What if you were given the Death Penalty and you were issued the date of February 25, 2018. You were guilty and you knew it, and so did everyone else know it. You had used all your appeals to the court and the date is set for you to die on February 25, 2018. So on February 24, 2018 it is your last night and you get your last meal. In Florida I think there is a $40 minimum for money spent on meal. In Texas I believe they stop giving last meals in 2011. I looked up some of the last meals of people who were executed and here are some of those last meals.
John Wayne Gacy, 52 years old, Illinois — rape and 33 counts of murder, death by lethal injection in 1994
Food:
12 fried shrimp, bucket of original recipe KFC, french fries, a pound of strawberries.
Timothy McVeigh, 33 years old, Indiana — 168 counts of murder, death by lethal injection in 2001
Food:
Two pints of mint and chocolate-chip ice cream.
Ted Bundy, 43 years old, Florida — rape, necrophilia, prison escape, 35+ counts of murder, death by electric chair in 1989
Food:
Declines a “special” meal, so was given the traditional last meal: steak (medium rare), eggs (over easy), hash browns, toast with butter and jelly, milk, juice.
So lets say you have had all night to realizes that by tomorrow at this time you will be dead. That means you will step out of time into eternity. You are schedule to die at exactly 10:30 am eastern time on February 25, 2018. But at 9:00 am eastern time you hear the men coming for you and your heart is racing because you know the time has come for you to be paid your fee for your sin. The bible says “for the wages of sin is death”. So pay day is here but you are not to happy about it. Most people would be excited that they were going to get paid right? But not when it comes to getting paid for sin.
So now the moment of truth has arrived. But when the men come in they say that another man who you don’t know has decided to die for you. What is the first question you will ask? Who is this man that will die for me?
Then you are told that all charges have been drop and you have had your record wiped clean. If you have any good sense you would not go out and start committing crimes again right? You would be grateful to the one who died for you and you would be indebted to that individual for the rest of your life right? Well Jesus is that man that died for your sins. So even though your works do not save you, should you work because of gratitude? We are saved by grace through faith but the faith that saves us, makes us want to live better lives right?
You should live like men and women who were on death row and were about to be executed and someone took your place.
Now live as if you are grateful to what Jesus has done for you.
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
(1) THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST- What is the Incarnation?
The term incarnation is of Latin origin, and it means “becoming in flesh.” While the word incarnation is not contained within Scripture, the doctrine of the Incarnation certainly does convey scriptural truth. The Christian doctrine of the Incarnation teaches that the Eternal Word, the second person of the Trinity, without diminishing His deity took upon Himself a fully human nature. Specifically, this doctrine implies that a full and undiminished divine nature as well as a full and perfect human nature were united in the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ is God the Son, in human flesh.
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST- The Foundation of Christian Doctrine
Since Jesus Christ is the center of Christian doctrine and truth, His identity is of surpassing importance. It follows therefore that the doctrine of the Incarnation which reveals His identity is the foundation on which all of Christian doctrine is built. This is clearly seen when you take some time to analyze the central tenets of the historic Christian faith. For example, God’s existence: without the Incarnation, talking about or knowing God personally is mere speculation. The Trinity: the other two members of the Trinity (Father and Holy Spirit) are only really understood and appreciated in light of the person and nature of Christ. Atonement: only Jesus Christ, who is the God-man, is able to reconcile a holy God with sinful humanity. Resurrection: a bodily resurrection which conquers death is only possible for the God-man. Justification: our state before God rests totally in our faith (personal trust) in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
(2) The word Incarnation (from the Latin caro, “flesh”) may refer to the moment when this union of the divine nature of the second person of the Trinity with the human nature became operative in the womb of the Virgin Mary or to the permanent reality of that union in the person of Jesus. The term may be most closely related to the claim in the prologue of the Gospel According to John that the Word became flesh—that is, assumed human nature. (Seelogos.) The essence of the doctrine of the Incarnation is that the preexistent Word has been embodied in the man Jesus of Nazareth, who is presented in the Gospel According to John as being in close personal union with the Father, whose words Jesus is speaking when he preaches the gospel.
Belief in the preexistence of Christ is indicated in various letters of the New Testament but particularly in the Letter of Paul to the Philippians, in which the Incarnation is presented as the emptying of Christ Jesus, who was by nature God and equal to God (i.e., the Father) but who took on the nature of a slave and was later glorified by God.
The development of a more refined theology of the Incarnation resulted from the response of the early church to various misinterpretations concerning the question of the divinity of Jesus and the relationship of the divine and human natures of Jesus. The Council of Nicaea (AD 325) determined that Christ was “begotten, not made” and that he was therefore not creature but Creator. The basis for this claim was the doctrine that he was “of the same substance as the Father.” The doctrine was further defined by the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451), at which it was declared that Jesus was perfect in deity and in humanity and that the identity of each nature was preserved in the person of Jesus Christ. The affirmation of the oneness of Christ with God and with humanity was made while maintaining the oneness of his person.
Subsequent theology has worked out the implications of this definition, although there have been various tendencies emphasizing either the divinity or the humanity of Jesus throughout the history of Christian thought, at times within the parameters set by Nicaea and Chalcedon, at times not. It has commonly been accepted that the union of the human nature of Christ with his divine nature had significant consequences for his human nature—for example, the grace of great sanctity. The union of the two natures has been viewed by theologians as a gift for other humans, both in terms of its benefit for their redemption from sin and in terms of the appreciation of the potential goodness inherent in human activity that can be derived from the doctrine of the Incarnation.