We have all sinned, and the penalty had to be paid in order for God
to be just. Christ has paid that penalty. Romans
5:6-10 says, "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 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". Such wonderful love for God and Christ to have paid our
penalty.
Also, we read in
I Peter 3:18,
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the
just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." Yes, Christ is
the just, who had to die for us the unjust, so that it would be possible
for us to be brought back to God. Because of the death and suffering of
Christ for us, God can now be just in saving us.
The only way that man can be saved is through Christ. There is no
other way. John 14:6 says,
"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: No man comes to the Father except through Me." The only way
we can get to God is through Christ. We also read in
Acts 4:12, "Nor is
there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved." We cannot be saved by
relying on Mohammed, Buddha, Judaism, Hindu gods or any other way. Neither
can we devise our own system of "Christianity" as is being done today and
expect it to save us.
Christ went through much suffering for our sins. It is beyond our
imagination what he endured. Christ came to this earth for the purpose of
dying for our sins. There are many Old Testament prophesies that foretell
the inevitable death of Christ. For example, please read for yourself,
Psalms chapter 22 and
Isaiah chapter 53. Christ's death was no
accident, because it was in God's eternal plan to redeem man.
Christ in his omniscience, fully knew what was soon going to
happen. In Matthew 20:17-19 we read,
"Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve
disciples aside on the road and said to them, Behold we go up to
Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to
the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the
Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will
rise again". Christ went there willingly to die for us.
Christ was both divine and human. The human part of Christ dreaded
his death on the cross as much as we would if we were on death row. He
knew that it was going to happen. When Christ was in the garden of
Gethsemane with his apostles the night before his crucifixion, we read in
Luke 22:41-44,
"And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's
throw, and knelt down, and prayed, saying, Father, if it is your will,
take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but yours, be done.
Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in
agony He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of
blood falling down to the ground". Yes, Christ was dreading the
horrible death that he was about to endure for you and for me.
Also, we read in
I Peter 2:24,
"Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on
the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness: by
whose stripes you were healed." Jesus has personally paid the price
for our sins, so that we can be made righteous before God. When a person
is made righteous, by obeying God's plan to save man, God will then save
him.
The human side of Christ knows how we feel. He had the same
feelings, the same sorrows, the same fears, and He experienced pain just
like we do. He fully knows what it is to live a human life. On the Day of
Judgment, no one will be able to point a finger at Christ and say, "You
just don't know what it is to live as a human." Yes He does. The dread,
the fear, the sorrow, the mocking, the spitting, the pain of scourging,
and the crucifixion were all dreaded by our Lord. It hurt Him as much as
it would us. He was the innocent dying for us, the guilty.
Crucifixion on a cross is the most cruel form of torture that has
ever been devised by man. There is nothing worse. Our Lord hung there in
pain and agony for six long hours in a slow death, enduring punishment, so
that God could be just in saving us. What wonderful love beyond
description that God and Christ have for
us.
Questions Lesson
6 Christ Has Paid Our
Penalty (click on the button
of the answer of your choice)
1) (Romans 5:6-10) If we are justified it will be by
Our own goodness.
Our church.
The blood of
Christ.
2)
Christ died for sinners like you and me.
3)
(1 Peter 3:18) Christ suffered once for our sins, He is the
just,
We are the unjust.
We are also the just.
But we did not need Him to suffer for
us.
4)
Christ's death was to bring us back to God.
5)
(John 14:6) How many ways are there to come to
God?
We can come to God our own
way.
Christ is the only way.
Many ways such as Mohammed, Buddha, Hindu,
etc.
6)
We can serve God by our own way and still go to Heaven.
7)
(Matthew 20:17-19) The death of Christ
was
An accident.
A surprise to Christ.
Known to Christ before He came to this earth to die for all
mankind.
8)
Christ went to Jerusalem knowing He was going to be crucified.
9)
(Luke 22:41-44) The death of Christ
Was dreaded by Christ.
Was not dreaded by Christ.
Was punishment Christ
deserved.
10)
Christ prayed to God for another way so he would not have to die.
11)
(1 Peter 2:24) Whose sins did Christ bare when he
died?
His own sins.
Our sins.
Only the sins of
criminals.
12)
Since Christ paid the price for everyone's sins then all people will be
saved.