| #5 Born to Live Forever The Secret of Immortality Now, Harry Orchard carried the name “Dynamite-killer” for a good reason. He had killed 21 men, 14 in one dynamite killing when he blew up a train loaded with miners just getting off the night shift. He was a “hired gun” – a “hit man” – willing to kill anyone, any place, any time, for the right price. Boise’s newspaper, “The Idaho Statesman,” gave this description of Harry: “The face of the man suggests cruelty, cunning, and contempt for everything that appeals to the ordinary person. The eyes being of that shifting character that suggests an evil nature. He is the devil incarnate.” He was hired by corrupt labor unions determined to kill anyone who blocked them from having their own way. The biggest “hit” was governor Frank Steunenberg, who had stood in their way when he was governor of the State of Idaho. It happened one night in December. Orchard was playing cards in the Saratoga Hotel when he saw his chance. Right there in the hotel lobby he spotted Governor Steunenberg, visiting with some friends, preparing to leave for home. Orchard hurried upstairs to his room, picked up the dynamite bomb, wrapped it in a newspaper, tucked it under his arm, and dashed out to his car. At the Steunenberg home he quickly wired the bomb to the gate and sneaked away in the gathering dark. Moments later as the Governor arrived home there was a terrific explosion. As Frank Steunenberg’s blood poured out on the snow, his wife and children – stunned – rushed out to find their husband and father dying. Minutes later the fatal surprise rocked Caldwell, Idaho: Frank Steunenberg, known to all and loved by most, was assassinated! Orchard was caught, admitted the crime, was tried, convicted and sentenced to die for his heinous deed. Mrs. Steunenberg had every reason to hate this man that had destroyed her husband so cruelly. But she was a Christian. She sent him a message expressing forgiveness and with it a little book titled, “Steps to Christ.” The guard came down and told Harry, “Here’s a package from the wife of the man you murdered.” Frightened, thinking it might be a bomb to get revenge, he was so terrified he didn’t want to open it. When he finally did and saw the title, “Steps to Christ,” he threw it down with a curse. He hadn’t heard or used that name for years – except in swearing. To make a long story short, the thought of Mrs. Steunenberg’s kindness and forgiveness was too much for even this hardened murderer. Eventually, he picked up the book and began to read. It was a message of God’s love and forgiveness. His hardened heart was strangely warmed. He began to read the Bible. As Orchards read, he thought about the spirit of forgiveness that widow of the victim had shown. His heart was strangely softened. Harry discovered in a book that he had ridiculed for years – the Bible – that there was good news. He found as he read the Bible that there was hope and forgiveness for him, and for every other sinner on earth! Romans 6:23 caught his attention: <Romans 6:23> He knew that he deserved death. Now he learned that God wanted to give him eternal life in spite of the sins that he had done. Harry, on death row, made an amazing discovery: every person in the world is on death row! The Bible says, <Romans 3:23> <Romans 3:10-12> If that sounds like bad news, it gets worse: <Romans 6:23> Harry knew well enough why he had to die for his crime. Made perfect sense. But it was so frightening – to face eternity with this judgment of condemnation hanging over him because of his sins. It was enough to make a person despair! And then he kept on reading the rest of the passage: <Romans 6:23> Could it be true? For me? The further he searched in the Bible the better it got. A glimmer of hope began to break through. <Ephesians 2:8, 9> The bad news was turning into good news! But, don’t think when a person begins to turn to Christ it gets easy! Harry Orchard was tortured with thoughts he’d gone too far. “Surely, I’m beyond God’s forgiveness. There’s no hope for me. God couldn’t possibly forgive a murderer.” He was afraid. Fearing there was no hope for him. Almost ready to give up any thought of forgiveness. Yet something kept him hanging on, reading about God’s great love for His wayward children. “Could it be true? Jesus took the penalty for my sin, too? And for everyone who ever lived or ever would live? Imagine what Harry thought when one day Mrs. Steunenburg herself visited him in prison. Personally. She told him, “Harry, I forgive you because I am a Christian. But I want to invite you to give your heart to Christ.” Incredible, forgiving love from a heart-broken widow to this cold-blooded murderer of a husband and father! Harry Orchard came to the conclusion that all he could do was cast himself at the feet of Jesus and ask for mercy and forgiveness and eternal life. By faith he accepted Jesus as his Savior. Orchard's conversion was so genuine and so deep... He was baptized into Jesus Christ and joined Mrs. Steunenberg’s church family. Because he turned State's Witness his sentence was changed from death to life in prison. Fast forward fifty years. Until he died just a few years ago, he was a model prisoner. He became such a positive witness for his faith he led several prisoners to accept Jesus as their Savior, too. In fact, many a man waiting on death’s row refused the visit of a chaplain. But they’d ask for Harry Orchard to come pray for them. After more than fifty years in prison he said, “Iron bars and prison walls have kept my body captive, but my soul has long been free!” Quite a story! But there’s not doubt about it, we have all sinned. “Hey!” someone says, “I’m pretty good. Compared to Orchard I hardly ever “sin.” I do little goofs. No biggies.” But do the math. Say I’m pretty good: 10 sins a day. (No, just 5....) three sinful acts each day, we are guilty of 1,095 sins each year. If you multiply that by your age you will be shocked. 1000 x 70 = 70,000 sins! You’ve got a major sin problem! (Big as a NYC Telephone directory.) We need help! Big time. When I first saw this, I was depressed. But then I learned how to have peace of mind. And you can have it, too. Four steps... #1: If a person has a terminal illness and never admits his problem or seeks medical help, he’ll would die. And, that’s precisely the fate of the sinner who doesn’t recognize his spiritual condition and fails to seek help. Why? Because sin is more serious than most realize. So #1, I had to realize I had a problem. Like Harry Orchard. The Bible says: <Isaiah 59:2> God is life. To be separated from God is to die, eternally. When Adam and Eve sinned, they separated themselves from God. They began to die. That’s what sin does. But not just Adam and Eve. We all are under the sentence of death. But there’s “Good News.” God’s love doesn’t just tell me I’m going to die without giving me some hope! Harry Orchard discovered #2: <Romans 6:23> Salvation is a gift we don’t deserve. You can’t earn it, you can’t buy it. Because you can’t put God under obligation to you – by your own good works. Now every religion outside of true Christianity teaches that you receive forgiveness and eternal life by doing good deeds. In India, long-bearded men clad in scanty loincloths sit on beds of spikes, believing that by torturing their bodies they can earn God’s favor. Flagellants beat and bruise their bodies with whips and chains. Some people walk bare-footed on white-hot coals, like the fire-walkers in Fiji while others place skewers like bicycle spokes with sharp points in their skin – all seeking favor of their gods by unusual acts of physical abuse. Buddhists believe they gain merit for a future life by building pagodas or feeding the holy men, and for Moslems, there’s no greater joy or better way of earning favor with God than a pilgrimage to Mecca or dying in defense of Islam. But many Christians unwittingly do the same thing. They attend church, give offerings, follow the Golden Rule – thinking they earn favor with God and thus deserve eternal life. But, is that possible? Can we through good works bribe God to grant forgiveness and eternal life? Do we earn salvation, or win it – as one does an Olympic Gold Metal? Is heaven a reward for being good? Self discipline. Listen to Eph. 2:8-9: <Ephesians 2:8, 9> (KJV) It’s a gift! If I could earn salvation it would not be a gift. Suppose your employer handed you an envelope and said he had a gift for you. If you discover your paycheck for the past two weeks inside, would that be a gift? NOT IF YOU HAD EARNED IT! But why would the mighty God who rules the universe be concerned about people on a sin-sick planet out on the edge of space? Why didn’t he just abandon rebellious sinners and leave us to suffer the consequences of sin? Step #3: The answer is found in three words: <1 John 4:16> He loves us terminally ill cancer patients with the disease of sin. Can I share a personal human illustration? My brother and his young wife excitedly brought their baby home from the hospital. Within days that baby boy began to cry day and night with a severe case of colic. The parents followed the physician’s advice, but nothing seemed to help. They walked the floor, they sang to him. Tried all sorts of advice from friends, but nothing worked. The kid is 22 now. Strange medical problems. They are exhausted, drained financially. But not once did they ever consider giving the child away or abandoning him to suffer alone! WHY? They love that little helpless child – all the more because of the pain and suffering he has to endure. That is what God is like. We, His children on Planet Earth, have developed the colic of sin. The pain and suffering we endure because of it, only intensifies God’s love for us. And He never gives up. Never has God considered abandoning us! Never has He considered leaving us to perish and suffer the consequences of our rebellion. The Bible says, <2 Peter 3:9> Regardless of how good or bad, God loves you and wants to save you. He is not willing that you should perish. <Romans 5:8> (KJV) Now here’s a theological question for you. How can it be that God, who is sinned against can punish sin and yet forgive us, not counting our sins against us? Admittedly, we have all sinned. We have all rebelled against God and broken His law. Earthly governments cannot long tolerate lawlessness and survive. Violators, when found guilty are punished. But violating God’s law is far more serious because sin separates us from God – the One who created us and the only one who can help and save us! You see, there’s a problem here: even though God is a God of everlasting love, He is also a God of justice and law. He described Himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai: <Exodus 34:5-6> (NIV) So God has a dilemma. He is loving and merciful. But at the same time He’s also a God of perfect law and justice. “He will by no means clear the guilty,” KJV says. Nobody gets off the hook. So here’s the $64,000 question: How can these two seeming opposites be reconciled? God loves us and wants to give everyone eternal life. But His justice and His law demand that He punish law-breakers. “The wages of sin is death.” Is there no solution? No way out? Thank God, there is a way out! A loving God found a way to save us and still be just. He found a perfect substitute to die in our place, pay the penalty for our sins, then crediting it to us so that we could live. John, the beloved disciple explains it this way: <John 3:16> (KJV) Jesus came to our sewer cesspool world to live as a man, face the same problems and temptations that every human has faced. He proved by His perfect life of obedience that there is no excuse for sin. But then, as the one sin-less representative of the human race, Christ voluntarily took upon Himself the guilt of every person who would ever live, and died on their behalf. Paid the penalty for our sin. Your sin. My sin. Paul wrote, <Romans 5:19> (KJV) Jesus’ death wasn’t to appease an angry God, as Martin Luther first thought. Jesus willingly offered to die to save us from our sins. And God loved us so much He was willing to allow His only Son to be sacrificed in our place as a ransom. That’s how much salvation cost heaven! Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb of God! Back in the O.T., when God was leading His people, Israel, out of Egypt, He gave them a dramatic kindergarten illustration of the plan of salvation. Sin means death. Fifteen centuries before Jesus came to die, God called man’s attention to faith in a future Calvary, where the true Lamb would be sacrificed for the sins of all mankind. The sinner came, bringing a sacrificial animal. He placed his hand on the head of the animal and confessed his sin. He then took a knife and killed it, symbolizing that his sins would one day cause the death of Jesus, who’d come to die as the sacrificial Lamb. It was a revolting ceremony. In vivid 3-D Technicolor burning into their minds “the wages of sin is very serious. Gruesome? Yes. Hanging on to that lamb; its jumping around on top of the altar trying to get away. Finally it bleeds to death. Horrible. Shocking. The sinner would fall on his knees and say, “My God! What have I done? This is what my sins on Calvary’s cross will do to Jesus, the Lamb some day!” Their sacrifices showed faith in the coming death of Jesus, the true Lamb of God who would die in our place as our substitute. <John 1:29> (KJV) How ironic that the very men Jesus came to save plotted to take His life! Jesus – totally innocent – was beaten, mocked, and then crucified – the cruelest form of execution ever devised, reserved for the worst of criminals. The One <1 Peter 2:22> (KJV) died on an instrument of torture! Dying our death! Taking upon Himself my sins. So identifying with sinners He was crucified between two thieves! And as God placed upon Him the sins of the whole world, He cried out, <Matthew 27:46> He felt the terrible knife sin brings – separation from God. Jesus couldn’t bear the agony of separation from the Father. It wasn’t the nails that killed Him. He died from our sins. A broken heart. The crowd shouted, <Matthew 27:42> How true that was! He could not save Himself and still save others. But God’s love couldn’t be satisfied until He restored mankind to God’s family. God loves us so much that He gave His own Son to die in our place, as our substitute. By paying the price Himself, God can give us credit for what Christ did. He has our sins charged to Jesus’ account; make Him die to pay our debt. And then God turns around and credits us with the perfect life Jesus lived. Amazing grace, isn’t it? Paul, the apostle said: <Ephesians 2:8> (NIV) How does this “faith” in Jesus work?” That’s what the Philippian jailer wanted to know. What must I do? How do I get salvation? Paul answered, <Acts 16:31> But listen! There are different kinds of belief. In the Bible, there are three different kinds of faith. You’ve got to have the right kind. First, there is “intellectual” faith. Brain power. I.Q. But Agreeing in your mind that Christ lived on earth is not enough. I hold here a $20 bill. Been used many times; it’s genuine. You have intellectual faith. (You believe in its existence. It’s reality. It’s worth.) Now it’s the same with Jesus. Most of the world intellectually believes in Jesus Christ. His existence. His reality – He was a historical Person. His worth: He did good things. They have “Intellectual Faith” in the historical fact Jesus lived and died. But mentally saying in your brain, “Okay, Jesus lived on earth 2000 years ago,” is not enough. That’s not saving faith. Intellectual faith and “believing in” this $20 bill doesn’t make it yours. The Bible says, <James 2:19> (KJV) But intellectual faith won’t save the devil, you see. It takes more than intellectual faith. (Belief in your mind.) Second, there’s another kind of faith. TEMPORAL. You know what $20 will buy. Temporal “STUFF!” What it can accomplish. Well, many people know why Jesus came; believe He is the answer to the sin problem. Believe in what He accomplished. So they go to church. Do good things. “Temporal STUFF!” But Temporal faith won’t save you either. (Temporal faith by itself is just plain legalism!) Being good won’t save you. You see, there’s a 3rd kind of faith: ACCEPTING FAITH. It’s very personal, where I reach out, pick up this $20, trust it and accept it for myself.
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