FBC Greenhill, in Killen
According to one magazine article, Kenneth Feinberg is considered the “go to” mediator in the United States. He has negotiated settlements involving several high-profile corporations and government entities. A mediator negotiates a settlement between two disputing parties, bridging the gap between the parties to bring them into a relationship that benefits both.
With all due respect to Feinberg, the greatest and original “go to” meditator is none other than Jesus Christ. First Timothy 2:5–6 says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men.” Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth was to be a mediator, to negotiate an agreement between two parties standing on opposite sides of a spiritual dispute — man and God.
The Bible makes it clear that man has a great need for the work of a mediator. Our sin and willful rebellion has put us at odds with God and made us into His spiritual enemies. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”
Paul identifies the disputing sides in this spiritual disagreement: on the one side is God and on the other side, men. Our sin has built a huge wall between us and God and spiritually we are at war with God. And to die while separated from God brings sure and eternal doom.
But the good news is that Jesus came to be the ultimate and final mediator between man and God. Paul identifies this great mediator: the “man Christ Jesus.” And while mediators today perform their work in courtrooms, Jesus accomplished His great work on the cross of Calvary. When Jesus “gave Himself as a ransom for all” on the cross, He paid for our sins and brought us into agreement with God. If a man will repent of sin and turn away from sin and trust in God and the work of Jesus on the cross, he will be saved.
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