Who are you going to call? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in 1 Timothy 2:5-6,

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people."

"The man Christ Jesus" is the one mediator between us and God. Just as there is only one God, so there is only one mediator. What is a "mediator?" Merriam-Webster defines it as someone who acts as an "intervening agency." An "in-between."

Why do we need a mediator? Paul tells us that the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. The death spoken of here is an eternal death following this life. It is an eternal death that we all face. It is to be cast into an outer darkness due to God's judgment of us as sinners. In Revelation 21:8, it is to be cast into a "fiery lake of burning sulfur." Paul further tells us we are all sinners, Romans 3:23, therefore we all need a mediator between us and God as our judge if we are to avoid this judgment.

Jesus Christ is uniquely qualified as a mediator on our behalf. We are told he "gave himself as a ransom for all people." Which people? "All people", 1 Timothy 2:6. Jesus Christ came to offer himself as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for all the sins of all people!

I notice that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and mankind. "One mediator" just as there is "one God." My pastor didn't die for me, he did not secure God's forgiveness of my sins. Only Jesus Christ has done that. My pastor is not a mediator between me and God. The pope did not die for me, he did not secure God's forgiveness of my sins. The pope is not a mediator between God and me. No clergy ever died for my sins, therefore no clergy can mediate before God on my behalf.

Joseph Smith didn't, Mohammed didn't, Buddha didn't, Confucius didn't, John Calvin didn't, Joseph Arminius didn't, no one else, save Jesus Christ ever died to pay the penalty for my sins, no one else save Jesus Christ was qualified to pay that penalty for my sins, therefore no one else save Jesus Christ has traction with God as a mediator to save me from his wrath for my sins.

How about you? Just like me, you know you are a sinner. Who is going to stand in your behalf to save you from God's punishment for those sins? It is not going to be you or me, we are already guilty and not qualified to secure for ourselves God's forgiveness. It is not the clergy at our church, they can't mediate for us. Only Jesus Christ can secure God's forgiveness of our sins. Call to him.

There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com