Christ's Death: Was It Good Enough?

Christ's Death: Was It Good Enough by Rob Marshall.

I was feeling very heavy and burdened, or as some people put it, I was depressed. The weight of my sin was hanging on me and I felt that I had to do something about it. My wife suggested that I meet with our pastor, so I called him and set up an appointment.

The pastor and I sat at the table as I began to outline to him why I was certain that God was punishing me. I had committed some sins and felt that God had allowed our son to die because I had been such a sinner. I had scripture references all lined up and I fully expected him to agree with me that, yes, I was a rotten, horrible sinner and God was angry with me.

But instead of agreeing with me, he looked across the table and asked, "What, wasn't Christ's death good enough for you?"

It hit me pretty hard, but I realized that he was right. God wasn't punishing me, I was punishing myself. God had forgiven me, but I had not forgiven myself.

In Galatians 3:3, Paul writes, "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" He was confronting the Galatians because they were falling into the mistake of believing that they needed to be circumcised and obey the Law of Moses. And when we look at Paul's statement, we can see that it has broad implications for us.

We may not be looking to be circumcised, or obey the law, but we might find ourselves believing that God only loves us when we read our Bible for an hour a day and pray for at least two hours each day. And while those things are good, and we should always want to spend more time with God, those things do not make us more righteous.

Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul talks about the righteousness that we have by faith in Christ (Philippians 3:8-9). Our righteousness is not our own, it is God's gift. God gives us His righteousness when we put our faith in Christ. There is nothing that we can do to earn it, and there is nothing that we can add to it, it is already perfect and complete.

We come boldly before God's throne because Jesus died for us and paid the price for our sins. We never have to be afraid, and we never have to try and earn His love. He loved us while we were still sinners, and as His children He loves us even more.

If you are in Christ, you have been given the most incredible gift, God's righteousness. Let the knowledge of His saving grace sink deeply into your heart, and know that God is working in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13). We never have to struggle and wonder about being good enough, because Christ was perfect, and we are perfect in Him.

When you feel that you have to try and earn God's love, or His favor, just ask yourself the question: Was Christ's death good enough for me? The answer should be a resounding: Yes!

About The Author

Rob Marshall is the author of "Taking On Goliath - How to Unleash the David in All of Us." Learn how you can unleash your faith and overcome any "Goliath" that may stand between you and your dreams. Get two free chapters from "Taking On Goliath" when you sign up for our free newsletter. Just visit: http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com

Don't Forget to Remember to Forget

Don't Forget to Remember to Forget by Gary Kurz

One of the greatest aspects of God's forgiveness for sins in Christ is the fact that he also forgets them. We have the assurance that he remembers our sins no more. He purposely and permanently puts them out of his memory and never revisits them.

We can conclude from God's example, that sometimes it is better to forget than to remember. It is apparent that Joseph understood this as Moses records in Genesis 41:51 "And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget…."

Joseph had suffered many terrible injustices in his young life. His own brothers hated him for no reason and sold him into slavery. He was accused of a crime he did not commit. He was thrown into prison for an undetermined amount of time. Surely Joseph could have been justifiably bitter. He could have lamented over all that had befallen him. He could have resented that God allowed great adversity and suffering in his life.

Instead, Joseph reached down inside of himself, where his faith was housed, and found the strength to persevere. In faith, with a grateful heart, he named his son Manasseh, which means "forgetting". He reasoned "for God…hath made me forget". The things that had befallen him could have weighed heavily on his heart, but God had given him grace to not only forgive the wrongs that were done to him, but to forget them.

A Pastor I knew sold an automobile to a man. He received half the payment upfront, with the remainder to follow a month later. When he went to the man's house to receive the second and final installment, the man said "I am not paying you another dime. I have the car and I am keeping it". He then slammed the door in the Pastor's face.

Several parishioners advised the Pastor to take legal action. A lawyer friend offered to take the case to Small Claims Court without charging the Pastor for his services. The Pastor politely declined and explained that the few thousand dollars owed did not outweigh the worth of the man's soul and that it was better to forgive and forget the debt than to injure his Christian testimony to the man.

Several months later, this Pastor was called upon to help a needy family in the community. It turned out to be the family of the man who had misappropriated his automobile. When the door opened to the Pastor's knock, the man immediately recognized him and expected that the Pastor might recognize him and turn around and leave.

Instead, the humble man of God greeted him with a warm smile and brief embrace. As the Pastor reached into his pocket for the church check, he looked into the man's face and hesitated for a moment. The man thought that surely the Pastor had just recognized him and had changed his mind about helping. He knew this was a bad idea, asking the man he had cheated to help. He might as well just tell him to leave.

Before the man could speak however, the Pastor said in a soothing voice, "You know, I just don't think my church is doing enough to help. Please allow me to add my personal check to this amount. I am sure you and your family can use it."

As the Pastor wrote out another check, the man fell under heavy conviction and wondered what to say. Surely this Pastor was trying to make him feel guilty. Surely this act of kindness was nothing more than a ploy to work on his conscience.

While the man was pondering these things, the Pastor finished writing the check out and handed both checks to him. The Pastor then asked if he could pray for the family. The man knew that the prayer was going to be a sermon in disguise about fairness and doing right, but he did not know how to say "no" after the kindness he was shown; and so he reluctantly acknowledged "sure, that would be okay."

The Pastor bowed his head and asked the Lord's blessing upon the man, his family and their home. He asked the Lord to bless them financially and to lead the church to know if there was anything else they could do for them. He closed by asking the Lord to draw this family near to him. There was no mention of the automobile, no sermon, no ulterior motive. It was as if the Pastor had completely forgotten the wrong this man had done to him.

A few weeks later, the man and his family came to visit the church that had paid their debts. They heard the gospel message. They heard how the Lord Jesus Christ had paid another debt that they had not even known about. The whole family walked the aisle and received the Lord.

Like Joseph, this Pastor had emulated his Lord and added forgetfulness to his forgiveness. Had he held on to the terrible injustice this man had done, he would never have been able to be a witness to the love and mercy of the Lord. By forgetting, God was able to use him in a tremendous way

Forgetting should be a word used often in the Christian vocabulary. It is far better to forget and forgive than it is to remember and resent.



The author is a retired Coast Guard Officer with over 32 years of service. He is also a Baptist Preacher and Bible Teacher. He helps those grieving the loss of a pet to understand the Biblical evidence that proves they live on. His most popular book, "Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates" delivers hope and comfort to the reader in a very gentle, yet convincing way. Visit at http://www.coldnosesbook.com for more information and tips or write to Gary at petgate@aol.com.


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