Tuesday: The Death of Christ
What do the following texts tell us about Jesus and how we are to view Him? 1 John 2:6, Gal. 4:19
Without question, Jesus is the model man. His life—His character—is the example that all who follow Him should seek by God’s grace to emulate. Jesus is the only perfect example we have in terms of how to live the kind of life to which God calls us.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
Still, Jesus didn’t come to this earth merely to give us an example. Our situation as sinners called for more than just character development, as if reforming our characters and molding us into His image is all that His work as Redeemer required. We need more than that; we need a Substitute, Someone to pay the penalty for our sins. He came not just to live a perfect life as an example to us all; He came also to die the death that we deserve so that His perfect life can be credited to us as our own.
What do the following texts teach about the necessity of Christ’s death for us? Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22, Luke 24:7, Gal. 2:21.
Jesus had to die for us because obedience to the law, though central to the Christian life, is not what saves the fallen. “Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law” (Gal. 3:21, NKJV). If any law could save a sinner, it would be God’s, but even that law can’t save us. Only the perfect life of our perfect Example, Jesus, could save us, and so Christ came to offer Himself as “one sacrifice for sins forever” (Heb. 10:12, NKJV).
| How does your own record of law-keeping show you your need of a Substitute? |
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true Christians will never attain righteousness by being obedient to the law alone because Paul tells us that Christ was the end of the law( Rom 10:4) and the law was to lead us to Christ whom if we believe in Him, then our righteousness is guaranteed. The Pharisees had a good track record of law- keeping but were they righteous? no absolutely.
quiz: was Satan happy with the death of Christ?
No, Satan was not happy. I think he was not happy because he knows that we would be saved with the death of Jesus dying for our sins!
We must accept God's law as the rule of character. However Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes; Christ is the end, or the purpose, of the law.The law condemns the sinner and thus drives him to Christ for righteousness.Thus in the end you will need a redeemer or a substitute which is Christ. We know that the law is righteous, Deuteronomy 4:8. Thus without the righteousness that comes by faith in Christ it is impossible to keep the law. Christ is the seed that brings enmity with works of darkness. Without this seed living and growing in us it is impossible to keep the law. And after the law has revealed to us our sin, Christ is the altar from where we find forgiveness. We are always in need of a Substitute. Thus Christ is both the Lamb and the High priest which we all need after having a brush with the law.
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
this could be why Jesus' death seem to have little meaning to our life. after all we normally keep on referring to Adam & Eve that its them who brought us into such sinful nature, and we tend to forget that the devil is the ever waste lair and Christ paid it in full with no minimum balance.behind everything Christ did for Man we see His love when our hearts are pure.
now my question is: is God going to remove these trees (Genesis 2:17), which our primary parents(Adam & Eve) touched and eat which caused sin, from the new Jerusalem for sin not to occur again or what?
my second question is: when God The Son was on earth, who was executing His Heavenly duties?
GOD the Father was executing his heavenly duties. JESUS is GOD in the flesh.
The trees were never the issue in the sin problem; it was the selfishness and self-centredness that was entertained and encouraged in beings who had the ability to make free choice. Sin will not rise again because we have seen the results of rebellion and will choose not to make that choice again.
On your second question; there was no gap in heaven as far as a functioning Godhead was concerned.
Dear Silutombi, You have this answer from Brother Peace from Zimbabwe:"God trinity Father Son Holy Spirit.. one God. Maybe if you can highlight what you think his (Son) heavenly duties were. But as you Know, Jesus is and has always been God, and his duties after the fall have always been to carryout the plan of redemption.
A parable of shepherd, who has 100 sheep, yet when he loses 1, he leaves the 99 and go to look for that 1. At that moment his duty is to stay alive till he finds the 1 sheep that's lost. He leaves the 99 without a shepherd. When Jésus was on earth, all was at stake and he was perfoming the heavenly duty of overcoming so that heavenly hosts don't lose the shepherd. And now in heaven, Jesus continues that big work of salvation which he began before laying earth's fondations. May the Good Lord bless and keep You as You tray to understand his word!
Looking at the earthly sanctuary we see the outer court, the holy place and the most holy place. The high priest would be ministering in one of these places at a particular time and there was no need to have another high priest in another place at the same time. So when Jesus came to earth he game to the outer court of the True Sanctuary to sacrifice the Lamb, therefore there was no need for a high priest in the two other courts. Each priestly duty has its own time and purpose.Thus there were no duties for the high priest in the holy and most holy place(Heaven). Hebrews 9:24. This is only my thinking,i stand to learn as well.
Auditor,
By becoming our Substitute and surety, Jesus WAS fulfilling His heavenly duty, which includes sustaining and if need be, redeeming His creation. It is also my belief that creation of new worlds has ceased until sin is finally removed from the universe. For this the Creator became the Redeemer of His creation, after which He will continue to create. (not trying to introduce a new doctrine, it's just my personal belief) Also, our knowledge of God is to small to understand the duties of God and how they are accomplished by Him(all 3 persons). We know only what we need to understand concerning our salvation and restoration to Him, and the rest will be answered in due time as required.
As for the trees, all who are redeemed will have passed that test on earth, so the new earth is not shown with the tempting tree still there, just the Tree of Life. In any new worlds that will be created, God will provide something to allow them to demonstrate faith in Him. This is how He rules His free-will creation. We have choices to make if we would remain in God's kingdom of holiness. If we do not wish to be under God's rules, we don't have to, which means we will not be alive, but will return to the dust we came from, along with the devil and his angels who chose to not be part of God's government.
We can never be good enough to save ourselves. We need Jesus to bridge the gap between heaven and earth. We need Him to connect or reconnect us to God, on a daily bases. His death on the cross, if we allow it, will grant us the right to the "tree of life."
Your question Auditor about the trees is a good one. After the 1000 years are up and Satan, his angels, and all of his human followers are burned up in the "lake if fire," Revelation 20. That will be end of SIN FOREVER. It doesn't matter what kind of trees are there, in heaven or the new earth. Sin is over. We will be able to live in harmony with God, with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, and ALL THE SAVED, though out ETERNITY. Revelation 21:1-8. Revelation 22. AMEN!
"Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be SAVED by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be SAVED by his life." Rom 5:9 & 10
"Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous." 1 JN 3:7
"not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He SAVED us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit," Tit 3:5
Above are clues showing that the death of Jesus ALONE does not save.
The death of Jesus addresses sin & guilt. Transforming grace,the word, and Spirit address depravity.
"The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven." MYP 35
I see in posts above that there is considerable theological lingo that is obscure. To the un-churched person on the street, I would expect them to reply by asking, "What in the world are you talking about?"
Eph 2:8,9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
You are right Jim; there is far too much theological lingo about salvation and it needs to be stated clearly like it says it in the Bible. Everything we do is the fruit of our salvation, not its cause. We do not have to be good enough to be saved. We are given the gift of salvation so that we can respond with goodness.
In the Seventh-day Adventist church we often obscure the process of salvation with our ideas of healthy living. There is nothing wrong with healthy living - it bears fruit in our lives, but there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that you have to reach a certain stage of life style before you can be saved.
I cite the case of a friend of mine in my childhood. He was a smoker and had a difficult time trying to give it up. He accepted Jesus as his Saviour and in spite of prayers and 5-day plans he found it difficult to quit. He used to nick down the street between Sabbath School and Church to have a smoke. After about 30 years he overcame the smoking habit (I might add, there was great rejoicing in the church when he was finally baptized - the church had been with him every step of the way) I have always asked myself the question; "When was he saved?" Was it when he gave up smoking, or when he gave his heart to Jesus? Of course there are those people who say that they prayed and God took away the urge immediately. Fair enough, but that does not always happen and we need to learn not to be judgemental about the battle that others have with habits.
Grace is not an excuse to keep on sinning, but neither is it an excuse for us to be judgemental about those who have not reached our perception of standards.
Rom 6: 15 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Considering, Jim, the MYP 35 quote, was the thief on the cross *fit* for heaven at his death? Was he justified, sanctified....?
Kenny,
I see evidence from the bible that the thief was justified & sanctified.
We are sinners and by ourselves we cannot keep it. We need a substitute because there is sin, or transgression of the law. Since the wages of sin is death, we would all die for our sins. But Jesus our substitute died and was raised from the dead in our place,so we do not have to die the second death. "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."Heb 9:16.
Salvation is an act of receiving (to us) while to God its an act of giving. Sin came because there was the law, (taking advantage), the law is the standard of Gods righteousness. Now that humanity fails to live up to the standard of God, God did not lower the standard by taking away the law(God does not Change). But instead he provided salvation by grace through the righteousness of his Son, such that if you accept his Son by faith, you are empowered by by the holy Spirit to live up to the standard of Gods righteousness which is his law.
So salvation is a means by God to clear us from the burden and guilt of sin, and thus enable us to live up to his righteousness. Gods law cannot saves us it condemns us of sin, yet the death of Christ clears us from that curse such that without doing a deed of the law already we are saved, by faith Christ then live in us he who was without blemish nor sin such that as Romans 8:1 says 'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' What condemns us is the law what saves us is the grace and our cooperation when heaven is saving us is JUST yielding entirely our will to the will of God.
Thanks Rhonda, we even see Satan trying to blackmail Christ by telling Him that He would be identified in the group of sinners. But thanks to our Lord who never cared all that just for my SAKE.