Jesus died so that we might live
Today is Good Friday. This is the day we remember the sacrifice that God made through Jesus Christ dying on the cross as a Savior for mankind. We are all sinners who need the Savior. We cannot earn our way to Heaven. Nobody is guaranteed tomorrow. For those who have not accepted the free gift of eternal life through our Savior dying on the cross, please seek Him now while you still have time.
The following is my piece I wrote last year on Good Friday.
What if God created the universe in 7 days? What if on the sixth day, God made man in His image? What if it was a perfect creation, and God saw that it was good? What if this creation is the greatest evidence of God’s existence?
What if God gave man a simple command to obey? What if wanting to be a god, man used his freewill to disobey God? What if man’s disobedience allowed sin to enter this world? What if humanity is fallen and has a sin nature because of that first disobedience of God?
What if God is just? What if justice requires punishment for sin? What if the wages for sin is death? What if God is wrath? What if God destroyed whole nations? What if God flooded the entire earth? What if that was evidence of God’s justice?
What if humanity is devolving? What if man remains desperately wicked? What if our mortality is evidence that we are all sinners, and our death is justice for our sins?
What if man tries to bribe God through good works? What if those good works are nothing but filthy rags to God? What if man’s only hope is a Savior?
What if God is mercy? What if every breath we take is evidence of His mercy? What if God so loved us that He sent a Savior?
What if God sent His only Son to be our Savior? What if Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, fully God and fully man?
What if Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life? What if Jesus was innocent, but corrupt and sinful man found Him guilty?
What if man put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head? What if man mocked Him, beat Him? What if Jesus was bloodied and bruised? What if Jesus was tortured? What if He was nailed to a cross and endured a painful, horrific death?
What if Jesus was free to reject that death but chose to suffer it? What if we deserve that death, but Jesus chose to suffer it for us?
What if the blood of Christ washes away our sins? What if Jesus is the only way?
What if the gift of salvation is offered to all of us? What if all we must do is put our trust in Christ? What if Jesus died so that we might live?
Decide to follow Jesus while there’s still time
“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”—John 9:30
Those three words spoken by Jesus, “It is finished,” means our debt has been paid. Jesus lived a perfect life, suffered a brutal death on a cross and did it for you and me. We are the ones who deserve that death, but God sent His only Son to shed His blood to pay for our sins.
Everywhere you look around today, we see how desperately wicked and sinful our world is. The world says that biological sex no longer exists, the abortion holocaust is called “women’s rights,” child groomers openly promote their deviancy, Big Pharmakeia pushes deadly medications and profits from it and governments create “viruses” to take more control and tyrannize their people.
We’re witnessing the fall of civilization. Corruption, idolatry, perversion, murderous hearts, envy, slothfulness, pride, self-righteousness, arrogance, narcissism, greed all run rampant all around us.
Justice is no doubt needed today. And justice will come whether it be in this life or the next.
While it’s easy to look outwardly and point out the flaws in the world, we must look inwardly and always remember that we deserve justice as well.
“There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10) “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
The gospel needs to be proclaimed boldly. That has always been true, and the moral rot and societal decay is evidence of what happens when the gospel isn’t boldly proclaimed.
The fact is that America has rejected God. The American churches (most) have abandoned the Bible. The American church preaches a false gospel, a false god. It tells people what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear.
Still, hope is there. All true believers have the assurance of eternal life, no matter how bad things get in this life. And, if the true believers boldly and unequivocally stand on the true gospel, we may see change for the better in this life.
And today, Good Friday, is the day to remember what Jesus did for us. Jesus lived a perfect life for 33 years while none of us has lived a perfect day. We deserve the punishment Jesus took on that cross. If you accept that gift, you repent and turn from your sins, then by God’s grace and through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you can be saved.
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”—Romans 5:6-10
The Gospel Clarified
From Pastor Voddie Baucham’s message “Gospel Clarity” at the 2022 Shepherd’s Conference:
“When people say, ‘No, our problem is this, our problem is that,’ we say, “No, no, our problem is that God created the world and God created man and He put man in the garden to keep the garden. And He gave the man a command, and He held that man to perfect, perpetual obedience to that command. And He promised him life if he kept it and death if he didn’t.
And he didn’t keep it. He ate, and because he ate, because of that one man, sin entered the world and death through sin. And everyone born from that man through ordinary generation inherited that man’s sin nature. And because of that sin nature, sins proceed from it. And our world is broken because of that sin, and we stand guilty before a holy and righteous God.
And we know that He’s holy, and we know that He’s righteous. And we crave justice, but the problem is that if God gives us justice, we all die. And so that God in His goodness and in His mercy sent forth His Son who was not born of ordinary generation but was born of a virgin. Yes, the virgin birth matters. Why? Because if He’s born of ordinary generation, He’s born in sin.
But because He’s not born of ordinary generation, He’s not born in sin. He’s clean of sin. His record is clean, and He keeps His record clean. And He obeys God’s law. And because He’s fully God and fully man, He obeys the law of God on our behalf and His active obedience and then in His passive obedience. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us.
All we like sheep had gone astray. Each of us had turned to his own way, but God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. And Christ died for sin, once for all, the just for the unjust. And God imputes our sinfulness to Him. And He nails our sinfulness to the tree. And Christ dies and raises again on the third day for our justification.
And there’s another imputation. The righteousness of Christ is actually imputed to us so that God can be both just and the justifier of the one who places faith in Jesus Christ. So that all those who come to Christ may enter in. So that all those who place faith in Christ might be saved. But not only saved, but sanctified. Because He’s the first born of many brethren.
We’re justified and we’re adopted into the family of God, and we’re sanctified. And as His children, we begin to bear the family resemblance. And we’re further sanctified throughout this life by the very same gospel that saves us. Until one day when it’s all said and done, we’re not just saved from the penalty of sin. We’re not just saved from the power of sin. But one day, we’re glorified and saved from the very presence of sin.
That’s the gospel that we preach. That’s the gospel that we need. And that’s the gospel that’s more than enough.”