Anyone who Trusts in Him is Acquitted

When studying God's Word for treasure, it can be really helpful to look at other translations. Lately I've been mosying through John, looking at some difficult scriptures, thinking them through, and trying to get an idea of what Jesus is saying. Oftentimes I find myself saying the same thing as Nicodemus: "What do you mean?" (John 3:9, NLT)

Check out what The Message (more or less a paraphrase rather than a literal translation) says in John 3:17, 18:


God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

Wow! What a cool way of putting it: anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted. The phraseology actually reminds me of the fundamental teachings of Romans. How cool.

Here is a definition of acquitted I found on www.dictionary.com:

"declared not guilty of a specific offense or crime; legally blameless"

How awesome it is to know that as I put my trust in Jesus that I'm acquitted of all I've done. His blood causes me to be "legally blameless," and because of that, I can enter into the kingdom of God!

~

WJS