. We have guilt and shame because of what we have done to others, and we have resentment, bitterness, and anger because of what others have done to us. The purpose of the gospel is to set us free from all sin. Being able to know we are forgiven (for our sins) and being able to forgive those who have wronged us (who's sins we carry in our memories). Understanding Calvary does just that.
If God does not keep a record of sin then Christ did not die to appease God's justice. God is just in not keeping a record of individual sin. How can (spiritually) crippled people keep from responding to one another in anger in the face of the wounds they have accumulated throughout their lives? It is obvious they are hurt and just as obvious they will hurt others. The purpose of the cross is not for God to see us differently but for us to see Him as love. Recognizing the wounds we carry we can better understand the world knowing they are as wounded as we are, thus giving us the ability to love our enemies. The wages of (carrying) sin (ours and others) is death, but God's gift to the world is eternal life, for those who have ears to hear.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17
If one can believe God actually allowed His Son to die at Calvary, then one can see the long-suffering, patience, kindness, and understanding He manifested during that death. God used the death of His Son to manifest love toward those who killed Him. The power of the cross lies not in the death of Christ, but in the fact God allowed it. To take the Father out of the picture takes away the passion of the Father's love and causes us to miss the point: God loves us as much as He loves His only begotten Son. By realizing this truth, we become children of God and joint heirs with Christ. We have power to forgive and be healed of all spiritual disease. We have power to live a life of love.
