The good news of Jesus and how it benefits you

The salvation of all is good news. But it's not thē good news of Jesus. Thē good news of Jesus causes the salvation of all. Someone can believe in the salvation of all while at the same time not believing thē good news of Jesus. So what is thē good news?

Jesus' foundational work

Let's face it, the true Jesus is awesome. But there are many knockoff versions of Jesus available on the open market. And these non-Jesuses are gladly received by religious people, "For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough" (2 Corinthians 11:4 - English Standard Version - ESV).

For centuries the Christian religion has been peddling the hottest versions of Jesus that look great on t-shirts and get butts in the pews (with their checkbooks, of course). All of us have probably had a very distorted image of Jesus at some point in our lives, and some of us have paid a lot of money for a knockoff Jesus. None of us see Him perfectly yet. But the clearer you see Him, the more impressed your are with Who the true Jesus really is.

He's done amazing things on our behalf. Things that cost Him comfort, energy, time ... even His life. The real Jesus is a doer, not a hoper. Why would He, the One having all authority in heaven and earth, have to hope for anything when He can simply do it (Matthew 28:18)?

At the heart of God's relationship with mankind are Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. God's dealings with mankind spring from these actions Jesus accomplished nearly 2000 years ago.

The former chief sinner, the apostle Paul, tells us the simple truths that he first believed (and are necessary for anyone to believe) to experience salvation. 1 Corinthians 15:1–4 (italics and bold are mine),

Now I am making known to you, brethren, the evangel (good news) which I bring to you, which also you accepted, in which also you stand, ² through which also you are saved, if you are retaining what I said in bringing the evangel to you, outside and except you believe feignedly (not truly; fake belief). ³ For I give over to you among the first what also I accepted, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, ⁴ and that He was entombed, and that He has been roused the third day according to the scriptures ...
—Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT)

Due to false religious tradition's distortions of Jesus through the centuries, the three bold statements above should be broken into four parts.

1. Christ died
2. Christ died for our sins
3. Christ was entombed
4. Christ was roused

1. Christ died: Jesus literally died on the cross. He was not alive in some other form for three days floating around in heaven or hell.

2. Christ died for our sins: "Lo! the Lamb of God Which is taking away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29 - CLNT). Jesus took the world's sin to the grave and rose triumphantly without it. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15 - CLNT). He took care of mankind's sin problem on the cross. He took the totality of the world's sin upon Himself. He dealt with our sin on the cross so that we don't have to deal with it. Mankind has always been powerless against sin, He conquered it for us.

3. Christ was entombed: He was simply laid in a tomb, dead. Believe it.

4. Christ was roused: You've probably heard this so much that it doesn't even phase you anymore. Be phased by it. Jesus rose from the dead! If this would happen at a funeral you were attending, you'd lose your shit (this would constitute "being phased"). He is now alive at the right hand of His Father: Acts 2:32–33, 5:31, 7:55–56. The living, post-resurrection Jesus said to the apostle John, "Do not fear! I am the First and the Last, ¹⁸ and the Living One: and I became dead, and lo! living am I for the eons of the eons. (Amen!) And I have the keys of death and of the unseen ... ." (Revelation 1:17–18 - CLNT).

This is thē good news!

If the events contained in thē good news didn't happen, our future is death with no resurrection.

As I said earlier, it's quite possible to believe in the salvation of all while at the same time not believing these foundational truths about Jesus. Some believe God will save all because man is too good or too worthy to be eternally tormented or annihilated. Some believe all will be saved because God is too kind to deal with sin and He'll just ignore it with a toothy smile. Both are wrong and ignore the Scriptures. Those who don't believe thē good news will not experience the salvation Jesus has already accomplished for them. All will be saved only because of Jesus' work for us described here by the apostle Paul.

Jesus' mission couldn't be any clearer. He said in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Mankind came to seek and to save the lost" (CLNT). And the apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15, "... Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ..." (CLNT).

"Did I hear you say 'five billion'?"

His death and resurrection really did accomplish these glorious goals. He has already saved all people through His work nearly 2000 years ago.

It's like Jesus has deposited a gift of five billion dollars into everyone's personal bank account. So everyone is currently a billionaire because of Him. But only those who are told they are billionaires, and believe it, can then experience the billionaire life by tapping into their fat account. If you're not told, or don't believe it when you are told, you won't even attempt to access your money. But those who don't hear or believe will someday experience the billionaire life when they believe, whether in this life or the next. Death doesn't remove the five billion dollars from anyone's bank account. It will remain there so that when Jesus does grant a person belief ¹, they can then enjoy the billionaire life that He bought for them by His death and resurrection.

Some spectacular benefits of Jesus' work

Jesus' work on the cross has so many great benefits, for Him, His Father, and us. Read the Scriptures to discover all of them. We'll look at some here.

Jesus overcomes the results Adam's sin

There are two historic events that tangibly affect all of humanity—one negatively, one positively. Adam's one sin in the garden condemned all people to death and made all people God's sinful enemies. Jesus' one act on the cross caused God to have peace toward the world and delivered all people from sin and death. Adam's one act brought the whole human race down. Jesus' one act lifted the whole human race up. Adam passed death/mortality on to all. Jesus brings immortality for all. Adam = death; Jesus = life (I like simple math). Romans 5:18–19 from the Darby Translation,

so then as [it was] by one offence towards all men to condemnation, so by one righteousness towards all men for justification of life. ¹⁹ For as indeed by the disobedience of the one man the many have been constituted sinners, so also by the obedience of the one the many will be constituted righteous.

And a little extra flavor on these same verses from The Message,

Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.

Jesus is indeed greater than Adam.

The common traditional Christian teaching that Adam condemns all to death and Jesus saves only a small percent of the "all" is a loud lie shouted by Christianity with megawatt amplifiers. And religious people gladly hear it (2 Corinthians 11:4 - see above). Do not believe this Christ-diminishing lie!

God is at peace with the world

2 Corinthians 5:18–21,

Yet all is of God, Who conciliates* us to Himself through Christ, and is giving us the dispensation of the conciliation, ¹⁹ how that God was in Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to them, and placing in us the word of the conciliation. ²⁰ For Christ, then, are we ambassadors, as of God entreating through us. We are beseeching for Christ's sake, "Be conciliated to God!" ²¹ For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may be becoming God's righteousness in Him. (CLNT)

* God is conciliated to the world, meaning He is now at peace toward the world because of Jesus' death and resurrection. God's peace is toward us before our peace is toward Him. He is the Initiator of the peace. When both parties are at peace with each other, we have reconciliation.

God's peace is toward the world through the completed work of Jesus. And this is true whether you believe it or not. Jesus said in Matthew 5:43–45,

You hear that it was declared, 'You shall be loving your associate' and you shall be hating your enemy. ⁴⁴ Yet I am saying to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who are persecuting you, ⁴⁵ so that you may become sons of your Father Who is in the heavens, for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked and the good, and makes it rain on the just and the unjust.

Just as God causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall, God's peace is toward all men—the wicked and the good, the just and the unjust. And it's completely God's doing. Does He need your help to cause the sun to rise or the rain to fall? All these blessings are from the heart of God for all of us. He truly does love His enemies.

Most of humanity, however, are not yet at peace with Him. For the vast majority, peace is currently flowing only one way—from God toward man. Except for those who've been granted belief(the elect), man's peace is not flowing toward God. This is because most have not yet been granted belief and are still locked in stubbornness. All will someday be released from stubbornness and shown mercy ².

"Haters gonna hate."

Most of the world hates Jesus and His Father. Jesus says to His followers in John 15 (italics are mine),

¹⁸ If the world is hating you, know that it has hated Me first before you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would be fond of its own. Now, seeing that you are not of the world, but I choose you out of the world, therefore the world is hating you. ²⁰ Remember the word which I said to you, "A slave is not greater than his lord." If Me they persecute, you they will be persecuting also. If My word they keep, yours also will they be keeping. ²¹ But all these things will they be doing to you because of My name, seeing that they are not acquainted with Him Who sends Me. ²² If I came not and speak to them, they had no sin. Yet now they have no pretense concerning their sin. ²³ He who is hating Me is hating My Father also. ²⁴ If I do not the works among them which no other one does, they had no sin. Yet now they have seen also, and they have hated Me as well as My Father, ²⁵ but it is that the word written in their law may be fulfilled, that they hate Me gratuitously (for no reason). (CLNT)

Jesus tells us in John 3:19–20 one reason why the world hates Him and His Father,

Now this is the judging: that the light has come into the world, and men love the darkness rather than the light, for their acts were wicked. ²⁰ For everyone who is committing bad things is hating the light and is not coming to the light, lest his acts may be exposed. (CLNT)

Mankind loves the darkness and hates the light. He tries to hide from God like Adam did in the garden after he sinned.

In addition to man loving darkness, another reason I believe man hates God and Jesus is because they're being presented damaging, distorted images of Them. The Christian religion teaches that the God of love will either eternally torment or annihilate His enemies when He could very easily save them from sin and death. This makes God out to be a monster to be feared, not a Father to be loved. And it presents Jesus as a failed Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). They teach (often without even being aware they're doing it) that His work on the cross didn't overcome all the results of Adam's sin. The unbelieving world hates these versions of God and His Son. They are disgusted that a God of love would eternally torment or annihilate billions of people that He brought into existence.

False representations of God and Jesus damage Their good names in the eyes of those whom God loves and whom Jesus died for. The Israelites have misrepresented God for thousands of years, and Christianity joined them centuries ago. This ongoing, damaging distortion of God's good name affects the rest of the world negatively, "For because of you the name of God is being blasphemed among the nations" (Romans 2:24 - CLNT). Unbelievers blaspheme God (speak ill of Him, slander Him and take Him lightly) because they don't take seriously the distorted version of God that religion (Jewish or Christian) proclaims to them. They think, "If God is like Christians say He is, we want nothing to do with Him." And they remain in darkness, living like poor men, unaware of their billionaire status.

There's nothing in the true God or the true Jesus that deserves the world's hatred and blasphemy. Just as Jesus says in John 15:25 (see above), "they hate me (for no reason)."

God will eventually remove man's love for the darkness, and the distorted images of Himself and Jesus. His will will be done: "[God our Savior] wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4 - CLNT). Don't skip over the "come into a realization of the truth" part. Then peace will not only flow from God to all men (the current state), but from all men to God—full reconciliation (the future state).

Our call to the unbelieving world is this from 2 Corinthians 5:20, "For Christ, then, are we ambassadors, as of God entreating through us. We are beseeching for Christ's sake, 'Be conciliated to God!'" In other words, "Be at peace with God because He is at peace with you."

God is currently applying the benefits of Jesus' work to those chosen to believe in this age (the elect). He will do it later in the coming ages for the rest of humanity. Those chosen by God to believe in this age aren't the only ones that will believe and enjoy salvation, they are the first ones to believe and enjoy salvation.

♩♪♫ "The future's so bright ... " ♬♭♪

We won't see and experience the full results of Jesus' death and resurrection until He returns to the earth to reign in the coming ages (Luke 1:33; Ephesians 2:7). Then we will know for sure that the results are caused by Him, not us.

If we saw the full results of His work right now, while He is out of our sight in heaven, man would take the all the credit for himself. Donald Trump would probably be first in line to pat himself on the back. The rest of the world would be right behind him, ignoring God and His Son, and glorifying man for all of his great accomplishments. Modern medicine would steal the credit for man becoming immortal.

Even though we don't yet see it, the full results of Jesus' work will be fully realized. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 4:17, "... the God Who is vivifying the dead and calling what is not as if it were" (CLNT). And we see in Hebrews 2:8, "'All dost Thou subject underneath his feet.' For in the subjection of all to him, He leaves nothing unsubject to him. Yet now we are not as yet seeing all subject to him" (CLNT).

God knows the full results of what happened on the cross. And the end (yet to be fully realized by His entire creation) is as good as done to Him. He knows it will happen because He and His Son are going to do it. The completion of His plans depends only on Him and His Son. It does not depend one bit on man's input or effort. When man tries to help God in these things, failure is the result.

God knows that the future reign of Jesus will be so successful that it will one day come to an end—He will finish the job: "For [Jesus] must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet" (1 Corinthians 15:25 - CLNT). We need to see, by faith, this end reality that God is working toward, and not be deceived by the distorted false reality that spews from the mind of man—especially religious man.

The Big Result

The following shows us the end goal of God's work through the ages. It will be done. 1 Corinthians 15:20–28,

Yet now Christ has been roused from among the dead, the Firstfruit of those who are reposing. ²¹ For since, in fact, through a man came death, through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead. ²² For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified. ²³ Yet each in his own class: the Firstfruit, Christ; thereupon those who are Christ's in His presence; ²⁴ thereafter the consummation, whenever He may be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father, whenever He should be nullifying all sovereignty and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy is being abolished: death. ²⁷ For He subjects all under His feet. Now whenever He may be saying that all is subject, it is evident that it is outside of Him Who subjects all to Him. ²⁸ Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all. (CLNT)

God will be All in all. And the all really is all, see verse 27.

"So what do I do now?"

"Believe in Jesus and the finished work that He did for you. And enjoy your five billion dollars!"

Sincerely,
Wes

 
P.S. This post was inspired by some videos by my friend Martin Zender. You can watch them on YouTube. If you're in a hurry, you can watch them at 1.25 or 1.5 speed.

• The Salvation of All is Not the Gospel 
• God Is At Peace With The World 
• Salvation as a Done Deal 
• Whether You Believe Or Not 
• The Psychology Behind "Whether You Believe Or Not"

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1 "for to you it is graciously granted, for Christ's sake, not only to be believing on Him, but to be suffering for His sake also" (Philippians 1:29 - CLNT).^↩

2 "For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all" (Romans 11:32 - CLNT).^↩

Jesus and the dirty IRS Agent

Get ready to open your wallet America. The tax man cometh! And he wants to squeeze every penny out of you that he can. Then after all your pennies are gone, he'll come for your life (or maybe he'll just steal one of your pigs).

One real head-scratcher in the IRS code is why you lose the child tax credit when your child turns 17. I've now lost this credit three times. From my experience, kids' expenses go up the older they get. Apparently this code was written by someone who never had kids of their own. Someone who hates kids and their hard-working parents, but loves the perks of their government job ... and had to find a way to pay for their private insurance that we lowly citizens don't have access to.   

Ahh, the IRS. Don't you hate it? Always putting its sticky hands into your pocket to swipe your hard-earned cash.

Oh well, whatta ya gonna do? Tax collectors have been taking more than their fair share ever since taxes came into being.

Are all tax collectors evil? Probably.

But even dirty IRS agents aren't beyond the long arm of Jesus.

The following story is a small picture of Jesus' plan for underhanded tax collectors ... and the rest of us.
  

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy (you're shocked, I'm sure). ³ He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him, since Jesus was coming that way. ⁵ When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed Him gladly. ⁷ All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” ⁸ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19) (I added the part in red.)

Little Zacchaeus and the bigger picture

Jesus is currently saving the world one sinner at a time.

When Jesus stops by your house, what will you do? Will you welcome Him gladly, like Zacchaeus did, even though he knew he was a sinner?

Will you welcome Jesus gladly regardless of what the mutterers and gossips will say? Because you know they'll say something. But that's not going to stop Jesus. Will their opinion and greasy words stop you?

Notice the immediate influence of Jesus on Zacchaeus' life (verse 8). He acknowledged his wrongs and sought to make them right. This is repentance in action. This is part of what happens when someone meets Jesus - change for the better.

I wonder what the mutterers said after Zacchaeus was transformed by Jesus? Doesn't really matter anyway. I'm sure the poor and those he had cheated were thrilled with Zacchaeus' new life. 

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. And that day was Zacchaeus' day of salvation.

OK, maybe you're not a dirty pig-stealing IRS agent. But we're all lost without Jesus. And since He said He “came to seek and to save the lost,” He'll do just that.

All of us are lost without Jesus, and all of us will be saved by Jesus. It's basic math, not confusing IRS math.

If Jesus hasn't already saved you from your sin and set you free, He will.

Be ready. Your day will come.

  

Passive Salvation

This post is part 2 to Gypping Jesus. In that post I said Jesus will get all that He paid for on the cross. This includes the salvation of all people.

But how does He save all people when most people don't want anything to do with Him?

This can't end well.

Straying sheep

Jesus, "the Great Shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20), has been given a job by His Father: save all people of the earth from sin and death. That's billions of people.

The problem? All the people of the earth have strayed from Him to do their own thing. The sheep are trying to shepherd themselves. Guess how that ends up.

The prophet Isaiah says,

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way (Isaiah 53:6)

And our own way puts us in tough spots. But thankfully, Someone is going to rescue us. Yes, the Great Shepherd.

But we're often confused by His timing. We see millions of people go into the toughest spot of all - death - without being rescued by Jesus. Where was the Great Shepherd when they needed Him?

Ever wonder to yourself, "How did I end up here?"

Though death seems to be an insurmountable obstacle to us, it isn't to Him. He already overcame death by His own resurrection. So when the straying sheep is in death, the Great Shepherd will raise him or her up.

Jesus said in John 5:28-29, "Marvel not at this, for coming is the hour in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, 29 and those who do good shall go out into a resurrection of life, yet those who commit bad things, into a resurrection of judging." The main point of these verses is that all will be rescued from death. No sheep can stray beyond the reach of the Great Shepherd.

Yes, some will go into judgment after their resurrection. But the goal of this judgment is clear. Jesus said in John 5:22-23, "For neither is the Father judging anyone, but has given all judging to the Son, 23 that all may be honoring the Son, according as they are honoring the Father." There it is in bold -  that all may be honoring the Son. This is the ultimate goal of all judgment handed out by Jesus.  

The Great Shepherd is working

Look at what Jesus has already done for all of us straying sheep.

• He left the comforts of Heaven where He was with His Father
• He came to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10)
• He came to earth where He was hated (John 15:18-25)
• He faced continual opposition - mostly from religious people
• He was killed by the world He came to rescue
• He was separated from His Father in His death
• He overcame death by His resurrection

And He's still working. Straying sheep are currently being rescued. When He returns to the earth, He will complete the massive task His Father gave Him to do (1 Corinthians 15:22-28).

The Great Shepherd owns all 

What are sheep good at? Well, they can provide meat, milk, wool and hides (but they're not thrilled about the meat and hides thing). They can control unwanted vegetation. And they can be cute and cuddly. But they are also good at straying. This is why they need a shepherd - to protect them from themselves and predators.

To the shepherd who owns the sheep, they are very valuable. To the shepherd who doesn't actually own the sheep he shepherds, well, they're not valuable enough to risk his life for (John 10:11-13).

This is what makes the Great Shepherd different. He made us. He owns us. We're all valuable to Him. Valuable enough to willingly lay down His life on the cross. Valuable enough to continue to work until the salvation of all sheep is a reality.

Jesus truly cares for us,

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

Ever feel weary and scattered? These are symptoms of a Shepherdless soul. Jesus can fix that.

The Great Shepherd highly values every single sheep

Do you want proof that every sheep is important to Jesus and His Father? Here it is. Jesus said,

"For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, 'Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.' I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." (Luke 15:4-7 and Matthew 18:11,14)

Obviously Jesus isn't talking about sheep. He's talking about humans - us! Read this again, only insert children or child for sheep. Who among you wouldn't do all he could for your lost child who is in the wilderness? Unless you're a heartless douchebag, you now get a glimpse at the heart of Jesus and His Father.

Notice in the first sentence why Jesus (a.k.a. - "the Son of man") came to the earth - "to save that which was lost." Do you think He came to save all, or only part, of what was lost? A 99% success rate would be awesome for us. But 99% falls short of Jesus' standard. He wants nothing less than 100% of His sheep.

Now look at that last powerful sentence taken from Matthew 18:14. It's clear that God's will is that none of these little ones should perish. In the eyes of the world, we were all "little ones" at one time in our life. But in the eyes of your loving heavenly Father, you'll always be a "little one." All three of my young adult children are still my "babies." And that will never change because I'm their father. Does God's will for any "little ones" change as they grow older? No! Do we ever outgrow our value to God? No! Read this -

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

There you have it. Not 99%. ALL!

The Great Shepherd will overwhelm all the straying sheep

Saul was a baaad-baaad sheep before Jesus got him. This same Saul, who later became known as Paul, is the same guy who wrote about half of the New Testament. There are three words he uses to describe himself in the first part of 1 Timothy 1:13. Here's how several Bible versions translate these three words:

persecutor, outrager, blasphemer, injurious, shameful outrageous violent aggressor, calumniator (make false and defamatory statements), aggressively insulting, arrogant, cruel, overbearing, violent, contumelious (scornful and insulting), proud, oppressor, hunted down [Jesus'] people, invective (insulting, abusive, or highly critical), religious terrorism, slandering the things of God, full of wrongs, speaking evil

I told you he was a bad dude! And what do you think Jesus did to this bad-ass straying sheep named Saul? This former "little one" who wandered off got the holy ghost smackdown. Starting in the very same verse that told us how bad Saul was, we read these amazing words,

" ... but I was shown mercy, seeing that I do it being ignorant, in unbelief. 14 Yet the grace of our Lord overwhelms, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 15 Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all welcome, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, foremost of whom am I. 16 But therefore was I shown mercy, that in me, the foremost, Jesus Christ should be displaying all His patience, for a pattern of those who are about to be believing on Him for life eonian." (1 Timothy 1 - CLNT)

There's so much in these words that several books could be written on these few verses alone.

A few highlights. Scoundrel Saul, "the foremost" or chief of sinners (v.15):

• was shown mercy - v.13
• was overwhelmed by Jesus with grace, faith and love - v.14
• was used by Jesus to display all His patience - v.16
• became a pattern of those who will later believe in Jesus - v.16

Since Saul was "a pattern" for those who would eventually believe in Jesus, all other straying sheep will also be shown mercy and overwhelmed by Jesus with grace, faith and love.

When you are overwhelmed by something, you are powerless against it. When Jesus overwhelms a straying sinner with grace, faith and love, it will be rescued. Once Jesus lays that sheep on His shoulders, it's all over. The sheep is no longer lost in the wilderness. The lost has become found. This is great news for the sheep.

This is how the Savior of the world actually saves the whole wide freaking world - He overwhelms it with grace, faith and love. His Father gave Him all authority in heaven and earth to finish His work (Matthew 28:18). And who's gonna stop the Almighty Son of God from doing this? No one!

Until Jesus completes His task to save all that was lost, we can only live one day at a time while faithfully looking to the amazing future.

Then [God] will send you Jesus, your long-heralded Christ, although for the time He must remain in Heaven until that universal restoration of which God spoke in ancient times through all his holy prophets. (Acts 3:21 - Phillips)

Sincerely,
Wes

Gypping Jesus

The prince of gyppers

Has this - or something kinda like it - ever happened to you?

You pull up under the Golden Arches because you're craving some of the world's best fries and a Big Mac. You smell that smell.

You already know what you want as your eyes feast on the menu covered with images of perfect burgers. You don't care that your Big Mac won't look that good. It's the taste you're after.

You clearly and politely enunciate your order so no mistakes are made. Your mouth begins to water as you pull two crumpled five-dollar bills from your tattered leather fanny pack.

Tears begin to run down your face in anticipation as you ease your moped toward the first window to pay. By the time you get to the second window you're sobbing and drooling, and people are staring, pointing and laughing at you. You don't care!

You thank the window-food-lady and speed off to the local park to devour your prey. You nearly snap in half your six-foot tall orange moped flag pole in your haste.

You open the bag.

You inventory the contents: Big Mac - check; ketchup packets - check; forty extra napkins - check; fries ... fries? ... fries?! ... NO FRIES! What the @#%&? (Except you didn't say "@#%&".)

Depression and red-hot fiery anger flood your body. You throw the Big Mac to the ground in disgust. You fly home, snapping the six-foot tall orange moped flag pole in your haste. You throw on your pajamas (nevermind that it's only 12:42 in the afternoon) and watch Jerry Springer re-runs the rest of the day. It's the lowest point of your life.

You were gypped.

Jesus' shopping spree

Jesus came to earth to buy something. No, He came to buy everything. He scanned the menu, and He wants the whole thing - regardless of how it looks right now. The cost? Two crumpled fives? Not even close. Jesus didn't even wear a stupid fanny pack (that was Judas' job). The cost was His life!

Feast your eyes on these verses.

¹⁹ For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. (Colossians 1 - New King James Version)

Did you see that - He came "to reconcile all things to Himself ... things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12 - NKJV)

There it is again - "His own blood."

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13 - NKJV)

Boom! Again - "the blood of Christ."

¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1 - NKJV)

Is it precious in your eyes - "the precious blood of Christ"?

And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Revelation 5:9 - NKJV)

Jesus doesn't care about where you were born or the color of your skin. He created the color of your skin. He bought us for God by His blood! This is heavy stuff man! Are you getting it?

And this - don't skip this. Put your eyeballs on it and think hard about it.

4 [God our Savior] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (1 Timothy 2)

So Jesus bought all things - this includes all people - with His precious blood. But He hasn't taken possession of everything yet. It's like He bought the whole freakin' store, grabbed a giant shopping cart and is putting the stuff He owns into the cart. It doesn't happen all at once. But when He's finished the cart will be filled with the complete inventory of the store. All men will be in the cart. All men will be saved. None will be left on the shelf to rot. Jesus bought every person because He wants every person.

Jesus' Father gave Him the power to do this, and He's going to do it. Check this out.

[God has] put all things in subjection under his feet. For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who was made a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:8-9)

Ok. How do I know all things will become subject to Jesus? I'm glad you asked.

²⁴ Then comes the end, when [Jesus] delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ²⁸ Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15)

So when it's all said and done, the cart will be completely full, and God will have everything subject to Him. He will then be "all in all."

The attempted gypping of God's Son

Jesus doesn't have to hire out the job of getting all that He's paid for. He believes in the old saying, "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself." Besides, no mere mortal can accomplish the things God has empowered Jesus to do.

But, alas, some say He will not be able to get all that He's purchased. Some say His shopping cart is just too small, and He's going to run out of time. Who are these people? Sad to say, those who proclaim His inability to do this are the very ones who claim to be His followers. They carry His book, wear crosses, gather together on Sundays, and thank Him for their own salvation. But they don't believe He will do what He came to do - buy all things with His blood, save all people, and bring all things under His Father.

Yes, mainstream Christianity says Jesus is going to get gypped. And they say mere mortals are the ones who are going to gyp Him. Hmm, how they gonna do that? Well, apparently when Jesus reaches toward the shelf to put people into His enormous cart, most will simply say to Him, "No, Jesus. I like the shelf." He will honor their desire and leave them. End of story.

Or is it?

Check out my next blog post - Passive Salvation - to see how Jesus gets all people off the shelf and into His cart.

Sincerely,
Wes