Insisting on Dying

"Then I repeated this same message to

King Zedekiah of Judah.

'If you want to live,

submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and his people.

Why do you insist on dying--you and your people?

Why should you choose

war, famine, and disease,

which the LORD will bring against every nation

that refuses to submit to Babylon's king?'"

Jeremiah 27:12-13

They were doomed to die, to suffer, to withstand punishment due to their unfaithfulness, their evil, selfish ways.  Even though they deserved such treatment, God offered grace and mercy, a way out of the war, famine and disease.  If they wanted life, the people of Judah must surrender.  The Chaldeans were coming.  Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon was descending upon them.  Even though it seemed they had no options, they did.  And they could choose life.

Isn't it the same with me?  With all of mankind?  I am doomed to die, to suffer, to withstand punishment due to my unfaithfulness to God, my evil and selfish ways (Romans 3:23, 6:23).  Even though I deserve such treatment, God offers grace and mercy, a way out of eternal damnation (Romans 5:18).  If I want life, I must surrender to Jesus in order to live.  Judgement is coming (Hebrews 9:27).  Even though it seems I have no options since I am sinful to the core, I do.  And I can choose life through Jesus (John 3:18).  How? 

Repent.  God's plea to His people as they stubbornly refused to listen to His warnings of coming punishment was to repent.  To turn from their ways, their disobedient deeds, to stop doing the wrong He had warned them not to do (Jeremiah 26:13).  To regret the sin that was killing them.  As He pleaded through the prophet Ezekiel, "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies. . .Therefore, repent and live!" (Ezekiel 18:32).

He still pleads with me through His Son Jesus whom came to make things right again, to fix what sin had destroyed, to restore, to heal, to offer life (Isaiah 61:1-3).  Jesus preached the same message as John the Baptist before Him, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).  Before I can turn toward Jesus, I must turn away from the sin that is killing me.  I must realize the danger in continuing on my present path and be willing to give up my old way of living in order to take on the new way (Matthew 7:13-14).  I must stop my own efforts that are causing me to drown and grasp on to the lifeline Jesus is offering.  Either I choose darkness or Light (John 3:19).  I can't have it both ways (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

If I want to live I must repent, realizing the gravity of my sinful living.

Submit.  Once God's people realized the path of destruction they were on and turned away from the disobedience that was their undoing, God then instructed them to obey, to fully commit to Him, to become faithful to Him as their only hope and their One True God.

It's the same with me today.  In order to be saved I must believe in Jesus as my Savior, submitting to Him as Lord (Romans 10:9).  He did the work that was necessary in taking on the punishment for my sins when dying on the cross, I am to entrust my life to Him in return.  To be all in.  To fully commit my life to Him.  This is what it means to believe, not just to agree in my mind that Jesus is Lord but to actually surrender to Him and make Him King of my life.  Faith without actions to back it up is no faith at all but only words on a page, and I prove I have submitted to Him by doing what He says (James 1:22-25. 2:14-26).

To walk in the Light of Jesus I must let Him lead me down the path of life as my Shepherd (Matthew 7:14, John 10:14) .

Forgiveness.  God is a merciful God.  He knew His people deserved His wrath for their wayward ways.  Yet in His mercy, He offered a way out.  If only they would repent and turn back to Him as their Master, He promised to change His mind about sending the Babylonians to take them into captivity.  There was hope if the people would agree to His terms (Jeremiah 26:13).

While God is merciful and gracious, He is also righteous.  He can't just offer me forgiveness while leaving my sin unpunished.  In the same way a good judge does not let a criminal go free simply out of the goodness of his heart, so the truly righteous Judge cannot look the other way while I walk free from the death sentence my sins deserve (Romans 6:23).  There must be punishment.  There must be blood sacrifice to atone for my sins.  Someone must pay the price.  And that Someone is Jesus.  He paid my fine so that I can walk free in the forgiveness of a holy God.  It is only through the blood of Jesus that I can find pardon from my death sentence, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

To be presented before God as holy and blameless I must be covered by the blood of Jesus by faith in Him (Ephesians 5:26-27).

I am doomed to die because of my sin, yet Jesus offers life.  How do I choose life?  By turning away from the sin that is killing me and submitting to Jesus as Savior and Lord.  When I do, I'll receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus.  Why do I insist on dying when life has been freely offered (John 3:18)?

As I begin this day it is my hope that I can choose life instead of the death that comes when I do what comes naturally.

How do I fail to make Jesus Lord of my life?

When am I stubbornly insisting on dying simply by denying Christ?