Fall Creek Christian Church

"Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God -- something the Jewish law could never do." Acts 13:38-39 As all the rest of the potential jurors were being interviewed by the defense and the prosecution, I tried to keep my mind occupied. I imagined the scene of the defendant's arrest and how his attorney was going to try to present a case for his innocence. I then thought about what this newly formed jury would decide. As it turns out ... guilty. In our verses for the day, Paul speaks of the courtroom of heaven. He was telling the people that their trip before the divine judge didn't have to end with a guilty verdict. He assumed they all knew they had done wrong -- "...your sins." He tells them the turning point of the trial is what they (what we) do with the person of Jesus. Belief in him results in forgiveness, freedom and the declaration, "Not ...

"He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy.  He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit.  He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did.  He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness.  And now we know that we will inherit eternal life."      Titus 3:5-7 As I leaned over to grab my ankles, a wide variety of thoughts raced through my 13 year old mind ... "Is this going to hurt?  I'd rather not be here.  Is this really happening?  What will my parents think when they find out?"  Whack!! Ouch!  My inquiry as to the painfulness of getting a swat from my burly history teacher was rather convincingly answered.  While reflecting on this particularly vivid memory, I notice that at no time then or since then did I ever think or say, "I'm innocent!  This punishment is an injustice!"  Nope.  Never. ...