September 21, 2009 SCRIPTURE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE - I Corinthians 15:3,4 by Russell S. Miller Printer Friendly Version "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (ICor.15:3,4). Well do I remember that night, many years ago now, when I first trusted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I recall how the minister opened the inspired Scriptures to share God's truth with a lost sinner. How kind he was to tell me of the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus. Opening the pages of holy Writ he showed me verse by verse my sinful condition before a holy God, and God's remedy for it: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom.3:23). "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom.6:23). Finally when he laid that Book open before me at St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 15, and showed me how that "CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS," I knew that I must trust Christ as my Saviour. I praise God for that man--that night--when I was convinced by the Spirit of God concerning "the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (IITim.2:10). But more than that I praise the Lord for the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross. "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Rom.4:25). How wonderful the peace that came into my troubled soul--"peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom.5:1). I found peace because the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the Scriptures opened my blind eyes to see how fully I had been identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection--baptized into Jesus Christ Himself, and made one with one another in the Body of Christ (Rom.6:3; 4:l; ICor.12:13). "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph.1:7). "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without [the] shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb.9:22). And because of the finished work of Christ at Calvary--redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation, there is no doubt about the eternal security of believers in Christ today. "THEREFORE BEING JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST" (Rom.5:1). "Much more then, BEING NOW JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD, we shall be saved from wrath through Him (Rom.5:9). Praise the Lord, indeed, for these passages of Scripture that have changed my life, my outlook on life, and my eternal destiny in life. The epistles of Saint Paul are written to "saints," and believers in Jesus Christ are called "saints" immediately upon believing the gospel. This is a most remarkable change indeed--from a "sinner" to a "saint" in a moment of time. Won't you trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour and experience the change that Holy Scripture can make in your life? To the Reader: Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface: "It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles." We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.