For May 31, 20201
The Bible teaches the payment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). In other words, someone has to die and shed blood to remediate sin as God states in Leviticus 17:11 (NKJV):
For the life of the flesh is in the
blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
Here, God gave Moses specific instructions on how to erect an altar and use animal blood to pay for our sin (Atonement). God never intended for these rituals to solve our sin problem since they had to be repeated.
Instead, they foreshadowed a permanent, more efficacious restitution that would: a) completely wash away our sins, b) make us righteous before God, and c) restore our lost, eternal fellowship with God.
A wonderful illustration of our redemption is presented in the Suffering Servant found in Isaiah 53:4-6 (NKJV):
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Matthew Chapter 9 (NLT) tells the story of a paralyzed man whose friends brought him to Jesus for healing. Jesus makes this statement in verse 2: “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.” Then He makes this declaration in verse 6: “So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
Until this time, no human being had been authorized to forgive sin. Only God forgave sin. Yet, Jesus now insists that He forgives all our sin—past, present, and future. He claimed this because He was the One who would satisfy all the statutes of the Old Testament Law, and He would offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sin.
Jesus Christ fulfills three roles for our benefit. He is the Prophet, whose life and teaching give us moral and spiritual direction as foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-22. The Bible, which contains His teaching is our perfect guide to living in the New Testament Age. As we read, study, memorize, and apply its principles to our lives, we grow into His productive people of faith and grace.
In addition, Jesus is our King who governs our hearts and minds through His Holy Spirit (and His Word). We love Him, willingly surrender to Him, and faithfully serve His church and those He describes as the “least of these” (Matthew 25:34-40). He is our Sovereign Lord, and we are subjects of His eternal Kingdom. He is the focal point of our love and gratitude as well as the “author and finisher” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Moreover, He is our Great High Priest, in whom we have the forgiveness of sin. Hebrews 9:11-12 (NKJV) teaches He redeemed us by paying sin’s price Himself:
But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come…Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
Jesus’ sacrificial death covers sin because He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). By fulfilling these attributes, He is fully capable of saving “to the uttermost” all those who come to God by Him, seeing He lives forever to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).
No longer can we rely on our finite, inadequacy for forgiveness. Instead, we can rely on His total efficacy as both our personal Savior and Lord to blot out our sin and make us righteous before God forever—by our reverent, sincere faith in Him alone. Why not call on Him today?
What a Wonderful Savior!