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 Christ Took Our Punishment

Romans 3:21-25; 4:20-25

“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. “

A relationship with God is not some kind of pagan-like “quid-pro-quo” religious arrangement where God becomes obligated to “bless” me because I’ve ticked all the boxes in moralistic rule-keeping. The truth is, there is only One human being that has ever kept the whole of the Law of Moses perfectly, always. That Person was Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God. He alone kept the Law of God perfectly as a man in perfect fellowship with God the Father, empowered by the Holy Spirit. His utter obedience took Him to lay down His life in obedience  as THE sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. His death was singular, unique, and the only sacrifice that could take away sin, not just cover it. By His death, He destroyed death and by rising again gives eternal life to all who will believe Him, turn from self-reliance and religious moralism to be forgiven and by the Power of the Holy Spirit, be born again into a new Life, eternal Life. Those who believe, receive a new heart, a new spirit, a new nature and the indwelling Holy Spirit giving the believer the power to really LIVE that new Life, united to Jesus Christ.

Romans 4:13-17

“Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) So the promise of God is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.”

In Jesus Christ, God make those who were dead in their sin and rebellion alive again. It’s not some kind of refurbished “old me”, but a new creation, new things where new things never existed. God fulfilled His promises to Abraham, to the whole human race through Jesus Christ. For, no matter how many promises God has made to mankind, they are all fulfilled in Jesus Christ. That is why we can say, “YES, and THANK YOU!!!” to God. Abraham believed God when there was no way, humanly speaking, for what God had promised to come about.

Romans 4:20-25

“Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God.”

God is able to implement His own promises. That means that He can redeem your life, bring you out of essential and spiritual death and by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, give you a new Life, an eternal Life, a living relationship with Himself. He is calling; will you answer?

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