THE SAVIOR'S RESURRECTION

The Savior died with these words, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit.” Luke 23:46. Thus He made eternal redemption for us, and fully paid the penalty of our sins, even death. Darkness covered the earth as the sun hid its face from that awful scene. A centurion cried out, “Certainly this was a righteous man.” Luke 23:47.

The Bible says that at the very moment of His death, “The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Mark 15:38. God often uses pictures to show His truth to man. During the time of Moses, He told the Israelites to build the tabernacle, which had three parts. Later this tabernacle was replaced by the more permanent temple, which had the same construction. The first of the three parts of these buildings was the outer court, which all Israelites could enter. The second part was for the priests alone. The third part stood for the very presence of God Himself. It was separated from the rest of the tabernacle or temple by a thick curtain or veil. With this veil God showed man that sinners could not enter into His holy presence. The way into His presence was closed because of sin. Then, when Jesus died, God Himself ripped the curtain in two. The meaning is clear. The way for sinners to approach God was opened by the death of Jesus.

After His death, Jesus’ body was carried away by two of His disciples, Nicodemus and Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea. They laid the body in Joseph’s tomb, a cave that had been cut out of a rock. It was almost dark, and the setting sun marked the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath of rest. His body could not be finally prepared for burial, as the time was too short. He was wrapped in a clean sheet and placed in the cave. Then a large stone was rolled in front of the opening, thus closing the tomb.

Had death really won? Could death conquer Him who said, “I am the resurrection and the life”? IMPOSSIBLE!

Very early on the first day of the week, when the Sabbath had passed, several women came to the cave to complete the preparation for His final burial. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, and an angel descended from Heaven. He rolled the stone away from the door of the tomb, and then sat on it. In this way he showed to the women, and to all mankind in every age, that the tomb was empty. The Lord Jesus was not there! The angel said, “Why seek you the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.” Luke 24:5 & 6. This is the glorious message of Easter.

After He was raised, Jesus appeared to His disciples on many occasions. He appeared to the women who came to anoint His body, and to Mary Magdalene. Later He appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and the same night to His disciples in an upper room. Later He appeared to more than five hundred people at one time to assure all men everywhere that he is ALIVE.

Today Jesus is alive for evermore. He has defeated death for Himself, and for everyone who believes on Him. Because of His resurrection, everyone who believes can joyfully sing, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

THE SAVIOR'S DEATH

Man is born to live, but Jesus came to die. He was the Lamb of God, who was born to be sacrificed. He was the Seed of woman who was born that His heel might be bruised. By that suffering, He would crush the serpent’s head, even Satan’s.

It was the Jewish leaders who put Jesus to death. Because of envy they had decided to kill Him. Judas, one of His disciples, had agreed to deliver Him to them for thirty pieces of silver. After this He was taken prisoner and tried. It is clear from John 18:1-12 that in reality He surrendered Himself to be taken. His sentence was crucifixion. He was taken to a hill outside the city of Jerusalem and there crucified with two thieves, one of whom later repented and believed on Him. Luke 23:39-43.

Was it a tragedy? Was His a wasted life? Was it all a mistake? A thousand times NO! He came to die. He said, “Therefore doth the Father love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of Myself.” John 10:17 & 18. He was the Lamb of God who willingly offered Himself to redeem us from sin.

The Bible says:

“Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3.

“He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5.

“For He (God) hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.

While Jesus was hanging on the cross He spoke seven times. Two of these sayings, both of which were with a loud voice, are written below.

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, ‘Eli, Eli lama sabachthani’, that is to say, ‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’” Matthew 27:46. Why did God forsake Him? It was because at that time He was bearing our sin. He was separated from God, His Father, in order that we might live together with Him forever. Our sins have separated us from God in this world, and will eternally separate us from Him in Hell forever. But Jesus paid our penalty, which is death or separation from God. By His sacrifice we can receive the gift of eternal life.

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, ‘It is finished!’” John 19:30. These words were spoken just before He died. Their meaning is simple. Your penalty, dear reader, has been paid. Your salvation has been purchased, the devil’s work destroyed, and the door to God’s presence fully opened. Praise His Name.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

THE SAVIOR'S WORDS

No one ever taught as Jesus did. The Bible says, “All bare Him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.” Luke 4:22. One of His disciples said to another, “Did not our hearts burn within us, while He talked with us by the way and while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:32. We cannot go into all of Jesus’ teachings in a short writing like this, but we can quote some of His sayings. Here are seven which are concerning Himself, all of which begin with the words “I am.”

“I am the bread of life; he that comes to Me shall never hunger and he that believes on me shall never thirst.” John 6:33. Bread was the basic food in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The meaning of His saying is that, as man must have food to live, so he must have Jesus for salvation and eternal life. He alone can satisfy the hunger and thirst in man’s soul.

“I am the light of the world; he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12. If we wish to walk in God’s light, we must follow Jesus.

“I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9. Jesus isn’t just one of many doors. He is the only door leading to eternal life. If we truly believe on Him, His promise to us is sure. We “shall be saved.”

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” John 10:11. Here Jesus was telling us what He was going to do for us. He would die that we might be saved. The penalty for our sins is death and he paid that penalty that we might live forever. With the word “shepherd”, Jesus shows how tenderly He wants to take care of us.

“I am the resurrection and the life; he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” John 11:25 & 26. It is certain that we must all die. But if we believe on Jesus, that dying will have no sting. He will also raise us up again to live forever.

“I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes unto the Father but by me.” John 14:6. There is no other way to heaven. Jesus alone can save you. Apart from Him, there is no truth and no eternal life.

“I am the vine; you are the branches . . . He that abides in me and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit. Herein is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit.” John 15:5 & 8. As the branches receive daily life from the vine, so we need Jesus as our life. Abiding in Him, we can truly glorify God by bringing forth much fruit.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

THE SAVIOR'S LIFE

It is not our purpose in this writing to go into great detail concerning the life of Jesus. The story of His life can be read in the New Testament of the Bible. In the Bible the life story of Jesus is contained in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and john, which taken together, tell the story of His life.

Nevertheless, there are several important points which must be understood. These we would like to emphasize now. It is important that they be studied carefully.

Nearly all the information given to us concerning the life of Jesus, happened during the last three years of His life. Nearly one-fifth of these happenings occurred during the last week before His death. This shows that it is the end of His life that is most important. We can say, therefore, that it is not His life, but His death and the things connected with it that are vital. It is true that all of His life is important, but it was by His death that He redeemed us from sin. The story of His life is told to show that He lived a perfect life, free from fault and sin. The sacrifice which would be acceptable to God to cover our sin must be perfect, and Jesus’ life shows how blameless and perfect His life was.

His life was different from all other men in that He was without sin. He asked, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” No man could answer Him. The crowd said, “He hath done all things well.” Mark 7:37. Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor said, “I find no fault in the man.” Luke 23:4. The dying thief, who was crucified at the same time Jesus was, said, “This man hath done nothing amiss.” Luke 23:41. God Himself testified concerning Him, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17. Before God and man, He was perfect and without sin. Therefore, He was able to offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice to redeem us from sin.

His ministry in this world began with His baptism by John and ended three years later when He was crucified. It was a ministry filled with:

Wonderful works. He opened eyes of the blind, and healed the deaf and dumb. Those who were lame and sick were healed, and lepers cleansed by His wonderful power. Even the dead He raised on three occasions. And, best of all, those long bound by chains of sin found forgiveness and release at His feet.

Wonderful words. “No man ever spoke like this,” was the testimony given concerning Him by those that heard Him.

The stories of Jesus’ life recorded in the Bible, were carefully chosen by God for a purpose. “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name.” John 20:31 & 31.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

JESUS - EMMANUEL

We can understand the importance of the birth of Jesus, the promised Savior, by examining the two names given to Him. They are Jesus, and Emmanuel. The first, Jesus, explains why He came into the world. The second, Emmanuel, shows Who it was that came.

JESUS. In the Bible we read, “And thou shalt call His name JESUS; for He shall save His people from their sin.” Matthew 1:21. The word Jesus means Savior, and from it we learn why He came into the world. He came to save us from sin. He didn’t come merely as a great teacher or as the founder of a new religion. He came as Savior, and the main purpose of His coming was to save us from sin. Oh, that we might so emphasize this truth, that all who read these lines might allow Him to accomplish this work of salvation in their lives. How He provided salvation for us, we will speak of shortly. It is enough now to understand that everything else was secondary to Him. To die on the cross as the Lamb of God was always the main purpose of His life. His death was the perfect sacrifice for sin. Therefore, when his suffering was over, while He yet hung on the cross. He was able to cry, “It is finished!” John 19:30. His sacrifice for our sins had been offered and accepted by God.

Notice too, that God wants to save us from sin, and not just in it. “Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:13 & 14.

This is the reason He came!

EMMANUEL. The Bible says, “Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.” Matthew 1:23. This shows us who it was that came. He was not just a prophet, not just a great teacher, but GOD HIMSELF who became man. Emmanuel means just that, God with us. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30. We also read, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” John 5:18.

It would be impossible for any man to procure salvation for other men. No angel could redeem us from our sin. Even a million angels could not do that. And so, God Himself became man to suffer, and die, that we poor sinners might have eternal life.

In fact, “great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16.

My dear reader, will you not open your heart to receive the salvation which has been prepared for you by Him whose name is Emmanuel, God with us? Remember, Jesus came into the world for the express purpose of saving you!

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

THE SAVIOR'S BIRTH

When the fullness of time came, the promised Savior appeared. The King of heaven came to earth. God became man. “In Him was life and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. He came to become the Light of the world.

His birth took place in this way. First of all, an angel of God was sent to announce His coming birth to a virgin named Mary who lived in Nazareth, a town in north Palestine. She was told that by the power of the Holy Spirit she would bear a Son. The angel said, “And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:31-33.

At that time Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth. Being a just man, he decided to break off the engagement, but while he was still trying to think of the best way to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him saying, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee, Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 1:20.

Afterwards, when Mary’s time to bear this Son had almost arrived, she and Joseph left Nazareth and went to Bethlehem. This journey was necessary because the Roman emperor commanded all to return each to his own home town to be registered for tax purposes. Joseph’s family was from Bethlehem. When they arrived they found the inn full and so had to spend the night in the stable.

There the King of kings was born, even He who was the promised Savior, Jesus Christ. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.

That night there were shepherds watching their flocks in a field near Bethlehem. Suddenly an angel appeared to them saying, “Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11. After the angel had gone back to heaven, the shepherds went to Bethlehem, found the babe and worshiped Him.

Some weeks later the newborn Savior was visited by several wisemen from the east. After they had worshipped Him, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11.

This is the most important moment of all history. It is so important that all time is dated either before or after Christ.

The most important moment in your life, dear reader, is that moment when this King and Savior is born in your heart. And that will take place the moment you open your heart and receive Him. This birth, which is the experience we call salvation, can be yours today. Won’t you invite Him in right now?

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

GOD'S REMEDY AND PROMISE

The fall of man into sin did not take God by surprise. In fact, He knew before He created him that man would sin, for He knows all things. We read in the Bible that God’s remedy for man’s sin was prepared “from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8.

After man sinned, it was God who sought the sinners. He called to Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” Ever since that time it has been God who seeks sinners. God is seeking you too, dear reader. He has always taken the first step in salvation. Man on the other hand, did not seek God, but hid from Him. He also tried to hide his sin. This characterizes man’s actions from that day to this.

When God judged Satan, He gave a promise to Adam and Eve, and to all mankind in every age. It was a promise of deliverance. Man did not ask for it; it was pure grace. He said, “And I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise they head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15. This is God’s remedy. He Himself would provide a Savior from among the descendants of Eve. He would bruise the devil’s head, thus destroying him and his works. The Savior would save man from the results of his sin. But He would only be able to provide this salvation through suffering. His heel would be bruised. He would suffer in man’s place. Because of that suffering, Adam and Eve, and all mankind, could be saved from sin forever.

After giving this promise, God emphasized this truth by what He did. He refused man’s efforts to hide the results of their own sin. He took goats and slew them. From their hides, He made coats to cover man’s nakedness. In this way God showed them, and us, that nothing man does can truly cover his sin. However, God Himself was willing to make a way for them to be saved. God’s way of salvation required blood to be shed, the blood of the innocent. The coming Savior was going to die in order to save all those who believe on Him.

Four thousand years later when Jesus was beginning His ministry, He received this testimony from John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Three years later He suffered on the cross and was slain that God might forgive and cover our sins. His death provides an eternal covering of righteousness for all who believe.

The Bible says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.

Dear reader, you can be sure that Jesus “is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” John 4:42.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

THE RESULTS OF SIN IN MAN'S RELATION TO GOD

It is very necessary for us to understand the results of Adam and Eve’s sin, because the results of our sin are the same as theirs. Those results can be classed under three relationships: man’s relation to God, his relation to his fellowman, and his relation to himself.

The results of sin which are connected with man’s relation to God are:

He became afraid to meet God. After God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we read that it was His habit to walk in the garden in the cool of the evening. He came to talk and fellowship with them. How happy they must have been! It is easy to imagine how they must have waited for His coming. How happy they must have been when they heard Him approaching! But after they had sinned, what a difference! When they heard His voice in the garden, they began to tremble with fear. They ran and hid.

Dear reader, sin always makes us afraid to meet God. This is the reason why death causes so much fear to man. Death takes man into the presence of God who is both just and holy. And in every man’s heart there is deeply planted a belief that God, Who is holy, cannot overlook sin, but rather must punish it.

The fear of meeting God caused Adam and Eve to try to cover the results of their own sin. They made loin cloths from fig leaves for this purpose. Ever since that day, man has continually tried to cover his sin by making himself more acceptable to God. For example, he may cover himself with religion to accomplish this, for in his heart he feels that in this way his sin will not be known. His one desire is that other people, and more especially God Himself, should not know the sin that is in his heart.

He became separated from God. Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden where they had experienced daily fellowship with God. This being driven out was the fulfillment of God’s promise that in the day they ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would “surely die.” Genesis 2:17. This is the most important result of their sin and their heaviest punishment. Death never means an end. It means separation. When a person dies, what happens is that his spirit is separated from his body. Spiritual death occurs when a person is separated from God. In the Bible hell is spoken of as the second death, because those who enter that terrible place will be separated from God forever. And so, when man was driven out of the Garden of Eden, away from the presence of God, he died spiritually, for his sin separated him from God. Separated from God who is the Source of all light, man’s life became filled with darkness. Separated from God, the Source of all good, man’s life became filled with evil. Separated from God, the Source of all blessing, man could only bring a curse on those around him.

These are the results of Adam and Eve’s sin. These, dear reader, are the results of your sin too.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

DEAD TO THE LAW

"Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God."(Romans 7:4)

Why would Paul make such an outlandish statement right in the middle of dealing with us living the Christian life? We have already found out that the law (the 10 commandments mainly) could not provide us our salvation, our deliverance from the penalty of sin, our justification before God. And now right in the middle of explaining our sanctification (our Christian walk of being set apart to God in this life now and the resurrected life of Christ living in us and out through us now in these mortal bodies) He brings up the Law again.

He even uses a law that has to do with the marriage between a man and a woman to explain what he means by being dead or delivered from the Law. That the death of the husband freed the woman to be married to another and likewise the death we experienced by dying with Christ when His body died on the cross freed us from the Law so that we might be married to the resurrected Christ so that we might bring forth fruit unto God.

"For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God." (Romans 7:2-4)

We don't have a problem believing we need deliverance from our sins, or deliverance from the world, or deliverance from self, but deliverance from the Law? Sins and the world system and self are bad but Paul states that the Law is not sin (Romans 7:7) and is holy and just and good (Romans 7:12).

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” (Romans 7:7). "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good." (Romans 7:12).

So why would he state that we are dead to something that is holy, just and good? Well let's see if we can find out. Do you ever get irritated with someone who is always negative? It doesn't matter what the subject is they always look at the negative. Telling you where you are wrong. It seems that their whole purpose in life is to tell you where you are wrong. It seems that they delight for an opportunity to tell you that you are wrong. Always pointing out the things that are wrong, only condemning. Not only that when they keep telling you where you are wrong, it tends to make you want to do what is wrong more than ever. How do we get deliverance from a person like this? Well I guess we just have to reckon ourselves dead unto them.

Well that is what the Law does, it tells, it reveals but shows no way of deliverance. The Law could not deliver us from the bondage of sin and could only reveal, and sin used the Law to arouse passions in us that ended up producing just fruit of death, thus our master was sin. As far as deliverance by the Law was concerned we were dead. We needed deliverance from the Law that, in itself could not deliver us.

"But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead." (Romans 7:8)

"BUT NOW" (Romans 7:6) through the death and resurrection of Christ we are delivered from the Law that couldn't deliver us from our state of death. So we need no longer try to serve the Law with the expectancy of deliverance. So now we are free from any expectancy of deliverance from the Law because we have been delivered from the penalty of sin and now have this power within us to deliver us from the power of sin as we allow Him to, because He will eventually deliver us from the presence of sin.

"But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:6)

The Law could not deliver us from the penalty of sin (our justification) and neither can it deliver us from the power of sin in this life (our sanctification). And I might add that it will not be the Law that eventually delivers us from the presence of sin.

We have been saved from the penalty of sin and have a new nature within us, a new creation, the new man that desires to do the will of God and be delivered from this power of sin but just doesn't seem to have the power to accomplish it.

The new nature tries but just seems powerless to this power of sin within us that is not dead unto us. We just cannot command and control this old nature by presenting the Law to it and trying to make it straighten up and even making more rules for it to abide by (and some of our rules can be just as strict as God's). This tells us that we still have confidence in this flesh and God has no confidence in it, and all He could do with it is crucify it.

Making more rules and regulations is the way we are convinced we can make this flesh do right, even though it has been proved to us by God's Word that we can't even keep the rules and regulations God has set up, let alone more that we set up. This would be turning the Christian life into a religion of works. This would all be our pride; that we could dress up something that God saw no use for and crucified it. It is easier for us to make rules and regulations than to look to God by faith to live this Christian life His way.

Neither can we present the Law to the new nature and tell it to keep it. The new nature delights in the Law of God and wants to keep it, but just seems powerless to accomplish it.

I believe that Paul's experience in Romans 7 answers the vital question. Can the regenerate (saved, born again) person, apart from the dependence of the Spirit do the will of God, even though he delights in that will?

I believe we all have to experience what Paul experienced in Romans 7 before we will turn this Christian life over to the power of the Spirit to be lived out.

The victory of Romans 7 is for those who have experienced the defeats of Romans 7. Each time there is progress in our Christian life it is preceded by dissatisfaction with our current condition. All progress starts with dissatisfaction.

"For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Romans 7:15-20

I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7:21-25)

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:2-4)

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."(Galatians 2:20)

Mark Chandler

MAN'S FALL INTO SIN

In the Garden of Eden there were many fruit trees, which were planted by God to provide food for Adam and Eve. They could eat the fruit from these trees as they wished. However, in the middle of the garden was one tree whose fruit God told them not to eat. This tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now, it came to pass that Satan, the deceiver, came into Eden to begin his wicked work of separating man from God. He began this work by placing doubts in man’s mind and heart concerning the goodness and love of God. He said, “Yea, hath God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” By this question he sowed the thought in Eve’s heart that God was withholding something good from them. Now in fact, they could already enjoy every good and pleasant thing according to their heart’s desire. By forbidding them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God was only protecting them from evil, and the misery and death that follow it.

After Eve explained God’s command to Satan, he answered, “If you eat of the tree, you shall not surely die.” That was the word of the father of lies. Then he showed Eve that the fruit of that tree was “good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise.” Eve was deceived, and she took of the fruit and ate it. When she carried some to Adam, her husband, he ate of it.

And so they made their choice. They chose to believe the devil rather than God. They chose to do what they themselves desired rather than what God desired. They rebelled against God, and sin entered into the world. The Bible says, “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12.

Their eyes were immediately opened and they knew they were naked, and they were ashamed. To cover their nakedness they made loin cloths from fig leaves.

In the cool of the evening they heard God walking in the garden. Because they were afraid, they hid from His presence. But God sought them, calling out, “Where art thou?” What a beautiful picture! God, who already knew that man had sinned, did not turn His back on them. Instead He sought them, to save them from their sin.

After He found them, God faced them with their sin. Then He punished each according to his part in that sin. The earth was cursed for man’s sake, and Adam was forced to work hard for his food. Eve’s sin was punished with added trouble and pain in bearing children. The serpent, who surrendered himself to Satan’s use, had to crawl on his belly all his life. God told Satan that he would be destroyed by the Seed of Eve, who was deceived by him. God Himself would raise up a Savior who would destroy the devil through His suffering.

After this God made coats of skins for Adam and eve. They were then driven out of the Garden of Eden, away from the presence of God, the Source of all light and good.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

SATAN

Into this happy place, where man had fellowship with God, came the tempter, Satan. He is also called the devil. In the form of a serpent, or snake, he came to Eve. His purpose was to tempt her and thus destroy man’s fellowship with God. To do this, he put the suggestion in her hart to rebel against God.

We do not know much about Satan. We are told by the Bible, our Guide, that he was created by God as an angel of the highest order. He was perfect and good, until he desired to become greater than God Himself. At that time he fell and carried many other angels with him in his rebellion. He became the prince of these angels, and now they all obey his will and wishes.

It would seem that Satan was the most glorious creature that God ever made, who was to stand in His presence. Even now his power is great, but the Bible says that his punishment is both sure and eternal. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone . . . and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:10.

His work now is to deceive anyone who will listen to him. He also tries to steal the Word of God from the hearts of those who hear it before they can understand and receive it into their hearts. His purpose is to take man to an eternal hell.

The Bible, our Guide, says:

He is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44.

He blinds the minds of them which believe not lest they should be enlightened by the Gospel. 2 Corinthians 4:4.

He often fashions himself into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14.

He is the prince of this world. John 16:11.

So it is clear that this evil creature is now set in opposition to God. He desires to deceive and destroy man. With great power and clever cunning he carries on this work, with the help of many other wicked angels. To do this he lies and tempts man with promises of the pleasure and sweetness of sin. To deceive, he often comes to us as an angel of light. His efforts have succeeded so well that he is now called the “prince of this world.” The whole world has been deceived by him. The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. You too, dear reader, have been deceived by him. By sinning, you too, have fallen under his sway and power.

There is only one way in which we can be free from his power. We must receive Him as our Savior who came to “destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8. Jesus can destroy all of Satan’s works in your life. Jesus can eternally break all the devil’s chains that so long have bound you.

John E. Capron

CREATION

In the Bible we are not told what God did before the creation of this world. We are only told that, according to His own will, He did create the world and everything in it. Our Guide, the Bible, reveals this fact in this way, “The worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Hebrews 11:3. In speaking of creation the Bible says, “And God said . . . and it was so.” Thus he created the world and revealed His mighty power.

The Bible also says that it was God the Son who created all things. “All things were made by Him (Jesus) and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3.

The creation of the world took six days:

On the first day God created light.

On the second day he created the firmament to separate the waters beneath the firmament from the waters above it. He called this firmament heaven.

On the third day God made the dry land. The waters were gathered together into seas. He caused grass to grow on the dry land, as well as herb yielding seed and fruit trees.

On the fourth day He made the sun and the moon. He placed them in the heavens for signs and to determine seasons, days and years. He also made the stars.

On the fifth day God created all kinds of fish and other animals that live in water. The birds were also created on this day.

On the sixth day He created all kinds of animals that live on dry ground. Finally when everything else had been prepared for him, God created man.

On the seventh day God rested from all His works of creation. He blessed and set apart the seventh day for man’s physical rest and spiritual refreshing.

It is clear that after He had created everything else, God created man in His own image and likeness, that He might know God and share His glory and love. Man is different from all other creatures in that he has a spirit that can know God. He alone of all God’s creatures, can know the difference between good and evil, and therefore is responsible for what he does. He was given the power to speak. In his free will was the power to choose sin.

In the beginning God created two people, Adam and Eve, his wife. God made a beautiful garden for them in Eden, where He placed them. They were to tend this garden. Even though they were naked, they were not ashamed. Because they had never sinned, they had no evil thoughts. They had daily fellowship with God and their happiness was complete.

John E. Capron

GOD

What is God like? How can He be described? The Bible, our reliable Guide, answers these questions in two ways. First, the Bible clearly teaches about the nature of God, describing His being and character. Second, it shows us what God is like in His relationships with man. By this we mean that the stories of the Bible have been carefully chosen by God Himself, because they show what He is like. Therefore, in order to know about God, it is necessary to examine His Word from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation.

It is well to remember too, that it was God who created man. Man (or to speak more clearly, you, dear reader) cannot create God. By this we mean that you cannot say that God must be like this or like that, according to your ideas of Him. God, who created us, has also revealed Himself to us in His Word. We must receive His testimony, although it might not agree with our own ideas. Remember, too, that His testimony concerning Himself is only contained in the Guide which He has given us, the Bible.

From the Bible we know that God is a spirit. (John 4:24). This means that He has no body. He did not have a beginning and He will have no end. (Psalm 90:2). He is eternal and unchangeable. (Malachi 3:6). He is all powerful. (Psalm 107:25-27). He knows everything (Isaiah 40:28), and is present everywhere. (Jeremiah 23:23 &24). He is complete in Himself, and does not need anything or anyone to serve or love Him. He is holy (Isaiah 57:15), which means that He hates sin. He is love (I John 4:8), and will forgive everyone who truly repents of his sins, and comes to Him for forgiveness.

God also is a trinity. (Matthew 28:19). There is only One God, but there are three Persons in the Godhead, these three Persons are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each has His own personality, but there is only one God. God reveals in His Word that man has been made in the image of God. We have three separate parts: a body, a soul and a spirit. In this way, man is an example of what God is like. Man, though having three parts, is only one person.

God’s Word clearly states that “no man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” (John 1:18). This means that God has now revealed Himself as clearly as possible in a way we can understand. He became man to reveal Himself to man. In everything He is like Jesus. If we wish to know what God is like, we can find out by studying the life of Jesus.

Finally, the revelation of God to man concerning Himself is now complete. It will never be added to, this side of eternity. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1).

John E. Capron

A Reliable Guide

To understand life, with its purpose and its goal, it is necessary to have a reliable guide. We cannot rely on our own thoughts or conscience as a guide to life, for these often change. Man’s opinions, at best, are never very dependable. And so a reliable guide cannot come from man, but rather must come from God Himself, the One who never changes.

Now, in fact, God has already given a reliable guide to us. It is the Bible. The Bible does not contain the opinions of man. It is the Word of God. Therefore, the Bible alone is a complete and perfect guide to life. It can always be depended on.

The Bible alone tells us about God, the Creator, and His purpose in the creation of man. It alone tells us about sin which separates us from Him, and thus frustrates His design. The Bible alone tells about God’s great love which He showed by sending His Son into the world to save us from sin, thus enabling us again to fulfill life’s purpose. The story of the Savior’s birth, His life, His death and resurrection are all beautifully told in its pages. The Bible firmly states too that He will soon return to earth again as King of kings and Lord of lords. In fact much, much more of God’s truth – past, present and future – can be found in this, HIS RELIABLE GUIDE.

We can assure ourselves that this guide is His Word by examining two things: the way in which God has given the Bible to us; and the way in which He has protected it in all ages, to the present, that it might continue to reveal Him and His way of salvation to mankind.

The Bible was written, from a human standpoint, by around 40 different authors, over a period of some 1600 years. These authors came from every level of society. One was a farmer, others fishermen, kings and prophets. Some were rich, others poor. Most of the time these men did not know one another. But when their writings were gathered together, there was no contradiction in them. All told one story and had one grand theme – the salvation of man by God Himself. This fact alone shows clearly that behind all these human authors there was One Who planned and wrote as He willed.

Even though the Bible has been hated in every century, because it tells of sin, its enemies have never been able to destroy it. Today the Bible stands as a strong proof that God Himself has continually preserved it as His witness to mankind concerning truth.

Whenever the Bible is proclaimed, there darkness disappears. And those who receive its teachings are of all men the happiest, having a deep assurance of salvation.

You too, dear reader, can receive it as your guide. You too can rely on it. “The entrance of thy Word gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.” Psalms 119:130

John E. Capron

Understanding Life

If we are to understand life, including its purpose and its goal, and how we can get the most happiness and enjoyment from it, then we must start at the beginning. “In the beginning God . . . “ is the way the Bible begins. This also is where we must begin, if we are to understand and enjoy life. That is, we must begin with God. He alone created life, and He alone can explain it, its purpose and its goal.

Apart from God you cannot understand life. God is light. He also is the Creator and Giver of life. Apart from Him life is dark and has no meaning. The person who denies the existence of God, or who refuses to follow His direction for this life, loses countless blessings, and walks in continual darkness. Such a person lives, but does not know what life means. His whole life, dark and unstable like a rudderless ship, is an easy prey for the storms of life.

Separated from God you cannot be truly happy. There are those who think that happiness comes from owning many things, from having a good job or from receiving praise from other people. But this is not true. The Bible teaches that a person can only experience true happiness when his or her relationship to God, which has been broken by sin, is made right again. In other words, the sin question must be settled first. We must come back to God before we can experience true happiness and peace.

Everything created by God has been made for a certain environment. Each creature can only be truly happy or content, if he is in that environment. Outside of it, he cannot be content. For example, fish have been created by God to live in water. That is their natural environment, and in water they are content. But if taken out of water, they can only flounder and die. The same principle is true of large birds like eagles. They were created to fly unhindered in the air. If caught by man and placed in cages, they walk to and fro, ever looking outward and upward. They are no longer content.

Man too has been created for a certain environment. He has been created to live in close relationship to God, to walk and talk with Him, to know and love Him. But sin has separated us from God. Sin has taken us out of our natural environment. And so we flounder like fish out of water. We pace to and fro like birds in a cage. We seek and seek after happiness and peace, but all our efforts are in vain. We live in uncertainty. Life has no meaning and no goal. We live only to eat, drink and be merry.

From the beginning it is well for you, dear reader, to understand one thing. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do His commandments.” Psalms 111:10

“And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’” Job 28:28

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

Signs

Just for fun I sat for a few minutes and thought about signs that could be used by those who like to picket, signs that would be an accurate reflection of the truth of who God is and how God relates to us. Here is a short list of ideas for picket signs that could be alternatives to the signs my family chooses to use when picketing, if one considers it necessary to picket . . . just for fun:

Short list of ideas for Signs:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God

We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God

Learn to do right; Seek justice; Defend the oppressed

Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow

Come to Jesus, you who carry heavy burdens and He will give you rest

It is for freedom that Jesus has set you free

You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart

The Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds

The Lord has come to heal the brokenhearted

The Lord has come to preach good tidings to the poor

The Lord has come to proclaim liberty to the captives

The Lord has come to open the prison to those who are bound

Jesus came to make your life whole, not to destroy your life

God will grant recovery of sight to the blind

I once was blind but now I see

God will restore comfort to the mourners

Jesus was wounded for our transgressions

Jesus was bruised for our iniquities

By His (Jesus') stripes we are healed

The chastisement for our peace was upon Jesus

O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me

Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You

God forgives all your iniquities, God heals all your diseases

God sent His word and healed them

Abraham believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness

God will relieve you in your distress

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord

The Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness

The Lord is Good

God restores my soul

God leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake

In You, O Lord, I put my trust

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord

The Lord loves what is right, and He loves justice

God Your righteousness is like the great mountains

God shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday

Peace on earth, good will toward men

God is Love

The Lord Rides out on behalf of truth, humility, and what is right

Win victories for truth and mercy and justice

The Lord is the confidence of all the ends of the earth

Mercy and truth have met together in the Lord

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God's throne!

Mercy and truth go before God's face!

The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed

The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting

Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does right at all times

Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them

Revive me and bring my soul out of trouble

God's justice will produce lasting peace and security

God's loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved

The Lord will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds

God so loved the World that He gave His only Son

Mark Chandler

Legalism and Grace

Have you ever had someone call you a legalist? It is not a compliment the way it is usually used! It’s definition? Legalism: A strict literal or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code. And once you put that conformity on other people they really want to be close to God. Not!!

How does one get wrapped up in religious legalism? It is an important question. So many churches today preach a wonderful message of grace and forgiveness from the pulpit but yet they live so ungraciously toward one another during the week. So harshly. So legalistically. We are supposed to live out the message and truth of grace, not just preach grace, not just have grace on the name of our church. We are to live it out in the every day of our lives . We don't want to place massive gorillas onto peoples' backs and add to their burdens by requiring religious adherence to our rules.

Religious legalism usually starts off with good intentions. It begins with peoples’ heartfelt desire to find acceptance from God. That is a good thing. Many strike out on their own to order their lives to what they believe defines holiness. The problem is, they tend to look only at the things that can be measured. And that would be outward conformity only. They go on this journey because they believe it is the right thing to do and to find His acceptance.

They start with themselves – what would God like? Well He would probably like me to go to church. He would probably like me to read the Bible. He would probably like me to pray a certain number of hours during the week. He would probably like me to go to Bible school. He would probably, He would probably, He would probably. Then we say “I'm not sure I can do all this but I really want God to like me so I will try as hard as I can!” The approach starts with 'me'. Not with God. And it is an easy place to find oneself. If you are in a relationship with God you are half of that relationship! And God says clearly “Be holy as I am holy.” It’s not as if the desire to be holy came from nowhere.

My experience watching Christians is they are at a crossroads once they decide to follow God into the deep waters of holiness. We either realize it is a day by day walk with God that requires humility and wisdom and many bumps along the road or we invent rules that will allow us to “know” when we have met the “holiness standard.” Set by us of course!

Let’s step into Joe or Jill Christian’s life. Let’s say Joe has had a problem with Internet pornography before he came to Christ. He is aware that the Internet, for him, is a dangerous place. And for him initially he might choose to set up some serious parameters around his usage of even his home computer. He might have passwords that his wife knows. A history he is willing to show her (or his Bible study) at any time.

But what if Joe decided his problem required him to set up those same parameters on everyone? What if his own set of rules that he believed needed to be deeply personal convictions for himself he decided needed to be personal convictions for everyone. Joe might become a deeply religious person as he sought to deal with his own weaknesses and aspects of his specific sin nature. But the problem is Joe could easily end up entering the condemnation zone (which is a much worse place than the twilight zone).

The condemnation zone is where you start taking your personal convictions and looking at other people through them and making a judgment on how they are doing with God. How is that other person doing with God? How are they lining up with God? Are they working hard to gain His acceptance? And usually they are not (in your opinion). And you begin making assumptions about their motivations and the condition of their heart.

It’s not like women aren’t prone to these same issues. A woman might come to a conviction about the wearing of certain neck lines, skirt lengths, swimsuit wearing, you name it. And for her it might be a desire to honor what she sees in the Bible as it pertains to holiness and modesty in dress. The challenge for one woman is she may decide that all women everywhere, no matter what age, what culture and what state of relationship to God still have to follow her rules for holiness. She might start on a crusade she thinks is going to honor God but ends up decimating the women and girls around her.

So then how do you see other people? If you have set up stringent standards for yourself you might just decide other people who don’t have your standards just don't care! They're just not dedicated to God like I am! Something is wrong! No longer can you love people but they have to perform up to a certain level before you will allow your love to go out. And you are giving the impression that this is how God feels toward us. And that is not what the Bible says at all! Grace is defined as God’s wonderful goodness and unmerited favor toward people. He gives away his favor just because he wants to! So why are people then trying to earn his favor you ask? Because they believe that's what religion tells them. Religious tradition is filled with this.

The church my father started is an example of religious tradition on steroids. If everything is not done exactly how their rules say things are to be done the response is immediate harshness and condemnation. They monitor and police every member to enforce their religious rules. And if you are not a member of their church or leave their church you are condemned to hell, end of discussion. All the while they tell you their behavior is motivated by their love for you. They have a vague intellectual understanding of grace but they desperately cling to their rules and traditions; their legalism! The Pharisees in the Bible got so lost in their religious rules, traditions and power structures that when the Lord appeared and disrupted their religious system their response was deadly anger.

You completely miss what God has revealed about Himself in the scriptures when you live a life like I just described. The only way a person can find acceptance before this Holy God is to believe in the holy substitute God sent to this earth to essentially go to the gallows for us. For our sin. And that holy substitute is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ alone is holy enough to gain the acceptance of God. Jesus Christ alone is perfect enough to gain the acceptance of God. You and I will never be perfect enough to gain God's acceptance no matter how hard we try. Not by a million miles! But the Good News is that God has a way around this problem. One he designed with Jesus before time began.

The way to gain God’s acceptance is to have someone deal with our sin problem which has put us massively at odds with God. You can’t have sinners hanging out with a holy God who hates sin. At least not very well! The way God the Father provided for us to come to Him and be accepted was Christ. Because He completely accepts Christ and Christ is willing to stand in and take our punishment for us. So the first step in a relationship with the Father is to believe the Son did what He said He could do. Pay for our sin and set us free. To be fully and completely accepted by the Father. You see there is no other way other than faith in the solution, the one He provided, the person of Jesus Christ.

In a sense I need to hide myself behind Jesus Christ who is my stand in. The one who is going to my gallows. I need to be attached to him as a branch to the vine. Then you and I can have that acceptance with God before we try to do anything to please God. The acceptance God has provided is by my faith in Jesus Christ alone, and all of a sudden I find the complete acceptance of God. My sins are forgiven. I am washed clean by the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God. And I can experience in my soul the presence of God. And I can experience His love. His love begins to fill my heart and it becomes my motivation! The more I understand His love the more I respond to His love!

Jesus wants individual hearts to be open to Him as Messiah and King. It's why He came. He's not looking for crowds. He is looking for individuals. He wants each of us as individuals to open the gates of our city; open our own individual hearts; and let Him in to be King of our life, each of us. He wants us to let Him set up His throne in our heart, each of us. That's what He wants. And when He does that our whole life changes. And God is saying I will accept you in the exact same way I accept my beloved Son if only you will hide yourself in Him.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17

Hide yourself in the Son of God. That is where you will find the acceptance of God and you will experience it in your soul. God has promised us that He will put His Holy Spirit within us, just as He put His Holy Spirit upon His only beloved begotten Son. And then we will have God's power to live our lives like Jesus lived and not depend on legalism for God's acceptance. This is a life-long process motivated by the love of God, powered by the strength of God, as we are kept safe within the care of God.

“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen;
My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased;
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
“He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
“A battered reed He will not break off,
And a smoldering wick He will not put out,
Until He leads justice to victory.
“And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”
Matthew 12: 18-21

A bruised and battered reed blown over by the wind, knocked over by the forces around it. When someone comes to such a bruised and broken reed the person says: “can I use this?” and someone answers: “No, throw it away. It's worthless!” But Jesus says He will not break it and destroy it. Instead He will take it and heal it. Some of us are like bruised reeds today. We're barely making it, we've been beaten up by the world and we are kind of messed up. We've been knocked down, drug along behind a truck, and we are just shredded wheat on the inside. Just completely mauled and demoralized. And we think what can God do with me? What can God do for me?

God is not interested in you meeting a certain standard before He will accept you. He knows better! God accepts you in Christ. And God wants to come and heal your brokenness. But if you approach God on the basis of works you will never experience that healing because you will always be blocking His moves. You say to God: 'No no, you don't understand, I'm just not good enough!' And God says: “I'm good enough!” I was good for you. Now let me heal your life.” You say to God: “No, you don't understand! I haven't got that act together yet! I'm still working on it.” And we keep blocking His moves.

All the Lord wants you to do is put your hands down. Stop fighting with God. Let Him reach down into your heart and touch your life, in the deep deep areas of your life, and bring freshness and healing. That's vulnerable. Don't be afraid of the Lord. Put the hands down. Sure you are a broken reed, a bruised reed. But see the Lord wants to come in and heal you and set you back up right and wrap that binding string around you to strengthen you and touch your heart and restore your life.

The Lord is well pleased with us when we hide ourselves in Jesus. Let Him cover you with His love. Cease from striving and take Him at His word. He loves you. He is not going to hurt you.

Mark Phelps

Jesus Intentionally Gave His Life

Warning: Please do not read this writing if you are sensitive to or may be upset by graphic descriptions of physical violence.

Please do not allow children to read this writing.

My first experience reading the details of the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross was about 25 years ago. It was during the time of the celebration of Easter in America and I happened upon a book that presented information on the subject. I remember it so clearly because I could not stop reading and pondering the reality of what I was reading.

In some very real ways I found myself relating to some of what I was reading because of the physical abuse I had experienced at the hand of my father. Nothing, of course, like I was reading, but some faint memories of my own abuse stirred in my soul and the feelings that these memories brought to the surface I think God used to help me understand His crucifixion. And maybe understand my own abuse just a little bit better. And certainly understand His love for me a little bit more!

The memories I was tapping into as I read the book on crucifixion were feelings such as shivering in my body when I was awakened in the middle of the night as a small boy, waking to the cold chill of terror as my father was raging. My knees, stomach and chin would shake uncontrollably. Feelings of stark fear when I was facing a physical beating and there was no one or no way to stop my father from beating me. The raw physical pain I still have memories of that was a part of the intense physical beating and battering I experienced at the hand of my father. The despair I felt watching my father beat one of my brothers or my sisters or my mother knowing there was nothing I could do to stop him.

Certainly I have had many questions about God and I have given a lot of thought to the subject of God, who he is and what he is like. I was plunged into all of this “God stuff” from my birth.

In the final analysis I have come back to one overwhelming realization over and over and over again. Whatever I do or do not understand and whatever I believe or do not believe about God, ultimately I have to ask myself, and answer some questions that, for me, go to the core of the issue of who God is and what he is like.

Assuming for a minute that there is the least possibility that this Jesus who is well documented in history might just possibly be the person he says he is, the very Son of God in human flesh, here are my questions:

‘Why would God allow His Son to suffer the way He did?’

‘Why would Jesus have been so willing to go through what He went through?’

‘What could possibly have been the motivation for such a voluntary act on the part of Jesus?’

I would like to describe some of what I have learned over the years regarding what Jesus experienced. There are some variations in what I have read over the years in the accounts of what Jesus experienced but for the most part all the accounts are consistent in their description of the main details. I invite you reading this to do your own study on this subject. Perhaps as you read what I am writing you will have questions similar to the ones I have mentioned above.

I also invite you to use your imagination as you read these descriptions of the crucifixion of Jesus. Imagine you are the mother of Jesus. Or imagine you are a close friend of Jesus. Or imagine yourself in the circumstances in which Jesus found himself and try to comprehend what it may have been like if you were the one experiencing what he experienced and how you may have felt and responded. Personally I have done this many times. I have tried to fathom what it would have been like if I had been the one in the place of Jesus through every moment of what occurred during these final hours of his life on earth.

The night before Jesus was crucified he went to the Garden of Gethsemane and he prayed to his father. He was aware of the suffering he was about to endure over the next several hours and he was already experiencing the weight of it all in his mind and his heart. Jesus was experiencing extreme psychological stress. In fact he was exceeding sorrowful unto death. During this time of enormous emotional strain he began to sweat blood.

Some say this can’t be so or this is an exaggeration. But in reality, though rare, the phenomenon of Hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Severe anxiety causes the release of chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. As the capillaries are compromised the result is a little bleeding into the sweat glands and this mixes blood with sweat.

This Hematidrosis also caused Jesus’ skin to be very fragile so that a few hours later when Jesus was flogged by the Roman solders his skin was hyper-sensitive to pain. Further, Hematidrosis very likely produced marked weakness and shock to his body. I really cannot imagine the amount of emotional stress Jesus my Savior was experiencing while in the garden that night praying to his father.

  The next violence Jesus endured was after his arrest in the middle of the night and Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by the high priest Caiaphas. The palace guards then blind-folded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each passed by, spat upon Him, and struck Him in the face.

  This may not sound all that bad until you realize that the strikes to his face were numerous and savage, and they caused the face of Jesus to be marred so that he was no longer recognizable as a human being. The blows were not just mild slaps. The soldiers delivered direct violent forceful blows with their open palms and fists to the bare face of Jesus at point blank range. They also pulled out his beard!

Jesus willingly gave his face to these men and intentionally allowed them to treat him this way. We would not get the picture of what Jesus endured from most artists’ renderings of Jesus on the cross. But this is in fact what took place. No bones were broken in his face but the bruising and contusions and swelling left his face so damaged that his face no longer had the appearance of a human being when the soldiers were done beating Jesus.

Then in the early hours of the morning, after being battered and brutalized, dehydrated, and exhausted from a sleepless night, Jesus was taken before the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, who had final authority concerning the condemnation and execution of Jesus. Though Pilate could find no fault in Jesus he issued the order to have Jesus flogged and then crucified.

Roman floggings usually consisted of thirty-nine lashes but often were a lot more than thirty-nine, depending on the state of mind of the soldier applying the lashes. Jesus was prepared for the scourging by being stripped of His clothing and then his arms were tied to a post above His head.

The soldier flogged Jesus with a whip of braided leather thongs with several metal balls woven into them, all the way to the end of each thong. When the whip would strike the flesh, these balls would cause deep bruises or contusions in his skin which would break open with further blows.

My brother Nathan, my brother Jonathan, my sister Katherine, my brother Fred Jr. and I; we all experienced something similar to this when we were beaten by our father with the mattock handle. Our father would give us so many blows with the mattock handle that our skin would badly bruise and then, after a few minutes break, he would beat us some more, just as the feeling was beginning to return to the previously beaten parts of our bodies. This repeated beating caused the bruises that had begun to form from the earlier beatings, to break open causing open bleeding and eventually open sores.

Of course what we experienced, though from our perspective it was very painful and traumatic, was minimal compared to what happened to Jesus. I don’t normally think of my brutal abuse in a positive light, but in this one way, in my being able to relate to Jesus even in this small way, I realize I have been able to understand even more what he did for me. And for this understanding I really am grateful.

The leather thongs used on Jesus also contained pieces of bone and glass. The bone and glass would cut the skin severely and imbed in his skin and when the whip was pulled back in preparation for the next lash it would rip the skin on his back and legs. The heavy whip was brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs.

At first the thongs cut through his skin only. Then, as the blows continued, they cut deeper into his subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.  Finally the skin of his back was hanging in long quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh and the entire area was an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. His back and legs were so shredded that part of his spine was exposed by the deep, deep cuts. His veins were laid bare and his very muscles, sinews and bowels were open to exposure. The flogging went all the way from his shoulders down to his back, his buttocks, and the back of his legs. It was probably more terrible than anything you could imagine.

History tells us that many people would die from this kind of beating even before they could be crucified. Jesus experienced tremendous pain and he would have gone into hypovolemic shock. This means he suffered the loss of a large amount of blood. Hypovolemic shock is a very serious medical condition. His heart was racing to try to pump blood that was not there. His blood pressure dropped causing him to approach near fainting (in fact he collapsed to the ground as he walked the Via Dolorosa). His kidneys would have stopped producing urine to maintain what volume of fluid that was still left in his body. He became very thirsty as his body craved fluids to replace the lost blood volume.

How would his mother have felt watching these soldiers torturing her innocent son?!

When it was determined by the centurion in charge that Jesus was near death, the beating was finally stopped.  By this time Jesus was already in serious to critical condition. The half-fainting Jesus was then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, soaked in His own blood. But the physical abuse had scarcely begun.

The Roman soldiers saw great sport in this pathetic figure of a small town Jew claiming to be king. They put a robe around his shoulders and placed a stick in his hand for a scepter. They still needed a crown to make their travesty complete. Flexible branches covered with long thorns were plaited into the shape of a crown and this ‘crown’ was pressed into his scalp. Again there was bounteous bleeding because the scalp has so many blood vessels.

After mocking Jesus and striking Him across the face and preparing his crown of thorns, the soldiers took the stick from His hand and struck Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they got tired of their sadistic sport and the robe was torn from His back. Already having adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds on his back, its removal caused excruciating pain and he began to bleed again almost as profusely as when he had initially been beaten.

Jesus survived all of this brutality and was then required to go forward toward the place of his crucifixion.  The heavy cross section (the patibulum) of the cross was tied across His shoulders, and Jesus was required to proceed with his executioners in his slow journey along the Via Dolorosa to the place of the skull, the place called Golgotha.

Because he was experiencing hypovolemic shock, in spite of His efforts to continue walking, the weight of the heavy wooden beam was too much. Jesus stumbled and fell. The rough wood of the beam gouged into the lacerated skin and muscles of his shoulders. He tried to rise, but his muscles had been pushed beyond their endurance.

  A man named Simon was recruited to carry the heavy cross section (patibulum) the rest of the way to the place where Jesus was to be crucified. When they arrived at the place called Calvary Simon was ordered to place that heavy cross portion on the ground and Jesus was quickly thrown backward with His shoulders and back against the wood. Historical Roman accounts and experimental work have determined it is most likely that the nails were driven into the body of Jesus between the small bones of his wrists (radial and ulna) and not through his palms. The Romans used large iron spikes that were usually seven inches long and tapered to a sharp point. They were 3/8ths of an inch in diameter.

The Roman soldier felt for the depression at the front of Jesus’ wrist. He drove the heavy, square, seven inch wrought-iron spike through the wrist of Jesus and deep into the wood. Quickly, the Roman soldier moved to the other side and repeated the action, being careful not to pull the arms of my Savior too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement.

The iron spikes were hammered into Jesus through the place where the median nerve runs. This is the largest nerve going out to his hand, and it was crushed by the iron spike that was pounded into his wrist. Each wrist! You know the kind of pain you feel when you bump your elbow and hit your funny bone? This is an example of another large nerve very similar to the median nerve.

So try to visualize this. Visualize taking a pair of pliers and squeezing and crushing that nerve on your elbow. Too painful to even try to think about! That gives you a vague idea of what Jesus experienced, in terms of his pain when an iron spike was hammered through each of his wrists. The pain was excruciating! In fact the word excruciating was originally formulated to describe the pain experienced during crucifixion. Look up the origin of the word excruciating on Google.

Imagine if this were happening to you!

After Jesus was nailed by his wrists to the heavy cross section it was then lifted in place at the top of the stipes (the vertical section of the cross which was already secured in the ground) with Jesus hanging from his wrists. The sign reading, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” was nailed into place at the top of his cross.

Jesus’ arms immediately stretched about six inches beyond their normal length from the weight of hanging by his wrists and both of his shoulders became dislocated and it is very likely that his elbow joints were also dislocated at this time. Jesus’ left foot was then pressed backward against his right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, an iron spike was driven through the arch of each foot, leaving his knees moderately flexed.

Jesus my Savior was now crucified.

As He slowly sagged down with more weight on the iron spikes in his wrists, excruciating pain shot along his fingers and up his arms to explode in his brain -- the iron spikes in his wrists were putting pressure on his median nerves. And the pain was similar in intensity radiating from the iron spike through both of his feet.

As Jesus pushed Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there was the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of his feet.  At this point as his arms fatigued, great waves of cramps swept over his muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability to push upward. Hanging by his arms, his pectoral muscles were paralyzed and his intercostal muscles were unable to function.

Jesus could draw air into his lungs, but he could not exhale. Jesus fought repeatedly to raise himself in order to exhale and get even one short breath back into his lungs. Spasmodically, he was able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen. In essence crucifixion involves, in part, an agonizingly slow death by asphyxiation.

The stresses on the muscles and diaphragm put his chest into the inhaled position. Basically in order to exhale he had to push up on his feet so the tension on his muscles would be eased for a moment. In doing this the iron spike would tear through his foot eventually locking up against his tarsal bones.

After managing to exhale, Jesus would then be able to relax down and take another breath in. Again he would have to push himself up to exhale, scraping his bloodied back against the coarse wood of the cross. This went on and on until he was completely exhausted. He was no longer able to push up and breathe any more.

After Jesus’ arms had come out of their sockets his chest sagged downwards, stretching out to its full extent. Try this yourself. If you strenuously stretch out your arms above your head spread as widely apart as possible, even while seated, you'll recognize the difficulty. Or with your hands spread as far apart as possible grab a bar high enough off the ground for you to hang on with your feet off the ground and hang from the bar in this hands-spread-far-apart position with all of your weight being held up by your hands. See how you feel after just five minutes. See what happens if you try to push your hang time to ten minutes!

It's easy to inhale with arms fully outstretched, but difficult to exhale again. Your body needs to work its muscles to breathe in and out, and it is used to doing so with little resistance. Once your chest is fully expanded, it is impossible to breathe in anything more than sips of air. Jesus slowly suffocated near the end of his crucifixion because he was unable to get enough oxygen and he was unable to expel the carbon dioxide building up in his body. The one who made the universe couldn’t even get a breath.

Basically Jesus my Savior was forced to alternate between the terror of the very real feeling of suffocating and the excruciating pain when he put pressure on the iron spike in his feet to push up so he could exhale and grab a quick gasp of breath.

I have experienced a faint shadow of what Jesus was going through. With lung disease I often become fatigued in my back and stomach muscles as I work exceedingly hard to get breath. Carbon dioxide gets trapped in my lungs due to the disease I have and the feeling of not being able to get my breath causes me panic at times and extreme discomfort. It often takes me tremendous energy just to breath. However, compared to what Jesus experienced I breathe easy.

Jesus experienced hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, bones out of joint, intermittent partial asphyxiation and searing pain where tissue was torn from His lacerated back as He moved up and down against the rough timber.

Then another agony began -- a terrible crushing pain deep in his chest as the pericardium slowly filled with serum and began to compress his heart.  Any of you with heart disease may relate a little bit to this final torturous experience of Jesus.

All of these details of his crucifixion bring to mind the 14th verse of the 22nd Psalm: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.”

  As he slowed down his breathing Jesus went into what is called respiratory acidosis. The carbon dioxide in his blood was dissolved as carbonic acid and this caused the acidity of his blood to increase. This eventually led to an irregular heartbeat. His agony was nearing the end. His loss of tissue fluids reached a critical level; his compressed heart struggled to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into his tissue, his tortured lungs were making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. His markedly dehydrated tissues were sending a flood of pain stimuli to his brain.

Jesus’ mother was watching everything the soldiers did to her son! How could she stand it!!

In the condition Jesus was in he was still thinking about others. He asked his father to forgive those who were crucifying him. He promised one of those being crucified with him that he would see him that day in paradise because of his faith. And he told his close friend John to take care of his mother after he was gone.

With his heart beating erratically, my Savior, Jesus, knew he was near his moment of death. It was at this point he was able to declare his battle cry of victory “It is finished!” And then shortly thereafter he spoke the words, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Jesus then died of cardiac arrest.

One expert in forensic medicine, Frederick Zugibe, actually volunteered to tie himself to a cross to monitor what physically takes place during a crucifixion. He concluded that victims died from "hypovolemic shock." This condition sets in when a body has lost so much blood and fluid that the heart can't continue to function.

Jesus literally died of a broken heart!

Jesus gave his life on purpose.

His actions were intentional!

He was compelled to take each step and endure every agony to the end.

But why?!

Was Jesus insane? Was he deluded? Was he a masochist? Why did he go through all of this horrific agony? The Bible tells us he could have called legions of angels to rescue him. What held him on that cross? It certainly was not the iron spikes! Any of us giving thought to this must wonder what in the world was going on here! Why did Jesus allow himself to be excruciatingly tortured to death?

I try to conceive of the cruelty or foolishness or evil that I would have to attribute to the Father, God, if He allowed His Son to be tortured by His own creatures unless there was some incomprehensibly essential reason for doing so. I ask myself: ‘Would I allow my son or daughter to be treated like this if I had the power to stop it?’ Or I ask myself: ‘For what reason would I be willing to allow my son or daughter to go through such torture?’ Am I kinder or better or more caring than my Creator? I would not allow it! I would do anything I could to stop it! Am I better than God? Well I know better than that!!

Seriously, can any of us honestly propose that this ultimate sacrifice God made of His beloved Son based on His love for all mankind be anything less than the absolute most amazing action ever taken in all the history of all humanity? Can we?!

I believe the Father gave the life of His one and only precious Son intentionally because He loves each single one of us! I believe Jesus gave his life intentionally because of his love for each single one of us! There is no greater show of love than for a person to lay down his life for his friend. Jesus calls us his friend! We are the friends of Jesus. Each of us! Jesus died for his friends.

His actions were more intentional than we could ever realize! He has loved us from before the time we were born and he initiated a plan before time began to rescue us out of our broken condition that He knew we would find ourselves in. He knew before we could ever have a clue, that our souls were in a desperately hopeless condition relative to our relationship with our God.

From the moment man first disobeyed the Father we died spiritually and then we became prisoners to our sin. The justice of God demanded a sacrifice, restoring to Himself His own again. So the lamb, His only Son, was freely offered and atonement for our sin was forever made.

The Father and Jesus hate our sin because it causes us to die, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred. The only way to solve the sin problem and for us to ever be made alive spiritually, ever again, was for our brother to give his life for us. We needed a relative, a kinsman, to give his life to purchase back our souls. We needed someone who was perfect and therefore able to stand in our place before God. Jesus is that kinsman redeemer! Jesus is our brother and he loves us. He hated what was destroying us and He gave his life intentionally so he could destroy that which was destroying us and so that we could live with him forever.

Oh how our hearts cry out for justice in this world. We cry out for fairness. We want ourselves and others to be treated fairly and it goes against the grain of our souls when we witness injustice. Injustice offends us and it offends God. The bad news is we all come up short, we have all been found wanting because none of us are perfect. None of us are perfectly right and just all the time! The good news is Jesus is right and just all the time and Jesus met the requirement of justice for each of us and made it possible for us to all receive forgiveness, mercy and grace. So we receive way better than justice and fairness. We get to be loved no matter what our condition or what we have done! We get to have things made right when nothing seemed to really be right and when there was no hope. Because of Jesus!

The crucifixion of Jesus reminds us not only of the brokenness of the world but it also reminds us that in those times of suffering and pain, we are not alone.  In the person of Jesus we encounter a God who stands with us in the suffering, a God who is not apart from that burden and pain, but one who is in it with us.  He endured blunt force physical and psychological trauma for our sakes! He understands our feelings and our struggles!

Jesus says:

“Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads and I will give you rest. Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I am gentle and humble. And you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.”

Out of his great love for us Jesus died intentionally because he knew he was going to rise from the grave and in so doing he was going to defeat death and defeat the grave. His love being so immense and so far reaching he wanted us to live forever and never have to die ever again.

The intentional actions of Jesus make God’s forgiveness an option. Before Jesus gave his life forgiveness was not available. The intentional actions of Jesus make life after death possible. Before Jesus gave his life there was no life after death. The intentional actions of Jesus defeated the enemy of our soul, defeated death and gave us victory over the grave.

The single overarching problem of all of human kind was the break in our relationship with our Creator, the one who made us and loves us. The intentional actions of Jesus solved this unsolvable problem and restored our relationship with our Creator. Each person who so desires can avail him or herself of this solution and throw themselves into the arms of God and live in his presence forever. And this can start right here on earth, right now, by faith!

But God loves us all too much to force us to love him. So he honors each of us who choose to go our own way! And he will honor that decision after we die! And the consequences are we will live forever without his presence and without his love. So we need to give serious consideration to our decision when it comes to Jesus.

Because Jesus was serious and intentional in his actions, we need to be the same. Each one of us needs to intentionally accept his sacrifice on our behalf and accept his love, or we need to intentionally decide in the cold light of day to deny his gift of life and turn our back on his love. No one can make that decision for us. Not even God!

He knew what was going to result from his dying and his getting up from the grave. He knew that it would give us life forever and his great love compelled him to intentionally endure it all. And he is satisfied with the results of all he had to go through. He is satisfied that we have life instead of death and that we will live forever with him as his brother. Each person who comes to Jesus he will in no way reject! Not ever!!

Jesus loves us and he knew what we needed and he was willing to do what had to be done. There is no greater gift! There is no greater news ever heard on earth! God truly made it possible for there to be peace between Him and each of us because of his good will and his love toward each of us. Someday this reality will be fully manifested for all who avail themselves of his love.

Jesus intentionally gave his life . . . for you . . . because he loves you!

Mark Phelps