Did you ever see that episode of Batman where Batman died so that the supervillain could escape and live? Yeah, me neither. I don’t think that ever happened.
I believe the story I’m thinking of is the story of mankind. My story. And your story.
Scripture refers to us as enemies of God before we start following Jesus (Romans 5:10). The Bible says that the mind that is set on sinful things is “hostile to God” (Romans 8:7). To be clear, this refers to all of us. Every person has sinned and chosen to disobey God (Romans 3:23, 5:12). At some point in our lives, we all have decided to follow after our own passions and desires (Titus 3:3).
As enemies of God, the truth is that we should be condemned, apart from God, for eternity. As his enemies, why would he force us to be with him if we don’t want to follow him?
You’ve probably heard of the word “gospel” before. The term literally means “good news”. But there is some bad news before you get to the good news. The bad news is that if we choose to live in sin and not repent, we are apart from God. And if you never repent from your sin, things will stay that way.
The good news is that things don’t have to stay that way. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
While we were still enemies of God, he chose to take our punishment. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches ofGod’s grace.”
When Jesus died on our behalf, his blood was the very thing that brought us redemption. His blood has made us justified, right with God.
If you’re reading this and you are a Christian, this is a reminder to rejoice and be glad. Your past sins separated you from God, but Jesus paid the price so that you are now justified and redeemed. You are now in the process of sanctification to become more like Jesus.
If you’re reading this and you don’t know Jesus, there is good news. You have an opportunity today to leave behind everything that separates you from God. You’re not reading this by accident. There’s a reason that you ended up reading this today. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”
You can be justified today. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Turn to Jesus, confess your sins, and repent today. Decide in your heart that what God wants for you is more important than anything else.
A musician named Andy Mineo once asked, “When have you heard a story about the hero dying for the villain?” The answer to that question is found in your story and mine. Jesus was the hero that died so that we could be justified, made right with God.