Jesus: Lover of sinners, Victor over sin
Revelation 19:11-16
“Now I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed in robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies of Heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a shard sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
We now live in an age where anything and everything goes. Human rights hold power over morality and even over Biblical Truth. Many local and national governments have a say in how the Church should be lead or run. The Pastor can’t preach certain Truths out of fear that his congregation or the public might report him, beat him or leave the Church. It has also become more acceptable, in many parts, for a Church leader (elder or deacon) to be living in sin and continue on in ministry. This, to me, is the greatest heresy of our time.
Sin (before the Cross): An offense against God, punishable by means of flogging, stoning or other various means. Forgivable and atoned for by the blood of an unblemished lamb, through the various prescriptions of Hebraic law.
Sin (at the Cross): defeated and abolished from the life of any man or woman accepting Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
Sin (in many lives and Churches today): a temporal or ongoing pleasure with no repercussion because God’s Grace covers me OR an act recorded in the Bible as sin but can no longer be seen as such due to the fact that it is not politically correct or in line with today’s human rights policies.
By no means, am I saying that the Grace of God does not cover the sin of man. If it was not for the Grace of God I would not be writing this post. What I am saying is that Grace has been used as an excuse to sin and get away with it, even serious and unrepented sin, such as adultery, alcoholism, drug use, etc. By doing so we are portraying Jesus as an easy over egg, or the Saviour who bled pink candy floss at the Cross. This is not the Jesus I love, worship and serve. The Jesus depicted in Revelations 19 (above) is the Jesus I was saved by. The Jesus who bled for the salvation and redemption of all. The Jesus who was buried and raised to life again 3 days later. The Jesus who plundered the gates of hell. The Jesus who sits at the right hand of God, reigning as the conqueror of sin and death. The Jesus who will return in a robe dipped in the blood of the atonement (His blood) with the redeemed following behind Him as He judges the nations.
Let me just say that Jesus loves sinners. He really does. For us it’s a difficult concept to grasp. People ask “How can Jesus love the man who raped and murdered girls all over the city? How can Jesus love the man who broke into my house and stole my 55 inch LED TV? How can Jesus love the human trafficker?” But I ask this question more, “How can Jesus love me?”
Let me also just say that Jesus HATES sin. He hates the effect it has on people and what it is doing in the Church: Prominent Church leaders falling into adultery and alcoholism. Homosexual pastors still in ministry. Christians stabbing each other in the back. Christian businessmen being a part of dirty deals. Teen believers being sucked into the party lifestyle filled with sex, drugs and alcohol. Jesus HATES the wall of sin that hinders the relationship He died to have with His people, even the people who have already recognised Him and verbally declared Him as Lord.
A mighty, conquering Jesus is coming back to judge the nations and fetch His bride. The nations are people in sin. His bride is the Church.
A loving Jesus gave His life up so that, in recognising Him as the Son of God, Grace might cover the sin of the nations and welcome them into the Church, and that the Church might be strengthened in their weakness to resist sin and walk in righteousness. God’s Grace was never meant to be an excuse to sin but a reason not to sin.
God’s love for you, reader, and His desire to enjoy an eternally long Father-Child relationship with you, led to His grace, which was poured out with the Blood of Jesus, when He gave up His life as an atoning sacrifice for you and for me.
This is the Conquering Saviour, Jesus Christ.
If you’re reading this today and recognise the need for a Saviour, the need for forgiveness, I ask that you pray this prayer and be welcomed into redemption. Into the arms of Jesus.
Lord Jesus, I thank You that you died for me, so that I could be raised to Life again with You. Today, I put my faith in You as Saviour, Redeemer, Father and Friend. Thank You that Your blood was enough to wash me clean of sin forever so that I may have relationship with you as my Father and trust You as Daddy. I put my life in Your loving and gracious hands today Father, and ask that You would lead me into everything You have for me, as Your son/daughter. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer and would like to tell someone, please I encourage you to email me on dwaine.hohne@telkomsa.net so that I can give you something more to read, or you can tell a friend who you know to be a Christian. It is an absolute joy to me and to the host of Heaven today, if you did pray that prayer. But more so, Jesus is glad you’re back where you belong...with Him.
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