Be Ye Reconciled To God

We beseech you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God; that is, you must leave your love for sin, abandon your self-righteousness, and come to Christ Jesus by trusting in His Precious Blood.  And then, begin to love Christ instead of your sins.  Why do we beseech you?  For God the Father hath made Christ Jesus to be Sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the Righteousness of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.

God in Christ stepped down from His eternal throne when man must be punished for his sin, and said, "Father, I will bear the sinner's punishment, lay it all on Me." The Invisible God who made the universe condescended to become man in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus took upon Himself the form of man, and dwelt among men. He was born of a Jewish virgin in Bethlehem, wrapping in swaddling clothes, and cradled in a manger. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He was pure, perfect, and holy in thought, word, and deed - 33 years of spotless innocence and perfect obedience, never sinning.

Jesus of Nazareth was God manifest in the flesh - He was God and man in one person. His enemies were many, His friends were few, and those few friends were fickle and faithless. All His earthly life He lived a life of suffering and shame; but He always went about doing good, full of love and holy active service both to God and man. He preached the Gospel, helping the needy, cheered the brokenhearted, ministered to the poor, healed the sick, teached the ignorant, comforted the distressed, fed the hungry, and raised the dead. And at the last upon the accursed tree, He bore all the guilt of mankind. Judas betrayed Christ.

Go now by faith to dark olive garden of Gethsemane, hear the Son of God groaning out His very soul, see Him sweating, pleading, see His bloody sweat falling down to the ground. He pleaded that night for guilty sinners. Then the band of soldiers came with Judas, and He was arrested in the very act of prayer. He was arraigned before the spiritual and secular courts with mock-trials (Caiaphas, Annas, the Sanhedrim, Herod, Pilate). Think much about His scourging and buffeting, the crown of thorns, the shame and spitting.

Follow Jesus to Pilate's hall, see Him cruelly scourged, spit upon, and crowned with thorns.  The Roman soldiers seat Him in a chair in scorn; they mock Him by putting a purple robe over His bleeding shoulders. Pilate declared Him to without fault and innocent but still out of the fear of man, he delivered Jesus to be crucified. Follow Him through the streets as He is jeered by the mob, go up to Calvary and see Him nailed there. Go now to the foot of the Cross - sit down and view, gaze, and behold Him, stripped from head to foot. Jesus gave Himself up to die for your sins, the Just for the unjust that He might bring you to God.

On Calvary, Jesus became Sin - God the Father forsakes Him in the thick darkness. All of his disciples forsake Him. See the nails, mark His wounds, count the drops of His blood, see His mangled Body in the scorching sun, He asked for water but they gave Him vinegar to drink. Hear the howling of cruel men, watch Him closely till you hear Him cry, "It is finished!" Then see the soldier's spear pierce His heart and the blood and water come forth. Jesus hung and bled and died there upon the cruel tree for the guilty. Christ died for the ungodly. He was buried, and three days later, He tore the chains of death away and rose victoriously from the dead. After the 40 days were finished, He ascended up into Heaven where He sat down at the right hand of God.

God was made flesh to live and die for sinners, so they could be freely saved by grace through faith in God's Blood. By Christ Jesus' blood, human sin is forgiven, cancelled, and eternally remitted. By Jesus' agonies and sufferings divine justice is completely satisfied. By Jesus' death the divine law is honored and glorified. Look only to the Blood of Christ. There is nothing for you to do; Jesus has done it all; there is nothing for human goodness to supply. Christ Jesus has done everything that God could ever demand. Rely wholly upon the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God. Your sins can only be pardoned and freely forgiven through simple faith in Christ's Blood.

Glory only in His sinless Sacrifice for sinners. Fix all your faith and trust in the merit of Jesus' Blood Atonement and His Finished Righteousness - look to the Cross alone for all your soul's needs. Your lost soul's only hope is in the mercy of God in Christ Himself. Flee to your guilty soul's only Shelter from the wrath to come, that is, the mercy of God in Christ's Blood, and you are safe forever. Trust your soul in the hands of Jesus who alone can save from death and hell. You are going to trust somebody - the great question is "Who are you going to trust?" Never ever trust yourself; Look only to Jesus to save you. There is only One Way out of hell (John 14:6); there is only One Mediator between God and sinners (I Timothy 2:5); and there is only One Name that redeems sinners (Acts 4:12).  Be ye reconciled to God today through faith in the Precious Blood of God manifest in the flesh.