The 1970’s is a very difficult era to explain for people who did not live during the time between the Beatles and Blondie. That brings us to Jimmie Walker. In 1974, he played a character named, “J.J.” on the television show Good Times. The sitcom was a spin-off from another show entitled Maude and was set in a housing project in Chicago. Walker became the star of the show by incessantly yelling his catch-phrase, “Dyn-O-Mite” at every opportunity. And no, I am not kidding.
This brings us to the saving grace of God and the sin-cleansing blood of Jesus. In the first chapter of the book of Romans, the apostle Paul declares the gospel story to be, “the power of God for salvation.”-v16. Our tie-in with the 1970’s catch-phrase comes with the Greek word translated into English as “power.” When the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write that sentence, it was the Greek word, “dynamis” which means power or great strength.
From Paul’s pen, we travel 1800-years to Sweden where a scientist named Alfred Nobel, he of the prize, discovered how to stabilize nitroglycerin by soaking a certain kind of dirt with the explosive. Nobel named his invention with a combination of the Greek word dynamis and the Swedish suffix “it.” Thus when we want to blow up a bridge or mine a hillside, we use dynamite (with apologies to J.J.’s more marketable spelling).
Paul’s use of the word is a direct reference to softening the heart with the gospel. It was God who looked down on a wicked and rebellious human race and decided to save them anyway. To a people filled with evil and mouths spitting out curses and bitterness like venom from a snake, he sent his perfect, sinless Son. Jesus was God in heaven where there are no tears, no deaths, and no sources of pain. But the Father sacrificed his only Son for my evil heart. His sinless blood paid the price for my shame. His resurrection proves he is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That story of love ends with me being given the right to become a child of God through the new birth baptism. If I give my life to God through faith in Jesus, the Spirit will seal, strengthen, and cleanse me of my sin. Jesus is king, and if I serve him in faith, he will save me by grace. How can I refuse such a great salvation? How am I to turn my back on eternal life with God?!?!
The story of God’s love, Jesus’ sacrifice, and the gift of his life-giving Spirit are the nitroglycerin, attached to a detonator, and lit by a fuse. The power of the gospel clears away the rubble and hardened rock to open a heart to serving Jesus.
We all have favorite passages of Scripture that finally broke through to produce faith in our hearts.
Are you a prodigal child who needs to know your heavenly Father still loves you no matter what is in your past?
DYN–“while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”-Luke 15:20.
Have you committed sin so terrible you can not forgive yourself and can’t imagine how God could either?
O–“This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”-I Timothy 1:15-16.
Are you having a hard time understanding how you can ever be good enough for God to save? Did you know, not one of us can be! We are the unrighteous! We are Rahab. We can’t be perfect, but by the power of Jesus’ blood, the God who gave his sinless Son is just to forgive me of all my sin!
MITE!!!!!–“to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.’”-Romans 4:5-8.
Praise God for his power to save a wretch like me!
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