One of the most hideous lies of Satan is that when you have sinned, it really is too late. Everything is broken, everything is ruined, it cannot be undone. You’ve let people down, they will all despise you, and of course at the heart of it all, is the lie: you cannot really be forgiven.
The temptation is to despair. Some people walk through this life simply nagged by despair. It’s a constant dripping on a rainy day, a constant voice in the background of every conversation: if they only knew what you have done. It comes to you in sleepless nights, or maybe at what ought to be the happiest moments, reminders of your sin, reminders of things you’ve thought, said, done, or failed to do.
Other people give in to the temptation to despair with a sort of pagan resolve. They despair, but they face the despair boldly – or so they think. They stiff-upper-lip it; they put on a brave face for the kids, for their spouse, for their parents and friends. They don’t want to spoil the party. But deep down it’s all a show, a façade, because they’re convinced there’s no way out, no way back, no way to make it right. They feel contaminated, dirty, filthy, and deeply hypocritical.
And so God knew that what His people needed was a regular reminder of the truth. And the truth is proclaimed to you at this table. The truth is that the nagging voice, the deep despair, the accusation that what’s done is done, and there’s nothing you can do are all lies. And they are lies because the thing that must be done in order to undo the curse of sin has been done. It was done 2,000 years ago on a Roman Cross. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. What cannot be done by us, has been done by God in Jesus Christ.
So look here in faith this morning. Whether it’s something you did many years ago that still haunts you or whether it was something you said or thought this week that you’re afraid has already ruined your Christmas. Look here, and see the death of all despair. Christ died for sin. His body was broken, His blood was shed. He gave His life as a ransom, so that you might go free. Take, eat, drink, and believe.
So Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ.
Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash
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