The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel Youth

['Bishop Taylor Smith, former Chaplain General to the Forces, once had a conversation with a young man that went like this:\nBishop: ‘When you think about the cross of Christ, what do you see?’\nYoung man: ‘I see Christ and two thieves crucified either side of him…’\nBishop: ‘What else do you see?’\nYoung man: ‘I see the soldiers gambling…’\nBishop: ‘If that is all you see, I think you will have trouble with the Christian life. When I see the cross – with all that – I see old Bishop Taylor Smith. I was crucified with Christ.’\nIn the New Testament passage for today, the apostle Paul expounds and explains what it means to have been ‘crucified with Christ’. We are ‘in Christ Jesus’. ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life’ (Romans 6:4). ‘We entered into the new country of grace – a new life in a new land!’ (Romans 6:3, MSG).\nSoon after encountering Jesus I wrote, ‘I died in February 1974. My old life was buried. From then onwards I have walked in newness of life. It really does seem like that. Life before was so absolutely and completely different.’\nThrough the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you are able to live and enjoy ‘a new life.’ In the passages for today, we see how this was anticipated in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament.', None]

Bishop Taylor Smith, former Chaplain General to the Forces, once had a conversation with a young man that went like this:

Bishop: ‘When you think about the cross of Christ, what do you see?’

Young man: ‘I see Christ and two thieves crucified either side of him…’

Bishop: ‘What else do you see?’

Young man: ‘I see the soldiers gambling…’

Bishop: ‘If that is all you see, I think you will have trouble with the Christian life. When I see the cross – with all that – I see old Bishop Taylor Smith. I was crucified with Christ.’

In the New Testament passage for today, the apostle Paul expounds and explains what it means to have been ‘crucified with Christ’. We are ‘in Christ Jesus’. ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life’ (Romans 6:4). ‘We entered into the new country of grace – a new life in a new land!’ (Romans 6:3, MSG).

Soon after encountering Jesus I wrote, ‘I died in February 1974. My old life was buried. From then onwards I have walked in newness of life. It really does seem like that. Life before was so absolutely and completely different.’

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you are able to live and enjoy ‘a new life.’ In the passages for today, we see how this was anticipated in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament.

['It has been said that the biggest problem on earth is not too little democracy, or too much poverty, or too few anti-viral vaccines, but the fact that two-thirds of the world’s population live outside the protection of the law. A lack of justice has a terrible effect on many of the world’s poor.\nThe themes of justice and grace flow through the Bible. We cannot fully understand grace without understanding justice. One definition of grace is ‘undeserved love’. There is a mnemonic used to explain grace: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. We see today how Jesus Christ makes just grace available for you and me.', None]

It has been said that the biggest problem on earth is not too little democracy, or too much poverty, or too few anti-viral vaccines, but the fact that two-thirds of the world’s population live outside the protection of the law. A lack of justice has a terrible effect on many of the world’s poor.

The themes of justice and grace flow through the Bible. We cannot fully understand grace without understanding justice. One definition of grace is ‘undeserved love’. There is a mnemonic used to explain grace: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. We see today how Jesus Christ makes just grace available for you and me.

['Robbie Williams’ evocative lyric in the song ‘Feel’ echoes the deep longing of the human heart: ‘I just wanna feel real love’. God wants you to feel his love for you. He wants you to accept his love in your heart. You can receive his love in a new way today.\nI remember an occasion when our grandson, aged two, wanted to feel his father’s love. He raised both hands in the air and said, ‘Hugga Dadda’. My son picked up his son, lifted him into his arms, embraced him, kissed him and hugged him. It is a wonderful thing to hold a parent’s hand but an incomparably greater thing to have their arms wrapped around you. This is an illustration of the experience of God’s love.\nYou know that God loves you through the cross: ‘God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8). You experience God’s love through the Holy Spirit: ‘God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us’ (5:5).\n‘The whole Bible,’ St Augustine observes, ‘does nothing but tell of God’s love.’ Father Raniero Cantalamessa writes: ‘This is the message that supports and explains all the other messages. The love of God is the answer to all the “whys” in the Bible: the why of creation, the why of the incarnation, the why of redemption. If the written word of the Bible could be changed into a spoken word and become one single voice, this voice, more powerful than the roaring of the sea would cry out: “the Father loves you!” (John 16:27). Everything that God does and says in the Bible is love, even God’s anger is nothing but love. God “is” love!’', None]

Robbie Williams’ evocative lyric in the song ‘Feel’ echoes the deep longing of the human heart: ‘I just wanna feel real love’. God wants you to feel his love for you. He wants you to accept his love in your heart. You can receive his love in a new way today.

I remember an occasion when our grandson, aged two, wanted to feel his father’s love. He raised both hands in the air and said, ‘Hugga Dadda’. My son picked up his son, lifted him into his arms, embraced him, kissed him and hugged him. It is a wonderful thing to hold a parent’s hand but an incomparably greater thing to have their arms wrapped around you. This is an illustration of the experience of God’s love.

You know that God loves you through the cross: ‘God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8). You experience God’s love through the Holy Spirit: ‘God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us’ (5:5).

‘The whole Bible,’ St Augustine observes, ‘does nothing but tell of God’s love.’ Father Raniero Cantalamessa writes: ‘This is the message that supports and explains all the other messages. The love of God is the answer to all the “whys” in the Bible: the why of creation, the why of the incarnation, the why of redemption. If the written word of the Bible could be changed into a spoken word and become one single voice, this voice, more powerful than the roaring of the sea would cry out: “the Father loves you!” (John 16:27). Everything that God does and says in the Bible is love, even God’s anger is nothing but love. God “is” love!’

['In the years that I practised as a barrister I noticed that, for many people, appearing in a court of law is a terrifying experience – even if they are only appearing as a witness. Being a litigant, a person involved in the lawsuit, or a defendant in a criminal trial is an even more nerve-racking event. I saw the relief when a defendant was acquitted or a litigant was declared by a judge to be ‘in the right’.\nIn the legal system of Ancient Israel, a dispute put both parties at risk of the judgment of the court. The court’s process had a redemptive role; the judge was meant to help the party in the right to correct the wrong. At the end of the case, one party would be declared righteous and the other in the wrong. Successful performance of this function meant ‘justice’ had been done. The Hebrew word for righteous is tsaddiq, which some versions of the Bible translate as ‘innocent’ or ‘just’ – one whose status is right. This is the Old Testament background to being ‘justified’.\nThe child’s definition of justified is ‘just as if I’d’ never sinned. Jesus died for our sins. When you put your faith in him you were justified. You were freed. You are declared righteous in his sight. Sin no longer separates you from God. You can live in a right relationship with him and with others. This is ‘justification’.', None]

In the years that I practised as a barrister I noticed that, for many people, appearing in a court of law is a terrifying experience – even if they are only appearing as a witness. Being a litigant, a person involved in the lawsuit, or a defendant in a criminal trial is an even more nerve-racking event. I saw the relief when a defendant was acquitted or a litigant was declared by a judge to be ‘in the right’.

In the legal system of Ancient Israel, a dispute put both parties at risk of the judgment of the court. The court’s process had a redemptive role; the judge was meant to help the party in the right to correct the wrong. At the end of the case, one party would be declared righteous and the other in the wrong. Successful performance of this function meant ‘justice’ had been done. The Hebrew word for righteous is tsaddiq, which some versions of the Bible translate as ‘innocent’ or ‘just’ – one whose status is right. This is the Old Testament background to being ‘justified’.

The child’s definition of justified is ‘just as if I’d’ never sinned. Jesus died for our sins. When you put your faith in him you were justified. You were freed. You are declared righteous in his sight. Sin no longer separates you from God. You can live in a right relationship with him and with others. This is ‘justification’.

['‘We sometimes fall into the trap of thinking we are the worst people on the face of the earth and that nobody does as many wrong things as we do. But Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory (excellence) of God. Every man, woman, or child who was ever born, or ever will be, has a problem with sin. But the good news is that God has provided an answer to our dilemma,’ writes Joyce Meyer.\nWhen Saint Augustine found the answer in 386, ‘a clear light flooded [his] heart’. Martin Luther found the answer and a few years later the Reformation began, in 1517. When John Wesley understood the answer in 1738, his heart was ‘strangely warmed’ and the seeds of a revival began.\nIn each case, their lives were radically changed through understanding ‘the righteousness of God’. It’s a game changer. The moment anyone comes to understand this expression, it changes your life. It certainly changed mine.', None]

‘We sometimes fall into the trap of thinking we are the worst people on the face of the earth and that nobody does as many wrong things as we do. But Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory (excellence) of God. Every man, woman, or child who was ever born, or ever will be, has a problem with sin. But the good news is that God has provided an answer to our dilemma,’ writes Joyce Meyer.

When Saint Augustine found the answer in 386, ‘a clear light flooded [his] heart’. Martin Luther found the answer and a few years later the Reformation began, in 1517. When John Wesley understood the answer in 1738, his heart was ‘strangely warmed’ and the seeds of a revival began.

In each case, their lives were radically changed through understanding ‘the righteousness of God’. It’s a game changer. The moment anyone comes to understand this expression, it changes your life. It certainly changed mine.