There is a Prerequisite
Within his fallen, carnal, sinfulness, fallen man is unable to please God. It is impossible. A lost sinner might strive to do ‘good’ deeds, to share with others, to be kind, to even go the extra mile, but at the end of all ‘good’ actions, the fallen one who is lost to God only pleases other men, not the Lord. As he is, the lost one walks toward death and separation, not life eternal with the Lord. Rather than pleasing God, the lost one remains in his sins, a slave in fact to Satan, the deceiver and liar to all men.
Thus, there can be seen (internally) a huge distinction between a lost sinner and a forgiven sinner. The apostle Paul records these words of the Spirit to help us see the truth.
“and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 8: 8-9 NASB)
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and as such, Christians across the world will focus upon their morality and sinfulness, which separated them from Almighty God—
BEFORE they confessed their sins against Holy God &
BEFORE they gave their hearts to Jesus &
BEFORE they asked Jesus to save them from their sins to become their Lord.
To mark the significance of this High Holy Day, many Christians will attend services and place the mark of a cross made with ash across their foreheads. Pause to see in your mind a sanctuary filled with people, all bearing an ash cross on their foreheads, all in community with one another as redeemed sinners, once lost but now found.
In the Bible, we read of a man who was curious about Jesus, and since he had heard Jesus was going to pass by, this man decided to climb a tree to see, for he was a short man. Perched at the top of a sycamore tree, he saw with clarity. The miracle was not that Zaccheus was curious to see Jesus; the glorious miracle was that Jesus called him by name, even when Zaccheus was lost in his sins. The physician Luke wrote these words given by the Holy Spirit to help us understand.
“Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was,
(The Gospel According to Luke 19: 3-5 NASB)
and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.
So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, [to see Jesus]
for He was about to pass through that way.
When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him,
“Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
Truly, there is a prerequisite to community of forgiven sinners. Dust to Dust. Ash to Ash. We are born to one day die. A morbid thought, yes, but one of truth. We share this fact as humans, and we cannot outrun or escape—DEATH. The comment that we are born to die, unfortunately and fortunately, is a true statement. For the lost sinner, the path of life only leads to death, to hell, to total separation from God for all eternity. For the forgiven sinner, the path of life leads to life after earthly death, to heaven, and to glorious worship of the Lord for all of eternity.
Zaccheus was curious about Jesus & so he strove to SEE JESUS.
Zaccheus was known by Jesus. We know this man was saved that day because the Bible tells us so.
“And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.”
(The Gospel According to Luke 19: 6 NASB)
There is an urgency; we are walking daily toward our death, headed to our demise. We need a Savior. Today, Ash Wednesday becomes a time of reflection upon our own morality and sinfulness, upon who we once were and who we now have become in Jesus.
Without the Lord, we were lost, and the curses of sin and death remained on us. BUT, Hallelujah, when Jesus is ‘received’ into our hearts, when He becomes our Savior, and as He sends His Spirit to dwell within us—then we are HIS FOREVERMORE.
“And Jesus said to him,
(The Gospel According to Luke 19: 6 NASB)
“Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Yes, there is a prerequisite to the community of forgiven sinners. One Must Receive Jesus!
As the apostle Paul reminded us, when a person is dead in his flesh, he cannot please God; however, God saw fit to send Jesus from Heaven to earth to die a sacrificial death on the cross, to make the only way for man to know God. This is the most wonderful news, the Good News of Jesus, and once a person has given his heart to Jesus, his life is secure through the Spirit of God, who dwells deep within a person’s being—FOREVERMORE.
“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 8: 9-11 NASB)
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
But if the Spirt if Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Ash Wednesday, a High Holy Day when we remember what Christ Jesus has done for us on the cross and in the grave.
Ash Wednesday, the opening day of Lent, a Holy Season as we fast and walk toward Resurrection Sunday, toward Easter.
Ash Wednesday, the day we pause to look back at who we were BEFORE Jesus and to see who we are now BECAUSE of JESUS.
A lost sinner might strive to do ‘good’ deeds while living here on earth, but fallen man cannot please God because IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO WORK ONE’S WAY INTO HEAVEN.
WE MUST BE SAVED.
“O sing to the LORD a new song,
(The Psalms 98: 1-2 NASB)
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
The LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.”
TO GOD BE THE GLORY, FOR WHAT GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!
JOY TO THE WORLD, LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING!
LET EVERY HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM!