Monday, September 10, 2007
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"Court TV." Sure enough, there's a popular cable channel in America that just shows court trials all day! For some reason, America's got this strange fascination with criminal trials. It's almost like another sport we watch. We're even learning some of those fancy legal words that only lawyers and judges used to know. So how's your "writ of habeas corpus" doing today? Is an angry parent now the "plaintiff" and the disobeying child the "defendant?" The trials that really intrigue us are those celebrity trials, where someone rich or famous or notorious is on trial. And from these trials have come even the phenomenon of celebrity lawyers - attorneys who make big bucks and a big reputation trying to get some big names off the hook. Believe me, those folks make sure that they get the best defense attorney money can buy!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Best Defense Attorney Money Can't Buy."
Hopefully, you can say, "I've never needed a defense attorney." Well, you're going to in the courtroom where your eternal destiny is settled before the Judge who knows everything about you; where the verdict is already in and the penalty is death - forever. Unless you have the only defense attorney in all the universe who can save you.
A lot of us think we've done enough good things in our life that, well, it will somehow cancel out all the wrong things we've done. There's not a good judge in the land who will ignore the law you violated just because you've kept that law other times. You have to pay for the time you broke the law. And the Bible is crystal clear that all of us have done it our way far more times than we've done it God's way.
Here's God's verdict on even the most religious of us: "There is no one righteous, not even one" ( Romans 3:10). So much for any hope that you might be putting in your religion or your goodness to get you to heaven. Romans 3:19-20 go on to say, "Every mouth (will) be silenced and the whole world accountable to God. Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law." That's the verdict on your life and mine. You don't have to wait till you die to see how God thinks you did. "Guilty!" That's His verdict. And the sentence is in, too, and it's not good news. Speaking of an eternal punishment and an eternal separation from God, Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death." You and I are guilty of sin, of hijacking our life from our Creator.
And we're on Death Row, awaiting our never-ending death penalty unless we've placed our lives in the hands of the one defense attorney who can get you off, because He paid your death penalty. 1 John 2:1-2, our word for today from the Word of God, says: "We have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins..." The only one who can stand between you and your death sentence is the Judge's Son, Jesus Christ. On Judgment Day, He'll point to you and say, "This one's Mine, Father. His debt/her debt is paid."
You have no other hope. Here's what it takes to make Jesus your defense for your sin. You have to abandon all other hopes you have for making it with God; whatever religion or heritage or reputation or good deeds that you might have been hoping would save you. And then you bow before the one who died and who came back from death for you and you say, "Jesus, You're my only hope. I am yours from this day on." At that moment, the charges against you in heaven are ripped to pieces and every sin of your life is forgiven forever. We would love to help you know how to be sure you are forgiven and that you have begun this relationship with Jesus Christ. Our website is all about that. It's yoursforlife.net. Or I'll send you my booklet about all of this if you'll just call us at 877-741-1200.
Jesus has come to where you are today, with your pardon in His hand. Don't risk another day under the death penalty of Almighty God. Reach for that pardon and trade an eternity in hell for an eternity in heaven.