We are taught that we must become upright people who, in God’s sight, are blameless and fully keep His commandments. “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” [(Modern Translation: “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth also came from the family of Aaron. They were righteous before God and faithfully kept all the Lord’s commandments and regulations without fault”)] (Luke 1:5–6). While meditating on this passage, I would like to draw out the lessons given to us: (1) The author of Luke’s Gospel, Luke, first wrote to Theophilus about John the Baptist’s parents. The father’s name was “Zechariah” (meaning, “The LORD remembers...
We who died with Christ [Romans 6:1-14] Look at Romans 6:5a – “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, ….” “His death” here refers to the death of Jesus Christ. Why did the sinless Jesus die? Look at Romans 5:10a – “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, ….” The purpose of the death of Jesus, who was sinless, was that we might be reconciled to God. Look at 1 John 4:10 – “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The purpose why God loved us, who were His enemies, and sent His Son Jesus Christ as the propitiation was to make atonement for our sins. If we look again at Romans 6:5a, the Bible says, “For if we have become united with Him in the liken...