April 24

Moments with God, April 24

Psalm 49:5-8 (NIV) 5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me—6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7 No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—

I have stated several times that I am a simple person in that if the Bible tells us something, I believe it. After coming to the Lord by repenting and accepting Christ, I was shocked that there are teachings, even in some churches, that Jesus is not the only way to heaven. Curious, I did a search for alternatives to accepting Christ. I discovered that some believe good works, saying the right things, scourging oneself, hoping, attending church regularly, accepting God’s love, or living a “good” life were all ways to gain forgiveness and enter heaven. Each “method” ignored Jesus and His sacrifice, which puzzled me. Why would God send His Son to be our Passover Lamb to suffer and die if there were other ways into heaven?
The psalmist presents us with a truth that nullifies any and all alternatives that provide a way around Jesus Christ. No one, absolutely no one, can redeem him/herself. “Redeem” means to “recover ownership by paying a specified sum; pay off a debt.” The psalmist tells us that the ransom for a life is so very costly that no payment that man could arrange would be enough. From the very first sin, we learn that it is the shedding of blood that redeems. The cost of every sin is death. Only one life could pay the price to redeem us from our sins and set us free: the life of Jesus Christ, Who was sinless and perfect. He knew the truth. He knew that nothing we could do could ever pay the price whereby we could set ourselves free. This is a truth that will never change or be modified. Thus, there is no other name under heaven by which anyone can be saved (Acts 4:12). Yes, God loves us unconditionally, but His love will not save us. Because of His love, He sent His Son to die for us. Because of His love, there are no alternatives. Yet, why would we want one when we have Jesus?