Jesus of Nazareth is the only Man in eternity who can say to everyone, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth" (Isa. 45:22).
To "look" means the same as "behold."
(a) John the Baptist lifted his voice and "cried" saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
(b) To "look" in the sense of "behold" is to look earnestly with faith which is a heart appreciation of who Jesus is and what He has done and what He has given to "every man."
(c) The apostle Paul was at his keenest best in his thinking when he wrote Romans chapter five:
(d) "God's act of grace is out of all proportion to Adam's wrongdoing. For if the wrongdoing of that one man brought death upon so many, its effect is vastly exceeded by the grace of God and the gift that came to so many by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ" (see Rom. 5:15-21, New English Bible).
(e) Not one person in God's eternal kingdom will feel or will say that he deserves to be there.
(f) Salvation is totally by the grace of the Lord Jesus, yes, and by the grace of the Father.
(g) The sacrifice of Christ has made it possible for the Father to treat "every man" as though he has never sinned! This is monumental grace!
(h) To "believe" in Jesus is not the same as believing that 2 + 2 = 4; it is the human heart appreciating what it cost the Son of God to save us--He died our second death. He looked ahead of Himself down a tunnel which had no light at the end of it.
(i) Jesus did not simply go to sleep for a weekend (if you or I had suffered the physical agony of crucifixion, we would want to sleep for a weekend!).
(j) No, He went to hell and suffered the agony of hell--that was what it meant to die our second death!
(k) We are just little children, all of us, in our understanding! May the Lord be gracious and permit us to grow!
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
