Never has there been a cry of victory greater than the dying shout of our savior on the cross. Christ was born to die, coming to earth to accomplish His father’s work. Living a perfect life, He took the punishment for our sins, crimes against God we willfully committed but could never atone for. Christ’s death and resurrection was the only way that God could look past our wickedness and treat us as though we’d lived the perfect life of Christ. At the cross, Christ finished everything.
Our spiritual death is finished!
But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved! (Ephesians 2:4-5)
The Bible is very clear that there’s no good within us (Romans 3:10-12). We are utterly incapable of pleasing God, let alone being “good people” and earning our way to Heaven. From our very births we are bent toward sin and hating our creator (Psalm 58:3). We aren’t decent folk in need of morality lessons or self-esteem; we are horrid people deserving of God’s wrath. We are sin-filled corpses, wasting away in our selfishness and pride as we await judgment.
But God.
Being “dead” in sin makes it very clear that we were utterly without the capacity to do anything to save ourselves. Despite deserving Hell for our wickedness, despite centering our lives around pleasing ourselves and not God… He sent His son to bring us back to life. He died so that we might live. Yet we don’t live for ourselves, but out of love and gratitude for God we desire to love and serve Him because we know it’s what we were made for (1 Corinthians 6:20).
The guilt of our sin is finished!
God knew what would happen when He made us. When God created the universe and breathed life into Adam, Christ’s sacrifice was already planned. God’s very own creation would rebel against Him, and God loved us enough to send His son to be slaughtered by the very people He created.
By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)
For those who are truly saved, we are no longer held guilty before the almighty judge. Christ paid 100% of our punishment, allowing God to treat us as His children instead of His enemies. And the guilt of sin doesn’t just end at the day of our salvation, but every day of our lives as we depend on the Holy Spirit to help us desire to kill sin and love our God.
Our slavery to sin is finished!
We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) (Romans 6:6-7)
Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18)
So often, those who are outside of Christ see us and think our lives are restricted. They see themselves as free because they can do what they want without the shackles of fear and guilt. After all, why be a Christian if you can’t do all the fun stuff everyone else does? Ignorance is such bliss!
None of us are free because we all follow a master. We can follow the deceptive allure of indulging in our sinful desires, which always leads to death, or we can deny ourselves and pursue holiness because we love Christ and desire to be like Him.
Those without Christ have no choice but to serve their sin. They claim their way is one of happiness and lasting satisfaction, but that’s a momentary satisfaction leading to eternal sorrow. Christ’s death breaks that delusion, allowing us to pursue the one who offers lasting joy and ultimate satisfaction, leading to an eternity with our God!
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on that eternal day. (2 Peter 3:17-18)
Our separation from God is finished!
It’s easy to mistake salvation as a “get out of Hell free card,” a means of living moral lives, or just a way to free ourselves from guilt. While salvation certainly has those good results, those things aren’t ultimate. Consider who we were before Christ saved us:
For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. (Philippians 3:18-19)
The Bible is filled with such descriptions of those whose sins haven’t been paid for by Christ. One thing is always true: they are enemies of God because they make themselves their own god. Their sins separate them from God, putting them under the wrath of the divine judge (Isaiah 59:2).
Yet we must never forget that we were once standing next to them, shouting curses to God and building altars to ourselves! If we’re honest, we sometimes still make our happiness our ultimate goal, with God simply acting as a means to give us what we want (James 4:3).
But God didn’t send Christ so we can live better lives now. From creation, God’s purpose was for humanity to have a deep relationship with their God. We failed, and so often still fail, yet God sent Christ so that God’s enemies could enjoy their original purpose (Romans 5:10).
On that bloody cross, Christ didn’t just die for our sins so that we can void Hell. In giving us life, removing our guilt, and removing the shackles of sin He closed the vast chasm that separated us from God. After a lifetime of war against God we aren’t just at peace with Him, but He has adopted His former enemies into His family.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)
Calling God our father isn’t just a metaphor – God loves us as a perfect father loves His children. Consider what comes to mind when we call someone on earth a “good dad.” Think of how they view their kids, care for them, encourage them to grow and mature… How much more must God love and care for us as a perfect, all-knowing father?
As God’s children, we have unfettered access to Him. When Christ died, the veil of the temple was torn. That profound act meant that we no longer needed a priest to speak to God for us – Christ is now our high priest who allows us to approach the God we love and serve with confidence. As a good father, God won’t always give us what we want, but He’ll always give us what we need (Matthew 17:11).
It is finished and our life has begun!
Christ died for sinners. He didn’t die to make them wealthy or heal their bodies. His death isn’t our means of living moral lives or being superior to others. Christ was slaughtered for something far more important.
He died to cleanse us from sin. He took our sin-wracked bodies and took the punishment for every vile thought and action we’ve done and will do. He gave us His purity in exchange for our filth.
We don’t want our greed satisfied. We don’t want to measure our relationship with God by how our lives compare to the world’s idea of happiness or success. We want nothing more, and nothing less, than a life filled with loving and serving God. Whatever happens, we are satisfied because we have all we need in God.
I have asked the Lord for one thing—
this is what I desire!
I want to live in the Lord’s house all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)
