House of Prayer on Highway # 623
south of New Sarepta, AB
July 17 & 18 -7:00 pm
Amundruds Gospel Group
The Amundruds with Pastor Max and Donna
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
I have heard people say that God is too harsh and uncaring toward His created beings. Others say that He has no love for us and point
to wars, famines, earthquakes and storms that take the lives of multitudes in
various parts of the earth.
Why would He send people to an everlasting Hell of torment and pain, if He
really loves the world as the Scriptures say? And why would He allow His only
begotten Son to be incarnated, only to be cruelly mocked, blasphemed, scourged
and crucified on a Roman Cross on Jerusalem's garbage dump called Golgotha?
Here is the answer to these many quarries. It is found in the Holy
Bible, the written Word of God! St. John declares: “For God so loved the
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
It was because of His pure and amazing love for us that He gave His only
begotten Son, to pay the ransom price of Adam's sin, which had infested the
entire world! Jesus Christ was born to die as God's paschal Lamb to meet the
righteous demands of Justice Divine and to free us from the powers of sin,
sickness and death.
The Word of God says: “Without the shedding of blood, there is no
remission for sin.” (Heb. 9: 22); “It is the blood that maketh atonement for
sins.” Lev. 17:11); “The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanseth us from all sins.”
(1 John 1: 7)
Before the foundations of the
earth were laid, God purposed in His heart to call unto Himself a people for
His name, which would be His family. He knew from the beginning that Lucifer would
fall through Pride and become the great Enemy of God. He also knew that Adam
and Eve would be tempted and succumb to the lies of the Devil!
GOD GAVE
HIMSELF TO SAVE US!
In God’s great
heart of love and compassion, He purposed to save mankind from sin and Satan through
the sacrifice of His own dear Son to redeem us. The Holy Scriptures reveal His great
plan of redemption:
“Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Heavenly places with Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him
before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
“Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children to Himself, according to the
good pleasure of His will, to the praise and glory of His grace, wherein He
hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;
“Wherein He
hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto to
us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He hath
purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven, and
which are on earth; even in Him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things
after the counsel of His own will.” (Eph. 1: 3-11)
“For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17). “He that
beliveth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the
Son of God shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3: 36)
Jesus
said: “Except a man be born of water (word of God) and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said
unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3: 5-7)
St. Peter stated: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold...but with the
precious Blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who
verily was ordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times for you.
“Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him from the dead, and gave
Him glory; that your faith might be in God....being Born Again, not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and
abideth forever.” (1 Peter 1: 19-23)
The grace of God speaks of God's unmerited favour toward sinful mankind!
The Holy Bible states: “For by grace are ye SAVED through faith, and that not
of yourselves; not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2: 8,9).
Through
His GRACE He sent His only begotten Son into this sin-cursed world to suffer,
bleed and die for our sins! The penalty for sin was eternal death: “The soul that
sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezek.18:4); “The wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom.
6, 23)
PROPITIATION MEANS SATISFACTION!
The word propitiation means covering,
satisfaction, mercy seat and expiation. St. John stated: “If we walk in the Light as He is in
the Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ
cleanseth us from all sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1: 7, 9)
“My little
children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not
for ours only, but also for the sins if the whole world. (1 John 2:1,2)
You may ask: “What does that mean?” It means that Almighty God was satisfied with
the vicarious (substitutional) death of Jesus Christ His Son, to ransom us from
our sins, fears, sicknesses, diseases and eternal death! It means that Satan’s
power over us has been broken, through the awesome power of Jesus Christ’s
all-atoning blood!
The Holy Bible declares: “In this was
manifested the love of God, because that God sent His only begotten Son into
the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for
our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”
(1 John 4: 9-11)
"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His Blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." (Rom. 3: 25)
"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His Blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." (Rom. 3: 25)
PREVENIENT GRACE OF GOD!
The Bible
teaches the ‘Prevenient Grace’ of God, which means that God loved us and was
reaching out to us before we ever loved Him. He was searching for us and waiting
for us to respond to His embrace! Even when we decided to turn to the Lord, it
was in answer to His invitation.
The only
way we were able to believe was because He gave us the faith to believe. We
were dead in sin and far from God, but when we responded to His urging, the
Holy Spirit supplied the faith we needed! Amen.
