It’s Not a Game

Have you ever played the board game Monopoly? Monopoly is a multi-player economics-themed board game. It takes a while to finish, which hinders us from playing it frequently. However, many of us have played it at least once in our lives. In the game there is a particular valuable card one can draw – the “Get Out of Jail Free” card. This card frees a player from jail making them able to continue playing and progress around the board without paying a fee.

I thought of this card because this past Sunday we lit the second candle of advent. The candle of peace. I reminded everyone that we actually possess a kind of real “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Though, I would call it a “Get Out of Hell Free” card. Just as all the guilty deserve jail, all sinners deserve hell, and we are all sinners. I hope I didn’t surprise anyone with that. Did you think you were perfect? Nope. Romans 3:23 clearly states, “…everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” We are not innocent. None of us. In one way or another, we are all guilty of disobeying God. The guilty deserve jail – hell. What kind of judge would God be if He allowed guilty people to go free?

I have mentioned before, justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve, and grace is getting what we do not deserve. It may be hard to hear but, yes, we all deserve hell, because we are all guilty. We are all sinners.

On Judgment Day, the Bible says, “…we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (2 Corinthians 5:10). What am I to do? When I am confronted with everything I have said, done, or thought, over the entirety of my life, everything I have done in my earthly body, I am toast. Guilty. What do I do? Is there anything a guilty person can do to avoid prison? Sure. In Monopoly, you just pull out your “Get Out of Jail Free” card. On Judgment Day, you pull out your “Get Out of Hell Free” card – Jesus.

When God sees that Christ lives in you and you in Him, He will pronounce “case dismissed!” Why? Have you ever heard of double jeopardy? The legal term referring to the fact that we cannot be tried twice for the same crimes. The same principle applies here. Our crimes (our sins) have already been judged and the sentence carried out. We have been found guilty and we were beaten, whipped, nailed to a cross, and condemned to hell as punishment. Wait, no, that wasn’t us. That was Jesus. Yes, He took the punishment for our crimes. That’s why God will not prosecute you, because your crimes have already been paid for on Calvary. You will not spend eternity in hell. You will enter the land of light and joy! All because you had a “Get Out of Hell Free” card.

Do your loved ones, family, friends, and coworkers have a “Get Out of Hell Free” card? If they do not, their future will be much different than yours. Tell them it is not a game. There will come a time when “…we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” And then tell them about the “Get Out of Hell Free” card – Jesus. They will be eternally grateful. 

-----------------------------------------------------   

Remember you can email praises and petitions to southchurchprayer@gmail.com. I lift them up every Wednesday at 4:00 pm on Facebook Live.