So, what is the catch?
Have you ever had someone tell you something that seemed to good to be true and you wondered in your mind, “So what is the catch”? In a day and age when there are so many scams going on in our country and throughout the world, you have a hard time believing anyone, especially if they are trying to get you to buy in to whatever they are attempting to feed you. If it is to good to be true you can bet your bottom dollar it probably is. It may sound pretty impressive on the surface, but when you dig a little deeper there is something stinky going on, right?
Sad to say that is what many people in our world think about Christianity. Sure it may look good on the surface, but in reality the thought that someone by the name of Jesus, who never knew me, who lived a perfect life (so they say), suffered terrible torture and died being nailed to a cross in my place, so I did not have to be subjected to such pain, suffering , and death, is a pretty far-fetched story.
And, if that is not crazy enough to believe, try and wrap your mind around this folks. He did because I am a sinner and because of His great love for me. Not only is such an idea insane to accept, there is the understanding I deserved none of it and there is nothing I can do, nothing I can offer to fully pay Him back for what He did on my behalf. Talk about a concept of faith which is far beyond what you or I could legitimately comprehend! There just has to be a catch, a hook somewhere in all of this rhetoric!
Well guess what? There is no hook, no gimmick, and no catch to this story of love and sacrifice. God the Father, out of His love for you and me, sent Jesus to be our Savior, the perfect sacrifice necessary for the forgiveness of our sins. This is the Gospel in a nutshell John 3:16. And, there is no scam attached to the love Jesus showed for us, when He freely gave up Himself to acts of disrespect, ridicule, pain, and death, so we could be spared from those evils, and even more so from everlasting suffering. Jesus took on death to give us life. And the gift of life comes to us in Him alone. We cannot purchase it for it has already been bought, paid for, and provided by Jesus body and blood, death and resurrection.
So, what is the catch? There is not one! For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, it is not of your own doing but a gift of God, not by works lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:9-10 BELIEVE, RECEIVE, AND BE NOT DECEIVED Pastor McCarty