“And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (see 2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
Sometimes people say that Jesus came into the world to reconcile the Father to us, but that´s nonsense! It is not God who needs to be reconciled to man, instead, it’s the reverse, man needs to be reconciled to God.
God has never changed. He was in the beginning what He is today. He has no need to apologize. It is man, on the other hand, who changed; it was and is man who sinned and sins. Man needs to be reconciled. People need to be brought back to God. For reconciliation, to take place, sin had to be wiped away. Which brings us to Jesus.
Jesus was a man of prayer, but His prayers could not wipe away our sins.
Jesus was a man of compassion, but the combination of His tears and empathy could not blot out the least of our sins.
Pure and holy as He was, His presence could not take away our sins.
To remove our sin and bring in reconciliation, He had to die! It took the pouring out of His blood, for “the life of the flesh is in the blood"(Leviticus 17:11). Only by that stunning and awful death of Jesus could sin be put away and man become reconciled.
Jesus was the holy, blessed, spotless Lamb of God. He didn´t come to die for the respectable and religious, but for sinners.
He came for those who were unfit for Him.
He died for the ungodly. As Darvin Pruitt said, “The Lord saves only the Un-People:
The Unprofitable,
The Ungodly,
The Unrighteous,
The Undeserving,
The Unlovable,
The Undone!”
Jesus became our propitiation (an offering that takes away wrath). What a breathtaking event. The sun shone till noon, and then darkness plunged over the entire land until about three o’clock. In those terrible hours, at the cross, atonement was made as the sinless saviour exhausted the wrath of God on His people and offered Himself, as a sacrifice to the Father. Nothing but His death could reconcile us to God.
The basis of reconciliation, then, is laid in the death of the Lord Jesus. Although we cherish the truth of the incarnation, our confidence is not that He has come into the world. Our confidence is in the Saviour's blood. Let me ask you a question. Have you told yourself lately, “He loves me; He gave His Son for me, I am reconciled to God by the death of his Son ?¨(see Romans 5:10). Don´t ever be afraid to preach the gospel to yourself.
On the cross, Jesus declared, "It is finished." That means all that is needed for reconciliation is wholly done. There´s not a single thing left to be accomplished. God reckoned Christ to be what I am—sin,—that I might be made what Christ is—the righteousness of God.
Reconciliation is now a matter of righteousness: Since Christ has died for us and taken the wrath that our sins demanded, it is righteous of God to give us that which is due to Christ.
The Father is satisfied; more than that, He is glorified (see Philippians 2:5-11). There at the cross the sinless, pure and innocent Lamb of God was executed because of our sin. Because of this, rebels are reconciled to the Father.
Think of it, it is not merely that we go to glory because of the mercy and love of God, but we go there because of righteous grace. The person and work of Christ are perfectly righteous. Sin has been condemned and its consequences paid for. The Father has now, "committed unto us the word of reconciliation." What a privilege to tell about these things!
And that´s the Gospel Truth!
Sometimes people say that Jesus came into the world to reconcile the Father to us, but that´s nonsense! It is not God who needs to be reconciled to man, instead, it’s the reverse, man needs to be reconciled to God.
God has never changed. He was in the beginning what He is today. He has no need to apologize. It is man, on the other hand, who changed; it was and is man who sinned and sins. Man needs to be reconciled. People need to be brought back to God. For reconciliation, to take place, sin had to be wiped away. Which brings us to Jesus.
Jesus was a man of prayer, but His prayers could not wipe away our sins.
Jesus was a man of compassion, but the combination of His tears and empathy could not blot out the least of our sins.
Pure and holy as He was, His presence could not take away our sins.
To remove our sin and bring in reconciliation, He had to die! It took the pouring out of His blood, for “the life of the flesh is in the blood"(Leviticus 17:11). Only by that stunning and awful death of Jesus could sin be put away and man become reconciled.
Jesus was the holy, blessed, spotless Lamb of God. He didn´t come to die for the respectable and religious, but for sinners.
He came for those who were unfit for Him.
He died for the ungodly. As Darvin Pruitt said, “The Lord saves only the Un-People:
The Unprofitable,
The Ungodly,
The Unrighteous,
The Undeserving,
The Unlovable,
The Undone!”
Jesus became our propitiation (an offering that takes away wrath). What a breathtaking event. The sun shone till noon, and then darkness plunged over the entire land until about three o’clock. In those terrible hours, at the cross, atonement was made as the sinless saviour exhausted the wrath of God on His people and offered Himself, as a sacrifice to the Father. Nothing but His death could reconcile us to God.
The basis of reconciliation, then, is laid in the death of the Lord Jesus. Although we cherish the truth of the incarnation, our confidence is not that He has come into the world. Our confidence is in the Saviour's blood. Let me ask you a question. Have you told yourself lately, “He loves me; He gave His Son for me, I am reconciled to God by the death of his Son ?¨(see Romans 5:10). Don´t ever be afraid to preach the gospel to yourself.
On the cross, Jesus declared, "It is finished." That means all that is needed for reconciliation is wholly done. There´s not a single thing left to be accomplished. God reckoned Christ to be what I am—sin,—that I might be made what Christ is—the righteousness of God.
Reconciliation is now a matter of righteousness: Since Christ has died for us and taken the wrath that our sins demanded, it is righteous of God to give us that which is due to Christ.
The Father is satisfied; more than that, He is glorified (see Philippians 2:5-11). There at the cross the sinless, pure and innocent Lamb of God was executed because of our sin. Because of this, rebels are reconciled to the Father.
Think of it, it is not merely that we go to glory because of the mercy and love of God, but we go there because of righteous grace. The person and work of Christ are perfectly righteous. Sin has been condemned and its consequences paid for. The Father has now, "committed unto us the word of reconciliation." What a privilege to tell about these things!
And that´s the Gospel Truth!
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