Tuesday 16 May 2023

May 16: John 16:5-11

Key Verse: John 16:8
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement:

Devotion:
I’m not quite sure what I would have been thinking if I were in the place of the disciples when Jesus first said this. When Jesus first told them He was going to be betrayed, taken away and then leave them, they must have thought all manner of things. Why would their Messiah have to leave them! But when they thought about what the scriptures had been telling them for so long already, their minds must have been in turmoil!

Ours is not to wander why Jesus left the disciples, but to wander why this had to be done in the first place. That is when we should be looking back on ourselves and this world we live in. The three points Jesus raises need to be remembered by us to make sense of what happened so many years ago with the disciples.

The outcome of this all was to make people see the real sin is not believing in Christ. Because of what He has already done for us, there is no other sin which is too great to be forgiven by Him! As much as people tried to be righteous, they failed and changed the rules to suit themselves. God does not change the rules and only righteous people get to go to heaven. And finally, the god of this world, Satan, has already been defeated!

When we put that all together we begin to realise we have to believe in Christ because that is the only way we will be permanently forgive of our sins. When we are forgiven, we are counted as righteous. The judgement for our righteousness comes from Christ alone, the one who stands as judge over us all from the beginning of time to the end!

Points to Ponder:
Do you share your beliefs with others?

How will others get to heaven without knowing these things?