Falsely Accused?
Have you ever been falsely accused of something you didn’t do?
A few weeks ago I had the best time. I had taken a bag of peanut M&Ms that belonged to my beautiful wife and I hid them, then I convinced her that my son had taken them.
Of course, she believed me. No matter how much he denied it she believed that he was guilty and that he was lying about not taking her M&Ms to cover up his crime!
I let that go on as long as possible watching them go at it over the M&Ms that I had secretly taken. I know, I’m a terrible person. But it sure was fun.
We all know on some level what it’s like to be falsely accused.
Sometimes we can laugh about it. But there are other times when it’s way more serious. Being falsely accused of something you didn’t do is incredibly hard.
182: Not Guilty
They say that since 1973, more than 8,700 people in the US have been sent to death row.
Just think about that. 8,700 people sent to a place where they know at the end of this particular road is death. Execution. The end of their life. There’s no doubt about it. No one is confused. It’s called death row for a reason.
When you land on death row it’s because you have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to death.
At least 182 of those people who were sentenced to death row since 1973 were later found NOT guilty. They were convicted of crimes but then evidence later proved they were not guilty and they were released.
What would you do if you found yourself in a situation like that?
Begin falsely accused and condemned to die for something you didn’t do? That’s a hard reality to even wrap our minds around. Even though it’s happened.
But have you ever been found out for something you did do and you were terrified of the consequences?
You weren’t falsely accused, you were rightly accused because you did the thing they said you did!
Sinners Separated from God
One day, we will all stand before God. I don’t say that to scare you in any way. But we probably don’t talk about this enough. One day, we will all stand before God and no matter how good we’ve been, it’s impossible to stand before our perfect and holy God and not realize how imperfect, unholy, and sinful we are.
In fact, left on our own, we would be without any hope whatsoever.
You simply cannot do enough good to outweigh the sin in your life. And no matter how much money you have, you cannot buy your way into Heaven.
We have a problem that cannot be solved with hard work, money, or a network of powerful people.
The problem is our own sinfulness. Sin separates us from God.
The truth is, half the time we do the very things we know we shouldn’t do. We know what’s right and what’s wrong. But we are a selfish, self centered people. We want what we want when we want it. We take what we want, buy what we want, watch what we want, do what we want even if it is at the expense of another person.
And just in case there’s any confusion, that is sin. We don’t like to call it that. But that’s what it is. It wasn’t a mistake, it was a choice. We sinned.
We weren’t falsely accused, we know what we did. Or… what we didn’t do.
That’s the other half of the equation, we know what we should do most of the time, but we don’t do it. It’s easier not to. We’ve got a million reasons why we can’t do what we should do. We’re masters of rationalizing our way out of what we should do.
The bottom line, we are sinners separated from God by our sin and there’s absolutely nothing we can do to make it right.
Is There Any Good News?
You may be wondering, is there any good news?
The good news is that there is Good News!
Romans is a letter written by a man named Paul who knew all to well what it meant to be a sinner separated from God. In fact, he once called himself the “chief of all sinners.” (1 Timothy 1.15). That’s how convicted he was by his sin about his sin. But he had an encounter with Jesus that changed his life. And he wants you to have that same life changing encounter with Jesus, too!
So in this letter he wrote to a group of Christians living in the ancient city of Rome, Paul writes these incredible words…
Romans 8.1-4
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Just let that sink in for a minute.
Paul wants these Christians living in the city of Rome, people who knew all too well the consequences for not keeping the law, people who were all too familiar with condemnation because they had seen Roman roads lined with Roman crosses where people were hung condemned to die, he wants them to know there is NO CONDEMNATION for those who belong to Jesus.
Jesus! Who, by the way, had been hung on one of those Roman crosses condemned to die.
And on that Friday some 2000 years ago Jesus breathed his last breath, hung his head, and died. The only sinless man to ever live, God in the flesh hung on a cross, was crucified and died.
Paul wants these Christians in Rome to know that because Jesus was condemned FOR US there is now NO CONDEMNATION FOR US!
For those who BELONG to Jesus, there is NO CONDEMNATION FOR US because of Jesus!
Which may make you ask the question…
How Do I Belong to Jesus?
Paul explains that as well. If you back up to Romans 6, Paul writes…
“…have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.“
This is HOW you become a son, a daughter, of God. This is HOW you belong to Jesus.
This is what happens in our BAPTISM! We are united with Christ!
And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
When you give your life to Jesus, Jesus gives you His life giving Spirit! And you are SET FREE from the power of sin in your life.
Here’s the Gospel, the Good News, the ultimate GOD IS FOR US Story….
The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins. The condemnation we deserved, he took on himself, so that we could live and have eternal life!
Is God Really For Me?
You may wonder sometimes: Is God REALLY for me?
You might think sometimes that God is out to get you.
You may have questions about God and wonder if he hears you when you pray or if he’s really there when you need him most.
You may think God could never love you or that he could never forgive you for what you’ve done.
You might have done your best to live a good life and still be terrified of the day when you will have to stand before God. You may wonder if God really knows you by name and if he cares about you.
If that’s you, I’ve got good news for you. Really good news.
In the 1800’s there was a French artist by the name of Honore Daumier. Most of his art, at least as far as I can tell, wasn’t religious by any means. But there is this one painting he did of a courtroom scene that captured my attention.
The painting is called, “Le Pardon (The Pardon).” It shows a French courtroom.
As you can see, there are three judges seated behind a bench dressed in black robes ready to pronounce condemnation on the individual who is on trial.
For a lot of you, this may be your greatest fear. That one day you will stand before God, on trial, awaiting certain condemnation. Over to the side you can see the jury and those who have come to watch the trial.
The defendant is faceless but no doubt dejected, hopeless, and fearful of what will happen next. His defense attorney stands tall. He’s pointing to something behind the judges. Something the judges do not see.
It is a large painting of the Crucifixion of Jesus.
I don’t know what the artist had in mind when he created this painting, but I can tell you what I see. I am the defendant, YOU are the defendant, hopeless, dejected, undoubtedly awaiting our own condemnation for what we have done.
But we have an Advocate, a Comforter, a Defense Attorney who is pointing at the one thing that changes everything For Us. The Holy Spirit points to Jesus, as the Holy Spirit always does, and reminds the Judge of the Good News.
There is No Condemnation FOR US
Paul says it this way….
Romans 8.33-34
Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
In her book, Not Ashamed of the Gospel, Fleming Rutledge writes this reflecting on Romans 8:
“…the Church knows something the world does not know. We know that the judgment of God is completely enclosed in his mercy. This is the good news that we have been entrusted to share.”
Fleming Rutledge
This is the good news that makes the good news the good news! There is No Condemnation FOR US because GOD IS FOR US.
We live in a world that is quick to condemn. But we serve a God who is eager to forgive!
As we go out into the world around us let’s carry this hope that we have, this love that God in His great mercy has demonstrated toward us, and let’s share it with those around us.
God didn’t give Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins so we could go back to our old ways, or so that we could keep it to ourselves.
No. We are forgiven. We have good news to share.
So let’s share the good news this week that our God, He is FOR US!
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