Taken from: "Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary" by Warren W. Wiersbe (pg 812-13)

"Jesus Christ Is The Father's Last Word."

  "In Him, divine revelation is seen and heard in its fullness; and in Him, God's revelation is complete. When we see Him, we see the Father (John 14:1-11). Through Christ, we understand where everything came from, where it is going, what keeps it going, and why it is here.

  We also understand what He has done for us. He died for us!  Today He is enthroned in glory, ministering to us and for us (13:20-21). He wants to mature us and teach us how to walk by faith. One day He will defeat all His enemies and bring in HIs righteous kingdom.

  With a Savior like that, why look for a substitute."

 Jeremiah 30:11a "For I am with thee saith the Lord to save thee..."

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:20,21

   Jesus died for everyone of us because God does not want anyone to perish. God taking on our earthly form, God incarnate, the Son of God in the flesh, bearing our sins upon His body, on a rugged painful cross becoming the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, once and forevermore; to deliver us from evil and from an eternity in Hell.

John 3:16  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Romans 5:8  "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 3: 10, 23  "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one... For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

 Jesus said, "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him." Luke 21:4,5

  Although He died for us, the good news is that the grave could not hold Him. On the third day He arose from the dead, gaining victory over sin, death, and the devil - forever!  Hebrews 10:12,13  "But this man (Jesus), after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting 'till His enemies be made His footstool."

  And wow! All we do to enter into this victory with Him is by faith, confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. The Bible says that when we do this we will be saved. John 20:31 says "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name."
Romans 10:9,13 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." "For the scripture saith, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Ephesians 2:8,9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

  When we repent, we turn from our past; we turn from evil toward good; from the power of Satan unto God. We renounce sin and by faith accept this precious free gift of God, this precious Jesus, our sacrificial lamb, our Redeemer; and we receive forgiveness and life everlasting with our Father in heaven. 1 Corinthians 2:12 "Now we have received, not  the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God."

Hebrews 11:6  "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

1 Corinthians 2:14  "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

  We become "born again" spiritually and we become a new creation! "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away and behold all  things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

  As a born again believer in Christ, the least we can do is be forever thankful and love God back. God desires to have fellowship with us, to walk and talk with us, through His Word and through the Holy Spirit. Thanks to Jesus, our Savior, we can have this personal relationship with God, our creator, our Abba Father.

Romans 8:15, 16 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba (Daddy), Father." (16) "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:" 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Amen!

  When Jesus arose from the dead He tore down the partition that was between God and man. He became our High Priest, so we never again need an earthly priest to intercede for us, to sacrifice for us. Jesus is our High Priest and  Sacrifice. The Bible says that Jesus, our Redeemer is seated at the right hand of God and forever lives to make intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:22-27 "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man (Jesus), because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people's: for this He (Jesus) did once, when He offered up Himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the Word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore."

  There is only one unpardonable sin. The only sin that can keep us out of heaven is rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. How God must hurt when we reject Him, when we reject Jesus. We don't actually have to denounce that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world to reject God. We do that when we do nothing.  When someone gives us a gift, it's not a gift until we receive it.

  If I want to show someone special that I love them through a beautiful gift, I  first take time to think about it. Then I take more time to shop for it, and I labor over my decision because I want to pick out just the right gift. Then, I am always happy if I have the right amount of money to be able to purchase it for them. Then with anticipation and excitement, I wrap it up with colorful paper and a pretty bow. Then I can barely wait to give it to the person, just to see a smile. I'm all excited. But, when I offer my gift, instead of taking it from me, they push it back at me and tell me to leave them alone.  It's free, I say!  I don't understand?  I walk away with a breaking heart.

  And yet, God suffers rejection everyday. Oh how the heart of God must hurt. He created us, made us in His image, and then He willingly payed for our sins through His Son Jesus Christ, so we could have fellowship with Him forever, but many still continue to reject Him.

  Even though the Lord loves us, saved us, and is now within us; He corrects us. As a new creation, a born again believer of Jesus Christ, a child of God, we will  want to please God our Father. But,  we cannot live a sinless life here on earth like God's son Jesus was able to do. As a human being we will  fail Him, we will still struggle in our flesh. Therefore,  when we do things that don't please God, that aren't good for us, He will correct us, "in measure." "For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee... but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished." (Jeremiah 30:11b)

  Yes, there are consequences because we do reap what we sow but, we reap "in measure", accordingly.  ("Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:9) However, we don't have to be continually plagued by what we have done; we don't have to be continually without any peace, we don't have to "reap" forever, IF we have confessed it to God as sin because the Bible says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9  And in Hebrews 12:11, God tells us that when we are corrected or chastened that it is "not joyous" at the present time, "but grievous" but, God tells us that "afterward " it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness...' So, Praise God there is an "afterward"!

  A farmer friend helped me to better understand the process of reaping and sowing when she said that we can only reap out of a field what is actually planted. Then it's over.  Praise God - There is an end to reaping!  "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1

  Only our enemy, the devil, wants us to believe we are unforgivable, that we deserve to reap, and reap, and reap... It's our enemy that wants us to feel condemned, who wants to steal our joy, to deceive us with lies, to try to convince us that we don't deserve the blessings of God. Only our enemy wants us to live a defeated Christian life. But, He (Jesus) is risen so we can have life, and "have it more abundantly."  

Jesus said, " The thief cometh not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." John 10:11

  "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" Phillipians 1:6

  May "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen."   2 Corinthians 13:14