The Onus is On Us

The Onus is on Us

Have you ever considered your relationship with Jesus on a contractual basis? Yes, really – as if a contract between you and God was what tied you to Him. Actually, as far as I can see, the covenant which God made with us over Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection IS a contract. Yet God, being God, never once considered making it binding on our part. He always wants us to choose Him rather than being compelled by contract.

Fascinating isn’t it? On the one hand, there is God – the Lord God Almighty, that is His name -
Exodus 6:3 “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.”

On the one hand, there is God – the Lord God Almighty - who created everything that is. On the other hand, we are His creation, made in His image, totally unworthy of His consideration let alone His love. This supreme being, God, makes a contract or a covenant with us in which only one side, His side, has a binding agreement. It’s just staggering isn’t it? His covenant or contract with us is this – IF we accept and believe in His Son and call upon His name, then He will clean us up, make us acceptable to Himself, accept us, and take us to heaven to live with Him there – for ever.

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

No more hurting, no more pain, no more tears – just peace and the privilege of worshiping Him and serving each other for ever. There’s a few sub-clauses here and there but, generally speaking, that’s it. That is the contract.

Of course there is a down side. He wants so much for us to do this, that He has another place for us if we don’t comply – if we refuse His offer. He calls it Hell. It is full of terrible fire to punish those who go there, and it is currently run by our and God’s arch enemy, Satan. But God makes important concessions just for us. For example, He doesn’t allow Satan to do too much to us – although he can actually destroy us if we let him. But God also tells us that if we resist Satan, then he must flee from us. There’s lots more besides – it is called the authority of a believer which Jesus also gave to us.

Oh, I could go on and on, but this is a contract worth having. It is worth taking God up on His offer as it’s certainly the best we’ll ever get. But to get to my main point, the onus – the responsibility - for all of this whether we decide to accept or reject God’s offer, is ours and ours alone. The onus, for accepting Jesus as our Saviour, is on us. Don’t ever forget that please. We are as responsible for our own decisions towards God as we are for our other legal responsibilities here on earth. The analogy is simple. Be good, stay out of jail – be bad, go to jail. Accept God’s covenant contract and gain eternal life. Refuse God’s covenant contract and suffer Hell. Both sentences are for ever and are final.

That’s why it is so much like a legal contract, except that it really is loaded in our favour. Oh well – it’s your choice. Make your mind up quick – the time limit is running out fast.

The onus IS on us.