Love took our place

Romans 9:1-5

For God so loved you and me that He gave His only Son, to take our place on the cross, to take His full anger and wrath out on Him who knew no sin, and by being our stand-in Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves, and that is love beyond my understanding!  In John 14:20, Jesus tells you and I the following: “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”  But to whom is He talking, to all who by faith have bowed their knee to Him and confessed sins seeking forgiveness from the Father through the blood that was shed to cover our sin.

So we have the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans explaining the love God has put into his heart for his brothers, his kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.  As we read Romans 9:1-5, stop and listen to the love God who lives in Paul is saying to not only those Israelites, but also to you and me.  “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”

Paul understood the ramifications of the above statement, he fully grasped that Jesus Christ paid a debit we could not pay, and yet when he saw the rejection of his own people, the chosen people of God, to the Messiah who came to buy them out of sin and death, he was willing if it were possible to take their place.  What is the significance of Paul’s statement?

He was willing to go to a place we refer to as hell, the Greek used the word “Gehenna” the place of punishment and Scripture has many references to it. Shall we look at a few?  In the Revelation 14:9-11, this is what the apostle John heard; “Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." 

Words from the apostles concerning the future of those who reject the gift of the Father, let us look at a few; the apostle Paul in Romans 2:8, “but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”  You may be wondering what was Paul willing to do for his people, what was this wrath he was willing to endure?  Look at Revelations 20:15, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” 

The Father nor the Son has ask you to take anyone else’s place only to love those who are heading for a place of separation from the love of God, a place of utter darkness where the one will not die but live in torment for eternity.  A quote from C.T. Studd about God’s calling on his life has stayed in my mind:   

“Some wish to live within the sound
Of Church or Chapel Bell.
I want to run a rescue shop
within a yard of Hell.

I can easily see why the folks at home want to eliminate Hell from their theology, preaching and thought. Hell is indeed awful unless it’s preaching is joined to a life laid down by the preacher. How can a man believe in Hell unless he throws away his life to rescue others from its torment? If there is no Hell, the Bible is a lie. If we are willing to go to Hell on earth for others, we cannot preach it.

I am getting desperately afraid of going to heaven for I have had the vision of the shame I shall suffer as I get my first glimpse of the Lord Jesus; His majesty, power and marvelous love for me, who treated Him so meanly and shabbily on earth, and acted as though I did Him a favor in serving Him! No wonder God shall have to wipe away the tears off all faces, for we shall be broken-hearted when we see the depth of His love and the shallowness of ours.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice