False Security

TITLE: False Security
DATE:  November 5, 2019
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Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed.

TEXT:Matthew 27:24  - ESV-  24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent.”

The youngster came up to a group of adults blowing his new trumpet.

Everyone was in agreement, the lad was to be commended. His persistent and continuous attempts at getting a tune out of the instrument was an admirable personal quality. Yes, everyone was in agreement that it was cute... for a whole two minutes they were in agreement.

After that, the opinions quickly deteriorated with the majority of people casting their vote to melt the trumpet down. Naturally that feeling was unspoken. As mature adults they held their points of view in check and smiled.

Except for one man, a neighbor who said, "Nice instrument you have there. What is it?" "A trumpet!" announced the boy.

 "You don't say. And what's inside your trumpet that lets you play all those notes?" asked the neighbor. "I don't know," replied the lad, looking inside. With a smile, the neighbor jokingly (I assume) said,

"Tell you what. In my garage is a screwdriver. Why don't you get it and find out."

You might laugh at the neighbor's devious suggestion. Just like Pilate may have laughed when he washed his hands of Jesus' death. In so doing the governor felt he was getting himself off the hook. "After all", Pilate must have smugly reasoned, "The Jews will have what they want, and my hands will be clean of Jesus' blood."

Thinking you are smart enough to avoid sin's punishment is the most pitiful of ego trips.

Believing you are smarter than God, didn't work for Pilate and it doesn't work today.

• It doesn't work when people think they can live a "good" life and escape judgment day.
• It doesn't work when people put off believing in the Savior until a later time which never comes.

God's two-fold word is still in force: "the soul that sins will die" and "by grace you are saved, through faith."

There is no earthly way that we humans can atone for our sins on our own power. Left to our own devices we are doomed and damned. All that waits for us at the end of our life is condemnation for our past misdeeds and transgressions.

At least that’s the way it would have been if the Lord had not had mercy on our miserable condition. Seeing our plight the Heavenly Father decided that His Son would enter the world and offer Himself as our Divine Substitute.

To do that Jesus’ days among us were committed to

• A perfect fulfillment of the law,
•  a total rejection of Satan’s, and the world’s temptations
•  a complete fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah
•  and the defeat of death through His glorious third-day resurrection from the dead.

All this the Savior has done so we don’t have to try and wash our hands, and our souls, of sin.

THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I'm glad that You have given me my brains. I thank the Spirit for telling me I'm saved by Your blood, and not by those brains. In Your Name. Amen.

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html