COMPosition 22
JESUS PAID IT ALL
All To Him I Owe
Jesus is unique by any standard. He was no ordinary man,…no ordinary teacher,…no ordinary revolutionary. People had many opinions about the identity of Jesus, but He was clear and compelling in His claim to deity. (John 1:1-2, 14; 10:30; 14:9-10; 17:21) You can believe Him or not, but you can’t just ignore Him nor label Him as a good moral teacher because He claimed to be God in the flesh. If those claims are NOT true, he would be either a liar or a lunatic but if those claims ARE true he is in fact the Son of God. The one thing he could NOT be is a good moral teacher. The resurrection is a fact of history that verifies Jesus’ identity and message.
Everything converges around the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – the promise to Satan in Genesis 3:15, the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12, the offering of Issac in Genesis 22, the Passover Lamb instituted in Exodus 12, the entire sacrificial system announced in Leviticus, and all the promises of the Psalms and Prophets. The prophet Isaiah said it this way: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
So why does God’s forgiveness require someone’s death? The answer is found in the holiness of God, the severity of sin, and the extent of His love for all humankind which are perfectly expressed in Jesus’ virgin birth, sinless life, and death on the cross.
Holy means set apart or unique; without flaw or defect. That God is holy is a fundamental truth of the Bible, presented clearly and consistently from Genesis to Revelation. God cannot look at or overlook sin. In the garden He made it clear that the sin would lead to separation and death. (Genesis 2:16-17) Sin is no laughing matter! It is an offense to the holy God and brings an end to the life we were created to live. (Romans 3:23, 6:23) Thus Jesus’ death on the cross is the ultimate expression of God’s holiness. (Hebrews 9:22)
God’s love is unexpected and undeserved. It is immeasurable and inexhaustible. (John 3:16) Jesus left the holiness of Heaven, took on our humanity, lived a sinless life, and died a sinner’s death. Second Corinthians 5:21 says it best: “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Calvary is no small sacrifice! Jesus’ death on the cross is the ultimate expression of God’s love. (Romans 5:8) This is the culmination of God’s plan announced in Genesis 3:15 and explained in John 3:16.
If you have been hurt by some Christians or disappointed by a church,…please don’t hold that against Jesus! It wasn’t His fault and He isn’t like that. People are imperfect and the church is made up of imperfect people. But I must warn you, conviction hurts and repentance is painful so please don’t confuse them with offense or judgment. They are the necessary and inevitable response to a genuine encounter with Jesus. Like going to the Doctor, there is some initial pain and awkwardness before healing occurs. Jesus was forsaken so we could be forgiven. He had to die so we could live.
Jesus stretched His arms out and took the full impact of God’s punishment for sin in His body, so that we might be saved and live. Our merits do not enhance God’s love and our failures do not diminish it. There is nothing you can do that would make God love you anymore and there is nothing you can do that would make God love you any less. The cross is the perfect expression of God’s holiness and love!!
So, the question is what do believe about Jesus? Is he a liar, a lunatic, or the Son of God come to take away the sins of the world? I want to encourage you to take some time this weekend to reflect on God’s holiness and love expressed in the passion of Christ as He willing suffered and died for your sins. I invite you to repent your sin, confess your faith, and surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. As the old hymn expresses so simply and powerfully:
For nothing good have I, Whereby Thy grace to claim;
I will wash my garments white, In the blood of Calvary’s Lamb.
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
For His Glory, Pastor Greg
Everything converges around the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – the promise to Satan in Genesis 3:15, the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12, the offering of Issac in Genesis 22, the Passover Lamb instituted in Exodus 12, the entire sacrificial system announced in Leviticus, and all the promises of the Psalms and Prophets. The prophet Isaiah said it this way: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
So why does God’s forgiveness require someone’s death? The answer is found in the holiness of God, the severity of sin, and the extent of His love for all humankind which are perfectly expressed in Jesus’ virgin birth, sinless life, and death on the cross.
Holy means set apart or unique; without flaw or defect. That God is holy is a fundamental truth of the Bible, presented clearly and consistently from Genesis to Revelation. God cannot look at or overlook sin. In the garden He made it clear that the sin would lead to separation and death. (Genesis 2:16-17) Sin is no laughing matter! It is an offense to the holy God and brings an end to the life we were created to live. (Romans 3:23, 6:23) Thus Jesus’ death on the cross is the ultimate expression of God’s holiness. (Hebrews 9:22)
God’s love is unexpected and undeserved. It is immeasurable and inexhaustible. (John 3:16) Jesus left the holiness of Heaven, took on our humanity, lived a sinless life, and died a sinner’s death. Second Corinthians 5:21 says it best: “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Calvary is no small sacrifice! Jesus’ death on the cross is the ultimate expression of God’s love. (Romans 5:8) This is the culmination of God’s plan announced in Genesis 3:15 and explained in John 3:16.
If you have been hurt by some Christians or disappointed by a church,…please don’t hold that against Jesus! It wasn’t His fault and He isn’t like that. People are imperfect and the church is made up of imperfect people. But I must warn you, conviction hurts and repentance is painful so please don’t confuse them with offense or judgment. They are the necessary and inevitable response to a genuine encounter with Jesus. Like going to the Doctor, there is some initial pain and awkwardness before healing occurs. Jesus was forsaken so we could be forgiven. He had to die so we could live.
Jesus stretched His arms out and took the full impact of God’s punishment for sin in His body, so that we might be saved and live. Our merits do not enhance God’s love and our failures do not diminish it. There is nothing you can do that would make God love you anymore and there is nothing you can do that would make God love you any less. The cross is the perfect expression of God’s holiness and love!!
So, the question is what do believe about Jesus? Is he a liar, a lunatic, or the Son of God come to take away the sins of the world? I want to encourage you to take some time this weekend to reflect on God’s holiness and love expressed in the passion of Christ as He willing suffered and died for your sins. I invite you to repent your sin, confess your faith, and surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. As the old hymn expresses so simply and powerfully:
For nothing good have I, Whereby Thy grace to claim;
I will wash my garments white, In the blood of Calvary’s Lamb.
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
For His Glory, Pastor Greg
Recent
Archive
2021
Categories
no categories
2 Comments
I appreciate your wonderful explanation of Jesus sacrifice. Profound insight. You have a gift of writing.
Beautifully written and perfectly true.