​There is a serious need to take a look at the meaning of the words Faith, belief and believe.  I say that because the way some Pastors preach one could get the idea there are many ways to believe.  I’ve head phrases like really believe, truly believe and actually believe used in evangelism even though I have not found any of those terms in the Bible.  Jesus Christ never modified the word believe (Greek - pisteuo) with an adverb.  It seems very clear to me He used it in a binary sense.  You either believe Him or you don’t, there is no almost believe. 
 
If you use terms like really believe or truly believe then you are in fact misquoting Jesus Christ.  I’m pretty sure that is not a good idea.  Jesus Christ said simply believe Him for everlasting life (John 3:16, 1 Timothy 1:16).  The bigger issue with using terms like truly believe is that it suggests no one can trust what they believe without some external evidence.  And by inference it means we cannot trust the words of Jesus Christ recorded in the Bible.   Do you really want to go there? 
 
I have a better idea, let’s define what Biblical faith (belief) is.  Romans 10:17 says “so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Essentially that means you have to know what God has revealed in order to believe it.  You can’t believe something you don’t know.  So, Biblical faith is based on knowledge of God’s Word not on something you’ve experienced or done.  I’m not discounting experiences, I’m just saying they don’t contribute to faith since they are not God’s word nor can they be judged objectively.  Believing God’s word is the definition of Biblical faith.  Faith being the content of what we believe.
 
Ephesians 2:8 & 9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8 & 9 should be interpreted to mean we are graciously saved by God when we believe His word concerning Jeus Christ.  It is not because of anything we’ve done or experienced, it is purely a gift of God based on belief in what He has revealed.   Any good deeds we have done do not factor into God’s gift at all.  We contributed nothing to the gift of everlasting life. 
 
As I pointed out in the last post, 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 states Jesus Christ took away our sin and any liability for punishment we had.  God has reconciled the world to Himself and no longer charges us with sin.  Instead, He covers us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  That is what Christ accomplished on the Cross when He said It Is Finished! 
 
Do You Believe This?  Your final destiny depends on it.  

On Palm Sunday, 2025, Rev. Andrew Thayer, an Episcopal Priest, published an opinion piece in the New York Times in which he claimed Jesus’ triumphant entry was a political protest against Roman tyranny. And that was the reason Pilate had Him Crucified. 

Rev Thayer completely ignores Matthew, Mark, Luke and John’s testimony about Jesus Christ’s person and purpose.  A mistake many opinion leaders have made in the past.  Elle Purnell, who writes for the Federalist, pointed out in an article on Monday that any child she had taught in Sunday School could tell you Jesus died to take away our sins. “He came to take the punishment for our sins so we sinners could be reunited with God by His grace.” 

This interaction between the two writers reminded me there is a legitimate question about Christ’s crucifixion that is seldom addressed.  Why did the Jewish authorities have Jesus Christ Crucified when the Law listed stoning as the method of execution for blasphemy?  Blasphemy was what the Priest’s charge against Jesus Christ.

Leviticus 24:16 says whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.

The obvious reason is that stoning wasn’t God’s plan. BTW, claiming to be God is not blasphemy if you really are God.  The truth is that Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sin and that required He shed His Blood.
And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Hebrews 9:22

As for the Jewish Priests I believe they wanted the crucifixion because under the Mosaic Covenant hanging on a tree was a sign of being accursed by God, Deuteronomy 21:23.  They likely believed that would discredit Christ’s claim to be the Messiah.  What they did not know, and should have, is that Jesus was going to suffer the full weight of being accursed by God in our place.  The crucifixion was exactly what God wanted.  Something they should have known that because it was revealed in the O.T.  Prophecies like Isaiah 53 said God was going to lay our sin on Him.  Psalm 22 actually revealed some to the details of crucifixion. 

And we know the Jewish leaders had no qualms about stoning people.  Remember in John 8 they brought a woman guilty of adultery to Jesus Christ for that very purpose.  To be stoned.  And in Acts 7 Luke recorded the actual stoning of Stephen by the Sanhedrin.   

Yes, Jesus Christ was crucified by the Pontius Pilate. Who also said Christ was innocent of any crime. So, Rev. Thayer’s charge of sedition is a complete fantasy.  The truth is Jesus Christ suffered the full fury of God’s judgement of our sin while He hung on that cross.  Jesus Christ, the creator God, became a man just so He could take our place in the court of God’s judgement on sin.  And His death satisfied the penalty God demanded.  Paid it in full.    
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Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17
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​This Easter April 20, 2025 many of us will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Many more will not.  And that is a tragedy because those who don’t likely do not know the significance of that event.   Many of them actually deny it happened even though the evidence overwhelming supports that it did.  I doubt most of the deniers will be swayed by anything I write here today, but some might.  If you fall into the category of those who don’t realize the significance of Christ’s resurrection, I pray you will join us. 
 
Jesus Christ set aside the appearances of His true identity as God, the 2nd person of the Trinity.  You likely know the story of His birth to a young virgin girl named Mary.   Jesus Christ became a man for the purpose of reconciling the human race to God (2 Corinthians 5:19-21) by taking away our sin.  Sin being evidence by our indifference to God and behaving in ways counter to His will.  He told everyone who would listen who He was and why He came.  He willingly submitted Himself to the Jewish and Roman authorities and died, suffering the wrath of God for our sin.  You can read all about it in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Pay special attention to John. 
 
Here is the thing, Jesus also said He would return to life after having been dead for the same length of time as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish.  And He did just that.  Jesus Christ came back from the dead exactly as He said He would.  The Roman soldiers guarding the tomb in which He had been placed witnessed it.  He stayed around for another 40 days showing Himself to over 600 people verifying He was alive.  And now He offers everlasting life and a place in heaven to everyone who will believe He is the giver of life.  Your eternal destiny depends on it.  Do you want to know for sure you will be in Heaven with God when you die?  Then you need to listen and believe in Jesus Christ. 
 
If you live in Northwest Wisconsin you can join us at Trego Community Church to learn more about the wonderful gift of everlasting life in Jesus Christ.  Friday, April 18 at 7 pm we will hold a memorial service recognizing the death of Christ on the cross.  On Sunday, April 20 at 10:30 am we will celebrate His resurrection.  He died so that we could live forever.  He rose to prove He is the giver of life and that really is worth celebrating. 

​The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul gave us God’s side of what was really taking place when Jesus Christ died on that cross so long ago. 
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  
​2 Corinthians 5:18-19
 
Everything starts and ends with God, even our redemption.  That is just a fact.  Jesus Christ died on the cross because it was God the Father’s will to redeem mankind.  So, Christ was doing what was needed to reconcile the human race to the Father.  That is, He paid the penalty price for our sin thereby balancing the books.  We owed a debt we could not pay so He paid it for us.   God has also expunged the record, the charges have been dropped, the books have been balanced.  However, there remains one problem.  It takes more than a clean record to get into Heaven.  Matthew 5:20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
 
So, you need to be righteous. Not everyone is as bad as they could be, but no one is righteous.   We’ve all done bad things or failed to do good when we could have.  So, again God stepped up and took care of the things that stand in our way.  But there is one other thing needed – everlasting life.  You cannot get into heaven without it.  That is the other thing Jesus Christ took care of at Easter.   
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
And with everlasting life we also receive His righteousness.  All that comes by God’s grace through faith!
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.    2 Corinthians 5:21
 
All the Lord requires is that we believe Him.  It is not enough to believe He exists; He wants us to believe what He says.  Take Him at His word and believe that Jesus Christ is the giver of everlasting life and believing He does give it to all who believe Him for it.  

​There are a wide range of definitions people give to God.  The Atheist says he doesn’t exist.  Some Eastern religions deny the personhood of God while most of the polytheistic belief systems make their gods out to be bigger versions of humans with super powers.  Almost all of them define their god as amoral, even the monotheistic religions.  Those that do ascribe a moral sense to their god explain it as an act of their divine will.  It is what they chose to be.  There is one exception to that norm and that is the God of the Bible.  The Bible states that God is a moral being.  He is good and righteous.  His moral attributes are just as much a part of His essential essence as is His eternality, omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. 
 
The Bible reveals these moral attributes are inherent to His person.  Therefore, there is an absolute moral standard that springs from the nature of God and is not subject to the whims of cultural change.  The Apostle John pointed out one other factor about God’s moral attributes, they have no boundaries.  The God of the Bible is infinite in all aspects of His being.  John wrote in 1 John 1:5 that “the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” 
 
That is why there is a Christmas and Easter to celebrate every year.  God’s perfect sense of right and wrong guided by His perfect love, compassion and mercy cannot give our sin a pass.  He must judge our sin and carry out the sentence justice demands be pronounced which is the death of being separated from Him.  But His love and rightness demand He show us compassion and mercy.  Jesus Christ chose to do the one thing that could satisfy God’s goodness, love, mercy and righteousness so that we could be reconciled to God.  He took on the role of judge & jury, passed sentence on us and then took the penalty for our sin on Himself.  He died the death we owed.  That allowed Him to be Just and the justifier of all who will believe in Jesus Christ for everlasting life.  John 3:14-16 & Romans 3:21-26 
 
If you live in Northwest Wisconsin and are anywhere near Trego, I invite you to come visit with us on Easter Sunday this year.  It’s on April 20th.  Get here at 9 am and join our annual Easter Fellowship Breakfast served by the men of our Church.  The Easter service starts at 10:30 am.  Jesus Christ died for your sin and rose from the dead 3 days later.  His resurrection is proof that He can give you everlasting life.  Living forever in the New Heaven and Earth we call Heaven is guaranteed.