He paid the debt He did not owe. I owe the debt I could not pay. I needed someone to wash my sins away. Christ Jesus paid the debt I could never pay. There is a price to be paid whether you choose to live before or after the cross. You may sometimes come face to face with those who threatened your life. But nay, what shall separate us from the love of God?
Paul the apostle postulated in Philippians 3 that:
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and *I count all things but loss* for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: *for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung,* that I may win Christ,
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and *the fellowship of his sufferings,* being made conformable unto his death;
14 *I press toward the mark* for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Christ Jesus suffered just before the cross and on the cross. God the Father forsook Him because He carried the sin of the world. Some Christians identifies more with Christ's life just before the cross and on the cross. Jesus before the cross said this to His audience:
Matthew 16: 24-26
Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. *"Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it.* Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. *Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.* What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?
Hence, for some Christians the Christian Faith is a complete package that comes with *"the good, the bad and the ugly"*
During Jesus's ministry on earth He sent missionaries out and He gave them specific guidance. One of such instances is as follows:
Matthew 10:16-17:
16 "Stay alert. *This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack,* so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.
17 *"Don't be naive. Some people will impugn your motives, others will smear your reputation—just because you believe in me.* Don't be upset *when they haul you before the civil authorities.* Without knowing it, they've done you—and me—a favor, given you a platform for preaching the kingdom news! And don't worry about what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words.
However for some Christians this aspect of the Kingdom Business was before the cross. Hence the Christian faith to them is about *life choices*. They chose to live their life not before the cross. They chose to live within the context of the circumstances after the cross.
Not much was written about Jesus's life here on earth after the cross. But the scriptures has given us a hint as to what He has been doing and is still doing and will be doing until the rapture of the church and His second coming. Hebrews 4 says:
14 That is why we have *a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God.* Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him.
15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin.
16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
The all knowing savoiur Jesus, who knows the end from the beginning, knew that Christians or the Church cannot exist and operate premised on their own strength and effort. Hence, He promised to send the Comforter: the Holy Spirit.
John 14: 16 - 18 says:
16 And I will ask the Father, and *he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.*
17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
18 No, *I will not abandon you as orphans*—I will come to you.
Jesus all along prepared our minds as to what life we would live after the cross. Hence, He promised us the Holy Spirit. It takes the Holy Spirit to convict the human spirit for one to be born again. The experience of the new birth is not by might nor by power of any soul winner but by the Spirit of the Living God.
Bible says in Acts 1:8 that, *"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."*
Yes, it is an undeniable fact that the early Church was embolden when this scripture was fulfilled in their lives. Peter who hitherto was timid and denied Christ on 3 occasions stood up for the gospel and declared the infallible Word of God with boldness and audacity without fear and favour. He and his fellow apostles wrought a lot of miracles to the extent that the narrative has it that handkerchiefs were taken from Paul to heal the sick long distances away without in person ministration:
Acts 19: 11 & 12 says:
11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
But don't forget the bible have records of how members of the early church paid the price even to the extent of being killed:
Acts 12: 1-3 says:
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And *he killed James* the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
The church stood in prayer and by the power of the Holy Spirit Peter was set free from prison. That is the demonstration of power by the church through the help of the Holy Spirit.
But church history tells us of how the apostles died as matyrs. Church history has told us that the church which came into being after the cross shared in the sufferings of Christ which took place before the cross. Missionaries of yesteryear went through a lot of challenges to get the gospel to their sphere of contact and some never returned to their local church. They were buried whilst preaching Christ in the mission fields miles away from home. They gave up houses, jobs, families et cetera just to preach Christ. They paid the price for the gospel to live on, way after the cross.
The crust of the matter is no matter which of the two contexts you choose to live; ie either before or after the cross there is a price to be paid. Paul who persecuted the church was persecuted himself. He decided to count all that he had before knowing Christ as loss. He gave it all; his time, money, energy, knowledge, writing skill, talent (a tent maker, building domes at his time) to support the Kingdom Business.
It's a great feeling to live in our comfort zone with all the faith filled declarations and the lejuires that goes with it. But, are we ready to walk the talk? Most of those who have chosen life after the cross are afraid of challenges and suffering for the sake of expressing their faith. They cower in the face of insults, the fear of being isolated by the world or incarcerated. They compromise the infallible Word of God. They try to reason and logic the infallible Word of God using the knowledge of man. But the truth is you cannot logic the infallible Word of God.
Christianity is a life of victory with a complete package that encompass the totality of all that Christ Jesus went through on earth. He went through all. Hence, He can empathise and identify with us in joy and in challenges. He knows what it is to be insulted, beaten, forsaken and carry the sin of the world in His body. He felt it when God the Father forsook Him on the cross momentarily.
Christianity it's a complete package with the results already determined.
Romans 8:35-39 sums it up:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? *shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?*
36 As it is written, For thy sake *we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.*
37 Nay, *IN ALL THESE THINGS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS* through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that *neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,*
39 *Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,* shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
David said he will not give anything that will cost him nothing to God:
And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: *neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.* So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
2 Samuel 24:24
Your money, time, energy, wealth, health, talent and all that you have must be committed to the things of God. You cannot be out there preaching Christ Jesus if you want to please the world. It shall cost you friends and companions. Be ready, for victory is assured. Do not cower in the face of threat. Stand for what you believed and confessed no matter what.
Bro Ritchie Edukwesi WOANYA