|
King Solomon lived more than 900 years before the birth of Jesus. Even though he enjoyed so much glory, he said,
He said that there was no difference between the death of animals and the death of men. On the other hand, however, he also said,
|
Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? (Ecclesiastes 3:21)
|
and
|
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
|
|
For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 3:15)
|
We can see that this reference to the fact that judgment awaits everybody after death concurs with the words that Jesus Himself said in the New Testament, the words of Jesus as recorded by the apostle John:
|
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak (John 12:48-50).
|
Similarly, among the texts that well explain the love of God in sending Jesus Christ into this world, we find the verse that reads,
|
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
|
It is a fact that if we only believe, as it says here, we escape the punishment of eternal destruction and we receive eternal life.
Yet there is one truth that we must be sure to realize and that is the fact that Jesus Christ took our sins - the sins of each one of us individually - upon Himself when He died on the cross. It is absolutely necessary to know this.
John the Baptist also made a loud exclamation regarding Jesus Christ.
|
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
|
The sin of the whole world that He took upon Himself includes my sins - the sins of the author of this book - and your sins - the reader - that is, your personal sins. The sins of each of us individually are all included. The Bible says,
|
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10).
|
|
