Jesus Died to Take God's Wrath for us

Reason number 1: Jesus died to take the wrath of God
God is both just and loving. He is holy. We take these things for granted as believers. But since God is Holy, He can have nothing to do with sin. Romans tells us that, "the wages of sin is death." We also know that we are all guilty, see Romans 3:23. We all have sinned, and sin is not a small thing, because it is against God Himself, and God is not a small God. You see, the seriousness of the insult rises with the status of the one insulted. Which crime are the police going to work harder on: Joe Smith's house was robbed, or the White House was robbed? A bigger penalty for insulting your neighbor or for insulting the Queen of England? See what I mean? Failure to follow God is not a trivial thing - it is treason to the Creator of ALL THINGS. Ask God if He's got a MySpace Page; He'll say, "The whole universe, is MY Space." To not uphold His penalty for sin (death(Rom. 6:23; Eze. 18:4)) would be unjust, and since God is infinitely just, He cannot do this. He requires His Holy wrath to be poured out against it. A Holy curse hangs over sin. But God is also Love...Infinite, unfathomable, unplumbable, indescribable...Love. Not this empty emotion we humans describe as love, but the actual living embodyment of LOVE. He was not content to let His wrath be the end of humanity, He is not content to let the curse hang over mankind. He does not stop at showing His wrath, no matter how justifed and Holy it is. Therefore, He sends His own Son to take the wrath being poured out, and to bear the curse. Christ literally "became a curse for us." (Gal. 3:13) and in so doing, removed us from the curse when we place our faith in Him. C.S. Lewis wrote about this in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Edmund was a traitor, and the old Magic in Narnia said that blood was required to be paid for a traitor's crimes. If it was not satisfied, the world itself would split apart and be destroyed by fire. (By the way, if you've never read The Chronicles of Narnia I highly recommend it.) Now, of course, this is a grand literary exposition for what God does with us, but the idea is the same. To not punish sin would be for God to deny His very character, who He is. Death is required. Blood is required. The curse must be met and fulfilled. The wrath must be poured out. But Christ came and took it in our place. The "propitiation" for our sins (Rom. 3:25). The removal of God's wrath by provision of a substitue. God provided the substitute in His own Son. You see, as the propitiation - the substituite - Christ does not simply cancel God's wrath and judgement; no you see, the price must be paid. Christ instead, takes the full, world shattering force of God's wrath upon Himself. Remember Christ's cry upon the cross (Echoed from Psalms): "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?!" "My God, My God, Why have You forsaken me?!" Imagine, total separation from God Himself, when you have lived in perfect communion with Him your whole life. God's wrath was poured out, His Holy anger fulfilled, the curse met, Jesus took the wrath upon Himself, and diverted it from us to Himself. God's wrath was spent, not withdrawn. Let us never trivialize the justice, the holiness, or the love of God. "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:9-10.

th

Continuing on

So, last post I mentioned in closing why did Jesus come to die for us. Of course the easy pat answer in this is "To save us from our sins." Which is of course correct. however, there is so much more in His coming than simply salvation. Why did Jesus die? Perhaps let's start this discussion farther back even. "Who killed Jesus?" The Sunday school answer you would normally get to that one is, "Me, I did." or "Man's sins" or "All Humanity", and while in theory those are correct, in reality the right answer is that God Himself was the principle player in Jesus's death. Now I can hear it, "wait a minute...God, killed Jesus?" Well...Yes, God killed Jesus. you see Jesus came with the purpose to die. Isaiah says that "It was the will of God to crush Him..." in speaking of Jesus. Romans says "God presented Him as a sacrifice..." So you see, the Bible even says God was the key player here. Remember Joseph speaking to his brothers. "You intended it for evil, but God meant it for good..." So, if we take that God is the author of good and not of evil, as the Bible says He is...What was the "good" in the death of His son? What is not the cause of Jesus' death, but the core purpose, the meaning behind it? Human's had all kinds of reasons for wanting Jesus dead, but only the Holy God can design His death to be for the good. I read in a writing from John Piper that, "The controversy about which humans killed Jesus is marginal. He chose to die. His heavenly Father ordained it. He embraced it." So, what did God achieve for us sinners in the death of His Son? I will look at some of the purposes in upcoming blogs, let me know what you think, do you agree with me, or not, why, etc., etc., etc. Anyway I think it will be interesting if nothing else. What was the purpose? Not the cause of His death, but the purposes behind it.

I will be borrowing some from the book "Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die". It is a good read, but anyway, I'm getting tired now, and need to go to bed. I pray God bless you all and care for you too. Peace of Christ to you, and Peace out yo'!

th

A Most Amazing Creature

The Skunk is a most amazing little creature. Did you know that they are one of the most adaptable animals on the planet? They will eat almost anything, are incredibly intelligent and resourceful, and while nearly blind, have extremely developed senses of smell and hearing. Did you know that rattlesnakes, upon detecting a skunk nearby will go silent? In a head-to-head, the skunk will probably win. They are one of the only animals that will eat a stink beetle, they will roll it in the dirt until it is out of its own stink juice, then eat it. They will go into the stinkiest of places - a bat cave - and eat small ones which fall from the roof. They will stand up to most predators including dogs, cougars, coyotes, and the leading killer of skunks, cars. In fact the Great Horned Owl is actually one of the best predators of the skunk, because it has a limited sense of smell. They will not just up and spray someone, they usually spray only when they are out of options. They only have about 4 tablespoons of the stink at best. They can fire the spray out in a directed stream or a fine atomized mist. Tomato juice is not the fix-all for the spray either it is only a temporary fix. A better solution is: 3% HO (Hydrogen Peroxide) - 1/4c baking soda - 3 tablespoons detergent mixed fresh only. Rinse in your yard. Skunks and cats usually will get along fairly well. They do not all carry rabies, in fact the last reported case of someone getting rabies from a skunk was in 1981, despite them being the #2 animal on the list for carriers (They tend to wander off and die alone - usually from ticks - if they get it). They are very independent, and much like a cat will not ususally do what you say if you were to get one as a pet. I've always thought that it might be interesting to have a pet skunk, but my menagerie will have to wait a while to expand in that direction.
The point of all this is I've been thinking that we are similar to the skunk. Intelligent, resourceful, curious, headstrong, and all the while carrying a big stink. We are as they are -nearly blind - we see only darkly says the Bible. You see, we live and learn and grow, and think and discover, and we see only darkly, we stink, and the thing of it is, we are reveling in our stink, like the skunk. The skunk knows that it has a stink, and it is not afraid of its stink. It will use it. We are doing the same thing. How often do we find ourselves reveling in our sin, flamboyantly showcasing it for all to see? Sometimes we do this without knowing it, but more and more often we find people doing this intentionally. You see, God made us, like the skunk, a most amazing creature. We are fearfully and wonderfully made says the Word. Known before we were made, knitted together the Bible says, have you ever kitted? It's not easy, and it takes a direct involvement by the one doing the knitting. God made us and yet we take this priceless work of art He made, and go roll it in the mud, the raw sweage of the world, and make it stink. But the marvelous thing of it isHe has made a way to get rid of the stink. You see, people get convicted of their sin, and try to fix it. Regardless of what people may say, sin IS only pleasing for a season. Eventually, you want more, because you were MADE for more. We try to fix our stink by going to church more, or praying more, or doing more for other people, etc. We hear of good works, that, "I hope they count in the end." Or of people giving up everything they have to join a compound and group that has "the" answer. The trouble with this is that just like Tomato Juice and skunk spray, it's only a temporary fix. Only God has the ultimate solution to our stink. He's got a better formula, that doesn't just cover up the stink, it actually removes it. His son, Jesus, died for us. His sacrifce and His alone can make us clean. So, why did Jesus come? Well, stay tuned, I will post several reasons for His sacrifce in the days ahead. Tune in next time, same bat-time, same bat-channel. 'Till next time, In Christ Alone,
th