Rescue from Sin - Part 1

This week, Michael asks: What's the cost of not following our Lord Jesus Christ? What's the value of God's saving grace? Do people realize that they are lost in sin on the highway to Hell? The Gospel message of salvation is a rescue mission for desperate men and women. Rescue means to save from danger, to deliver from a desperate condition by force if necessary. The spiritual battle is to rescue the hearts, minds souls of desperate people who have come to the realization that, "I have found the enemy and it is me and my sin."

In the book of Mark, a rich young ruler had asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus said, "Go sell all of your possessions, give the proceeds to the poor and come follow me". The man left sorrowful and grieving because he had many riches.  He had forgotten the first commandment: “You shall have no other Gods before me.”  Like many Americans, this rich young ruler worshipped another God...  His God was the almighty dollar. The message of the gospel of the good news of salvation is a message of deliverance from the bondage of sin and death. Desperate men and women are ready to turn from the darkness of our fallen sinful nature and unto the glorious light of the gospel of Truth. To be desperate means to be moved by extreme anxiety and motivated by hopelessness and frustration. God will humble those He has called. He will bring us to our knees to the point that we realize that "in my flesh dwells no good thing."

Luke 19:1-10is the story of Jesus' encounter with another rich man. His name was Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, who received a cut from the other tax collectors in his district. He was desperate to see Jesus but he was "vertically challenged", so he ran ahead of the crowd as Jesus approached and climbed up into a sycamore tree. Even though Zacchaeus had many riches and lacked nothing in this world, he was desperate for the Way, the Truth and the Life. He was desperate to see Jesus. God had prepared Zacchaeus' heart. The beatitudes say that "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled."  Zacchaeus was full of material blessings, but he knew Jesus had something he lacked. He was hungry for the things of the spirit of God. Zacchaeus threw dignity to the wind and climbed up into a tree to see Jesus.

The word Zacchaeus means "righteous one." However, he was despised and hated by the Jews. As the chief tax collector in his district, the people considered him a "turncoat." He worked for the Roman government and taxed his own people. In the process, he impoverished them while enriching himself. Finally, he came to the realization that he did not live up to his namesake. Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus, whose reputation had proceeded him. He was desperate to follow the true righteous One.

Let's continue Michael's "Rescue" message in the next post.

In Christ, Brian