“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned…”

Romans 5:12 (NIV)

Nearing the end of your day, it has just been one of those days where nothing has gone your way at all. The doorbell rings and you answer it – it’s the police. As you open the door, they barge in and tell you that you are under arrest but do not actually mention the actual charges. They read you your rights as they put the handcuffs on and lead you toward the squad car. But this turn of events wouldn’t be like any other that you’ve seen in the movies or on your local news.

As you enter the garage of the station, something feels off. The stop the car and take you out. They don’t take you in for booking, but they do fingerprint you. They take you to a special underground room with one small light and tell you they’ll be back for you shortly. After some time passes, the Chief of Police arrives to talk. He grabs a chair and sits down. He looks at you intently for a few minutes causing you more anxiety with wondering what this could be all about. He starts by saying, “I know this is unusual, but your prints have returned to us and incredible amount of information – all against you. Therefore, we are taking you directly to a Judge where there will be no jury trial for these charges. The Judge will discuss everything when you see Him.” You obviously have a lot of dismay on your face and can’t believe what is happening and what you just heard.

As you’re brought into the courtroom, you notice that the room is completely empty except for you and the Judge who has two very large books in front of Him. After opening the first book, He looks down and asks you to stand at the desk in front of you. He takes a moment to look the book over then looks directly at you, as though He was peering into your soul. After what seems like a very long amount of time, but was actually a few minutes, He looks at you again and asks you a few questions in regards to your life – very personal questions that only you can know and answer – questions to the state of your heart and mind during very specific times in your life. You have an odd feeling that He already knows these answers for some reason but really can’t explain. So you answer, “Your Honor, I have no legitimate answers for you.” He leans back in His chair and takes another moment while seemingly looking straight through you. As He starts to close the book, He looks back at you directly in the eyes and says, “In leu of your answer, I hereby find you GUILTY of all charges against you.” You then fall backwards in your chair. He then states, “I will give you a moment to think about this verdict and then I will pronounce sentence.”

At that moment, the doors to the courtroom fly open and a Man, wearing clothes that look as from a homeless person with a dirty, bloody and beaten face, walks in and stands between you and the Judge. He looks back at you with eyes that are showing both love and compassion, but says no words to you. He looks back at the Judge and says, “Your Honor, I know that this person has done many wrongs in their life that have brought them to this moment and deserves the punishment You would pronounce. However, I see a person sitting there that does not know Me from the next person, but I would like to take their punishment and pay whatever price You would ask of Me for it.” The Judge then says, “Even death?” And He answers, “Yes, even death, if that is what You desire of Me.”

You can’t believe what you just heard! As He takes off His coat, you notice He has no shirt, but you take note of the long lashings (some showing bone beneath the flesh) that are bleeding on His back and the blood running over His eyebrows after removing His cap. He then removes His fingerless gloves and you again notice something strange – He has holes in both of His hands and a cut in His side. After removing His shoes, there you see two more holes, one in each foot. At this point, you’re feeling more confused and wondering what is going on here. Your heart is racing and you do everything to keep from breaking down because you hurt for the Man. You are having trouble processing that a stranger, who looks like this, would take that type of cruel and humiliating punishment for you. You tell yourself, “I don’t deserve this at all!”

All of a sudden, a sense of change has occurred in your chest and your eyes feel like they have been open for the first time. Then you see the Man take on a transformation, of sorts, standing there in a gleaming bright robe – as white and new as fresh fallen snow, only brighter. He turns to you and says, “You’re right, you don’t deserve what I am doing for you and you may not understand it now, but one thing is very true – I love you more than you could know or understand!! Do you believe in Me now?”

WHAT’S YOUR ANSWER?

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 53: 3-6 (NIV)

Now, why did I tell you this story? Because you ARE loved more than you could know or understand! This is a depiction of us standing before God at the end of days and being asked to give accountability for the sins in our lifetime. For those who believe in Jesus (God the Son) – that He died and God (God the Father) raised Him from the dead three days later where He ascended to heaven and sits at God’s right hand – our names are written in BOTH the books in front of the Judge, the first being a “Book of All Names” to which we ALL have chapters upon chapters accounting for every sin we have committed, and the second book being the “Book of Life” where truly believing in Jesus Christ allows your sins to be forgiven because of His blood shed on the cross and having true faith in His ascension allows us eternal heavenly life. We also allow Him to be seated on the throne of our heart through the Holy Spirit (God the Spirit) who begins to transform us from the inside out to reflect Jesus in our lives.

In the beginning, God created all non-human things and declared them “good”. After creating these non-human things, He chose to make a human in His image. He then declared the human “very good“. Now, what does being created in the “image of God” mean? Unlike animals, that have different sizes of brains and act purely on instinct, we are created in perfection with an inner spirit (our “soul”) that takes on that image of God – separating us from all other created things – allowing us to talk, think and make choices and decisions for ourselves of our own free will. God is a relational God and wants a relationship with us. THIS IS GOOD NEWS!

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned…”

Romans 5:12 (NIV)

The verse above refers to “one man” and that man was Adam. Because of sin entering through Adam, we are all condemned to die – physically – not spiritually. We have all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God and His perfection that we were originally created with. I believe that the spirit, or “soul”, that resides in us carries our life memories and events that we may or may not have repressed and forgotten about.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 20:11-15

The really bad news? We get to die twice! Yes, you read it correctly – TWICE. We, and I mean our souls, will be resurrected one way or the other – either condemned to Hell for rejecting God and all the good things He created, or to Heaven (repeating what I have already stated) for those who have called on the name of and received Christ Jesus in their hearts and have made Him the King of their life, believing that the Father raised Jesus from the dead and His human body sits at the right hand of God for eternity.

The really, really good news? God wants to save everyone of us! He died for our sins if we would, by faith, receive Him as Savior and Lord. To paraphrase Colossians 1:19-22: God was extremely pleased that all of His fullness dwelt in Christ, and through Christ, reconciled (redeemed/purchased) our lives back to Himself by making peace through Christ’s blood shed on the cross. We were once alienated from God and became enemies in our minds because of our evil behavior. But now we have been reconciled by Christ’s physical body through death to present us holy in God’s sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinner, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5: 6-8 (NIV)

What, then, are the consequences of believing and not believing? If we believe there really is no God or Creator, believers have nothing more than our hope to lose, then we get to live as everyone else does. HOWEVER, if there truly is a Creator God, and Jesus does exist in the flesh as a risen Savior, then those who refuse to believe or accept God have much, much more to lose.

“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”

1 Corinthians 15:13-14 (NIV)

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

1 Corinthians 15:17 (NIV)

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all died, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

1 Corinthians 15: 20-22 (NIV)

What is your answer? Are you still “Guilty” or can you accept that you have been “Purchased”?

Only you get to decide.