DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- DEATH ROW

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – DEATH ROW

"For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time..." (I Timothy 2:5-6)

The murderer stands before the judge as he pronounces sentence on the guilty man: Death. It is demanded that he pay the price for his immoral behavior. We call it Capital Punishment as a way to soften the idea. The real word is Execution. What a horrible word. It sounds so harsh – so final. The fact is that no one else can sufficiently pay for his felony. He alone must pay the price.  He will sit on Death Row until that price has been paid.

There is a price to be paid for man's sin. The penalty for sin is death. No amount of money or human effort – even as an indentured servant – could pay for man's redemption. Only God could pay that debt. Jesus Himself paid the ransom when He took our place and died. He became the Mediator between the supremely pure, righteous, and holy God and us, as sinful, dirty, unrighteous as we were.

There is a great chasm that separates a holy God from unholy men. It is so great that there is no possibility of humans to bridge that gap. Only God Himself could span that gulf. And He did in the person of the Lord Jesus. There is only one Mediator. That is the man Christ Jesus. He was executed as a criminal for my sins, even though He was blameless – without sin. The Apostle Peter wrote this concerning Jesus, "who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth...Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree...." (I Peter 2:22, 24)

I was on Death Row. I was guilty of sin against a holy God and deserved eternal death. Then came Jesus. "He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, Amazing Grace. Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay." Oh, what a wonderful Savior!

Love, Dad