Category: vicarious atonement of Christ

Sin, Death, Jesus, and Life

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15 KJV).

Wherever we find sin, we find death—wherever we find death, we find sin. Wherever we find life, we find Jesus—wherever we find Jesus, we find life.

Early yesterday morning my family learned the sad news that my paternal grandmother passed away in her sleep at age 87, at a family member’s home. Grandma suffered numerous, chronic health issues during her final years alive. These last several months she had been growing weaker, so we had been preparing ourselves for her departure. Unfortunately, we never had a chance to tell her goodbye. Mom and I had been sitting by her bedside, and it was not long after that that she passed.

We all know that one of the hardest events to bear is the death of a family member. Considering, we cannot imagine the pain that Mary experienced as she witnessed Jesus her son slowly suffocating on Calvary’s cross. For God the Father to see His Son experiencing such a horrible event, we will never even partially grasp that pain Father God felt. In the end, sin will always cause suffering. Ultimately, as today’s Scripture avows, “When it is finished, sin bringeth forth death.” Because of sin, even Jesus Christ had to die—not for our His own sins, of course, for “[Jesus] knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21), but He “died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

In the midst of this lost, sinful, hopeless, dying world, the Lord Jesus Christ offered hope in the following words: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). In this world of sin and death, the only answer is righteousness and life (by faith, we find both in Jesus Christ alone). We find eternal rest in Him, we find everlasting life in Him, and we have abounding grace and mercy in Him, that we can bear the grief and burdens we face in this fallen world. When Jesus Christ is all we have, we learn that He is all we need!

-IN MEMORIAM-
Hester Tweedel Brasseux
(30 April 1927 – 21 July 2014)

A Glass of Water

Saturday, July 5, 2014

“And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:23,24 KJV).

May we never take a glass of water for granted again!

A bygone Bible teacher wrote that he would literally thank God when he would drink a glass of ice-cold water (see today’s Scripture). The brother had relied completely on the Lord Jesus Christ for his soul salvation unto eternal life, so he had the assurance of the forgiveness of sins and he knew that he had a home in heaven. He knew that Jesus Christ had tasted God’s wrath on his behalf at Calvary, so he would never have to face that wrath in hellfire. The rich man’s plea in today’s Scripture would never be his in eternity.

Interestingly, the rich man had rejected the God of Bible during his earthly life, and he was neither repentant nor accepting of God in everlasting hellfire; he merely wanted water and comfort. By no means was the context of today’s Scripture a parable (Luke 16:19-31)—never once did Jesus’ parables contain proper names (notice “Lazarus” was a real person). To imagine such a place where so much as one single drop of water is coveted and never granted, is to understand why the Scriptures make reference to “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12; Luke 13:28) and “a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42, which Jesus interpreted literally in verse 50). The rich man’s soul would always cry out, and would always be deprived of even one drop of water!

We Christians should never forget—yea, not even for one second—the terrible destiny from which God Almighty saved us. Every time we drink ice-cold water, may we thank our Lord Jesus Christ that we will never face “water-deprivation” in eternity. May we be motivated to share the Gospel of Grace with our lost loved ones, that they not echo the plea of today’s Scripture in eternity!

At Calvary #5

Saturday, June 21, 2014

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24 KJV).

The chorus of William R. Newell’s classic 1895 hymn “At Calvary” highlights today’s Scripture.

“Mercy there was great, and grace was free,
Pardon there was multiplied to me,
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary.”

“Mercy” means “pity, compassion,” God holding back what we deserve (His wrath). “Grace” is God’s unmerited favor—it is free to us (apart from our works) because Jesus Christ paid for it with His life (it is not “cheap grace!”). In Christ, we are liberated from sin’s dominion and works-religion bondage (Galatians 5:1)—the “redemption,” the purchasing of our freedom, through Jesus Christ’s shed blood. We received “redemption through [Christ’s] blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of [God’s] grace” (Ephesians 1:7; cf. Colossians 1:14). The riches of God’s grace—where our sin abounds, God’s grace abounds far, far, far, far more (Romans 5:20). God’s forgiveness, His abundant pardon, is offered to us at Calvary’s cross.

For our dear readers who are lost, who have never come to a point in their lives where they relied exclusively on Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for their sins, we urge them to do so today before it is eternally too late. No matter what you have done in your life, there is no sin so vile that Jesus Christ’s blood cannot cover it. At Calvary, the God of the Bible offers all the mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness you will ever need, but none of it can be applied to you until you trust Jesus Christ alone as your personal Saviour.

After soul salvation unto eternal life, we join our Apostle Paul in reflecting upon our former lives, and we conclude with him, “but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:13,14). Indeed, the mercy, grace, faith, and love of Jesus Christ are more than enough.

Saints, being mindful that our (self-) life ended at Calvary, and our (eternal) life began at Calvary, let us sing “At Calvary” with grateful hearts! 🙂

At Calvary #4

Friday, June 20, 2014

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9 KJV).

The fourth verse of William R. Newell’s classic 1895 hymn “At Calvary” highlights today’s Scripture.

“Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan!
Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span
At Calvary!”

God gave heaven’s best—Jesus Christ—to save earth’s worst—us, sinful mankind. God’s love for us drove Him to Calvary’s cross: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God’s grace, His unmerited favor toward us, enabled Him to endure Calvary’s cross for us: “…Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9).

We could not meet God’s righteousness in our own strength: we were spiritually poor. Jesus Christ had God’s spiritual wealth—righteousness, majesty, glory, and so on. Today’s Scripture says Jesus Christ “became poor” (“he humbled himself;” Philippians 2:5-8). He became a man, to serve instead of be served (Matthew 20:28), to have our sin imputed to Him (2 Corinthians 5:21), to die as “the just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3:18). When He completely paid our sin debt, He resurrected to give us His righteousness (Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Titus 3:4-6 reminds us: “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;….”

The Apostle John affirmed: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: … Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 3:16a, 4:10). Christ’s finished crosswork at Calvary is now the bridge between God and us.

At Calvary #1

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 KJV).

The first verse of William R. Newell’s classic 1895 hymn “At Calvary” highlights today’s Scripture.

“Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died
On Calvary.”

Before we came by faith to Jesus Christ, our lives epitomized emptiness and arrogance. We may not have been murdering, stealing, committing adultery, bowing before statues, or cursing the Lord Jesus Christ’s name; yet, our lives were vain and prideful. We were “walking, in the vanity [emptiness] of [our] mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that [was] in [us], because of the blindness of [our] heart: who being past feeling [had] given [ourselves] over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Ephesians 4:17-19).

Romans chapter 1 explains how God gave us Gentiles up and over to our “vain imaginations” and “foolish, darkened hearts” (verse 21). In Genesis chapter 11, God relinquished us Gentiles to enjoy the spiritual ignorance—“reprobate [worthless] mind” (verse 28)—we so desired. Once He let the Gentile nations go on their way, He created the nation Israel to become His earthly people. For the next 2,000 years, Satan’s sin (pride; 1 Timothy 3:6) operated in us Gentiles; hence, the Devil himself, the ruler “over all the children of pride” (Job 41:34), was our king. While we Gentiles were “without God” and “without Christ” (Ephesians 2:12), Jesus Christ died for us (today’s Scripture). As our pagan Gentile ancestors offered their worthless sacrifices in their heathen temples, Jesus Christ offered Himself to pay for their sins.

“Calvary” (Greek, kranion; Latin, calvaria, “skull”) only appears once in our King James Bible (Luke 23:33)—modern English versions eliminate it. In Hebrew, the place is “Golgotha” (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17), meaning “the place of a skull.” It was on this hill whose rocky formation resembles a human cranium, outside of Jerusalem, that Jesus Christ was crucified for us. While we were on our merry way to eternal hellfire, the eternal Son of God was put to death on Calvary’s cross that we might have eternal life!

The Wafer Versus The Loaf

Sunday, June 8, 2014

“For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul demonstrated that all church leaders should not neglect to tell their congregants all of God’s counsel.

Recently, I listened to a now-saved minister expose the absurdities that he learned in seminary (“Bible cemetery”), while he was in training to become a church leader in a major “Christian” denomination, a cult he served for decades. By God’s grace, the dear man came to realize that his “good” works were nothing in God’s sight: he came to understand and trust the totality of Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice for his sins.

Having left that rank spiritual darkness that he was in for many years, he looks back and sees just how lost he really was back then, how he was on his way to hell, how he was so misled, even though he faithfully read the Holy Scriptures to his congregations for all those years. As per his denomination’s instructions, he meticulously followed their “approved” reading schedule of Scripture. Despite all those many years of (repetitive) sermons, he actually read what amounted to a mere five percent of the entire Bible, to all those precious souls in his church! He sees how he was only allowed to read the verses that agreed with the denominational system; they simply ignored the Bible passages that conflicted with their church!

Dearly beloved, there are hundreds of thousands of “churches” worldwide that are just like this, literally spiritually starving their millions upon millions of members, depriving them of the entire counsel of God, yet giving them just enough morsels in order to fool them into believing they are hearing everything that God has spoken to them.

In light of the spiritual darkness all around us, let us never take for granted our soul salvation from our sins and works-religion, our rightly divided King James Bible, our local grace assemblies, and the faithful saints who serve our Lord Jesus Christ in sharing the message of His grace with all the millions upon millions who desperately need it. May we choose the loaf, and reject the wafer!

The Greatest War Hero

Monday, May 26, 2014

“For God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 KJV).

In the United States, today is Memorial Day, when we remember those who sacrificed their time and lives to provide our physical freedom. Likewise, as Christians, we have spiritual freedom, which was more costly. Someone had to die to give us the eternal life we now enjoy….

Scripture describes a spiritual warfare between good and evil, God’s truth program versus Satan’s lie program: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [schemes] of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:11,12; see also verses 13-20).

Satan distracts mankind from God’s pure Word, the Bible, keeping unbelievers lost (dead in their sins), and preventing unbelievers and Christians from knowing God’s will. The devil draws them away (seduces them) from God’s Word by using religious tradition and human “wisdom” (1 Timothy 4:1-3; cf. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Galatians 3:1-3).

God loves us, so at Calvary’s cross, Christ fought for us sinners, died in battle (today’s Scripture), shed His divine sinless blood, and eternally rescued us from Satan and sin: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:14,15).

Hebrews 9:12 says Jesus Christ has “obtained eternal redemption for us.”

If we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). Now, God can use us for His glory for all eternity.

Beloved, let us rejoice in our victory over sin, death, and hell that Jesus Christ secured for us by going to Calvary’s rugged cross! Jesus Christ is now alive forevermore—He is our Hero, the Greatest Hero!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study “The Greatest Hero,” which can be read here or watched here.

Iniquity Not Yet Full #2

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

“But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Genesis 15:16 KJV).

Today’s Scripture expressly declares why the God of the Bible “takes His time” when dealing with sinful mankind.

The God of the Bible is very orderly; He is organized and does not act on haphazard whims. On one hand, His justice demands that sin be punished in full, and His wrath inflicts a punishment to satisfy His offended righteousness (ultimately, everlasting hellfire, banished from His presence forever). On the other hand, His mercy, love, and grace provide a means so that the sinner can escape that wrath via substitutionary atonement (ultimately, the sinner can come by faith alone in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, where Christ suffered God’s wrath on our behalf, and be accepted of God). Whether operating in wrath or in grace, the God of the Bible is completely fair and wise in every deed.

Certain limits must be breached before God’s wrath falls on the sinner, and while only God Himself knows those parameters, the entire Bible’s canon demonstrates that this is how He deals with wicked humanity. For example, consider three major events of sin in the book of Genesis:

  • God could have destroyed Adam and Eve immediately after they sinned; however, He responded to them in mercy and grace, seeking them while they hid from Him, and then killing animals to cover them physically with those skins, as well as clothe them spiritually with animals’ blood (a type of Jesus’ blood which was shed millennia later) (Genesis 3:21).
  • Before the Great Flood of Noah’s Day, some 1,700 years after creation, God gave sinful mankind 120 years to straighten up (Genesis 6:3), and then His judgment came and swept them all away (excluding Noah and his family on the ark)!
  • It was not until Sodom and Gomorrah had reached their limit of sin that God finally sent two angels to destroy those two wicked cities (Genesis 18:20,21; Genesis 19:13).

Let us continue skimming the Scriptures for other instances of the longsuffering, yea, the patience, of God…

Heart Service #6

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you” (Romans 6:17 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is the key to being delivered from and guarded against today’s apostate Christendom.

When he wrote Romans (circa Acts chapter 20), Paul had never visited the saints in Rome (he was imprisoned there years later in Acts chapter 28). One or more of his ministry coworkers, perhaps Aquila and his wife Priscilla (Acts 18:2; cf. Romans 16:3-5), had shared the Gospel of the Grace of God with these pagan Romans.

Paul rejoiced when he heard about the Romans’ salvation, their trusting in the finished crosswork of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for their sins, their forsaking of worthless idols and vain religion. He yearned to visit them but was hindered; he was forced to write this epistle to them instead (Romans 1:8-15). Thank God He had Paul write to the Romans instead, or we would not have this wonderful, simple book of grace doctrine to study today!

After discussing our new identity in Christ (Romans chapters 1-5), Paul proceeded to ask in Romans 6:1,2: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Our position in Christ has permanently made us dead to sin, that nature we inherited from Adam. Saints, sin is not who we are anymore. “Likewise reckon [conclude] ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (verse 11).

In today’s Scripture, Paul reminded the Romans how they were saved unto eternal life, received forgiveness of sins, had a home reserved in heaven. They heard some sound Bible doctrine—the Gospel of God’s Grace, everything that God did for them in Christ at Calvary’s cross—and they believed it in their hearts. The Apostle made it clear that their salvation from daily sins (the context of Romans chapters 6-8) would operate in the same manner. It would be Jesus Christ’s resurrection life, His power, His righteousness, His strength, His faith, His work. Him, Him, Him, not them, them, them!

NOTE: We will briefly suspend this devotionals arc. Stay turned!

Heart Service #5

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you” (Romans 6:17 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is the key to being delivered from and guarded against today’s apostate Christendom.

How should we deal with daily sins as Christians? Religion says, “Confess your sins (either to a priest or directly to God), and then follow our church’s/denomination’s ‘code of conduct’ to do better next time.” They even direct us to obey Bible verses such as the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. While these religious people are often well-meaning, they overlook a simple fact: It was our performance that got us into those sins in the first place, so we must look beyond ourselves, beyond our capacity, to have victory over daily sins. We must go back to the basics of the book of Romans, its first five chapters, and re-learn the simplest doctrines of grace.

Delineated so clearly in Romans chapters 1-5, the Gospel of the Grace of God—“Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3)—plainly declares that we sinners do not and cannot please the God of the Bible. As sons and daughters of Adam, we have no natural, internal capacity to do the works that He wants done. Moreover, we naturally do not have the attitude and motives that He accepts when those good works are accomplished. Despite all our “piety” (“goody-goodiness”), God’s righteous verdict concerning mankind, us, is “Guilty!” (Romans 3:19).

In the context of today’s Scripture, our Apostle Paul already discussed salvation from sins unto eternal life (Romans chapters 1-5). Today’s Scripture is a highlight of the second section of Romans, chapters 6-8, which focuses on daily Christian living. The serious Bible student would never conclude that Romans chapters 6-8 teach that we must follow rules and regulations to make ourselves accepted of God, to have victorious Christian lives, for it would go contrary to what the previous five chapters taught. If we are to have victory over daily sins, we look not to our religious performance, but we recall how God worked to save us unto eternal life (today’s Scripture)….