“For He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world with justice through the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Acts 17:31
The past is paid for
This seems to be a very common occurrence when a person comes into the public eye because of a past indiscretion. Be it athletes, politicians, or entertainers, we have seen examples of someone falling from grace. Once past sins are brought to light, very few people in our society will have compassion. Social media will defame the person. Public opinion will soon turn against him. They may be blackballed by Hollywood or shunned by their political party. Chances are they will never recover or return to their previous state.
Deep down, we are all afraid that our past sins will eventually come back to bite us. It may be that this was done in some secret way which no one knows about. Maybe it was a sin committed out of passion, you know at some point it’s going to come to light, and you’ll have to answer for it. It is likely that whatever happened will eventually become known to others; It is just a matter of time. The fear of waiting for that other shoe to drop is real. We fear losing our job, reputation or relationships. Perhaps even more, we fear being punished by God for all eternity.
This would be our fate, except that someone had already answered God on our behalf. By offering Himself to die on the cross, Jesus already took both the blame and the punishment for our sins. He has paid for our sins and taken them away from us.
Yes, the day is coming when many will have to answer for their actions. But through faith in Jesus, we do not need to fear that day. The judge of that day will be the one who died and rose from the dead to save us. Thank God that through faith in Jesus we no longer have to answer for our sins!
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for answering my sins and removing them from me. Lead me not to fear the day of Your return. Amen.
Daily devotionals brought to you by WELS.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used with permission from Zondervan. All rights reserved world wide.
