by Richard Mansel

Being separated from God because of our sins, we do not have access to him for remission of our trespasses (Isaiah 59:1,2). We can do nothing to be reconciled to God on our own. We do not have an "intercessor" (Isaiah 59:16) to bring us back to God. God will not even hear us because our lives are dominated by sinful pursuits.

However, God is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV). John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Ezekiel 18:23 says, "Do I have any pleasure that the wicked should die? And not that he should turn from his ways and live?"

God looked and found a Redeemer in his son, Jesus the Christ. Becoming the "captain" of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10, KJV), Jesus bridged the impassable river and delivered us to God.

Paul writes in Romans 5:8,9, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

Because we chose to sin, we became "enemies" of God. We were supposed to die for our sins. We were God's enemies and we are told that when Christ returns he will "take vengeance on those who know not God" (1 Thessalonians 1:8). We would be swept away into eternal destruction (Matthew 25:46).

But God had too much love for us and provided an avenue of escape.

Jesus died for us even though our sins put him on the cross. We could never remove his blood from our hands no matter how we tried. The classic hymn says, "there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath the flood lose all their guilty stains" ("There is a Fountain," lyrics by William Cowper).

Because of this "indescribable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15), we now have the opportunity to come to Jesus for this redemption. We do so by accepting that Jesus is the source of our salvation (John 8:24). Then we must repent that we have sought salvation in any other source (Acts 17:30). We must confess him as the new Lord of our life (Romans 10:9,10). Finally, we must die as he did and be baptized for the remission of our sins (Romans 6:3,4; Acts 2:38). When we are born again (John 3:3-5), we arise with the blood removed from our hands.

As scripture asks, "how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). How can we enter heaven for all eternity if we are not willing to admit Christ is the source of our salvation? How can we look for another redeemer and still be pleasing to God?

Jesus once asked the apostles if they were going to leave him as the disciples did. Peter responded, "to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life?" (John 6:68).

If we are "in Christ" we have access to God through Jesus. He has brought us to his father and petitions him with our prayers (1 John 2:1). We will live with him in this life and dwell with him forever in eternity (Revelation 3:20; John 14:1-3).