TURN AND RECEIVE

As I see it, there are two purposes for prophecy in the Bible. Prophecy informs man as to what will take place in the future, and, prophecy serves to verify, or authenticate, events that have already taken place. Today, Christians look forward to the Second Coming of Christ (Jn. 14:1-3; 1Thes. 4:13-18; etc.). And, the Gospel is a perfect example of the Word verifying what has already taken place; notice it says, "according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

Based upon the Old Testament promise to David (2 Sam. 7:12), the Jews were expecting their Messiah, the Son of David, to come as a mighty King (Matt. 1:1; 12:23; 21:9, 15; 22:42; Mk. 11:10; 12:35; Lk. 3:31; Jn. 1:41; 4:25; Acts 1:6; etc.). Apparently, their eagerness to escape from a seemingly endless series of conquering empires caused them to miss those prophecies which foretold the sacrificial death of their Messiah (Ps. 22; Isa. 53; Dan. 9:26). After His Resurrection, Jesus explained that He would appear twice, once as a sacrificial Passover Lamb, and a second time as the King for whom they so longed (1 Cor. 5:7; Lk. 24:26-27, 44-45; Jn. 14:1-3; Acts 1:11).

The period between Christ's two appearances is known as the Church Age. In this age, the Holy Spirit is bringing both bad news, and good news. The bad news is, men are lost sinners. The Spirit is working to bring man under conviction concerning his sin, and to make him aware of his need for a Savior (Jn. 16:8-11). The good news is, Jesus died so that men could be saved from the penalty of their sin (1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:4; 1 Jn. 2:2; 4:10).

Scripture also is prophetic in that it tells us the bad news as to what will happen to those who fail to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In John 8:24, we read, " I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I Am He, ye shall die in your sins." For those who turn to Jesus for forgiveness of sin, He is Faithful and Just to forgive (remit) our sins, and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness (Lk. 24:47; 1 Jn. 1:9). Luke 24:47 speaks of man's repentance (turning from sin to Jesus), and the Lord's remission (from the word, "remit" meaning "forgiveness or pardon from sin"). Both are to be preached!

Some people, wanting to make sure that those considering accepting the Lord's offer of forgiveness know that salvation is a gift and cannot be earned or merited, fear by adding the necessity of repentance for salvation, we are saying man contributes to his own salvation. This could not be further from the truth. The Holy Spirit convicts a man of his sin, and points him to Jesus. When a man believes he is lost and that Jesus has died that he might be saved, he has a choice; he can reject the free gift of eternal life, or he can turn from going down the path to destruction, and seek to please the One who loves him.

The Lord is holding out His nail-pierced hands with the free gift of salvation;
turn to Him and take it.