Through The Sacrifice Of Jesus A Rescue Plan Was Instituted To Redeem Us From The Devil And The Condemnation Of The Law So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Heb. 9:28) By The Way of The Cross - youtube/watch?v=cyZDhk4YfFU What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord. He taketh my burdens away. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus we have the opportunity to be transformed into the image of God. Through the blood of Jesus we have a chance to overcome the sin which doeth so easily beset us… we get the strength to run with patience the race that is set before us. Through the word of the Holy Spirit within our lives we get a glimpse of the home that God is preparing for us in Heaven and this gives us the impetus to press toward the prize of the mark of the High calling in Christ Jesus our Lord. When Satan whispers in our ears that we are not good enough to witness for the Master, Jesus is reminding us that morning that if we abide under the shadow of the Almighty, God will give us the ability to let our light so shine before men… You see my friend, when we allow the Holy Spirit to take full control of us, the light that people see shining from us will be the Light of our Saviour Jesus. The beauty that people will see in us is the beauty of Jesus Christ. We must bear in mind that the closer we get to Jesus is the greater the effort that Satan will place in trying to make our witness about God negative. Satan knows every well that when others see Jesus in us they will be drawn to follow Jesus as well. The lesson this morning reminds us that our Substitute, Jesus Christ, died on the Cross so that we can have the victory over our carnal nature. My friend it is only the power of the Holy Spirit that can get us to overcome the “pet” sins that continue to plague our lives. It is only the Holy Spirit that can transform our carnal nature within us a slave to sin. You see my friend, we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity. There is nothing good in us… But praise the Lord for our Substitute Jesus Christ. Because Jesus lives we can face tomorrow. It is only because of the death of Jesus that we have to opportunity of eternal life. Martin Probstle in his commentary on the lesson said, “The interpretation of the death of Christ in the New Testament is crucial to understanding its meaning. The following statements reflect the textual evidence. 1. Christ’s death is a sacrifice. The Suffering Servant offered Himself as a sacrifice. “Sacrifice” is the most prominent metaphor to express the significance of the death of Christ. Using different terminology in the Greek, Jesus is called a “sacrifice,” an “offering” or “gift, and a “(sacrificial) gift” 2. Christ’s death is designated as “ransom”. Here is another metaphor to explain what Jesus did for us (Mark 10:45; 1 Tim 2:6, 6). The Greek word for “ransom” (lytron) refers to the place of release, especially the payment to set slaves or prisoners of war free. The ransom is a substitute for the person redeemed, and it is costly and painful. In addition, it points to the legal aspect of Christ’s death. Jesus was prepared of His own free will to give His life as a ransom. The preposition “for” (Greek anti) in Mark 10:43 means “in place of” as well as ‘in behalf of.” It expresses the fact that Christ have His life instead of that of many and also for their benefit. The “many” links Mark 10:45 to Isa. 53:11, 12, which predicted that the Servant will bear the sin of “many” and thus will justify “many”. Even more explicit is 1 Tim. 2:6 in stating that Jesus “gave Himself as a ransom for all,” using the Greek antilutron (literally “instead-of-ransom) with the prefix anti to emphasize the idea of substitution. Christ paid for us the ransom that we are not capable of meeting ourselves. 3. Christ’s death is substitutionary. The concept is closely connected to His death being a sacrifice. Jesus paid for sinners. He was without sin (Heb. 4:15), so that when He gave His life as a sacrifice He would not be dying for His own sin. On the contrary, He was “to bear the sins of many” (Heb. 9:28), to “make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17), and to put away sin forever (Heb. 9:26). Jesus’ death therefore is a substitutionary one and not just that of a great martyr. Through Him God could reconcile humankind to Himself (Col. 1:20). We are the beneficiaries of Christ’s death. What Martin Luther frequently called a “wonderful exchange” or “joyous exchange” of Christ’s righteousness for human sin. Ellen White described in a classic statement as follows: “Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed.’” “we enjoy the favour of God. We are not to be anxious about what Christ and God think of us, but about what God thinks of Christ, our Substitute.” We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, a new principle of mental and spiritual power was to be brought to man, who, through association with divinity, was to become one with God. Christ, the redeemer and restorer, was to sanctify and purify mans mind, making it a power that would draw other minds to Himself. It is His purpose, by the elevating, sanctifying power of the truth, to give men nobility and dignity. He desires His children to reveal His character, to exert His influence, that other minds may be drawn into harmony with His mind. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. . . . For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power. Christ might, because of our guilt, have moved far away from us. But instead of moving farther away, He came and dwelt among us, filled with all the fulness of the Godhead, to be one with us, that through His grace we might attain perfection. By a death of shame and suffering He paid our ransom. From the highest excellency He came, His divinity clothed with humanity, descending step by step to the lowest depths of humiliation. No line can measure the depth of His love. Christ has shown us how much our God can love and suffer in order to secure our complete restoration. The Son of God, in whom dwelt absolute perfection, became sin for the fallen race. He did not know sin by the experience of sinning, but He bore the terrible weight of the guilt of the whole world. He became our propitiation, that all who receive Him may become sons of God. The cross was erected to save man. Christ uplifted on the cross was the means devised in heaven of awakening in the human soul a sense of the sinfulness of sin. By the cross Christ sought to draw all to Himself. He died as the only hope of saving those who because of sin were in the gall of bitterness. (Signs of the Times, September 24, 1902 – Ellen G. White) By His death, Christ would ransom many, and would destroy him who had the power of death. He would recover the kingdom which man had lost, and the redeemed were to inherit it with Him, and dwell therein forever. Sin and sinners would be blotted out, never more to disturb the peace of heaven or earth. (Signs of Times, November 4, 1908 – Ellen G. White)
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 09:52:39 +0000
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