Good Friday’s Cross
1 John 2:2
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
INTRO:
There is a Puritan writer of centuries past who wrote a multi-volume theology book on this single verse. His premise and objective throughout the work was to prove that this verse did not mean “the whole world” but that it taught “limited atonement” – that God’s sacrifice of His son was designed to save only the elect.
Well, without being too sarcastic, I can see why that premise would take multi-volumes to justify. This verse is pretty clear that God’s son came to all who would turn to him in repentance and faith.
But it did get me to thinking about the scope and purpose of the cross and this evening I want to share with you four declarations found in the Bible regarding Jesus’s crucifixion
1. THE CROSS WAS GOD’S WAY OF ASSUAGING HIS WRATH (ROMANS 3:25).
“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.” (NASB)
Hebrews 2:9 says, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
I think it is worth noting that good Bible translations (i.e. KJV, NASB, RSV, and ESV) NEVER declare that Jesus was “punished” for our sins. The NIV (which I consider good and my preferred translation) does on two occasions (Isaiah 53:8 and Romans 3:25) declare this; but it is safe to say these passages could have been translated better.
What the Bible does teach is that Jesus “suffered” for our sins. In fact, it teaches the Christ was a real and meaningful substitute for the punishment of sin. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 the Bible says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Just as an innocent lamb in the Old Testament was offered as a sacrifice “on behalf of” the sinner so Jesus was offered on our behalf. Just as the one offering the sacrifice had to identify with that lamb and could thus draw near to God in worship, so we must personally identify with the sinless Lamb of God so that we can draw near. His vicarious death appeased God’s wrath.
“I Wet My Pants Once Too”
The story is told of a certain 9-year-old who is sitting at his desk in school when all of a sudden there is a puddle between his feet, and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop, because he knows when the boys find out, he’ll never hear the end of it. And when the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives.
The boy puts his head down and prays this prayer: "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now will be too late." He looks up from his prayer, and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he’s been discovered.
As the teacher is coming to snatch him up, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl filled with water. She stumbles and dumps the goldfish bowl in his lap. In the midst of his surprise he quietly prays, "Thank you, Jesus!"
Now, rather than being the object of ridicule, this boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. When he comes back to class, all the kids are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. This sympathy is wonderful!
But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to Susie. She tries to help, but they refuse her help. They mock her with things like: "You’ve done enough, you klutz!" As the day progresses, the sympathy gets better and better, and the ridicule gets worse and worse.
Finally, at the end of the day, they are waiting at the bus stop. The boy walks over to Susie and whispers, "Susie, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?"
Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."
So let me summarize:
• Just as Suzie took the little boy’s shame and ridicule, Jesus has stood in as a substitute for yours.
• Jesus went to the cross as if He lived your life, so that God could treat you as if you lived His.
• Jesus’ suffering appeased God’s wrath against sin.
This makes the second objective of the cross possible – the forgiveness of sin.
1. The cross was God’s way of assuaging his wrath (Romans 3:25).
2. THE CROSS WAS GOD’S WAY OF OFFERING FORGIVENESS (EPHESIANS 1:6-7)
To the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
What’s your dirty little secret? What skeleton in your closet still haunts you? It does not matter how many candles you light, how many good deeds you do. It does not matter to whom you point the finger or pass the buck you still have the nagging feeling that your sin lingers and covers you like a blanket.
That’s because it does.
The cross of Jesus declares “Good News” for you – you can be forgiven and you can live free from guilt.
One of my favorite parts of the Wesleyan Liturgy we use in our Saturday night Evensong service addresses this. After confession of sin we read and respond to this:
Hear the good news:
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners;
That proves God’s love towards us.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Nothing “takes away sin” or removes guilt without sheer forgiveness. And the cross was God’s proclamation of forgiveness. The cross was God’s declaration that He would bear the brunt of the offense made towards Him in order to restore relationship.
“I Have Nobody to Forgive Me”
John Stott tells the story of Marghanita Laski, a well-known secular humanists and novelists, who, soon before she died in 1988 spoke in an interview on national television. She said, “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me.”(Source: John Stott, “The Contemporary Christian”)
Forgiveness, sheer forgiveness, is unique to the Christian faith and must be highlighted in the cross and as a core element of our faith.
Paul said it well in his sermon in Acts 13, “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39)
So wrath is appeased and forgiveness is extended. But that only gets us halfway. The crucifixion also … restores holiness.
1. The cross was God’s way of assuaging his wrath (Romans 3:25).
2. The cross was God’s way of offering forgiveness (Ephesians 1:6-7)
3. THE CROSS WAS GOD’S WAY OF RESTORING HOLINESS. (HEBREWS 13:12)
And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.
Have you ever heard the statement “Christians aren’t perfect just forgiven?”
To the degree that this statement means we have not reached absolute perfection I agree.
• But to the degree that it suggests the death of God on the cross does not absolutely change us but only perceives how God sees us, I do not agree.
• To the degree that it suggests we are offered only forgiveness for sins but we will continue to commit sin, I disagree.
• To the degree that it suggests we are not genuinely changed, transformed and sanctified by his blood, I disagree.
We are not “just forgiven.” God does not call us to be simply be forgiven – he calls us to be holy.
Jesus’ death on the cross is intended to restore us into the image of God; the image that was corrupted in the fall. Jesus touched the cross so the cross could touch you.
“Remove the Hate and Simply be Pure”
Three years ago, Chris Simpson led a white pride march. Two years ago, he abandoned the white supremacist movement. This past April (2012), he was baptized.
Chris, a 38-year-old garbage man and former Marine had the words "PURE HATE" tattooed across his knuckles.
After the loss of his first child, Simpson had a lot of hatred and anger built up inside. The white pride movement gave Simpson a place to direct his anger and frustration—at people of other races.
After he and his family watched the movie “Courageous,” he began attending church. One month later he was baptized as a follower of Jesus Christ.
"Any kind of burdens I carried before, I let them go." Simpson said, "There’s no need to carry things that happen in the past. I forgave all those who wronged me and asked forgiveness from those that I have wronged."
Simpson has left hate behind. He’s even going through the Freedom Ink Tattoo removal program too—starting with the word HATE.
(Source: Aaron Aupperlee, "Former White Supremacist Sheds Hate and Embraces Christianity," The Washington Post {7-2-12})
Jesus death on the cross was designed to defeat sin’s grip, its hold and power, as well as its penalty. It was designed to do more than simply declare us “just forgiven.” You may never be sinless but, as a follower of Jesus you will sin less and less.
• Forgiveness without regeneration is a lie.
• New birth without new life is a lie.
• Religion without responsibility is a lie.
• Imputation of righteousness without imparted righteousness is a lie.
WRAP-UP
1. The cross was God’s way of assuaging his wrath (Romans 3:25).
2. The cross was God’s way of offering forgiveness (Ephesians 1:6-7)
3. The cross was God’s way of restoring holiness. (Hebrews 13:12)
Well, there are numerous other affects from the crucifixion.
For example,
• Paying the ransom to redeem and set us free from Satan’s Kingdom & subjugation (1 Timothy 2:6)
• Rescuing us from the present evil age (Gal 1:4)
But I will close with one final, overarching and overwhelming reason that God sent his son to the cross as a sacrifice for sin … he loves us!
4. THE CROSS WAS GOD’S WAY OF SHOWING US THE DEPTH OF HIS LOVE (ROMANS 5:8)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Jesus did not have to die – but he did. It was a choice he made. Unlike the lambs of the Old Covenant Jesus went willingly and knowingly as our sacrifice.
The Bible overtly and consistently teaches that the reason God gave himself up for us was because he loved us.
“The Ultimate Sacrifice”
There are many ways that people illustrate divine love but Corrie McDermott, a 25-year-old student teacher from Hesperia, California showed her love by making the ultimate sacrifice — giving her life so her unborn baby would live.
In 2003, the future looked bright for Corrie and Donnie McDermott. They had a wonderful little daughter, Rachelle. And Corrie, was enjoying her work with special education kids at Maple Elementary School in Hesperia.
But months into her pregnancy with her second daughter, Corrie (who it is said loved the Lord with all her heart) was diagnosed with cancer. The undetected cancer was hidden by the aches and pains of pregnancy and had spread quickly, fed by the rising levels of estrogen in her body. Before long a baseball-sized tumor crushed her spine, putting the young mother in excruciating pain.
Yet an even more painful decision faced her and her family: To begin aggressive cancer treatment and lose the baby or to continue the pregnancy and risk Corrie’s life. With Donnie’s support she decided to put her unborn baby’s life before her own.
She needed a major spine surgery and the first inclination was to deliver the baby as soon as possible and begin cancer treatment. But in the end, Corrie wanted to hold out as long as possible to give her baby the best chance at survival.
Week by week, the baby developed. But so did the cancer — and the pain.
On Feb. 19, 2004 Randie McDermott was born. She was two months premature, weighing one pound, nine ounces but she would survive.
After giving birth, Corrie began aggressive cancer treatment. But on May 6, 2004 she died of cancer.
She knew her parents and husband were second guessing themselves about the decisions they had made. And at the end, when she was still able to talk, she said to them, “Don’t ever think that we didn’t do something right. … Whatever decisions we made, we made them to the best of our knowledge at the time. … It’s all in God’s hands.”
(source: http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/love-5593-corrie-mcdermott.html)
God’s love can empower us to do heroic and hard things. You need not look any further than Corrie McDermott. But to get a full grasp of what God’s love can do – we must gaze at the cross. It teaches that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
