In discovering that God desires fellowship with people, we have seen where sin separates a person from God. Jesus came to remove that separating factor so that everyone could have a relationship with their Creator. Yesterday John as a spiritual father let us know one of the reasons he was writing this book “that you sin not”, and he informed us that if we do sin, we have an advocate, an attorney – Jesus Christ the righteous – interceding for us before the Heavenly Father. Today we see even more clearly just how Jesus does this.
In John chapter two and verse two it says,
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
Now before there is anxiety over what “propitiation” means, it is simply “appeasing” or in other words :”the one who satisfies the penalty of”. Jesus Christ is the only appeasing sacrifice for sin, and His sacrifice paid the price for the sins of the whole world. Now, every sin that anyone has ever done, is doing, or will be doing has been appeased by Jesus Christ's death. Jesus Himself gave only one exception to this as recorded by the apostle Matthew in chapter twelve verse thirty-one and thirty-two of his book:
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy [against] the [Holy] Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the [world] to come.
Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is the only unforgivable sin, but all others are forgiven because of Jesus Christ's appeasing sacrifice. The witness that the Holy Spirit gives of Jesus Christ's payment for sin is where many have difficulty. Whenever the Holy Spirit points to Jesus Christ's death on the cross being the only sacrifice that will satisfy the penalty for sin, many reject His witness. They refuse to believe that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me” as said by Jesus Himself. However, He is the only way. He is the only truth, and He is the only life that will save a person from their sins. To reject the Holy Spirit's witness of Jesus is to commit the unpardonable and unforgivable sin, and there is no other remedy or propitiation available.
Peter had more to say about the exclusivity of Jesus' sacrifice, and we shall consider it tomorrow. Here's a hint: read in the book of Acts, chapter four verses eight through twelve.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, find locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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