Spirit Filled Puritan

“The wrath of God was satisfied with the suffering and death of Jesus. The holy curse against sin was fully absorbed. The obedience of Christ was completed to the fullest measure. The price of forgiveness was totally paid. The righteousness of God was completely vindicated. All that was left to accomplish was the public declaration of God’s endorsement. This he gave by raising Jesus from the dead.
When the Bible says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17), the point is not that the resurrection is the price paid for our sins. The point is that the resurrection proves that the death of Jesus is an
all-sufficient price. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then his death was a failure, God did not vindicate his sin-bearing achievement, and we are still in our sins.”

Reflecting on this shows that the resurrection was not just to another event that proves who Jesus claimed to be.  It was not just another miracle of Jesus.  Neither was it God’s best attempt to insert a happy ending in a divine drama that went terribly wrong.    The Resurrection was in fact God’s stamp of approval on Jesus own words, “it is finished”.  It was the perfect fulfillment of what was said at Jesus baptism.  Through it is removed any doubt that what Jesus accomplished by his life and death would be sufficient to save sinners from God’s wrath.

Questions.  Do you see the resurrection as merely a divine “I told you so”, in the face of those who mocked and killed Jesus?  It is more to you than just a happy ending?   Do you take refuge in the fact that the resurrection is a seal of a covenant with God,  a covenant whereby God declares the war between sinners and him over?

Quote from “The 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die”.

Picture – The cross at Mount Erebus, Antarctica, commemorating the 1979 Air New Zealand Crash near Mount Erebus.

“The very book in the Bible [Hebrews] that says Christ “learned obedience” through suffering, and that he was “made perfect” through suffering, also says that he was “without sin.”  This is the consistent teaching of the Bible. Christ was sinless. Although he was the divine Son of God, he was really human, with all our temptations and appetites and physical weaknesses. There was hunger (Matthew 21:18) and anger and grief (Mark 3:5) and pain (Matthew 17:12). But his heart was perfectly in love with God, and he acted consistently with that love. Therefore, when the Bible says that Jesus “learned obedience through what he suffered,” it doesn’t mean that he learned to stop disobeying. It means that with each new trial he learned in practice—and in pain—what it means to obey. When it says that he was “made perfect through suffering,” it doesn’t mean that he was gradually getting rid of defects. It means that he was gradually fulfilling the perfect righteousness that he had to have in order to save us.”

Reflecting on this gives me great hope for two reasons.  First, I know that Jesus was not an emotionless divine robot.  He experienced humanity in all aspects but did not sin.  What this means is that he felt what I do and what you do but he overcame the sinful desires and responses that plague each of us.  Thus I have a savior who knows and relates to me. 

Secondly, I know that by his perfect obedience to each command and desire of God, he earned the righteousness that was required to complete his saving transaction for sinners on the cross.  It’s one thing to be forgiven, it’s another thing to be made perfect.  Our salvation requires both forgiveness and perfect righteousness.  Jesus life of perfect submission to God earned that righteousness that was transferred to those who would accept Jesus by faith.  

Questions.  Have you thought about the fact that Jesus felt life in the same way we do?  Have you ever considered that Jesus life on earth was just as important as his death?  Did you realize that Jesus not only died for sinners but lived for them as well? 

For more information why forgiveness of sin is not enough to save us, see Jerry Bridges book, “The Great Exchange”

Quote from “The 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die”. Bracketed text and emphasis, mine

Picture – The cross at Mount Erebus, Antarctica, commemorating the 1979 Air New Zealand Crash near Mount Erebus.

“Jesus did not wrestle his angry Father to the floor of heaven and take the whip out of his hand. He did not force him to be merciful to humanity. His death was not the begrudging consent of God to be lenient to sinners. But what is most astonishing about this substitution of Christ for sinners is that it was God’s idea. Christ did not intrude on God’s plan to punish sinners. God planned for him to be there. It was a breathtaking strategy, conceived even before creation, as God saw and planned the history of the world. One Old Testament prophet says, “It was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10). That is why the Bible speaks of God’s “purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

Reflecting on this fact disturbs many people.  It originally bothered me.  It’s easy to rationalize this away, as many do, by saying God “allowed” it to happen rather than believing what the Bible actually says.  The result is that many people today wrongfully think that Jesus death was the result of a tragic accident or a divine plan gone wrong.  That rationale or teaching can be found no where in the Bible.    It wasn’t until I understood that God was not just a God of “possibility” but a God of  “sovereign purpose”, that I understood why God would do something like this.  Jesus didn’t come to earth “hoping” to accomplish something, if all went well.  He came to specifically accomplish the perfect will of His Father on schedule and according to His plan.

Questions.  Have you ever considered the fact that God didn’t just “allow” or “permit” the Roman authorities to execute Jesus but that He personally ordered his death?  Have you considered that the reason He ordered Jesus death was because he loved you? 

Quote from “The 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die”.

Picture – The cross at Mount Erebus, Antarctica, commemorating the 1979 Air New Zealand Crash near Mount Erebus.

“If God were not just, there would be no demand for His son to suffer and die.  And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to suffer and die.  But God is both just and loving.  Therefore, his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice.  God’s law demanded, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). But we have all loved other things more. This is what sin is—dishonoring God by preferring other things over him, and acting on those preferences. Therefore, the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn’t God.”

Reflecting on this reason, I can easily find myself in this definition of sin.  I certainly don’t love God in this way.  I love so many more “things” than I love God.  I am thankful to God that he has shown me this fact, clearly explained to me the implications of my actions BUT also provided me a remedy.  Justice demands a payment, and God sent His Son to make the payment for me.  I am encouraged not only in the fact that Jesus came to die to absorb the wrath of God on my behalf but that He has changed me in a way that I can begin to love God in this way.

Question.  All other sins, possible sins or other failings aside; can you answer “yes” to God’s command for perfect love of Him?   If Jesus death is sufficient to remedy a direct and personal insult to God, how much more sufficient is it to remedy all our other sinful failings. 

Quote from “The 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die”.

Picture – The cross at Mount Erebus, Antarctica, commemorating the 1979 Air New Zealand Crash near Mount Erebus.

Lent is a season of preparation.  Preparation of our hearts in contemplation of the mystery of Christ’s suffering and death for the sins of people from every tribe and people and tongue and nation. 

Jesus life was a preparation.  It was a preparation for death.  Most of us know something about the causes of Jesus death, his execution on a cross by the Roman authorities.  But how many of us know the “purposes” of his death.  Jesus wasn’t just killed in a tragic series of events…He purposed to die. 

John Piper wrote a book a few years back called, “The 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die”.  In it he listed 50 things Jesus “purposed” for us in his death.  What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?  Over the 2009 Lenten season, I’ll blog my comments and thoughts about each of these 50 things.