Journey to the Cross and Beyond (Part #1)

Why Christ Had to Die…

Illustration: Man on the street interviews…if you ask people why Christ had to die, many/most wouldn’t know the answer!

Illustration: Young lady that said she wasn’t a sinner when I asked her about her relationship to God.

What has happened to the knowledge of sin?

1. Secularization of society
2. Self-love psychology
3. Sympathizing with relativism
4. Silence of churches

If you don’t understand sin you will never appreciate the cross:

• Sin is always against God (Psalm 51:4)
• Sin is selfishness/egoism (Romans 15:3; 1 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Timothy 3:2, 4; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
• Sin is failure to love God (Mark 12:30; Romans 11:30)
• Sin is treachery – deceitfulness with/unfaithfulness to God (Ezekiel 18:24; Isaiah 48:8; 1 Chronicles 5:25; Psalm 78:57)
• Sin is rebellion/Insubordination to His commands (1 John 3:4; 1 Samuel 15:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:3)
• Sin is failure to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31; Romans 1:21, 25)
• Sin is missing the mark (1 John 5:17; Romans 3:23)
• Sin is trespassing the boundary/law (Romans 5:14; 1 Timothy 2:14)

“God is holy, without spot or blemish, or any such thing, without any wrinkle, or anything like it, as they also that are in Christ shall one day be (Ephesians 5.27 ). 

He is so holy, that he cannot sin himself, nor be the cause or author of sin in another. He does not command sin to be committed, for to do so would be to cross his nature and will. Nor does he approve of any man’s sin, when it is committed, but hates it with a perfect hatred. He is without iniquity, and of purer eyes than to behold (i.e. approve) iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13).

“On the contrary, as God is holy, all holy, only holy, altogether holy, and always holy, so sin is sinful, all sinful, only sinful, altogether sinful, and always sinful (Genesis 6.5). In my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing (Romans 7.18 ). 

As in God there is no evil, so in sin there is no good. God is the chiefest of goods and sin is the chiefest of evils. As no good can be compared with God for goodness, so no evil can be compared with sin for evil.” (Ralph Venning, The Sinfulness of Sin, Section II, p. 9 – lived early to middle 1600’s) .

All of us have been touched by sin:

1. Inherent Sin (the inclination toward sin) – Adam’s inner nature was transformed by his sin of rebellion. We’re not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.
2. Imputed Sin (To credit something to another’s account) – From Adam to Moses, all humans deserved punishment for sin, but not because they had broken the law. Since the giving of the Law all humans also have imputed sin.
3. Individual sins – sins committed every day…from the seemingly innocent untruths we tell, to the most despicable sins imaginable to humankind.

“While it is true that the full meaning of the death of Christ cannot be captured in one or two slogan-like statements, it is also true that its central meaning can and must be focused on several very basic ideas. There are four such basic doctrines:

1. Christ’s death was a substitution for sinners (He died in our place).
2. Christ’s death was a redemption in relation to sin (to purchase us from the slave market of sin).
3. Christ’s death was a reconciliation in relation to man (to reconcile man to God to remove the barrier of separation).
4. Christ’s death was a propitiation in relation to God (to satisfy the holy demands of a holy and just God).” –Dr. Charles Ryrie

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures… (1 Corinthians 15:3)

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

…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. (1 Peter 2:24)

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace… (Ephesians 1:7)

Does God really love us? I say look to the crucified Jesus. Look to the old rugged cross.

• By every thorn that punctured His brow.
• By every mark of the lacerating scourge.
• By every hair of his beard plucked from his cheeks by cruel fingers.
• By every bruise which heavy fists made upon His head.  God said, "I love you!"
• By all the spit that landed on his face.
• By every drop of sinless blood that fell to the ground.
• By every breath of pain which Jesus drew upon the cross.
• By every beat of His loving heart. God said, I love you!"

SURVIVING THE RIVER OF DEATH
Max Lucado, in his book, “Six Hours One Friday,” tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.

A hospital was not too terribly far away — across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. And to enter its water would mean certain death.

The missionary explained how he had crossed the river & was unharmed. But they were not impressed. He then took them to the bank & placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist & splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river.

Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water & escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer & followed him across.

Isn’t that what Jesus did? He entered the river of death & came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him. --Max Lucado, "Six Hours One Friday.”

Consider This...

"So guard yourselves and God's people. Feed and shepherd God's flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. (Acts 20:28 NLT)

People's ministerial expectations are part of what kills (emotionally, spiritually, physically) many pastors. Christians forget that the pastor's primary job description is to "feed and shepherd God's flock" and to "guard" them from the "wolves" that will destroy them. Your pastor might be multi-talented and excessively energetic, but he still can't do everything people want him to do. Be patient and prayerful towards those that lead the church. Until you've walked a mile in their shoes you'll never fully understand the demands of ministry.

Consider This...

The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Matthew 23:11, 12 NLT)

Most of the time the ways of God turn everything you know upside down. For instance, the natural process of advancement in our world is to push yourself forward and demand respect from others. However, Jesus says the greatest are the ones that humbly serve others. He inverts the entire process of what it means to succeed in life and makes it achievable for everyone. God isn't impressed by how many people hang on your every word and/or wait on your every wish. What He wants to know is how often you humble yourself to serve the least among us.

Consider This...

But don't be upset, and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. (Genesis 45:5 NLT) ...You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. (Genesis 50:20 NLT)

At the moment of a crisis it's hard to see how anything good can ever come from it. Only with the passing of time and a different perspective does it all begin to make sense. And, it may not be until eternity that you'll see the bigger picture and understand the mysterious ways of God. Like Joseph, there'll be a day when God makes His plan known and then you'll be glad you stayed faithful to Him even though, at the time, your circumstances were confusing and left you bewildered.

Consider This...

No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God." She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. (Genesis 39:9, 10 NLT)

Isn't it refreshing to read about a man that placed fidelity to God above his own sensual pleasures. Joseph could have yielded to this evil, but he resisted the temptation declaring His allegiance to God and not his base nature. He didn't just see committing immorality as a sin against Potiphar or his wife. He saw it as "a great sin against God" and a test of His devotion to Him!

 

Consider This...

The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. (Genesis 39:2, 3 NLT)

Our desire every day should be that people would notice that God is with us. We understand this to be a factual truth, but we should pray that it is realized experientially by those who are watching us. It may be in times of great prosperity or in times of deep distress, either way others need to see the reality of Him in our lives. It's not just where you see God today that matters. It's also important where others see God in you.

Journey to the Cross and Beyond (Part #4)

Hebrews 10:1-18

Obsolete: To cause (a product or idea) to be or become obsolete by replacing it with something new.

Intro: Talk about the changes in cell phone technology! -- i.e., lots of products have and will continue to become obsolete through the years.

Remember when... [But, now all these things have become obsolete.]

• 8-Track tapes were the rage?
• When internet access was only dial-up?
• When phones all had cords?
• When diapers weren’t disposable?
• When keeping in touch meant mailing a letter at the Post Office?
• When there was no such thing as air-conditioning?
• When the bathroom was outside?
• When cataracts meant you were going to be blind?

The Law of Jewish sacrifices has also been made obsolete by the death/resurrection of Jesus Christ.



One major difference exists between what Christ has done and the advancement of products that made their predecessor obsolete: Nothing will ever replace His perfect payment for our sins. His sacrifice can never be made obsolete by something/someone newer or better.



Christ made the sacrificial system obsolete by providing...

1. A Perfect Substitute

• The primary event referenced in Hebrews 10 concerns The Day of Atonement, though the rest of the sacrificial system may also be in view (10:8; cf. Leviticus 1-6).
• THE DAY of ATONEMENT: (10th day of the seventh month on the Jewish calendar -- during our Sept/Oct.)
• So important was this day that, “In later times, at least, the high priest underwent a special preparation for this service. Seven days before, he had left his own home and taken up his residence in the Temple chambers. A substitute was provided, lest the high priest should die or become Levitically unclean. During this week he practiced the various priestly duties, such as sprinkling the blood, burning incense, lighting the lamps, offering the daily sacrifices, etc.; for every part of the service on Atonement Day depended upon the high priest, and he could make no mistake.” --Unger’s Bible Dictionary

• “...The ceremony began with the sacrifice of a young bull as a sin offering for the priest and his family (Lev. 16:3, 6). After burning incense before the mercy seat in the inner sanctuary, the high priest sprinkled the blood from the bull on and in front of the mercy seat (16:14). The priest cast lots over two goats. One was offered as a sin offering. The other was presented alive as a scapegoat (16:5, 7–10, 20–22). The blood of the goat used as the sin offering was sprinkled like that of the bull to make atonement for the sanctuary (16:15). The mixed blood of the bull and goat were applied to the horns of the altar to make atonement for it (16:18). The high priest confessed all of the people’s sins over the head of the live goat which was led away and then released in the wilderness (16:21–22). Following the ceremony, the priest again bathed and put on his usual garments (16:23–24). The priest then offered a burnt offering for the priest and the people (16:24). The bodies of the bull and goat used in the day’s ritual were burnt outside the camp (16:27–28).” --Holman Bible Dictionary

• The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin (10:4), if it could have done so there would have been no need for Christ’s sacrifice (10:2).
• Someone had to come like mankind and that One was Jesus Christ.
• There had to be a perfect sacrifice (10:4)!
• Someone has said, “The blood of animals cannot cleanse from sin because it is non-moral. The blood of sinning man cannot cleanse because it is immoral. The blood of Christ alone can cleanse because it is moral.” --Author Unknown

• The sacrificial system, including The Day of Atonement, was referred to as merely a “shadow” that foreshadowed the “substance” to come (10:1). The sacrificial system was never intended to be permanent, but preparatory for Christ’s coming.

• cf. 10:4-10

Illus: If you think of the Law as a cookbook; A cookbook represents something far greater than itself. Cookbooks don’t satisfy the taste, fill the stomach, or nourish the body. Instead, they point to something beyond themselves – the food!

What the meal is to the cookbook; Jesus Christ is to the law! The Law was only "a shadow of good things to come" and not the reality itself.

Christ made the sacrificial system obsolete by providing...

2. A Permanent Solution

• There is a strong contrast between the continual sacrifices (10:1, 11) and the “once for all” sacrifice of Christ (9:26, 28; 10:12, 14).
• He satisfied the justice/holiness of God for all mankind for all time by His sacrifice on Calvary.
• He is the “propitiation” for our sins.

“And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)

“The word expiation begins with the prefix ex, which means ‘out of’ or ‘from.’ Expiation means to remove something. In biblical theology it has to do with taking away or removing guilt by means of paying a ransom or offering an atonement. It means to pay the penalty for something. Thus, the act of expiation removes the problem by paying for it in some way, in order to satisfy some demand. Christ's expiation of our sin means that He paid the penalty for it and removed it from consideration against us.

On the other hand, propitiation has to do with the object of the expiation.

“The prefix in this case is pro, which means ‘for.’ Propitiation has to do with what brings about a change in God's attitude toward us, so that we are restored to the fellowship and favor of God. In a sense, propitiation points to God being appeased. If I am angry because you have offended me, but you then appease me, the problem will be removed. Thus propitiation brings in the personal element and stresses that God is no longer angry with us. Propitiation is the result of expiation. The expiation is the act that results in God's changing His attitude toward us. Expiation is what Christ did on the cross. The result of Christ's act of expiation is that God is propitiated. It is the difference between the ransom that is paid and the attitude of the One receiving the ransom.” --Tabletalk, June 13, 1990.

• His sacrifice is “forever” (10:12, 14)...it is permanent!

Christ made the sacrificial system obsolete by providing...

3. A Powerful Salvation

• Salvation = deliverance from the penalty of our sins! He brought us FORGIVENESS!
• With the OT sacrificial system there was the constant reminder of the presence of personal sins (10:3) because the sacrifices could not “take away sins” (10:4, 11).
• The sacrificial system could not definitively deal with our sins!.
• But through Christ’s death He has “perfected forever” (10:14) those who receive Him. This refers to our permanent standing of completeness before God because of our regeneration/conversion.
• What the sacrifices could not do in removing the “consciousness of sins” (10:2 - i.e., the moral reproof/conviction for sin), Jesus by HIs perfect sacrifice accomplished forever (10:17-18).
• Consequently, He makes the provision of forgiveness/salvation available to all that will receive Him!
• No wonder John could say he wasn't "ashamed of the Gospel" that was the "power of God" to salvation (John 1:16).

• This all explains why the sacrifice of Christ is so much better than the OT sacrificial system.

Illus: During the late 1800’s an English evangelist by the name of Henry Moorhouse made several trips to preach in America. On one of those occasions he was walking through a poor section of town when he noticed a young boy coming out of a store with a pitcher of milk in his hands. Just then, he slipped and fell breaking the pitcher and spilling the milk all over the ground. Moorhouse rushed to the child's side and found him unhurt. Terrified, the little boy kept crying, "My mama's gonna whip me." So Moorhouse picked up the boy and carried him back into the store where the preacher purchased a new pitcher. He had it washed and filled with milk and then carried the boy and the pitcher home.

He put the youngster down on his front porch, handed him the

pitcher and asked, "Will your mama whip you now?"

A wide smile spread across the boys tear stained face, "No sir, cause

this is a lot better pitcher than the one we had before."

Application:
1. Unbeliever: Stop trying to save yourself and let Christ be your Savior!

2. Believer: Stop living with the guilt of sin and live in the forgiveness of sins!

• Don’t ask Christ a thousand times to forgive your sins...thank HIm a thousand times that your sins are already forgiven.

Journey to the Cross and Beyond (Part #3)

Text: John 17:1-3

46% of people say they never wonder what will happen to them after death, according to Lifeway Research.

Possible reasons are thinking less about eternity
1. Ignorance
2. Disbelief
3. Preoccupation
4. Shortsightedness
5. Not understanding the blessings of Eternal Life

John 13-17 has more recorded information from the Upper Room just before Christ’s arrest/death than any other Gospel, though he doesn’t mention the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

John 17 specifically records the prayer of Jesus for Himself and His disciples as He prepares to return to His Father. In it Jesus defines one specific aspect of Eternal Life.

In the Hebrew mindset Eternal life is defined as, “Life of eternity, age” (Daniel 12:2). It is an expression used in contrast to temporal life. And, in Jewish thought, life in the age to come is characterized by a restored relationship with God.

In other words...

• Eternal life is QUALITATIVE, not just QUANTITATIVE.
• It is INTENSIVE, not just EXTENSIVE.
• It is EXPERIENTIAL, not just ENDLESS.
• It is COMMUNION, not just REGENERATION.
• It concerns INTIMACY, not just CHRONOLOGY.
• It’s a DYNAMIC EXPERIENCE, not just a STATIC TRUTH.
• It’s an UNENDING RELATIONSHIP, not just an UNENDING EXISTENCE.

As you can see, we need to broaden our understanding of the the concept of Eternal Life.

Let’s distinguish at least four aspects of Eternal Life in scripture:
1. Eternal Life is about...A Future Blessing (Salvation/Justification)

• It is viewed as something we are looking forward to enjoying with God after death.
• We usually view this aspect of Eternal Life as a transaction wherein God imparts to us this “gift” to us (Romans 6:23).
• This aspect of Eternal Life concerns the duration of the Life a Christian has from God...the quantity of that life.
• Because the knowledge of God will require an eternity to fully develop, the life He gives us is eternal.
• How long is eternity?

Picture a parakeet in your backyard next to a sandbox. You take a pail, fill it full of sand, and then let some of the grains of sand fall through your hands. One bucket of sand has thousands of grains of sand. Let’s imagine that you could instruct that parakeet to pick up one of the grains of sand in its beak, fly to the moon and drop it off. Let’s say it takes one million years for the parakeet to get to the moon. He puts the grain of sand down and flies back to earth. It takes a million years for him to get back. He then picks up the next grain of sand and flies back to the moon. He drops off that grain and flies back to earth—a million years there, a million years back. One by one the parakeet takes each grain of sand in your sandbox to the moon. When he is finished, you take him down to Key West, Florida and there you show him the Atlantic Ocean and the beach which runs along the coast. You tell him, "I want you to start clearing off the sand on this beach one grain at a time." He starts there, then works his way up to Miami, then to Jacksonville, Hilton Head, Charleston, New York City, Boston, and up toward Maine. He takes each grain of sand to the moon one at a time, a million years there, a million years back. When he’s done with all of that, you take him out to the West Coast and from Mexico all the way up to California and Oregon, you tell him to take one grain of sand at a time and fly it to the moon. When the parakeet finishes with all of that, you say, I’ve got this other little spot called the Sahara Desert. I want you to clear the sand off of that place one at a time." When he finishes that, you say, "Three-fourths of the surface of the earth is water. Let me drain the oceans dry. At the bottom of the oceans you have a lot of sand. Take all of that sand to the moon, one grain of sand at a time, a million years there, and a million years back." When he finishes, if you could add up all of the millions of years it had taken to remove all of the sand from all of those places, eternity would just be beginning.

2. Eternal Life is about...A Personal Relationship

• Eternal Life is described not just in chronological terms, but also in terms of a relationship God.
• “That they may know you [God]...and Jesus Christ” (17:3)
• The word translated “know” (ginosko) is sometimes used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) and in the Greek New Testament to describe intimacy associated with the physical union of a husband/wife (Adam/Eve). The idea is, “to know by observation and experience--an intimate experiential knowledge.”
• Commentator Stephen Smalley (Word Biblical Commentary) defines eternal life as “a spiritual quality of life” that involves “a sharing of living fellowship with the Father.”
• Illustrate by using the Old Testament Tabernacle/Temple and show the distance maintained between God and Man...until Jesus Christ. (cf. Hebrews 10:19-23)
• “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom...” (Matthew 27:50-51)
• “Eternal Life is not just unending life in the sense of prolonged duration. Rather it is a quality of life, with its qualitativeness derived from a relationship with God. Having eternal life is here defined as being in relationship with the Father, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom the Father sent.” (The Disciplemaker)
• Author Joseph Dillow writes, “We must remember that eternal life in the Bible is not a static entity, a mere gift of regeneration that does not continue to grow and blossom. No, it is a dynamic relationship with Christ Himself.”
• “The highest kind of life is involvement with the highest kind of environment. A worm is content to live in soil; we need not only the wider environment of earth, sea, and sky but also contact with other human beings. For the complete fulfillment of our being, we must know God.”
• The statement in verse 3 is also strikingly similar in form to the central affirmation of Islam, “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet.” Both religions claim to honor the only true God, a theme from the Old Testament as well (e.g., Ex 34:6 LXX; Isa 37:20), and both speak of the great revealer of God.

But they differ radically in what is said of this revealer. Jesus is a prophet—indeed, the revealer of God par excellence. But this verse, in keeping with the whole of this Gospel, says Jesus is far more than just a prophet. For eternal life is not just a knowledge of God as revealed by the Son; it includes a knowledge of the Son himself. Thus he shares in deity... (Alford 1980:875).

• Because we have Eternal Life we have a Father and a Friend!!

3. Eternal Life is about...A Motivating Influence

• Eternal Life not only affects our future and our focus. It also affects our functioning or (spiritual) fruitfulness for Him.
• “The efficient source of all faith, righteousness, and love is a new life-principle which is nothing else than the Life of God begotten in the centre of the human personality. In this alone the children of God differ from others. It is not because they believe, do righteousness, and love their brother, that they are ‘begotten of God,’ but because they are begotten of God that they believe, love, and do righteousness.” (The Tests of Life, Robert Law)
• The quantitative aspect of eternal life focuses on it as something possessed and as life enduring without end. Its qualitative aspect has experience and expression in daily life in view. (The Disciplemaker)
• cf. 1 John 3:14-15
• “When he says eternal life is not “abiding” in them, he is not saying that they do not possess it. The concept of abiding, again, is that of eternal life influencing, having an effect in the life of, the person...John is not saying that someone who hates his Christian brother is “lost.” Rather, he is saying that hatred for one’s Christian brother proves that he is not experiencing eternal life. God’s life is not having an impact in his thoughts and actions.”

4. Eternal Life is about...A Staggering Abundance

• cf. John 10:1-10
• “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
• Illustrated in the shepherd/sheep motif...with the backdrop of Psalm 23 showing abundance.
• The word used for “abundantly”...is related to the word used in John 6:13 to speak of the abundance left over from the feeding of the five thousand.
• Albert Barnes explains it this way, “They shall not merely have life--simple, bare existence--but they shall have all those superadded things which are needful to make life eminently blessed and happy.” (Notes on the New Testament: Luke & John)

• Maybe this aspect of Eternal Life is best understood by its privileges and effects. Some of these are found here in John 17: enlightenment (v. 8), preservation (vv. 11–12), joy (v. 13), sanctification (v. 19), commission (v. 18), unity (v. 22), and fellowship (v. 24).
• The Samaritan Woman: Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)

• A lot of people in our churches live at..."201 DEPRESSION AVENUE." Too many of us know the place because even though we don’t all live there we spend a lot of time there; it’s at the corner of "Despair and Self-Pity. It’s a place of darkness, gloom and doom, where sounds of complaining, condemnation,and  accusation are frequently heard. The "can’ts" live there, too. You know them, "I can’t do this, and I can’t do that.”

However, JESUS wants us to move in with HIM at HIS beautiful, hillside estate called: ABUNDANT ACRES! You know where it is: it’s on the corner of, "Joy and Thanksgiving" and the estate is surrounded by grace, mercy, and overflowing with love, laughter, light and abundance of every kind.

If you decide to join Him, there’s an narrow gate that leads to His mansion and over it reads the words: WHOSOEVER WILL, MAY ENTER!