John Newton declared, “I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Saviour.”
Here are the lyrics he wrote to a very famous song that everyone knows even today….
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!
There is one reason and one reason alone that God chose to become flesh –to be the savior for a fallen and sinful humanity. That is you and that is me.
All of us are great sinners in need of a great savior.
Through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin and death are a part of all our lives. None of us are exempt from this, we are all born as sinners in a need of a savior.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
In the Old Testament, the high priest would offer an animal sacrifice, once a year, on the day of atonement. He would take the blood into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it on the mercy seat. This would atone for Israel’s sins for one more year.
Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.
If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year.
For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.
You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—as is written about me in the Scriptures.” Hebrews 10:1-7 NLT
Jesus was (and still is) on a mission to save His people from their sins.
His mission is not for us to have nice material things. He is not opposed to it (as long as it does not become our god), but that is not the reason why He came.
His mission is not that our physical bodies will be healed on this earth. We believe He is a miracle worker and does heal sickness, but that is not the reason why He came.
His mission is not that you are free from trials and hardships. We believe He is the comforter in these times, but this is not the reason why He came.
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10
This is it!
Any other benefit on top of this, we should just count it as a blessing on this earth.
Look what Paul told the church of Rome….
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
