(Further reflections on “Field of Blood” | Acts 2:12-26—Sunday 12-Feb-2023)
Sins repented of will be forgiven and life will be granted to those who believe in Jesus. Sins regretted of and those who wanted to be self-justified will be rejected and death will be the lot to those who believe in themselves. The former were the eleven disciples who also betrayed Jesus but they stay put till resurrection and they received their lot—being with Him and having the privilege of serving Jesus and preaching His good news to all. The latter was Judas, who was among the twelve who were handpicked by Jesus, betrayed Him like the others but didn’t wait to see Jesus’ word being fulfilled. He finished his life before having a chance to hear Jesus saying, “It is finished.”. Judas received his lot—death, being eternally separated from God’s presence.
There was a Judas Iscariot in Jesus time and there will always be a ‘Judas’ in our time. There are people who seem to be going to church regularly but are never able to be free from the past/present guilt and shame which either caused by themselves or others. Forgiveness happened only in the Bible and not in their life’s operating system. They agree forgiveness is good but never practicing or want to practice it in their own terms and conditions. They act like they are above God’s commands. These people can be very religious but never able to taste and fathom God’s forgiveness by His grace through faith in Christ Jesus. They know how to say the right things, but fail to live out rightly with the Gospel of Jesus in their life. They even have a hard time forgiving themselves. So as a result, they find it impossible to forgive others. Self-deceived, they think that by not forgiving others they are in control as they are punishing others. Little do they know that they are punishing themselves and planting in their life the seed of bitterness, which is growing into a tree with full of bitter fruits. The more they eat, the longer being unforgiving they become. It is easy to smell bitterness when you get around them. Arguably, being unforgiving is in a way unbelieving. Because they don’t believe in God’s forgiveness, so they can’t forgive others including themselves. Without knowing it, they are hardening their heart to the point of death like Judas, who didn’t believe and heed Jesus’ word but was focusing on how to save their face or restore their dignity. Judas and many others like him can’t wait to see the outworking of the good news of Jesus in and through their life. Judas’ death means sins un-repented; grace resisted; and being self-justified and the lot he received was the “field of blood”—God’s justice and punishment for those who believe in themselves.
If Christ’s crucifixion is not your lot, then the “field of blood” will be yours. If Christ’s forgiveness is not well received and lived, guilt and shame will be your lot. If Christ’s resurrection is not your hope, hopelessness will be your lot. If Christ’s word is not your lot, others’ word will be your lot. If the Holy Spirit’s power is not your lot, “having a form of godliness but no power” will be your lot. If Christ’s Body (the local church) is not your lot, then being an orphan (and remaining an infant) in Christ will be your lot. If Christ’s great commission is not your lot, mindless and heartless Christianity will be your lot. If Christ’s return is not what you are looking forward to, then boredom, lethargy, self-indulgence, and “I, me, and myself” will be your lot.
So what’s your lot? Know your lot and live accordingly.
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Pastor Lap
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