EASTER, PART ONE

                                                  EASTER, PART ONE

    Easter is rightfully called the season of Redemption, but Christians
should be familiar with the full meaning and history of the subject. While Christ is our celebrated example of redemption, God had His plan in action long before Christ became our symbol. There are many examples, beginning in the Old Testament. It would be difficult to live in the United States and not know the Easter story. Unfortunately, for many people Easter is more about colored eggs, the Easter bunny and splashy new clothing outfits for the Easter Parade.

    Movies have attempted to describe the horrors leading up to, and the crucifixion, of Christ.  God sent His only Son to teach us, heal us, and pay the price of death to bring us eternal life. Unfortunately, again, we are like the Druids in Ireland, slow learners. In fact, it would appear a very sizable number of people proclaiming they are Christians are not. I make that statement based on the failure of pastors and members of congregations to follow Christ's teaching in the Four Gospels. With Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and Lent all given us as lead-ins to Easter, there is a concentrated period for us to review our life, and to study the Gospels. If we would just study and understand Christ's instructions, we could be examples of America's solutions instead of part of the problem.

    The world was not ready for Christ, so He was not born with fanfare
except for those who understood the prophecy and reason for His birth. Of course Herod expected a rival for the throne, but never had the opportunity to prevent Christ's mission. There was a great deal of fanfare when Christ suffered death on the cross. Don't blame the Romans for this deed. It was the clergy, the priests and leaders of the Jews who essentially murdered the Son of God.

    Why would these religious leaders want to kill Christ? He followed 
scripture in the Old Testament, healed people, and taught how to treat
your fellow man/woman. Christ pointed out the continuation of God's  master plan, with a far better explanation of Jewish and Christian
living. As always in scripture, it was the misleading and corrupt teaching
of the priests and leadership who brought about the demise of the Jewish
state. When Satan gets hold of people, including priests,  they become
reprobate. That is, as happened with Pharaoh, their heart is "hardened."
They actually believe they are correct in what they're doing.

     We pay no price for our salvation except to follow His instructions. I
hear or read comments from pastors and leaders daily in direct opposition to Christ's teaching the Four Gospels. Most of these comments lead to separation of people and are in direct opposition to His instructions. He died for us. He gave us directions. We must make a serious attempt to follow Him. Apparently many professing Christians are using various quotes from elsewhere in scripture to base their decisions against others. Specifically, the directions of Proverbs seems to be a major avenue.

     Scripture does not conflict with itself. It does, however, give some
Christians the foolish idea they can judge others and relegate people to be Christian or non-Christians. Before you "classify" others, study  Matt. 7:1-2 VERY CAREFULLY. "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure
you use, it will be measured back to you." Christ offered redemption to
everyone, and spent time with beggars, the poor, the sick, the mentally
challenged, and all people. He did not classify them as rich or poor, sick
or healthy, laborers, professionals or by politics. Each person God has
created should have the opportunity for redemption. The people you don't want to associate with may be the ones God would like to see accepting Christ's offer of redemption. Christ ate with sinners and  publicans. It's the unsaved who need to hear the Word. By separating ourselves (classifying), we are denying them an opportunity to hear the words of redemption. We don't have to wallow in a garbage dump, but being a smug  Christian is absolutely wrong...and, it's a sin.

    There was a movie about the "ugly" American, and that is an  excellent description of the elite Christian church leaders (including pastors). Poor people may not be able to dress smartly, or they may be unclean. Do you know that food stamps can't be used for cleaning products? Handicapped people may look okay on the outside, but there are many ways to be handicapped. Before you label me a liberal, you need to know our ministry has assisted people who really needed help, and some who just milked the system (and us). We can use common sense, but we are not judges. When I first began ministry studies, I had some elitist ideas. It was a sign of ignorance and judging. We all have to start somewhere, and if we aren't careful, we'll wind up bigoted sinners. ALL SINS ARE EQUALLY BAD. 

    Christ died to cover our sins. He redeemed us. His shed blood covers all
sins except the rejection of the Holy Spirit. If you lie or cheat, commit
adultery, are a glutton, get drunk or assault someone, your sin is exactly
the same as a person in a same sex marriage, being gay or committing
murder. While everyone should try to live up to Christ's teaching, not one
of us will be able to be sinless. Refresh your memory with John 8:7, "He
who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."

    If you observe Easter in the traditional manner with thanksgiving and
shudder to consider the physical suffering Jesus went through, go a bit
further and weigh your responsibility to uphold your end of the bargain.
And, a grand bargain it is! You receive eternal life, a mansion in Heaven,
and only at a cost of being a caring, decent person. Stay tuned for Part 2, 
where we'll take a look at some redemptions you may have overlooked
in scripture reading. If I was a betting man, I'd bet there is at least one
I'm going to discuss that will surprise you.

Rev. Walbear