Christ Our Mediator

JESUS SAID, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me."

In olden times, no ordinary person could come into God's presence and speak with Him as friend to friend. Man was sinful and God is holy. There was a big curtain between God and the place where the people could come. A high priest was appointed to go between the people and God. After making sacrifices and doing ceremonies, he was allowed to come before the altar of God just once a year on behalf of the people. But these sacrifices could not take away sins, and the priests themselves were not holy and sinless, so man had no perfect way to come to God. People have always cried out for God. They can never be satisfied until they find the living, true God. "Oh that I might find Him," is their prayer. Their sins have separated them from God like a heavy curtain and they cannot see His face.

God heard the people's prayer and sent His Son Jesus into this world to pay the sacrifice for all our sins. Jesus became our high priest with God. He Himself was God and He was also man. Therefore He was able to take away the great curtain that separated between God and man. After Jesus had suffered on the cross for our sins, He cried, "It is finished," and after that, He died. There was a great earthquake, and the curtain in the temple that separated the people from God was torn apart. Jesus had completed all that was necessary to save mankind, and He did it once for all. The separation between God and man was taken away forever.

After Jesus died and was buried, in three days He arose from the grave and then ascended up into heaven while His disciples watched. He went into the presence of His Father, God, and there He is now praying for us. Because of His sacrifice on the cross, we can now come directly to God through the precious blood of Christ. (We do not now need any other priest between God and us. God says, "Your sins and iniquities I will remember no more.")

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and put our trust in Him alone as our Mediator, we are saved from all our sin and from the punishment we deserved. We are accepted by God. He will never again remember our past sins, and by the power of His life in our hearts we will be kept from sin and evil.

If at any time we sin again, we must come back immediately and ask forgiveness and cleansing, make things right with our neighbor, and turn our backs on all that is wrong. When Jesus Christ has become our Saviour, we will have peace and we will love God with all our hearts. We will not want to hurt Him by putting any other gods or idols or priests before Him. We will want to please Him and be kind and loving to other people.

We must (just) trust Jesus alone, or not at all. He alone is God. Only He can save us. Come to God through Jesus and speak to Him as friend to friend. Anyone and everyone may come. God's book says, "There is one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself a ransom for all." "Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them."

REFERENCES: John14:6; Hebrews10:17; I Tim. 2:5, 6; Hebrews 7:25