Happy Sabbath, Brothers and Sisters! Today's lesson is entitled "Sin, Sacrifice, Salvation, and Speeding Tickets". I feel I should warn you, this lesson will get pretty deep. I hope to offer you a reality check about sin, a deeper understanding of the relevance of Christ's sacrifice in your life, and a message of hope concerning salvation. All three of these topics are incredibly deep, and parts of my message today may be difficult for you to hear and accept. But, brothers and sisters, I write not for the purpose of offending you, but for the purpose of furthering your pursuit of salvation. With that said, let's get started.
Last week, my friend Amber called me in a panic, telling me that she had just received her first speeding ticket. She had been driving thirty miles over the speed limit in a residential area, and had subesquently received a $200 ticket when she was pulled over by an officer.
"What should I do?" she asked me frantically.
I replied, "Well, don't drive so fast." (I know, I know, way to state the obvious.)
But she had another concern in mind. "Yeah, but what do I do about my dad?! He's gonna kill me!"
She had a few schemes in mind, all of which involved either lying to her father and stepmother or concealing the ticket from them altogether and finding some way to pay it herself. I suggested that she just tell them about it and offer to pay for it, which is what I would do in the situation. I know my dad wouldn't be too happy if I was booking it down Main Street like Taz on a pogo stick, but he'd be much more upset if I was dishonest. I figured Amber's dad would probably feel the same way. Eventually I convinced her to follow my suggestion before resorting to selling her kidneys on the black market to pay for the fine herself.
Brothers and sisters, you may be chronologically a teenager, like my friend Amber and I are. Or maybe you're not quite a teenager yet. Or maybe you're older than me, and your adolescent years are far behind you.
But in the eyes of God, we are all rebellious teenagers. We're all pierced, tattooed, angsty, melodramatic misfits who constantly test limits, defy clearly-stated rules, and do ridiculous things, knowing our Father doesn't approve.
And when we get a big spiritual ticket, we're ashamed. We're afraid to bring that ticket before our Father and say, "I screwed up." We fear not only punishment, but also His anger and disappointment. And we don't have the resources available to pay the fine for our infringement, although no one but ourselves deserves to pay it. After all, we're the ones who sinned, not Him.
Frankly, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves, and we should realize that our foolish, rebellious actions definitely warrant punishment. When we sin and rebel against God, what do we deserve? Let's consult the Bible.
Romans 6:23 very bluntly tells us that "the wages of sin is death."
Whoa, think about that for a second. The wages (what you earn or deserve to earn) of sin (anything you do that is against God's commandements) is death (physical cessation of life, as well as an eternal afterlife in Hell). In other words, we deserve to burn for our sins.
And if you think this doesn't apply to you, I refer you to Romans 3:23. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." All! Everyone! No exceptions! Me, you, everybody! We have all sinned.
So, all of us are sinners (Romans 3:23), and all sinners deserve damnation (Romans 6:23). By the law of syllogism, it logically follows that all of us deserve damnation.
And, if Jesus Christ wasn't part of the picture, there would be nothing more to say. I would wrap it up here, and say something like "So, brothers and sisters, I hope you've enjoyed my message today. Remember that no matter what, you're going to Hell. Have a great week!"
But that's not the end of the story! In fact, because of Jesus, it's only a third of the story! Sin was the beginning- our sin, and its wages- and the second part is Christ's sacrifice, and what happens when we exercise the humility and maturity to bring our spiritual speeding tickets before God and tell Him, "Lord, I'm so sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me."
Oh, speaking of tickets, I never finished my story about Amber and her speeding ticket, did I? Well, she called me back a day or two later, totally stunned at her father's reaction. According to Amber, her father wasn't angry at all. He simply told her (as I had originally suggested) that she ought not drive that fast. But there was no lecture, no grounding till kingdom come, no yelling, and no argument. In fact, when Amber offered to pay for the ticket, he shrugged his shoulders and said "Oh, don't worry about it. I'll pay the fine. Just promise me you'll try to do better."
And, because of Jesus and His death for our sake, our Father in Heaven will treat us the same way when we humbly and truthfully confess our sins to Him. See, we don't have to pay the fines on our spiritual violations. In fact, even if we wanted to, we couldn't. But when we come to God in prayer, truly sorry and humbly repentant, Jesus is standing there with His checkbook open and a pen in His hand, ready to pay our fine in full. In fact, He has already paid it! He's already paid in advance for every ticket any of us will ever get. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 describes Jesus as one who "gave Himself a ransom for all".
Remember how the wages of sin is death? If no one was there to pay the fine for our sin, we would certainly receive our just wages for our sins. But, because Jesus paid that price for us, and suffered on our behalf, we no longer have to suffer that penalty. Ephesians 1:7 testifies that "Through the blood of Christ, we are set free from sin, according to the riches of His grace." Brothers and sisters, rejoice! We will be free!
Which brings me to the third part: salvation. We have sinned and deserve nothing more than death, but Christ interceded and paid the price. So now, we can be saved! John 3:16, a familiar verse for many Christians, tells us that "whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have life everlasting." We aren't going to get the punishment we deserve for our sin! We aren't all going to perish, and spend eternity hopping from one hot rock to the next! Because Jesus paid all our fines, we have the opportunity through faith in Him to spend eternity in Heaven!
Brothers and sisters, I want to pray with you right now, that we might all receive the blessings of faith rather than the wages of sin. Will you pray with me?
Father, as I come to You today in prayer, I know I am a sinner. I know I sin and rebel against You daily, and I know that, without Christ, there would be no hope for my errant soul. I understand that I do not deserve His sacrifice, nor do I deserve Your forgiveness, but I am so dearly grateful for these gifts of grace that You offer me. I am so sorry for my sins, almighty Father, and I want to walk in the light, as You would have me do. Direct my footsteps, from this day forward, so that I may live my life for You, according to Your commandments. I love You, Lord, and I am so thankful that You died for me. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thank you, my beloved readers, for being willing to hear all that I needed to say to you about sin, sacrifice, and salvation. I hope I have inspired you to more deeply appreciate the Lord's atoning sacrifice, more fully repent of your sin, and more joyfully exalt God every day for the salvation made possible, in spite of your sin, by the power of Christ's blood.
May God be glorified in all you do and say, my friends, and keep an eye on that spedometer!
~BYR
