“Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27*). 

Most people who will read a devotional such as this one will not be challenged by the idea that the Cross is the central theme of the gospel (and for those who may doubt, read on), but is it too much to say that the Cross is the central event of history? When we realize that, only pages into the record of mankind, sin and death enter the world and God promises that One will come to put things right, we see glimmers of this centrality.

The first thing God does after the fall is clothe Adam and Eve in the skins of animals. Thus, the first blood was shed because of sin. Later God reveals that He had given us lifeblood for this very purpose (Lev. 17:11), for “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22). Following this we see God-fearing people, like Abel and the patriarchs, offering blood sacrifices, a practice that continues until one of the most vivid foreshadowings of the Cross plays out at Passover, when the blood of spotless lambs was applied to save the Israelites.

This emphasis on sacrifice in the Law of Moses (where many rituals and offerings were established for God’s people) pointed to the truth that our sin is so egregious in the eyes of God that it requires bloody, awful carnage. Yet none of it was sufficient for our full atonement. It was only a temporary covering.

Besides the rites and sacrifices, there are about sixteen Messianic psalms (including some which vividly point to Christ’s suffering) and hundreds of prophecies in both the major and minor prophets, most notably Isaiah 53. These are what Jesus referenced, both in the verse above (Luke 24:27) and when He chided the Pharisees in John 5:39. All of these references lead to the center point: the Cross. They act like neon arrows which only make sense once the Cross has been revealed. And, as we will see, we are tasked with continually pointing back to the Cross, just as the Old Testament writers foreshadowed it.

* Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from the NIV.

CONSIDER:
• How does our vast need for salvation, a need that is established so early in our time on earth, set up the Cross of Christ to be the focal point of history? What is man’s/your core need?
• With how many of Scripture’s “neon arrows” are you familiar? Which speak the loudest
to you about the Cross? Why are they important to you?
• How central is the Cross in your life? Cite examples.

PRAY:
Lord, renew me in my focus on Your Cross and what You accomplished there. Open my eyes anew. Help me to humble myself before it, recognizing it as my only hope, my greatest joy, and the banner under which I will live my life each day as live a crucified life. Help me to see how vital the Cross still is in my life today.

“What I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The Cross is the most recognizable symbol of Christianity. With Judaism we visualize the Star of David, Islam features the Crescent and Star, and when people see the Cross they think “Christian.” But to true believers in Christ, the Cross is more than a mere symbol. As John Stott puts it, “The Cross is not just a badge to identify us and the banner under which we march; it is also the compass that gives us our bearings in a disorientated world. In particular, the Cross revolutionizes our attitudes to God, to ourselves, to other people both inside and outside the Christian fellowship” (Stott 250). The Cross is intended to remain not just our symbol but our center and main message.

This is clear in the New Testament Scriptures. The apostle Paul constantly pointed to the Cross as his main theme, calling it of primary importance. Before he came to faith in Christ, Paul was a highly respected Pharisee, steeped in the knowledge of the Scriptures. He could have easily spent a lot of time speaking and writing about God’s wonders and His Word with in-depth teaching, but he “resolved to know nothing...except Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). In his book, Stott quotes theologian Samuel M. Zwemer, who tells us, “One comes to realize that literally all the wealth and glory of the gospel centers here. The Cross is the pivot as well as the center of New Testament thought. It is the exclusive mark of the Christian faith” (46).

The Cross is not only the exclusive mark; it is also an exclusion mark. There are some for whom it remains merely a symbol. The core of their doctrine is what Pastor Jay Childs refers to as the gospel of be nice. People who subscribe to this “gospel” see Jesus as a moral teacher but reject the total sinfulness of man (especially of themselves), which leaves us incapable of saving ourselves and in desperate need of the Savior on the Cross who bears our sins.

While nominal believers can find pleasure in the story of Jesus’ birth and encouragement in His resurrection, it is only by meeting Him at the Cross and throwing ourselves in full dependence on His sacrifice that we can be saved.

CONSIDER:
• When speaking of your faith, how do you make the Cross your central focus?
• In what ways have you left the Cross behind you and pressed on to focus more on other biblical truths?
• How can you hold all other teachings in the context of the Cross? For example, how can spiritual disciplines be experienced in the context of the Cross?

PRAY:
Lord, help me to direct my life toward the Cross, living, thinking, and worshipping in its shadow. May it reorient my understanding of You, my attitude toward my life, and my willingness to shoulder my own cross and die there. May I follow the Cross daily, not just as my banner, but as my compass, my hope, and my joy.

“It is written: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in Me. Yes, what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment” (Luke 22:37).

My notes for this topic are largely made up of verse after verse in which Jesus declared His purposes for coming to earth. He knew He came to serve and not be served, fulfill the law, bring a sword, preach, bring fire on the earth, do the Father’s will, enact judgment “so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind,” give abundant life, bring light, and suffer and be rejected (Mt. 20:28; 5:17; 10:34; Mk. 1:38; Lk.12:49; Jn. 6:38-39; 9:39; 10:10; 12:46; Lk. 9:22). But above He came all “to seek and to save the lost” and “give His life as a ransom for many” (Lk. 19:10; Mt. 20:28). Clearly, He had a focus from His childhood on fulfilling the work the Father had given Him to do (Lk .2:49). He knew the Scriptures and what was written about Him, such as, “I will . . . make You a light for the Gentiles, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Is. 49:6). Christ repeatedly expressed that all the Scriptures concerning Himself should be fulfilled (Mt. 5:17; 26:54; Lk. 4:21).

Jesus was committed to accomplishing the purpose for which the Father destined Him. Unlike the tragic heroes of Greek plays who fought haplessly against their prophesied destinies, Jesus said, “I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed” (Lk. 12:50). Jesus embraced His God-ordained destiny, knowing that the “baptism” was the Cross and all the suffering which accompanied it.

Jesus often spoke of Himself as One who was sent. He was keenly aware not only of His destiny—the Cross—but also of His Source as He headed to and through that purpose. Because He knew He had a commission from His wise, good, faithful Father, He lived as His Son: in full, loving obedience to His Father, dependent on Him and under His authority. This union of mind, will, Spirit, and purpose were at the foundation of His steadfast drive toward the Cross.

CONSIDER:
• Jesus’ mind was never far from His destiny of the Cross, informing all He did. How does seeing the Cross as your own destiny—that is, dying to self and living for Him—aid in
keeping you steadfast?
• How does Jesus’ attitude toward the Cross help you as you face yours?
• How does Jesus and the Cross show you who the Father is? How does this help you find your Source in the Father’s love, and the power to face your own cross?

PRAY:
Lord, Your Word not only speaks of Jesus’ destiny, but of my own. Help me to take You at Your Word, as He did, and trust in the plans and purposes You have for me. May I pursue that purity and holiness for which You redeemed me for Yourself, and may I be eager to do the good works You have prepared
in advance for me to do.

“The life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for . . . one’s life” (Leviticus 17:11).

“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 4:10).

Today we come to the glory of the atonement as we behold it in the Cross.
Atonement is a concept developed in the Old Testament from the word kaphar and its derivatives, and was first used to describe covering, as when Noah covered the ark with pitch. It denotes covering over, cleansing, making amends (as in “covering” an offense), and reparation to restore fellowship. In the New Testament the use of the word varies according to translation, with some preferring the word propitiation (which we will look at tomorrow because it has its own subtleties of meaning).

One commentary explained the difference between atonement and propitiation by saying that atonement is man-centered, focusing on man’s need to make amends and be reconciled to God. Propitiation, on the other hand, is focused on God’s perspective and the need for His wrath to be appeased in order for Him to express the love
He already has for us. While atonement may meet man’s need, John Stott reminds
us that “reparation (a general word for making amends) and restitution (the more particular restoration of what has been stolen) are both necessary to signify the genuineness of repentance” (Stott 102).

Here we see the glory of the atonement on the Cross. We cannot make amends because we have no way to repay God, nor can we be the perfect atoning sacrifice because of our sin nature. But the Son became a man, lived that perfect life, and gave a blood sacrifice as a Man for men, so that we can have our sins atoned for. He made amends on our behalf so that the fellowship with God that He intended when He made us might be restored!

CONSIDER:
• How does your need for atonement help you see the futility of spiritual self-improvement schemes?
• When you’ve offended God by sinning, how does the truth of the atonement move you to restore fellowship, especially when the “accuser of our brethren” is playing on our guilt and shame (Rev. 12:10, KJV)?
• When you gaze at the glory of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, what thoughts of wonder and worship arise in your heart?

PRAY:
Lord, help me to allow the truth of Your atonement at the Cross to give me joy and boldness, even as I humbly enter Your presence by virtue of Your own precious blood. May I more fully partake of the fellowship You restored, and rejoice.

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2, ESV).

Yesterday we laid out some of the nuances between atonement and propitiation. To review, propitiation is about appeasing, pacifying anger, and satisfying God’s justifiable wrath against our sin, which violates His holiness and justice. But when
we use the words appeasement and wrath, what images of God come to mind?

Sadly, a lot of people have an image of God that is solely made up of anger and judgment. They understand God as being against them and ready to strike them down at any moment, just waiting for a chance. They may think that Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross was Him standing between us and this wrathful Father, begging God to accept Himself as the bearer of our punishment in order to appease God’s fury. This is not at all an accurate picture of the glories of the Cross’ propitiation. It’s missing the true joy of those who’ve received it.

Let’s go back to what was probably the first Bible verse you ever heard or memorized: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son” (Jn. 3:16). Stott puts it this way: “God does not love us because Christ died for us; Christ died for us because God loved us. . . . Let us be clear He did not change from wrath to love . . . since His character is unchanging. What the propitiation changed was His dealings with us” (Stott 172).

Indeed, “sin provokes God’s wrath—He gets angry because He loves—and wrath is propitiated through sacrifice” (Blackburn). An article by the Gospel Coalition assures us, “Jesus is not simply ‘the propitiator’ but the ‘propitiation.’ He is what satisfies the justice of God.” Doesn’t this make it clear how much God is for us?

In all of man’s false religions we see them striving to appease the anger of their gods, but the one true God knows it is impossible for us to do so. Therefore, through the Cross and because of His great love for us, He appeases (propitiates) His own justice so His love can flow freely to us—if we have faith in Him and His finished work on the Cross. What a blessed gift propitiation is!

CONSIDER:
• In what ways have you struggled with wrong images of God, especially the image of God as an angry Father?
• How might you have tried to appease God when you’ve sinned? By distancing yourself until you think He’s cooled down? Making vows? Giving extra money or sacrificing? How does God show He’s for you?
• How does Scripture reveal that the Godhead agrees on the issue of our propitiation?

PRAY:
Lord, help me better grasp the lengths You were willing to go in order to propitiate my sin—not by just covering it up, but by fully appeasing Your justice and wrath—all because of Your great love.

“If, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:10-11).

Neither atonement nor propitiation were intended to be isolated acts or mere judicial fact. They had a “so that” element to them; they were a means to God’s desired end. Unlike other creatures, God created us in His image so we would be able to fellowship with Him and know Him. However, our sin separated us from God, so this fellowship was severed. We were alienated from God, in the dire state of Ephesians 2:12—“without hope and without God in this world.” What a sense of desolation that verse brings home!

God has taken care of the root cause of this separation at the Cross. This is intended to restore the union between God and mankind—at least those who repent of their sin and believe in His finished work on the Cross. Paul is speaking about the purpose of the Cross when he says, “But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Col. 1:22). The Cross is meant to be the end point of our sinful way of life and the beginning of our increasingly sanctified life in Him (1 Pet. 2:24-25).

As we saw with atonement, we are not the ones who reconcile ourselves to God.
He takes on the role of being the Reconciler, making the way to bring us to Himself. In fact, He has not waited for us to make efforts in His direction, as imperfect as they might be, but reconciled us “while we were God’s enemies” (Rom. 5:10). Again, we were at enmity with God, rebels against Him until He made the way for us to be reconciled. Ralph Earle tells us, “The paradox which Paul is proclaiming is that although God looks upon men as enemies, yet He reconciles them to Himself . . . by one decisive act of the Cross of Christ.” How amazing is that?!

If this is not enough, Paul also tells us that through Christ’s Cross, God is reconciling all things to Himself, “whether things on earth of things in Heaven, by making peace through His blood” (Col. 1:20). We’re only beginning to see the glory of the reconciliation, but may we revel in what we can perceive now.

CONSIDER:
• Consider Eph. 2:12. How do you feel knowing you were without hope and without God before Christ’s restoration?
• When you’ve broken fellowship with God, how does the fact that He initiated reconciliation help you sense His desire to restore your fellowship?

PRAY:
Lord, I shudder at the thought of a life without hope and without You, let alone an eternity of that! Give me the firm conviction that You are so desirous of reconciliation that You would give me hope . . . and even Yourself!

“Christ also suffered once for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

We are now going to examine the fruit of reconciliation Christ gained for us on the Cross: the glorious freedom of being brought near to God. God cannot dwell with sin (Ps. 5:4), but His work on the Cross has, in His sight, fully removed sin from us. We’ll explore this more later, but suffice it to say that atonement, propitiation, and reconciliation wrought by Christ on the Cross all play a part in this amazing privilege.

In fact, the writer of Hebrews encourages us to avail ourselves of the confidence we have in the blood of Jesus by “draw[ing] near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings” (Heb. 10:22). We can be confident because it is not our own efforts or desires that have brought us near, but the blood of Christ. Only His blood, shed on the Cross, was sufficient to fulfill God’s desire to have His people near Him. It is not that we first desire God and must convince a reluctant deity to turn to us. To the contrary, the desire for nearness began with Him, continues in Him, and is made possible by Him. It is He who woos us, kindling in
us a desire to respond and draw near to His presence.

Turning back to Ephesians 2, Paul reminds us that we were once “separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship . . . ,without hope God and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (verses 12-13). Wycliffe’s commentary says that the “now” in verse thirteen is emphatic, indicating a contrast between our former state and our current status in Christ. In context, this chapter reveals the tragic state we were in: dead in our sins, following the world and the devil’s ways, objects of God’s wrath. . . Let’s pause and let the truth of that press in. Have we come so far from that reality that we are no longer gripped with excitement when verse thirteen says, “But now”? But now! Those of us in Jesus have been brought near! Let’s allow the joy of this reality to flood our souls!

CONSIDER:
• How does the realization that God desires nearness more than you do help you combat the enemy’s lies that He wants little to do with you unless you’re perfect? How does it spur you to draw near?
• What is it that gets in the way of your nearness to God? Distractions? Not making it a priority? Ongoing sin? Insecurity? What will you do about it?

PRAY:
Lord, it awes me that You’d long to be with me so much that You would go through the horrors of the Cross to make a way to bring me near. Kindle a deeper desire in me to pursue intimacy with You, to enter boldly by Your blood into Your presence, and to live a life that draws me ever nearer.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

The concept of redemption was one that was vivid in the understanding of the Jews. Their major religious observance, Passover, is rooted in reenacting the redemption of the firstborn by the blood of the lamb and the subsequent redemption of the nation of Israel from captivity in Egypt. Both theirs and the Gentile’s cultures were also quite familiar with redemption of slaves. 

Indeed, redemption and its companion term ransom are imbued with the picture of a price being paid at a slavery market. And in terms of the Cross, “propitiation focuses on the wrath of God which was placated by the cross; redemption on the plight of sinners from which they were ransomed by the cross” (Stott 173). We are moved from slavery to sin and death—to freedom!

Another distinctive to understand about our redemption is the price paid. While we will examine this more fully in the future, for our purposes here we should note that the New Testament writers do not primarily focus on redemption only in terms of Jesus “giving His life” or “giving Himself,” but specifically that He gave His blood. That language is on one hand repulsive, and it is meant to be, because our sin is repulsive to God. On the other hand, it is gripping because the blood is emblematic of the totality of His giving—unto death—because of our sin, to set us free from its penalty and to purchase us for Himself.

When it comes to redemption it is not merely that a price was paid for us. JV McGee tells us that redemption, being the “primary work of Christ,” is served by several words in the New Testament. One is basic purchasing in the market, another means to purchase for oneself without intent to resell or relinquish, and the third means to purchase in order to set free. Referring to Galatians 3:13, McGee states that the word for redeemed used here (“Christ redeemed us from the curse…”) is the word meaning purchased for Himself and would never be relinquished. What a thought in which to rejoice!

CONSIDER:
• What is your understanding of your need to be redeemed? How have you understoodhow helplessly you were enslaved to sin and death?
• What does it mean to you that the Lord purchased you for His very own?
• How do you understand the implications of God’s ownership of you now that He has purchased you? How does that affect how you live and obey?

PRAY:
Lord, grip me more with my plight before You chose to redeem me. Help me to grasp the vast difference this has made to the trajectory of my eternal life. Help me to revel in the fact that You have purchased me to be Your very own for all eternity, while simultaneously given me freedom in You. 

“Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!” (Romans 5:9).

When we search for verses on justification, it appears to be one of Paul’s favorite words. He seems determined that we should understand it and celebrate it, so it must be important that we do.

Justification is “an external legal declaration that the sinner has been put right with God, forgiven and reinstated” (Stott 186). Wayne Grudem stresses that God legally declares us as justified in His sight, meaning He no longer sees us as owing any penalty for our sin. We need to grasp that this is not a case of amnesty. God does not just write off our sins as if they have never happened. If He did, He could be accused of being unjust. In fact, in Proverbs 17:15 we learn that “the Lord detests” human judges who acquit the guilty.

Instead, God can declare us justified not because we are without guilt, but because the penalty has been dealt. He Himself paid it in His Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, “justification is an act of justice, of gracious justice” (Stott 187). The notable J. I. Packer said that God’s righteousness is defined by His “gracious work of bestowing upon guilty sinners a justified justification, acquitting them in the court of Heaven without prejudice to His justice as their Judge.”

When we use words like propitiation and justification, it can make our eyes glaze over, but these words aren’t just legal gobbledygook. They have critical, everyday implications: Because the blood of Jesus that was spilt on the Cross paid the price for our sins, we are legally pure before God. Our record of sin has been wiped clean, past, present, and future. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). God won’t condemn us, because His justice has been satisfied. Satan can’t condemn us, because Jesus testifies that He’s paid our penalty. And we shouldn’t live in self-condemnation, because we have these truths in God’s Word and should take them to heart. Instead, we should live in gratitude and freedom and celebration for the grace God has given us.

CONSIDER:
• How does understanding your justification lead you to a sense of freedom from the weight of condemnation?
• Romans 3:24 says that God justifies us freely by His grace. What does that tell you about God’s attitude about you? Did He justify you grudgingly?
• Romans 5:1 says we’re justified by faith. Express the faith you have in God’s work.

PRAY:
Lord, what a precious gift is Your justification! What a glory it is to Your grace, mercy, and justice. Help me dwell in the rich truth of it, and battle the lies of the enemy that would hold me bound to the condemnation You’ve already borne. 

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

“God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).

Salvation is such a rich concept that it will be hard to pack into one day’s meditation. We see by Jesus’ own declaration that His mission was to seek and to save the lost. In fact, the angel told Mary that His name was to be Jesus because He had come to “save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21). It is equally important to know that He is our only source of salvation—there is “no other name under Heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12; see also Jn. 14:6; 1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Jn. 5:11-12). He was so intent on saving us that He willingly shed His own blood on the Cross because it was the only way to pay the penalty of our sins. In the following paragraphs, we’ll break down the by, the for, and the from of our salvation.

We are saved by His death, by His grace, and by faith in His finished work (Rom. 5:1-2; Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation has nothing to do with any works of righteousness on our part. His salvation is full, free, current, and yet to come, for He has saved us (when we first believed), He is saving us (as His Spirit persistently sanctifies us), and He will save us (when He returns to take us to Himself).

By His blood on the Cross He has saved us from God’s wrath, which is God’s just punishment for our sin and rebellion. He has saved us from spiritual death—eternal separation from God, without hope and without Him—which was the consequence of our sin. And He has saved us from sin, not just by forgiving us but by freeing us from slavery to it.

The glory of this salvation continues when we realize that we are not only saved by Him and from such dire consequences, but we are also saved for Him. We are told that He “gave Himself for us to redeem us . . . and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own,” and that He loves us and plans to present us to Himself as His radiant bride (Titus 2:14; Eph. 5:27). Too often when we think about salvation we focus on the glories of what we’ve been saved from but forget the equally radiant glories of what—and Who—we are saved for, which give us hope and purpose. Let’s not err here anymore.

CONSIDER:
• What does it mean to you that Jesus was so intent on your salvation?
• When you look at the by, for, and from of salvation, which of these has been your focus up to now? Which needs more of your reflection?
• What does John 14:3—which says that Jesus will come again to take you, forever, to Himself—say to your heart?

PRAY:
Lord, refresh my gratitude at what You’ve saved me from—how vast that list is! Deepen my wonder for all You’ve saved me for, especially Yourself. Now show me what You’ve saved me to—those purposes for which You created me. 

“The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. . . . For He bore the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:6, 12).

“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the Cross” (1 Peter 2:24).

How long has it been since we spent time really contemplating our deep need for a Savior? Even now, do we realize the depth of our sin and the desperate state we were in before we received God’s salvation through the Cross of Christ? Most often we think of our sin too lightly. It is quite possible that we do this because we think too lightly of God and His holiness. Until we come to terms with how depraved and desperate we truly are apart from Him, we will not appreciate the wonder and glory of the fact that Jesus bore our sins on the Cross.

There are some who view God as an abusive Father who took His anger out on His Son on the Cross. But actually the Cross is the superlative display of the Godhead’s love for us. He sees our need far better than we ever could, knowing we are helpless to rid ourselves of our sin. So, by His willing Son, God set forth to supply our need. “Jesus taking our sins upon Himself rends Him that much more glorious, and reveals most magnificently the kind of God He is. . . . The glory—the beauty and the strength—of His hands reveal His scars” (Blackburn). Oh, how much we need this gracious sin-bearer!

To be our sin-bearer He had to become a man. Men had sinned, so a man had to bear the penalty—but not just any man. This man had to meet the criteria of perfection, which only God could meet. Also, only as a mortal man could the eternal God suffer the penalty of death. Christ was the only One to meet all these requirements.

Jesus was also the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement ritual, in which the blood of a sacrificed goat was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, and another goat bore the sins of the people into the wilderness. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:21, ESV). He carried our sins and their punishment away from us. And if that wasn’t enough, He did so in order to bring us to Himself, and “so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24).

CONSIDER:
• Ponder the questions in the opening paragraph. What are your thoughts?
• How do your views on God affect your views on how serious your sin is?
• Ponder the fact that Jesus bore your sin and penalty. What does that communicate to you about God? What has it done for you?

PRAY:
Lord, help me to take my sin as seriously as You do. Grip me with the truth of what You’ve done to bear sin for and away from me, so I will love You more. 

“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed . . . and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

“He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).

Sin-bearing includes the idea of substitution. From the earliest animal sacrifices, the understanding has been that the creature forfeits its life in exchange for the guilt of the offeror. In fact, part of the ritual of Jewish sacrifice required the offeror to place his hands on the head of the sacrifice to acknowledge that the innocent creature is dying for his sin.

This is why, when we come to faith in Christ, we must acknowledge our sin and claim Him as our Savior and Substitute. This is unique to the gospel of Christ. Other religions, as well as distortions of Christianity, subscribe to forms of self-salvation, whether they exclude Jesus’ sufficient work on the Cross, or try to add one’s own works to His sacrifice.

God’s holiness and justice demand that sin be repaid with death. God made that clear from the beginning. But He also deeply loves people and wants to rectify His relationship with them in a way that keeps with both His love and justice. The only way this can be addressed is by sending His Son to pay for sin in our place. “In order to save us in such a way as to satisfy Himself, God through Christ substituted Himself for us. Divine love triumphed over divine wrath by divine self-sacrifice. . . . Moved by the perfection of His holy love, God in Christ substituted Himself for us sinners” (Stott 158, 165).

It is important to understand that when Jesus took on our sin, He did not become a sinner. He remained morally pure and took our liability for sin—what Stott calls the “penal consequence” (Stott 134). This is not the only remarkable thing about this substitution, because in exchange for our sin we received His righteousness, giving us a legally “righteous standing before God” (148).

CONSIDER:
• What does it mean to you that Jesus’ innocence, not deserving any punishment, was treated as your guilt?
• In what way did yesterday’s verse (1 Pet. 2:24) show that Jesus saw His substitution as personal? As vicarious? As physical? As shameful?
• How would you express the personal impact Jesus’ substitution has had on you: the idea of the Innocent One taking on your guilt and you receiving His righteousness?

PRAY:
Lord, give me more insight into the fact that You personally intervened to take my sin upon Your sinless Self. Help me to feel the wonder of that. Help me to live more fully in the knowledge that I now stand in Your righteousness. 

“The punishment that brought us peace was on Him” (Isaiah 53:5).

“Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:0)

“He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14).

The world has been at war with God since the day the first couple rebelled against Him. Whatever reasons we might give for the conflicts in our streets and homes today, they all boil down to our enmity with God. We have sin to blame for the war within our souls. But peace with God is not easily had; it comes at an enormous price—to God Himself!

We’ve already seen much of that price over the past several days. The good news is that the price has been paid in the Person of Jesus and His blood sacrifice on the Cross. “The punishment that brought us peace was on Him”—a high price indeed (Is. 53:5)! In paying the price to redeem and justify us, He has reconciled us to God and has given us peace with God through His blood. God is no longer our enemy because His wrath was satisfied by His own act of grace. He Himself is our peaceand our Guarantor of peace.

The wonderful peace we have with God is a lasting peace. Because Jesus declared that His work is finished and sufficient to cover all our sins, we no longer need fear that God is going to remember something about us that He’ll use against us. We can rest fully in the peace He gave us. The Cross purchased for us permanent peace with God.

While this peace with God is permanent, there is another kind of peace we must pursue: peace of God. With and of are little words, but they have meaning. Peace with God is His act, and since He is unchangeable, it is permanent and enables us to have the peace of God. But for us to maintain the peace of God, we must keep our eyes fixed on Him and on His truth, especially the truths surrounding the Cross. There are so many distractions in the world—the flesh and the devil that are designed to rob us of the peace of God—but knowing we have peace with Him can keep us grounded.

CONSIDER:
• How does peace with God give you the peace of God?
• How does realizing the price of your peace prevent you from taking it for granted?
• What things tend to rob you of the peace of God? What can you do to keep yourself rooted in this peace?

PRAY:
Lord, help me to see what pulls my heart away from Your peace so I can focus back on You. May I follow Your sacrificial example when I am called to do so, ready to lay down my rights and even my life for the sake of peace.

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood . . . be glory and power for ever and ever” (Revelation 1:5-6).

Back when we were contemplating the glories of redemption and ransom, we considered the ways these words connect to slavery, specifically the practice of purchasing a slave in order to set the slave free. This is one of the ways we have freedom in Christ through the Cross, for He has set us free at a great personal price.

But what are we set free from? The answer is vast. One of the main ways is that we have freedom from sin (Rom. 6:6-7, 18, 22). Before the Cross and our surrender to it, we had no choice but to serve sin. We couldn’t not sin (to use a double negative). We suffered under its power and feared the certainty of its penalty. And because sin leads inexorably to death, we were also slaves to the fear of death.

Faith in the Cross also freed us from the power of the devil. As sin is tied to death, death is tied to the devil, because he wielded the power of death over us. The devil knows how to cunningly entice us to sin, and when we do, he gleefully pours on the guilt, accusations, and condemnations. Knowing that we deserve all of this and knowing the consequences of God’s wrath, we are slaves to fear until Christ’s Cross sets us free.

Besides the devil, we are slaves to our fallen nature, the evil in the world, and the law which condemns us and upholds the curse. It seems like everywhere we turn we are faced with walls which hold us hopelessly captive—until the Cross, where Christ has offered us freedom!

The equally good news is that we’ve been given more than freedom from all these things; we also have freedom to many others. The glory of Christ’s Cross is that He set us free to accept His gift of salvation, to serve and obey God, to walk in the new way of the Spirit, and to access God’s presence. May we grow in our desire and ability to pursue and fully obtain all these freedoms for His glory.

CONSIDER:
• Paul warns us to stand firm in our freedom so we won’t become re-yoked to slavery (Gal. 4:31–5:1). How can you see this happening, and how do you avoid it?
• He also warned against using freedom as license to sin (Gal. 5:13). How can you avoid that trap? In what ways do you see this happening?
• In what ways to you still behave as though you were enslaved to sin? What promises can you claim to help you?

PRAY:
Lord, help me to live in the freedom that You bought for me at the Cross, and to avoid lie that I am still in bondage to sin. Help me stand firm in freedom and resist becoming re-yoked. Show me if I’m ever confusing my freedom for a license to sin. 

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole” (Galatians 3:13).

Today’s topic harkens back to a couple of things we’ve already touched upon. Yesterday we spoke briefly about the Cross giving us freedom from the law and its curse. And a few days ago, we considered Jesus as our Substitute. It is obvious from our verse for today that “by becoming a curse for us,” Jesus is plainly our Substitute.

We are speaking here of a complexity of curses. The first curse began in Eden when God placed His judgment on us as a consequence of our rebellion, cursing us with slavery to our sin and resulting in many miseries, and ultimately in death, “for the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Later, when the Law of Moses was given, the curse of any who were “hung on a tree” was pronounced (Dt. 21:22-23). Jesus bore both curses for us as He suffered and died to set us free.

The Law itself was a curse as well, because it could not save anyone. It could only make us aware of how sinful we are, trapping us in a pit of guilt and shame. The rituals could only put a temporary covering over sin. They did not remove it. Only Christ’s final atonement and propitiation ultimately set us free.

There is another part of the curse of the law, one that Paul is fighting against in his letter to the Galatians. This curse comes upon us when we try to gain righteousness by following the law (Gal. 3:10)—in other words, if we act like Jesus’ sacrifice was not sufficient and we must save ourselves by keeping the law. We are supposed to do good works, but they are meant to be a response, flowing out of a blood-bought, Spirit-transforming life, not an attempt to earn God’s favor. Such futile striving carries a curse.

Jesus broke the curse of sin by bearing our penalty, defeating death and its fear, fulfilling the law, providing a new covenant in His blood, and defeating the devil’s power.

CONSIDER:
• Even though the Cross was a curse and shameful punishment, the early church gloried in it. How is the Cross’ curse still seen as shameful? How do you combat that perspective?
• How does the curse (in all its forms) still affect you? What parts of that are unavoidable and what parts can you do away with because of your freedom in Christ?
• In what ways might you have lapsed into the curse of law-keeping?

PRAY:
Lord, help me to glory in how You broke the manifold curse, bearing it for me and freeing me. Give me more boldness in waving the banner of the Cross, for its shame is my glory. Through it You bore my shame and curse.