November 7, 2006

Response to Paid in Full

First, let me say that it has been a while since I have had any time to post. Sorry, I know that you feel like you have been missing out.
So, I will take a moment to repsond to the previous post.
We had a Sunday night at the McCoy's that marked another spot on our Journey through the Gospel.
The Letter of the night was P. Paying the price for our sins, Jesus died and rose again.
The exercise that we went through that night was strictly for those who are believers. This is a break down of what happened in my group. I asked the everyone to write down the sin in their life that they believed was hindering their relationship to God. I wrote down my sin as well. I asked that they close their eyes and pray that God would forgive them of the sin that had been keeping them at arms length from God. I then asked that they would wait until they felt as if they had heard from God that they were forgiven, when they were ready I ask them to fold their paper up and place it in a small trash can that I had with me. As they placed their paper in the can I looked them in the eyes and said "Paid in Full" This exercise was to allow them to remember that their sin was completely and fully paid for on the cross. That as a "believer" (someone who has not only confessed their sin to the Lord, but has acknowledged that Christ paid for that sin on the cross and rose again. Who also has given themselves to the Lord as a servant and holds Jesus Christ as their savior and ruler of their life) they are no longer held in judgement because of their sin. God's wrath has been removed and they are set free from the penalty because of Christ. This exercise was not for the unbeliever. I was certain that within my group there was nobody that had not made that commitment. If there were people there who might have been unbelievers, I would have handled it much differently. As we take part in the Gospel Journey the focus for the first 8 weeks is centered around those who have already made a commitment to Christ. The exercises and the discussion will be different starting in January as we will be bringing friends to group that might not have a relationship with God, or even know much about Christ.

We are all sinners in need of a Savior. There is truly no one who seeks God. We are all dead in our sins and in need of the life giving power of Christ. He is the one in whom we place our trust and in whom we find true life and meaning. Without our lives being transformed in Him, we remain lost and headed for a life seperated from God for eternity. This eternity is not one of comfort, but one of despair and a literal Hell.
God seeks to redeem and transform His fallen creation, but we can only come to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the one who died on the cross paying in full the due penalty for the sins of His children. He is the one who has risen to life and reigns with His Father in Heaven.
I hope this clears up any misunderstanding on the "Paid in Full Exercise" if not please do not hesitate to ask me questions or call me I will be happy to discuss this matter with you.

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