Only One Thing Standing Between Us and Being Right
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
We’re overlapping a few verses here because this is one of those things that, if true, could really change our lives.
We get our right-ness assigned in all kinds of ways all day long.
A funny look from a friend.
A shaking head and wrinkled brow from a co-worker.
An all-out rant-blast from a digital friend on Facebook.
Sometimes it’s just the talk that goes on in our own heads reminding us of how bad we did at something in 1986 so we probably won’t be able to do it now.
But you know what, none of those things are the One and Only Thing that stands between us and God. They just aren’t.
So while we want our co-workers to understand us and our friends to know us and our digital friends on Facebook to listen to our opinions, none of those people are my One and Only connection to the One and Only God.
So I don’t have to get my right-ness from them.
But who does give me right-ness? Who is the one that is correcting, consoling, creating, and guiding me in the way of being right?
Jesus.
And He gave Himself as a payment for all of the debt incurred for my wrongness. Like a cheap car that you know is going to need a lot of work, Jesus bought me and then put in all of the money — beyond my worth, to make me run right again.
And He’s already made a hefty deposit at the garage for my ongoing maintenance.
So if there is only ONE mediator, and there is only ONE God, the the One and Only Mediator has made me right with that One and Only God, who is in charge of making everyone right? Not me! Not you!
Paul calls himself a preacher and an apostle. He was one that was sent-out to people to make sure they were right about everything. Nope. He was sent out to make sure that people knew about Jesus. That Jesus was the One and Only Mediator between them and God.
In Paul’s day, among the Greek religions and Jewish traditions, there were a zillion mediators and they all had different pricing. Some were more physically pleasing than others, but they were all wrong.
Today we have peer pressure, reputation, our own expectations, and cultural pressure. To the ancients and to all of us today, the message is the same.
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all
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