This week I was talking to a elder brother in the Lord, and the conversation about life came up, he mentioned that he doesn’t know how much time he has left but its all up to the Lord. Now, him being in his late 60s, I can understand what he is saying because most Believers believe that their lives are destined for the age 70 and possibly 80 by good behavior. Where is that in the Bible you may ask?
The verse that many Believers use comes from Psalm 90:10 which says the days of our lives are 70, or by strength 80. Now before I go on we must understand that every scripture must be given in proper context as well as understanding the present day truth (2 Peter 1:12). What does that mean? It means that we cannot just pick up the Bible, read a verse and run with what we think it means, which sadly the church has done for many years. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will guide us in all truth (John 16:13). Truth of what? Truth of the Gospel of Christ!
At the time David wrote Psalm 90:10, the people of God were under the Law, which was their present day truth. If you read carefully, verses before verse 10 and a verse after, David mentions Gods wrath, which sandwiches verse 10 right in between. In context, this is the truth for life under the Law and wrath of God. But today, we are no longer under Gods wrath but seated with Christ in Heavenly places! Jesus has drank the cup of our sins and Gods wrath towards them (Matthew 26:39), leaving us blameless before His sight. This is the Good News of the Gospel of Christ! His perfect work has put away with our sins and Gods wrath forever!
So today, our lives are no longer based on the requirements of the Law, no longer under the wrath of God but based off of Christ Finished Work on the Cross. We are no longer married to the Law but to Jesus Christ (Romans 7:3-4)! Jesus says, “I come to give life and life of abundance” (John 10:10). God is about LIFE! not death. He came to gives us a life full of His Peace, Joy, Hope and so much more. But today it seems like the Believer has miss it, believing that a short life of 70 is Gods way. Believing that we never know when our appointment of death is, as if God is waiting to kill us for His good reasons. Now this may sound extreme but I hear it all the time from Believers, of course in a more loving, I trust God kind of way. In Hebrews 9:27, the Bible says that it is appointed unto men once to die, but read it without context, and it sounds like we all have a death appointment.
Sin MUST be punished, and anything it gets its grubby little hands on, including us. Our flesh has been tampered with sin and therefore must be destroyed. But thanks to our Jesus! He has taken the punishment for us, using His body instead of ours! Hebrews chapter 9 talks about Christ being our sacrifice for sins forever. In Hebrews 9 verses 25 and 26, we are told that Christ only needed to offer Himself ONCE for our sins, which wasn’t the case for Jews with animal sacrificing. But Christ’s Blood, being pure and without sin, was shed as the final sacrifice! Why is all this important? Because this is the context of Hebrews 9:27. Yet when growing up, I was told that God has a appointment with my name on it, and it was death, but not to be afraid, for He knows what He is doing. You can imagine the assurance of life I had growing up. But what God is saying here is that our appointment of death and judgement (which we all had because of sin) is no longer our appointment, because Jesus took that appointment for us!
We were all destined for death and destruction, but Christ defeated death and Gods fiery judgement towards sin, not towards us but the sin destroying us. He laid down His own life and body at the Cross because He’s madly in love with us! This is good…no…Great News! So don’t let anyone ever scare you with these verses again, even if its in a way that is not meant to.
On the other side of the coin, some would say that the devil can take your life at any time, or pick your number. This way of believing, as well as the other, places God and the devil in the same business, the business of death. This is why understanding the TRUTH of the Gospel is so very important, for it is hard to trust and rely on a God that will provide for you one day, but might destroy you the next. We would not dare and hang out with a person, invite them in our homes, bring them close to our families, but at the same time knowing that some day they might decide to take our lives and the lives of our loved ones, but yet we have this same mindset towards God.
Let me just help clear some of those thoughts for you. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. In Hebrews 2:14-15, the Bible says that Jesus destroys him (the devil) who had the power of death in order to free us from the fear of death. 2 Timothy 1:10 says that Christ has abolished death and brought life to our attention through the Gospel! Its all about life, its all about the Gospel of Christ. The devil cannot pick your number when he chooses to, nor does God take our lives because he wants another angel in heaven. These are all man made beliefs that have crept into the church from not understanding the Truth of the Gospel. God promises us long life through Christ (Psalm 91:16).
Beloved of God, you are the Righteousness of God in Christ today, here to live a glorious life that has been fully paid for by the Blood of Jesus! This life no longer needs to be afraid of sin and death, for your loving Father has taken care of them for you. There is nothing to do but to receive this FREE gift, and that receiving will guide you into all Truth of who we are in Him!
Blood Bought 