A God of Second Chances

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” Ephesians 1:11 (NIV)

by Alexandra Copeland

To the believer, the unbelieving person is somewhat of an enigma, particularly in the times in which we now live. Things that are happening in the world are unprecedented, and it is both a very perilous and exciting time to be alive. Even though things seem crazy and out of sorts, the events of the day are not as perplexing to the Christian as they seem to be for many others. They are not surprises to us because God has given us a heads up in His extraordinary Word. Through His Word, prophets, and teachers, He has told us about things to come; therefore, many of the events that we are witnessing all over the world are not a secret to us. Through His Word God has prepared us, and it is exceedingly comforting to know that He has looked after us in this way. Without this kind of comfort, we would no doubt spend all of our time freaking out about the perils of the day. This is one of the reasons why we might find it difficult to understand how those who have not discovered this comfort are making it.

Yes, it is both a perilous and an exciting time to be alive, because we are seeing before our very eyes that God’s Word is true. Our blessed Lord and Savior is soon to return, and it is not a time for the man and woman of God to rest on his or her laurels. The laborers are few, but the harvest is indeed still plentiful, and for those who do not know the Lord in the pardon of their sins, it is one of the most exciting times to get to know him.

Jesus Christ is the answer for the world today and every day. He’s the reason that you and I can have such peace in a time when there is unrest everywhere. In Matthew 11:28-30(NKJV), Jesus Christ said, “²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” There is no question that we are dealing with heavy burdens these days, just as people were thousands of years ago. Jesus has an everlasting answer for this and simply asks us to come to him with all of the things that are weighing us down, and he will give us rest.

The rest that our blessed Lord and Savior provides is like nothing else we’ve ever experienced. It is a peace that passes understanding. Jesus Christ also tells us in verse 29 to take his yoke and to learn of him. It is so monumentally important to us as spiritual beings to learn of Jesus Christ because in him lies the full breath of our identity. We cannot fully know or understand ourselves unless we learn about Jesus, and God has commanded that we become more like him.

Each of us has a personal agenda. We want to do certain things with our gifts, talents, and abilities. We have aspirations and dreams; there are goals that we want to accomplish in life, but we would do well to remember that we do not belong to ourselves. We belong to God. Ephesians 1:11 (NIV) tells us “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.”  We were made for God’s purpose, not our own, and this is why He redeemed us and gave us a second chance.

It is often said that “God is a God of second chances.” This is particularly poignant when we consider that Adam and Eve really blew the first chance. In Genesis 2: 16-17(NKJV), the Lord gave Adam a specific commandment. These two verses tell us, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Adam received direct and plain instructions from God, but yet he allowed himself to be enticed by the devil to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Adam and Eve knew the depth of the word ‘good’, for they had an up close and personal experience with the goodness of God every day. He intimately communed and fellowshipped with them often, and they were plopped in the most beautiful and lush place that any of us can imagine. It was the knowledge of both good and evil that delivered the one-two punch to their relationship with God. The knowledge of evil leads to death, and God did not want Adam and Eve to die. His plan made provisions for them to live an eternity, but sin entered the picture through their disobedience, and so did death.

Death is separation. It separates the soul from the body, and it separated us from God. Adam and Eve’s disobedience allowed sin to enter the body and corrupt it. Every person born after them was born into sin as a result. Adam and Eve really did a number on humanity by disobeying God’s direct commandment, but all was not lost, because God is a God of second chances. Romans 5:1-2 (The Message) tells us, “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us.”

Our precious Lord and Savior bought and redeemed us and restored our standing with God. Even when we’re hemmed in with troubles on every hand, we can have confidence that God is working through and in our situations and circumstances to teach us how to become stronger in His love and strength. Romans 5:6-8 (The Message) says:

 

^6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

Sin, then death, greatly disturbed the kind of relationship with us that God wanted, but the sacrifice of Christ, the death of God’s only begotten son, gave us the second chance that we needed. Through Jesus Christ our lives can expand into the overwhelming picture of God’s love that He intended we should paint. You and I didn’t directly sin as Adam and Eve did; they got us into this hot water, but if we had been in their shoes, we would have sinned just as they had done. Even so, the first Adam pointed to the miraculous and perfect love of the second Adam; and the second Adam, Jesus Christ, got us out of the mess we were in.

Romans 5:15 tells us that if one man’s sin caused all of us to be separated from God, think of what God’s gift in one man, His only begotten Son, caused. There is no comparison between the two. Everything that needed to be done for our complete and total redemption was accomplished through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! God didn’t make us surrender to Jesus Christ as Matthew 11:28-30 invites us to do. We have a choice, and God will never overstep our free-will. He will never stop us from making the choices that we want to make.

Through the landscape of humanity, He has allowed us to see the depth of both the evil that the devil presents, and the good that our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, represents. In John 10:10, Jesus Christ declared that he came that you and I might have life, and have it more abundantly. He reversed what sin and death had caused. God has given us His Word and through Christ God’s Word comes alive; we have the full story of God’s goodness. If you’ve not made the choice to come on the Lord’s side, this choice is ever before you. Choose God! Choose love! No matter who you are or what you’ve done, He’s a God of second chances, and He’s waiting for you to let Him into your heart. When you do you’ll be changed forever. He’ll fill you with His love, and you’ll wonder why you waited so long to invite Him into your life.

Prayer of Salvation

Father in Heaven,
I repent of my sins. Forgive me and cleanse me with the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten son, and that he died on the cross for my sins. I believe that he was resurrected from the dead and that he is sitting at the right hand of Your throne in Heaven. I accept Christ as the Lord of my life. I give him all of my burdens and I accept his love in return. In the name of Jesus Christ, please come into my heart, God, and change me. Help me to be the person that You want me to be. Teach me how to be holy, and teach me how to walk in Your love and Your Word daily. Accept me, God, as your child. In the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

If you would like us to pray with you further, please email us at anyone@springfieldfellowship.org

We pray that you will continue to visit our website and learn more about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.