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Faith

Every man for himself

Every man for himselfIn normal times, decent people look after each other’s interests, sometimes even when this means doing something which does not provide any benefit to themselves. However, in times of desperation, when there is an imminent peril, it becomes a case of “every man for himself”. Each person’s attention is fully consumed in looking after his or her own safety, and there is no time or energy left over to be worrying about anyone else.

Perhaps these are the assumptions underlying the taunts of the senior priests and religious lawyers when Jesus was dying on the cross, as described in Mark chapter 15: “He saved others, but can’t save himself.” However, the truth was a long way from what the priests and lawyers imagined it to be. Jesus didn’t subscribe to the “every man for himself” theory. Instead, he was “one man for everybody else”. They thought he was just dying, but in reality he was winning a victory for everyone over sin.

Only perfect people can live with God forever. However, everyone lives a life which is far from perfect. The penalty for the mistakes people make is death. Jesus was the only person to live a perfect life, and so he was the only person qualified to pay the death penalty for the mistakes of others. If we put our faith in Jesus and accept the sacrifice which he made of himself on the cross, we can be restored to perfection in God’s eyes, and live with him forever.