February 7, 2018

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE

TO BE MY MEDIATOR (part 2)

I Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Notice the math in these verses. One God, one mediator, and one Christ, but a ransom for “all”. I guess it would be appropriate to say Christ was the righteous ransom. After all, that is what God demanded. Our problem is that “..there is none righteous, no not one”. That means if we are all sinners, and we are, that none of us are righteous. And if Christ was just going to pay the ransom for one of us, it would have cost the same price as it would for all of us. Think about it, it would take the same to redeem just one of us, as it would for all of us. (Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.)

The most powerful words in verse five, “..there is one God”. The most hopeful words, “..one mediator between God and men”. The most unbelievable words in verse five are hard to comprehend; “who gave himself”. Nobody took His life, He willingly gave it. Remember the verses yesterday from Hebrews nine, Jesus offered Himself to God. Jesus gave Himself “to” God, but He gave Himself “for” us. No one made Jesus come, and no one made Jesus die. He gave Himself for every single one of us. He “gave Himself a ransom for all”.

What a wonderful word, “all”. It is free of favoritism, inconsistency, and hypocrisy. Jesus did not just die for a particular race, or group of people. That word is full of fairness, kindness, sacrifice, and love. That means He loves us all the same, treats us all the same, and gives to us all the same. It would be horrible to have a mediator that only wanted to represent, or negotiate for certain people. What Jesus is and did means that each of us received preferential treatment. He did not give to those who had given to Him. We were people that had nothing to give Him. We did not earn it, we don’t deserve it, and are nowhere near worthy of it.

We are told, however, that this was “to be testified in due time”. Look at these verses.
I I Corinthians 5:14 “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again”. Jesus ransomed us, and now we through a grateful heart should commit to serve the one who mediated on our behalf. We serve by testifying to others of what Christ did for us on the cross, and out of the grave. Maybe it is now “due time”.

Let us seek out someone today and testify to them of the mediating sacrifice that Christ paid. Praise God I am persuaded that He is able to mediate, now let us testify and persuade others of the same. Time is over due.