Word for Today, Fri, 29 Oct 2004: Substitution
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Today's message comes from Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest".
The message is about Jesus taking our place, taking on sin and also taking on
the full punishment for sin (which is death).
Because of what Jesus Christ, out of obedience and love for His Father, God,
the Father's love has been shown to us. We are deeply loved, fully accepted,
and completely forgiven! That is the Gospel, and Gospel means "The Good News!"
Dear Lord, I am forever grateful that You came to seek and save the lost...
that was me, that is everyone. I pray that many would accept Your gift of
salvation, for a gift is only worthwhile when it is accepted and used. I
accept and embrace Your gift of love. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
October 29
Substitution
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
The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of
sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself
not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was
"made... to be sin..." Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and
the only explanation for His death is His obedience to His Father, not His
sympathy for us. We are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor
because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ,
and for no other reason. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the fatherhood
and the loving-kindness of God, but the New Testament says that He came to take
"away the sin of the world!" ( John 1:29 ). And the revealing of the fatherhood
of God is only to those to whom Jesus has been introduced as Savior. In
speaking to the world, Jesus Christ never referred to Himself as One who
revealed the Father, but He spoke instead of being a stumbling block (see John
15:22-24 ). John 14:9, where Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the
Father," was spoken to His disciples.
That Christ died for me, and therefore I am completely free from penalty, is
never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that
"He died for all" ( 2 Corinthians 5:15 ) -- not, "He died my death" -- and that
through identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have His
very righteousness imparted as a gift to me. The substitution which is taught
in the New Testament is twofold -- "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." The teaching is
not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me (see
Galatians 4:19).
2003 RBC Ministries-Grand Rapids MI, 49555-0001
http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/utmost/
=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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