This hymn draws from a number of scriptural references, including Isaiah 53.5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.”  It was written in 1707 by Isaac Watts.

 

Alas! And did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die!  Would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I!

Was it for crimes that I had done he groaned upon the tree!  Amazing pity! Grace unknown! And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide, and shut his glories in, when Christ the mighty Maker, died for man the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face while his dear cross appears; dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt mine eyes in tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe; Here Lord, I give myself away, ‘tis all that I can do.

 

Hear the gospel segments told in this wonderful song: Christ is acknowledged as the Maker in verse 3.  Man is known to need help – a worm, a committer of crimes, a sinner.

The agony of the crucifixion is described – bloody death, groaning upon the tree.  The devotion of God for His people is registered – amazing pity, grace unknown, love beyond degree.

And the sinner who believes responds in thankfulness, tears, and giving himself away to his Savior and Sovereign. 

This is one of the most honored gospel message songs ever.  The first four verses were penned by former slaver John Newton in 1779, and the last verse was added later.

 

Amazing grace! – how sweet the sound – that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!

Thro’ many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ‘tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me, his Word my hope secures; he will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’ve first begun.

 

In the first verse, the wretch realizes his need for a savior and defines the saving transformation in two ways: was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see.  

The whole notion of the song is that I cannot do anything to save myself.  The grace of God, the Lord, and His Word do all the actions: saved, taught, relieved fears, brought me safely this far, will lead me to heaven, promised good, secures hope. 

The only thing we do is sing God’s praises forever.

Amen.

There are many different “Read the Bible in a Year” plans out there.  Most of them begin with Genesis in the first week and end up the year with the book of Revelation.  Yesterday, I actually finished the year’s prescribed readings with Revelation 22 on the last day of December.

What a great chapter!  In the readings way back at the beginning of 2013, creation and the curse were introduced in the first three chapters of Genesis.  God made everything GOOD, but Adam and Eve disobeyed and caused every created thing to be affected by the curse, as punishment for their sin.  But now, the new heaven and new earth have arrived and the curse is lifted in Revelation 22.3.

The chapter mentions some of the grand plan of history that God has weaved together to get from Genesis curse to Revelation re-creation. 

Jesus is described as the Lamb (verse 3), tying together a key theme of the Old Testament legal system instituted by God for the nation of Israel – a sacrifice of an unblemished animal was necessary to take away sin.  The death of Jesus as the perfect, spotless lamb was able to accomplish for all time what the regular animal sacrifices could only do temporarily.

Jesus says of himself in verse 16, “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”  Jesus is the key player and is the promised messiah of the line of David.  He is also before David (the root) and indeed was with God at creation – verse 13 says of Jesus, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

And the author of Revelation testifies in verse 8, “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.”  This same John was one of the apostles called to be witnesses of what they had seen and heard of Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection.  Christians ever since have been proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, that his death on the cross takes away our sin.  And that good news will continue into the future for those who believe in Jesus, when He returns and ushers in the new heaven and new earth, with no more pain or tears.

The last chapter of the Bible builds on the Old and New Testament law, prophets, gospels, and epistles to let us know that reading the Bible in a year has a wonderful ending!

The staff at our church put together a brief gospel document, “The Story,” as part of our evangelism training several years ago. It uses six “C” topics to cover God’s redemption plan: Creation, Curse, Christ, Cross, Re-Creation, and Commitment.  Maybe some in the congregation were uncomfortable with “another tract,” Maybe some were leery that it would be too simplistic – too much milk and not enough meat, and of course some were disappointed that Re-Creation starts with an “R.” 

Contrary to the objections, I have found The Story to be a foundational launching pad for preaching the gospel to myself and to others. There is a one-page description of each of the six topics, ending with God’s good news being “for those who turn from their sin and put their trust in Jesus. None of us deserves God’s mercy, but we can get right with God through Jesus Christ.”  Each word also has its own page, with a longer explanation and scriptural references. And the booklet concludes with an invitation to weigh your response to the good news and then next steps if you are attracted to or believe the message.

                The Story’s six words and basic descriptions are easily memorized, providing an anchoring gospel focus anywhere.  Exploring the references, like any Bible study, leads to a deeper, more profound appreciation of the wisdom of God.  And the timeline approach allows a nice categorization for additional Bible passages.  The organizing is not just for adding more information; it allows one to pull out a portion that fits the current conversational context and then tie the conversation tightly to the basic Christian core, like Paul does so many times in Acts and his epistles.   It has been a pleasure to build on 6 C’s with a little meat and explore lots of messages with seasoned meat in each.

For four hundred years the Israelites had been looking for the Messiah.  The four Gospels describe many people whose hearts and minds were touched to let them know the Messiah has come, even when the Savior was just an infant.

 Mary, the mother of Jesus received a startling angelic announcement, and she sang a great song. She was the virgin predicted in Isaiah 7.14.  Her betrothed, Joseph, had a dream (and another dream later, to help keep the baby safe) letting him know that Mary was chosen by God; she was faithful; she would be a good mom; and he should marry her.   Mary’s cousin Elizabeth knew about Jesus because her own special in-utero baby, who would become John the Baptist, was jumping up and down.  The Magi from the East started their journey well before the birth, following a star that led them to Jerusalem, and then learning about Bethlehem because the Jewish scholars knew Micah 5.2.  Shepherds out in the field received a double angel treat – the announcer angel scared them wide awake and told them where to look for the baby, and then the whole chorus shows up to sing God’s praises.  And two mostly-retired people were in the temple when the infant Jesus was brought in for circumcision.  Simeon was waiting for the Lord’s Christ, and the prophetess Anna recognized that the redeemer had come. 

 The Holy Spirit worked in a multitude of marvelous ways – angel announcements, plus a back up choir; dreams; stars; prophecies from scripture and prophets listening; and a bouncing baby boy.  All these people told their stories, remembered what happened, and treasured the events in their hearts. But the general populace did not catch on or make a big deal (except maybe Herod, who tried to have the baby killed, thus fulfilling Jeremiah 31.15) because the time for that had not yet come.   The Messiah had been announced and everyone still had to wait a bit.

The three-word gospel  regularly reiterated by John the Baptist and Jesus:  Repent and Believe. John the Apostle puts some flesh on the bare bones in the first chapter of his letter named, appropriately, 1 John. 

First, what are we to Believe?  In verses 1-4, John makes the case that the historical, real-life, we saw him, touched him and listened to him Jesus is the Son of the eternal Father God!   Believe in HIM. Realize His majesty and Glory; worship Him as God; acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior just as the apostles and first believers have done.  Join the fellowship of believers.

Second, what are we to Repent about?  Verses 5-10 emphasize that God is light and can tolerate no darkness, sin, or unrighteousness.  You must acknowledge that you have sinned – “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  Even worse, if we way we have not sinned, we are calling the One True God of the Universe a liar (verse 10)! 

But the Good News about the nature of sin is contained in verse 9:  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Confession leads to forgiveness and cleansing, which leads not only to fellowship with other believers but with God the Father and God the Son.

So, Repent and Believe is a call to confess sin, receive forgiveness, and join in the fellowship offered by the risen savior Jesus Christ.

Paul delivers a long-ish gospel message to the people in Pisidian Antioch in Acts 13.16-43.  He starts with Old Testament history, to get to David, the ancestor of the Messiah Jesus.  Then he fills in some gaps of the bare-bones “first importance” message of 1 Corinthians 15.3-6.

 

 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,”

Paul tells Antioch that the rulers and people in Jerusalem did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and did not understand what the prophets said, even though the scriptures were read every Sabbath in the synagogue.  So the rulers fulfilled what the prophets predicted by condemning Him – Pilate ordered Jesus executed and the Romans carried it out.

Paul also notes that through Jesus forgiveness of sins is proclaimed, and begs them not to be scoffers at this amazing news, citing the prophet Habakkuk.

“that he was buried,”

They took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.

that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”

Paul says that even though Jesus was laid in a tomb, God raised him from the dead.  Paul uses Psalms 2 and 16 to show how the psalms predict the holy one will not see corruption.

“and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

Paul proclaims how Jesus appeared for many days to those who had come from Galilee, who were now His witnesses.

Then Paul proclaims the good news, “that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus.” And, “by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”

On that day, some believed and some did not, just as Habakkuk had predicted.

Paul’s presentation shrewdly makes use of the knowledge his hearers have of the law and the prophets, and the good news message covers all the items of first importance.

This melodious song from the 1980’s touches all the aspects of the gospel.  Jesus, God’s Son, was sent by the Father to redeem mankind.  His death (on the cross) as a willing sacrifice (Lamb of God) provides hope for sinners, particularly salvation for those who believe in Him. The Holy Spirit still works, even after Jesus’ death.  The great reward awaiting believers is to see the Glory of God and Jesus in heaven.

There is a redeemer, Jesus, God’s own Son,

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One.

Refrain:

Thank you oh my Father, for giving us your Son,

And leaving your Spirit ‘til the work on earth is done.

 

Jesus my Redeemer, name above all names,

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Hope for sinners slain.

 

When I stand in Glory, I will see His face,

There I’ll serve my King forever, in that Holy Place

 

Writer: Melody Green

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

The curse is so bad, so pervasive, and so full of deceit that people don’t recognize its awful nature.  Romans 3.10-18 gives a devastating summary of the effects of the curse on ALL people. A sampling of the verses pulled in from six different psalms, a proverb, and a chapter each from Isaiah and Ecclesiastes includes:  “None is righteous; they have become worthless; no one does good; the venom of asps is under their lips; in their paths are ruin and misery; there is no fear of God before their eyes.”  It is much worse than needing a hand slap or a brief timeout to get our thoughts together; we’re talking about being the source of ruin, misery, and snake poison! 

Even worse, there is no effort, improvement plan or rehabilitation program that will make us any better. Realize the encompassing nature of the basic 10 commandments, and meditate for a moment on your inability this day to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength.” We can’t get ahead on the goodness scale, we will be held accountable to a God who is more holy than we can imagine. We’re dead.

But once we realize our miserable status, Romans 3.21-26 reveals the good news! The central historical act of Jesus offering his life on the cross as a sacrifice sets in motion a boatload of theological vocabulary, each of which is wonderful for us who believe.  There is justification – the righteousness of God is available by His grace as a gift! There is redemption – a paying of the price for our continual law-breaking!  There is propitiation – God’s wrath is satisfied!  There is forgiveness – wiping the slate clean now and in the future through faith in Jesus Christ! 

Bottom line, the just and holy God provides a means to remove the curse from his people.  You might complain about all the high-priced theological words, but we don’t even realize the desperation of our cursed nature until we hear all the components of the Good News.