THREE QUESTIONS
ONE evening, in November, 1975, as my cousin and I were on our
way to a local ballad session, looking forward to hearing good
music and meeting our pals, an unexpected event happened. On the
street I met a good friend of mine, whom I had not seen for quite
a long time. Unknown to me, this man, who was also from a Roman
Catholic background, had been converted some time previously. He
had felt led of the Lord to travel to Thurles, which was forty
miles from where he lived, to share the gospel message with me.
He told me that something wonderful had happened to him. He began
to explain to me that God had revealed Himself to him through the
Scriptures. He had read in the Bible that Christ had died on the
cross for him, as an individual.
He showed me some verses in the New Testament, and I read for
myself of how God so loved the world, and so loved me, that He
sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into this world to die
upon the cross for us. I read of how Jesus became my substitute,
my sin-bearer, and paid in full the penalty for the guilt of my
sin.
Now, I was amazed that God could so love me, a sinner, that He
would give His own Son, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, to
suffer and to die on my behalf.
My friend told me that he had a great assurance that his sins had
been forgiven, and knew he would go to Heaven when he died. This
assurance, this certainty, was based, he said, not upon what he
himself could do to earn or to merit salvation, but upon what
Christ had done on his behalf. This 'Good News' of Christ's work
on the sinner's behalf was, he told me, clearly outlined in the
Scriptures, and he encouraged me to read God's Word for myself.
I, who had been hoping for so many years that I could find this
assurance, and had been searching for it for so long, took my
friend's advice. With a heart that was hungering for the truth, I
began to search the Scriptures.
One of the first portions of the Bible I read dealt with issues
of great importance to me. I read: "For Christ did not enter
a man-made sanctuary, that was only a copy of the true one; He
entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.
Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way
the High Priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood
that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many
times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared
once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the
sacrifice of himself." 1
The words "He has appeared", caused me to ask three
questions: (1) Who? (2) Why? (3) How?
My first question was, "Who?; Who has appeared?" The
answer to this was that Christ Himself had appeared on the scene
of time. I saw this outlined very clearly as I read the following
words: "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent
forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption
of sons." 2 Yes, God the Son left the splendour of heaven,
and took upon Himself a human nature. This was clearly explained
as I read: "And The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father,) full of Grace and Truth." 3 This meant that God
the Son, one of the three persons in the Trinity, now had TWO
natures; a Divine nature, being Eternal God, and a human nature,
which He assumed, or took upon Himself.
My next question was, "Why?; Why had God the Son come to
earth?; for what purpose?" The answer to this question was
contained in the words I had read; "He appeared-to put away
sin-to do away with sin." This was so clear to me now as I
read these words.
Question number three was, "How?; How did He put away sin?
How did He do away with sin? How did he accomplish this?"
Again, the answer was contained in the words I had read; "He
appeared-to do away with sin,-by the sacrifice of Himself."
Here it was, so crystal clear in God's Word. Christ had come into
the world for a specific purpose-"To put away sin; to do
away with sin,"-and the way He accomplished this was
"by the sacrifice of Himself". What a great blessing
this was to me, a man who was searching for the truth, searching
for assurance of salvation. It was wonderful to read of how
Christ had actually dealt with sin, even my sin. He laid down His
life on the cross at Calvary and, by doing this, as my
substitute, He paid in full the penalty for the guilt of my sin.
Now, this is what my friend had been talking about when he spoke
of the wisdom of depending upon what Christ had done on his
behalf, rather than depending upon what he himself could do
through his own efforts or merits to earn salvation.
1. Hebrews 9:24-26.
2. Galatians 4:4-5.
3. John 1:14.
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