Matthew 27:15~26

20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. 22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” 23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” 25 All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. (Matthew 27:20~26) God is the Creator of all things in heaven and on earth. The reason God made man was to love him and to let him live in happiness, and to have a grateful heart, and to give glory and praise to God with all his heart. God didn't create man as a passive being, but He gave man unlimited free will to choose what is good or evil. God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When you eat of it, you will surely die." God told him that he would die if he ate of it, because He loved him and didn’t want him to die. But the devil deceived man and he ate the fruit, causing him to die. Likewise, we also have the God-given right to choose, but we challenge God, we disobey and reject Him, siding with the devil. As a result, we are destined to suffer unbearable torment in hell forever. We can choose to do what is right or what is wrong, to be vile or to be holy (Revelation 22:10~11). Therefore our choices will decide our fate in eternity – whether our spirits will live or die, be filled with happiness or suffering, whether we go to heaven or hell. Your time of soul is determined by the choices you make now. However, we must understand that the devil takes advantage of our weaknesses to make us live according to our sinful nature, and that he deceives us with lies to make us to go to hell because of our sins and by not believing in Jesus Christ. If you only find this out when you are in hell, it will be too late. God gave us free will so that we can use our intelligence to live according to His will (Romans 1:18~23). We should follow God’s will instead of the devil. If we follow the devil’s will, we will face eternal punishment in hell for betraying God's grace. But God still loved man, even though he constantly betrayed Him and challenged Him by misusing his free will. So God decided to give His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to pay back the wages of our sins. Everything is about how we use our free will. We can choose to become the enemy of God or we can choose to be saved through repentance and be cleansed by the working of Jesus' blood. If you choose to ignore the working of Jesus’ blood, you will surely go to hell. Dear brothers and sisters, we have to make the decision between worldly wealth, honor, luxury, pleasure and power, which are unrighteous before God; and Jesus, who is righteous. The Lord asks you to choose Him by your free will given by Him (John 3:16, Deuteronomy 30:19). Only Jesus is our Savior who has solved our sin problem by His sacred death on the cross. Dear brothers and sisters, let us choose only Jesus today, tomorrow and forever.