The Conversation - Pt. II (It's For You)

"F" stands for forgiveness, which is something we need to have eternal life in Heaven with God. We need God's forgiveness in order to get to Heaven. Luckily that forgiveness is available, which brings us to the nexxt letter. "A" stands for available. God's forgiveness is freely Available for All.

"For everyone, regardless of crimes, beliefs, social status, the amount they give to their church or even if they go to church?"

You ever watched a football game on TV or gone to one?

"I'm a man, aren't I? Of course I watch football. And I've been a season ticket holder for years to the ____ (team name withheld to avoid embarrassment to the speaker). Tailgating, too. What has that got to with forgiveness?"

Have you ever seen someone holding up a sign that says "John 3:16?"

"Yeah, lots of times. But it's not nearly as good as lots of other signs. Especially when they make up like a poem or something and then they highlight certain letters to spell out the team name or ABC or FOX or CBS, whatever network is broadcasting the game. Or they write signs to John Madden or Al Michaels. That's cool."

John 3:16 stands for the Gospel of John, chapter three, verse sixteen. It says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life."

"So?"

Put your name in where it says "the world."

"For God so loved me ...?"

God loved you so much that He was not only willing to send His only Son, He DID send His only Son to die the most humiliating, painful death imaginable.

"Yeah ... I've heard that stuff before. My wife is always saying things like that when she comes home from church. And I've got my own theory."

Which is ...?

"Jesus was able to do all those things and die and everything without worrying about it because He knew He wouldn't be dead when it was over. Like a magician's trick, y'know? It's one thing to do something without knowing what's going to happen, but when you know that it's all going to be fine in the end, it's not so bad."

So you think Jesus didn't experience pain when they whipped Him, tearing out chunks of flesh from all over His body until He was barely recognizable as a man, whipped to within an inch of His life? Roman whips had pieces of glass, nails or jagged sheep bones embedded in lead tips that were at least acorn sized. He lost so much blood He couldn't carry His own cross. He was nailed to that cross through His hands and feet. Many people don't know this, but many times when the Romans crucified a criminal, they also held him to the cross by nailing through his penis and/or pelvis. There is no mention of that in the Scriptures about Jesus, but it is a historical fact. The Romans were without equal in their ability to apply excruciating, humiliating pain. Most of the time when someone was crucified, it took days for them to die. Jesus died in about six hours, hanging on the cross from about nine o'clock in the morning until about three o'clock in the afternoon. The Roman soldiers usually broke the legs of the condemned to speed things along, but Jesus was already dead. They even jabbed a spear through His side to make sure He was dead.

"Whoa. Back off. I said it was just a theory. It may have happened a little differently."

Sorry. I didn't mean to go off like that. It's just that ... it was no parlor trick. No smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand and nothing up His sleeve. We are so jaded in today's age that we believe there is a simple, easily understandable solution to everything, and it's usually a special effect dreamed up in some movie studio. Jesus died. Period. He died alone on the cross for me and for you. He died to make God's forgiveness available for all.

"OK. Problem solved. Everybody is forgiven. I don't see what all the fuss is about ..."

Even though it IS available to all, it is NOT automatic. Jesus said "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of Heaven."

"Wait. What was that last thing? Not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord, will get to heaven?' What does that mean?"

Have you heard the expression "Talk the talk and walk the walk?"

"Yeah. It means when someone is genuine. They don't just talk, they live what they're talking about."

Exactly. Jesus was saying that He needed people who would 'walk the walk,' not just talk the talk - give Him lip service. Not everyone who says 'Hey, Jesus! You're my man! I'm on your team!' is going to make it, because some of them are just saying it to try and impress others. They're still following their own leading instead of doing what God wants.

"Wait, wait, wait. If Jesus died for everybody - you said that John 3:16 thing - then it's for everybody. Are you changing the meaning of everybody? It's either for everyone or it's not."

It's available for everyone. But just because something is available for everyone doesn't mean everyone will take advantage of the offer. But it's more than that. It simply can't be automatic. I'll tell you why, too, if you'll hold out your next finger for the next letter.