Behold, the Lamb
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ~John 1:29 {ESV}
Growing up, I attended church, heard the Bible read and learned the stories that were taught in Sunday School. I went to Vacation Bible School, was in the choirs and Christmas pageants. In all of that I never learned or understood that I was separated from God because of my sin. The words “born again” were not spoken.
Sometimes I wonder if I heard truth and dismissed it or if I never heard it. No one wanted to offend anyone with the thought of sin – even children who didn’t know Christ as Savior were too precious to bother with God’s revealed hatred of it.
When the Lord first got my attention it was with the revelation that He is real and was listening to my prayers. But then, He revealed my sin. That was years ago. What I now understand is that if He had not shown me, I would never have seen it. It is His grace that convicts us of sin so we will turn to Him for forgiveness.
From very early in the Bible we see that God is the Savior of His people. (2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 106:21; Isaiah 43:3) Sometimes God was saving them from enemies and sometimes from His judgment on their rebellion (sin) against Him.
Jesus came as a baby in a manger. Shepherds and Magi came to see and worship Him. We know they understood the prophecies that a baby would be born in Bethlehem and that He would be the son of a virgin, and their Savior, the Messiah.
I am not at all sure that they understood He came “to save them from their sin” (Matthew 1:21 ESV). They were living under men like Herod, who were willing to kill all boys in Bethlehem under the age of two, rather than bear the threat to his throne. They were looking for a King who would save them politically.
Do most people know that Jesus came to save them from their sins? I had heard these words but didn’t think they applied to me. After all, I was a good person. In my pride, I didn’t see myself as a sinner. I didn’t think the word sin applied to me.
In His grace, God has shown me how wrong I was. (And, He’ll show you if you ask Him.)
In a world where we applaud everything a child does, we may be promoting this “I’m a good person” problem. Most of our culture thinks that if they haven’t murdered anyone or robbed a bank that they are not sinners.
The Word of God differs, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10).
The truth is that we all have Christ’s blood on our hands because he died to pay the debt for our sin (The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23). If we believe we have no sin (or not enough to condemn us to Hell), then we eliminate the need for our Savior.
[tweetshare tweet=”If we believe we have no sin (or not enough to condemn us to Hell), then we eliminate the need for our Savior. ~Beth Bingaman” username=”Grace_and_Such”]
In order to worship God, we must “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 ESV). This includes our very own sin.
To “Behold” is to worship, to see Christ for who the scriptures say He is, to love Him by obeying His commands (John 14:15). Without Him, we can do nothing. That includes making our own decision that we will go to heaven. If you are convicted of sin, you know the call of God.
Will we worship Him for His grace and mercy poured out on every sinner who repents? What a Savior!
I love serving Jesus Christ as one who “feeds His sheep”. It is my desire to teach God’s Word diligently, with reverence and awe for the Source of the truths I teach, and with an engaging, and sometimes witty, delivery so that the hearers will not just listen but do what it says.
- For Our Good - February 12, 2020
- Future Benefits - January 8, 2020
- Attention Getting Behavior - October 16, 2019
What a Savior, indeed, Beth! Thanks for sharing. Come let us worship Him now!