CHRIST: THE DIVINE DESIRE
We all want to know the desire of God. What does God want from our lives? How may we please our creator? That is the most important consideration in the world. In comparison with this, what could possibly be considered important?
The Bible is a book that encourages sinners. We do not say that it encourages sin, for the whole problem that the Bible was written to deal with is the problem of sin. Nor do we mean that the Bible encourages sinners to keep sinning. Sin alienated us from God. Sin destroys the souls of men and women. Sin cost the Savior his life. There are not enough words in the human vocabulary to describe how bad sin is.
But if we read the Bible and do not see that God loves sinners, that God accepts sinners, and that sinners are the only people there are for him to love and accept, we miss the whole point of God’s revelation to us. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). The only hope and encouragement that we—sinners—have is in the gospel message of salvation through Christ.
“God proves His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). The love of God was shown “while we were sinners.” This forever proves that God’s love is not determined by our performance, for we have failed in every way at one time or another. God’s love is determined by who he is. God “justifies the ungodly” (Rom. 4:5) and that is all you have to be to qualify to come to Jesus.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible story is one of failure on the part of humanity, even the servants of God. Abraham failed, Moses failed, David failed, Peter failed, Paul failed, and on and on we could go. The failure of all of God’s people is contrasted with the sinless perfection of Jesus. That’s the reason we keep our eyes on him. He is the only one who got it right.
But the God who called sinners and redeemed them is the focus of the story, the God who is a friend to sinners who will come to him for forgiveness. Anyone who wants to come to God may do so. All it takes is a humble heart willing to admit your need for him, and you have an open invitation. You will never be turned away. Jesus Christ is the only perfect man to ever live upon the earth. The only one who never failed is the only hope for the rest of us who have.
To the lost of the world, the message of salvation is Jesus. By accepting Christ, you have the promise that all of your sins are gone. To the saved who get entangled in sin, God’s message is, “No matter how bad it is, no matter how far you have wandered, if you stop and come back to me, I will forgive you.”
Our God is a God of love and salvation. He is the reason that any of us have hope. He comes to us as we are, miserable and wretched, accepts us in his Son Jesus, and helps us turn our lives around. He is the God who hates sin, but he is the God who loves and redeems sinners.
Believers are called to uphold a certain standard of godliness and purity in this world. God’s word is filled with warnings against rejecting the way of holiness and righteousness in this life. We should remember the desire of God always has to do with our being conformed to the image of his Son. To meet God’s desire for our lives, several important considerations must be kept in mind.
First, we must trust in the name of Christ. The law of God has been kept to perfection by only one man—Jesus Christ. On your best day of law-keeping, you have not kept a fraction of God’s righteous requirements. Being saved on the basis of law means that we must be absolutely perfect all the time. “Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). Notice that the apostle says that Jesus is able to save. This is what he is capable of doing and this is what he does.
The angel said to Joseph, “You will call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Inherent in his very name is the fact that he is able to save. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). It is through the name of Jesus that salvation is found.
We should learn to say the name of Jesus in our hearts and mean it. When his name is close to our hearts, when we realize that salvation is based on the power of his name and our faith in all that his name represents, then we understand why the “gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).
He saves to the uttermost “those who come to God by him.” He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one “comes to the Father” except through him (John 14:6). It is Jesus “by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:2).
Learn to internalize the name of Jesus and rest your faith in the power of that name. All who are in Christ have the privilege of walking with God intimately. We must depend on him for every spiritual need, for everything in our lives. Everything you need to stand in a perfect relationship with God is found in the name of Jesus (Col. 1:28).
Second, there is no way we can earn salvation. Salvation is a free gift of God. You can only accept it. We do not keep the New Testament law as best we can in efforts to earn anything from God. The service he will accept from sinners is that which comes from a heart of thankfulness for the salvation he accomplished in his Son. His desire for us is that we trust entirely in Christ‘a work, not ours. Unless our works emanate from a heart of total reliance upon what Christ has done, they profit us nothing.
Third, God’s desire for our lives as his children can be summed up in one word: Christ. Jesus reveals God’s goal for our lives. It is a very ordered direction that God is taking us, and he has not withheld any information regarding his intention. Here it is: “For whom he did foreknow, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29).
If we are saved, there is a purpose for it. That purpose is to conform us to Christ. The image of Christ is the object and the destination for our lives.
Dewayne Dunaway
