The Bible is a Love Story about a
Father who loves His children so much that He sacrificed His Son for
them.
njoy the freedom that cost our Father so
dearly and stay free ‘in Christ’. This is a modest explanation of the
atonement and what it cost God to gain our freedom. There are not enough
words to express the thankfulness and praise we should give God for the
love He expressed toward us in sending Jesus to die for our sins.
The Cross is the center of
Christianity. The Cross stands alone attesting to the significance of the
atoning work of Christ. It is the only Way to find life in the presence
of God. The place Jesus occupies as the crucified Messiah puts everything
in perspective. The Cross attests to the depravity of man and to the love
of God for His creation. The essential difference between Christianity and
Judaism is the Cross. It is the means God used to deal with sin and
mankind's corrupt nature. It is the way of grace and truth, for God has
always dealt through grace and truth to save humanity. People do not
merit salvation, but receive it on the basis of what Christ accomplished
on the Cross alone.
Nothing that happened before the
Cross dealt with sin and humanity entirely. The
Cross meant a new way to God, that is, a
new and living way to the Father. The Cross is a continuing demonstration
of God's love for us. God came in the person of Jesus Christ to atone for
mankind's sin: past, present, and future. The Cross is the heart of the
Way; God saves by faith alone in Christ's atoning death, followed by the
fruit of the Spirit in the works that accompany conversion. To understand
Christianity, we must know the deeper meaning of the atoning work of
Christ. The meaning and purpose of the Cross are central to living the
Abundant Life.
Most Christians understand that
Jesus died for us, but they do not know that we are to live for Him. ‘We
are not our own!’ The precious blood of the Son of God purchased us. We
are to be followers of ‘the crucified one’ in our daily life. Jesus set
us free from the power of sin in order that we might live as God's
people. The new and living Way to the Father is through the Cross of
Christ Jesus, the Risen Savior. There we may learn to live in the power
of Jesus’ resurrection, to walk ‘in newness of life’.
THE COVENANTS
A covenant always meant being
loyal to the other party whether they remain loyal to the agreement or
not. God made a covenant with Abraham that we see as the precursor of the
New Covenant. To Abraham, God gives the promise that his seed would be as
the sand of the seashore. Christ is the fulfillment by whom many sons and
daughters would come to God. It was through God's initiative that this
covenant came into being. God obligated Himself to keep the covenant.
Abraham was the recipient of God's blessing and presence in His life.
God blessed Abraham and all his
descendants through this covenant. Later as the 'sign of the covenant',
God gave Abraham circumcision, which God required as a mark of those
included in the covenant. The covenant rests solely on the goodness of
God that proceeds from 'the promise', whose basis is upon God's own nature
revealing His unmerited love for humanity.
The ‘old covenant’ is an
agreement between two parties, God and the people of Israel. God made the
covenant always with His good intentions toward Israel. Israel would
become the people of God. The covenant was their bond. Israel became the
people whom God required to give obedience to His laws, statutes,
ordinances and precepts. In exchange, God would not allow anyone to harm
His people as long as they remained obedient.
God made the new covenant in our
interests alone. God did not benefit from sending His Son to die for the
sins of the whole world. Jesus came to reveal the truth and grace of God
by suffering alone on Calvary. God was in Christ establishing a new
covenant in His blood. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto
Himself to put an end to sin and everything that separates us from God.
The atonement was complete on the Cross. This we clearly see in Hebrews
10:18, ‘There is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Through the death of
the Son of God, an eternal covenant is established. Christ suffered once
for all.’ -- Hebrews 9:12.
The old covenant allows only one
man to enter into the presence of God once a year. The new covenant was
superimposed over the old covenant. The sacrifice that established the
new covenant dealt with sin by taking it away forever. Jesus made it
clear that He was establishing the new covenant in Matthew 26:28. "This is
my blood of the (new) covenant, which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins'. His sacrifice resulted in a new and living way to
approach God. We can approach God 'in Christ' alone. This is clearly
seen in the following verse, 'Salvation is found in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be
saved'(Acts 4:12). Jesus Christ sets us free to boldly approach God
through His eternal sacrifice. We come to God through the basis of
Christ's work alone!
When Christ put the New Covenant
into effect, the Old Covenant did not become void. The law of the Spirit
of Life in Christ superimposes itself on the old code. God did not
suspend the written law, but rather enforces it, now, through the New
Covenant, where the Spirit writes the law on the hearts of believers.
Through the Abrahamic covenant, God's grace blesses all the nations of the
earth. This covenant is still in effect. Just as God justifies Abraham
by faith without the law, God justifies every believer apart from the
law. The law leads us to Christ and into a New Covenant relationship
based on the work of the Cross. We come to God by faith just like our
father Abraham, the way of trust. We are the ‘seed’ of Abraham through
faith. God includes us with His covenant people Israel, a covenant of
grace and faith and freedom.
The new and living way is
totally of grace. The New Covenant brings forgiveness; the Old Covenant
did not bring about condemnation, however, disobedience did, because of
man's sinful, corrupt nature. The old is superseded by the new which will
allow us to fulfill the old written code in a new and living way. The
sacrificial death of Jesus took away the sins of the world. The release
of the old testament Saints from 'Paradise' occurred once Jesus died for
the sins of the whole world: past, present, and future. The old testament
Saints received 'the Promise' in Christ. They received, not a covering,
but the forgiveness of sin and the righteousness of Christ. The
right-standing before God came because of their faith in God’s promise to
father Abraham that through his seed the Savior would come.
Jesus brought consecration and
service to the forefront for every believer. We are a nation of 'kings
and priests' before God. God calls us to obedience through the
empowerment of Christ’s work on the Cross and the Holy Spirit living
within us. We now belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. Our life
belongs to Christ, and what we do with our life is our sacrifice to God.
We have all entered into the New Covenant through faith in 'the promise'
given to Abraham. We are of Abraham's seed through faith in the
Atonement. We are members of the covenant, and we are God’s children
through faith.
THE SACRIFICE
There were different sacrifices
in the Old Testament. As part of the Old Covenant, God required people to
offer a sacrifice for the remembrance of sin. We refer to this as the
‘sin offering’. The blood of the sacrifice was only a covering for the
sins of Israel. The sins of the people lay on the head of the ‘scapegoat’
that the Jews sent into the wilderness. God separates people from their
sins through the sacrifice of blood. The just live by faith in God and
their works demonstrate faith by keeping ordinances.
God instituted the sacrifice to
reveal the fallen nature of Israel and all humanity. The people of God
chose to violate every law that they had received. God remained faithful
to Israel and in keeping with His covenant with Abraham instituted a new
covenant. God initiated the new covenant for the benefit of the seed of
Abraham on better promises. The promise came in the person of Jesus
Christ who became the sin offering. God, in His mercy and wisdom,
instituted a better covenant to meet the need in order for man to keep the
command to be holy, because ‘I AM’(God) is Holy.
The sacrifice of Jesus
accomplished what the blood of bulls and goats could not do, Heb.10:4.
Jesus offered Himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,
Eph.5:2. We are holy (set apart for the purposes of God) through the
sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, Heb.10:10. Jesus
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, Heb.10:12. The sacrifice of
Christ set aside the way we fulfill the old covenant that required the
constant sacrificial offerings. We see the finality of Christ's sacrifice
in Hebrews 10:18, 'there is no longer any sacrifice for sin'. Jesus set
us free from sin through the power of the Cross, ‘once for all'.
What is our response to God's
loving sacrifice of His only Son? What can we offer God in response to
the atonement? Is there a sacrifice left for us to offer in response to
God's love? Yes, there is a sacrifice left that we can offer God. It is
not an atoning sacrifice. It is of a different order. The Way of the
Cross is one of sacrifice. We are to sacrificially live for the one who
sacrificed Himself for us. We are to offer our bodies 'as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God'(Rom.12:1). We are to serve others,
chosen of God to do the good works He has prepared for us to walk into
(Eph.2:10). This virtually means that as Christians; we are to live a
whole new way, to be totally different because of what Christ did for us.
When we understand the totality of what Christ accomplished, God will
prepare us to walk into the works He has prepared for us to do.
THE ATONEMENT
We must always remember that God
is Holy; He is awesome, totally unapproachable, a consuming fire.
Without the atonement that Christ bought with His perfect sacrifice, we
cannot approach God. We now have both access and cleansing through the
blood of Jesus Christ. We come into the presence of God through a new and
living way. The blood of Christ obtained eternal redemption for us. He
set us free to enter into the presence of God (Heb.9:12).
Jesus did not enter an earthly
tabernacle; He entered into the heavenly tabernacle, 'to appear for us in
God's presence'(Heb.9:24). It is because of what Christ has done that we
can come boldly before God with our petitions. This is seen in Hebrews
10:19-22, 'Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most
Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us
through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great high
priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart
in full assurance of faith...'
The blood redeems us to enjoy
God's presence in our life in the person of the Holy Spirit. Another fact
that attests to our acceptance into the very presence of God is that the
curtain in the temple tore in two from top to bottom at the moment of
Jesus death (Mt.27:51; Mk.15:38). We are the people of God called out to
serve as a nation of kings and priests unto God. Will you accept what
Christ as done for us on the Cross and allow Christ to live His life
through you?
THE PASSOVER
Bondage or Freedom! The
greatest deliverance that ever took place is the nation of Israel being
delivered out of the land of Egypt. The Lord redeemed Israel out of the
land of Egypt to be a 'people' for Himself. God bound Himself to them as
His people.
The Passover is a celebration of
God delivering His people. A day when the blood of a lamb was shed and
applied to the door posts so the Angel of Death would pass over His
people. This is true for the Christian. We overcame the devil through
the blood of the lamb and were delivered into the Kingdom of God's beloved
Son (Rev.12:10-12). We passed from death unto eternal life the moment we
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Communion Supper
commemorates the Lord's death until He comes to proclaim Himself as our
Passover. We have passed from spiritual death unto eternal life in
Christ. The blood of Christ, ‘our Passover lamb,' delivered us from death
unto life 'in Christ'.
REDEMPTION
Through the sacrifice of the Son
of God, God bought us from the bondage of sin. Jesus became the ransom
for the captives we were to the law of sin and death. Our deliverance
came at a dear price; it cost God His Son. Never take your redemption for
granted; it is the most incredible thing that has ever happened. There is
no reason for anyone to believe that we could expect God to deliver us
from sin and its eternal consequences. The fact that Christ died for us
is beyond wonder. Jesus set us free from the power of sin for the sake of
freedom.
RECONCILIATION
The reconciliation of humanity
is the outworking of God's love. Before the atonement, in the presence of
a Holy God, humanity stood condemned because of sin. The reconciliation
is the removal of the hostility between God and the believer. This
removal of enmity is through our relationship 'in Christ' by the
imputation of Jesus’ righteousness. For every believer, God accomplishes
reconciliation through the atonement, the removal of the heart or corrupt
nature through our co-crucifixion with Christ on the Cross. We are part
of a new creation through God’s placing us 'in Christ'. We have received
of God's Spirit. We have been 'born again' of His life giving Spirit. We
have received a new heart and a Spirit of love, power, and a sound mind.
PROPITIATION
Propitiation means the turning
away of anger. We need to understand the work of Christ as a personal
process in which Christ removed the divine wrath of God from sinners. The
wrath of God is intensely personal. God actively engages in the affairs
of men to bring about His purposes. Jesus is the means of turning away
God's wrath, His righteous indignation to evil. Part of the meaning of
salvation is that we avert the wrath of God through the death of Christ.
Jesus is our advocate; He is our defense. We were facing God who opposes
all evil; we had no defense without the atonement. God always opposes
evil; He is angry over the sins of people. Our forgiveness of sin takes
into account God's wrath against the evil in this world. The sins of the
world will bring about God's divine wrath eventually. Through the work of
the Cross, Jesus gives us the peace that surpasses all understanding
knowing that Christ is the propitiation for our sins. The wrath of God is
no longer upon us.
JUSTIFICATION
Justification is a legal term.
In the Biblical context it is the means of setting forth what God has done
to bring about the salvation of His people. The Lord is our
righteousness. God places us ‘in Christ’(1 Cor.1:30). God adopts us into
the family of God. According to the rights of an adopted child, the law
at the time of the early church did not allow for the child to be cut off
from the inheritance of his father. Although, the family could disinherit
the natural son of the father, they could not disinherit the adopted
child. We have a relationship with God that nothing can break. Nothing
in heaven or earth can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus.