A gracEmail subscriber writes: "You said that Jesus was without sin. But didn't he become a sinner by taking on our sins? Isn't this why he was forsaken by God on the cross?" * * * Indeed, Jesus was the "lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He "bore our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). God made him "who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf" (2 Cor. 5:21). He "became a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13). It is as if the cross of Jesus was a cosmic lightning rod planted squarely in the middle of the universal storm of divine judgment, a judgment that built in … [Read more...]
WAS THE CROSS NECESSARY?
A gracEmail reader asks, "Was the cross necessary in order for God to forgive our sins? Did Jesus have to die in order for God to love us sinners?" Part 1 Jesus considered it imperative that he be murdered (Matt. 16:21) by crucifixion (Luke 24:7) and that he be "counted with the transgressors" (Luke 22:37). These things were "necessary" because the Father's own love and holiness made it so, not because of something external to God himself which God was bound to obey. Nor were these things imposed on an unwilling Jesus by a determined Father, for Jesus "gave himself" (Gal. 2:20). Jesus' … [Read more...]
HE MADE THE CHOICE
For our sake Jesus "suffered" (Heb. 13:12) the "suffering of death" (Heb. 2:9). He experienced physical pain we cannot imagine. There is a reason the root of "excruciating" is the Latin word for "cross." It began with a bloody scourging followed by savage pummeling. A crown of thorns, pressed down, punctured his scalp. Metal spikes impaled his wrists, securing him to the wooden cross-beam. Then he hung suspended for hours while every muscle cramped and every nerve was set on edge, until finally, mercifully, death ended it all. Yet the Bible focuses more on the suffering of shame and … [Read more...]
ANIMAL SACRIFICES: WHY & WHY NOT?
A gracEmail subscriber asks, "Why did God command the Israelites to bring animal sacrifices as sin-offerings, and why did those sin-offerings stop after Jesus died and rose again?" * * * Those animal sacrifices reminded the Israelites of God’s greatest desire—that they love him with all their hearts, and show their love by keeping his commandments. The sacrifices also reminded them of their own failure ever to do that. And they pointed to a future Messiah who would give God what he had always wanted. To say it a different way, God asked from every Israelite the living sacrifice of a … [Read more...]
GOD LOVED LIKE THIS
John 3:16 is perhaps the most memorized verse in the Bible. It begins with the familiar phrase: "For God so loved the world . . . ." The Greek word translated "so" can express both manner ("this is how God loved the world") and degree ("God loved the world this much"). God shows his love in many other ways, of course, but this is the supreme demonstration of God's love for human beings made in his image -- that he gave his Son to bring us back to himself. Whenever New Testament writers mention God's love, they most often tie it to the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. And the more we … [Read more...]
LOOK TO YOUR GOD
The midweek ladies Bible class at our church is studying Isaiah this year and they kindly invited me to take three sessions over chapters 34-48. The occasion provided special incentive to read chapter 40 again, a passage that has encouraged and inspired me for at least that many years. This chapter begins the second major division of Isaiah, a message of comfort for Judean exiles during the Babylonian captivity written in advance but intended for encouragement later. (Quiz: What book in your home has 66 divisions in two major parts, 39 in the first, 27 in the second; the second part opening … [Read more...]
DOES GOD CHANGE HIS MIND?
In view of 1 Samuel 15:35 which says that the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king, a Presbyterian brother asks: "Does God change his plans for us, depending on our responses, or does God's sovereignty mean that He 'did unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass' (The Westminster Confession of Faith)?" *** I take the passage you quote at face value. The Bible frequently represents God as changing his mind about earthly affairs, depending on the actions and reactions of people. One thinks of Abraham's intercession for Sodom (Gen. 18:20-33), God's saving and then destroying the … [Read more...]
ETERNAL TRUTHS
The ancient Psalms of David still refresh and encourage us after 3,000 years. Here are just three examples as relevant as today. When circumstances do not reveal God's presence, we may repeat: "How long, O YHWH? Wilt thou forget me forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? . . . But I have trusted in thy steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation" (Psalm 13:1, 5). When justice does not occur on the earth, we may say: "I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. . . . When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task … [Read more...]
IT’S THE HONEST TRUTH
A gracEmail subscriber wrote: "How could God be disappointed in human beings, since he knew everything before the foundations of the earth?" * * * As happens dozens of times each week, I responded directly to her. "I do not know," I stated. "The subject of God’s knowledge of things in advance makes my head swim!" She wrote back: "Oh wow! This is a new possible way of thinking for me! Thank you for your kind response, your honesty and your ministry." I pass on this private correspondence, not because of its complimentary comments about me, but because the fact that this … [Read more...]
AFRAID OF GOD?
A brother writes that "the God of the Old Testament does fierce and horrible things to people, and this makes me pretty nervous. I know that perfect love casts out fear. But I understand that I show my love by my obedience and that leaves me scared again." * * * The New Testament also exhorts us to contemplate "the goodness and the severity of God" (Rom. 11:22), and it warns us that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God" (Heb. 10:31). However, from Genesis to Revelation, God reveals himself as indescribably gracious and generous to the person who … [Read more...]
