Return to AOCI  |
Who Is Jesus? Savior of the World
by Dr. Linda Smallwood, BBS, M.Min., D.Min.
|
| |
Sin — An Ugly Word | What Is Salvation? | Meaning of the Name | The Lamb of God The Blood of Christ | The Doctrine of Imputation | Is Everyone Saved through Jesus' Sacrifice?
Introduction The message of Christianity is the salvation of man outside of himself. Other religions, and even some churches or denominations within Christendom, attempt to interpret the high ideals of life based on the mistaken presumption that man is basically good. They insist that if a person's good actions outweigh the bad, then he can save himself. And whenever something bad happens, they mistakenly think they're being punished for something they've done wrong. Some other religions even claim that a person can become his own god. Or, they believe they can attain a state of, or similar to, Nirvana1 by personally overcoming or conquering evil and fleshly desires, usually through countless reincarnations. In all of their striving for perfection and the ultimate reward, however, their gods and doctrines don't empower the person to live victoriously over sin, nor do they offer any guarantees concerning when or if the person will ever attain to that blessed state of being. Sin — An Ugly Word Notice that none of those definitions includes the word "intentionally" or even "knowingly". In other words, whether we do it intentionally or as a result of ignorance, culture, family or peer pressure, in response to an injury or harm done to us, or any other number of excuses we can come up with, sin is still sin. The Fact of Sin Can we save ourselves? Will it matter if our good deeds outweigh the bad? To answer that, we must turn to the Bible, the only truth and authority over the affairs of mankind. God's Word asserts conclusively that we're all sinners incapable of saving ourselves, no matter how good we are. "Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you." (Psalm 143:2) "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 'I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.'" (Jeremiah 17:9-10) "...as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.' 'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'" (Romans 3:10-12) [cf. Psalm 14:2-3; 53:2-3; Ecclesiastes 7:20] Romans 3:23— Now that we have established that we are all sinners, what do we do? Is there no remedy for this universal malady called "sin"? The Penalty of Sin "The soul who sins shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4, 20) Romans 6:23a— Romans 14:12— Hebrews 9:27— "Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." (James 1:15) "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:12-15) The Bible also teaches, not only that sin must be punished, but that the only acceptable punishment is death by the shedding of blood — not bleeding only and not death only, but a violent death by the shedding of blood (cf. Exodus 24:8; 29:12, 16, 20-21; 30:10; Leviticus 3,4,9). The first recorded act of an animal sacrifice for sin is in Genesis 3:21 when God shed the blood of an innocent animal to cover Adam and Eve's sin and nakedness. "Indeed, under the law [Mosaic Law] almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Hebrews 9:22) Man's Inability In fact, the Bible says that all of the "good" things we do are as filthy, disgusting rags when compared to the utter holiness and perfection of our God. "We are unfit to worship you; each of our good deeds is merely a filthy rag." (Isaiah 64:6 CEV) [To make the comparison even clearer, several Bible translations use the term "menstruation cloths" instead of "filthy rags". The point is, nothing we do can ever make us righteous enough to approach our holy God!] "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." (Proverbs 14:12) "God doesn't accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin." (Romans 3:20 CEV) "But we know that God accepts only those who have faith in Jesus Christ. No one can please God by simply obeying the Law. So we put our faith in Christ Jesus, and God accepted us because of our faith." (Galatians 2:16 CEV) "You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about." (Ephesians 2:8-9 CEV) Titus 3:5— That is why we need a Savior! God's Remedy for Sin "...God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Romans 6:23b— "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3) John 1:12— Jesus Christ came to earth and died in our place. Jesus' death was an infinite payment for sins we have committed against an infinite and eternal God. Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins. He paid the price so that we would not have to. And Jesus' resurrection from the dead proved that His death was sufficient to pay the penalty, to meet God's righteous judgment against our sins. This is the message of Christianity. While all the other religions make you work for salvation, Jesus Christ offers it, not because we deserve it, but because He can! He's the only One who can! He's the only God who cares enough to put on flesh and pay the penalty for all of our sins. No other god has done that. But that's because no other god could do that! The good news of the Gospel is that the Messiah has come to be the Savior of all mankind. When Jesus was born, an angel told the shepherds in Luke 2:10,11: "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!" What Is Salvation? Definition of Salvation When applied to the work of Jesus Christ, all of these definitions are appropriate. He not only saves us from the penalty of sin, but He is at work in us everyday rescuing and delivering us from the power of sin. The Bible is very clear in saying that freedom from sin comes only through Jesus Christ. "Christ loves us, and by his blood he set us free from our sins." (Revelation 1:5 CEV) Acts 4:12— So, in defining salvation, we can say that it is deliverance from sin and its consequences. Who needs this salvation? As we already discussed, everyone has sinned and is under an eternal death sentence of separation from God in utter "darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:12, 13:42,50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30; Luke 13:28) All of mankind is in need of forgiveness of sin and deliverance or rescue from eternal death, as found only through faith in the one true living God who became a Man in order to redeem us. Nature of Salvation Jesus' primary mission when He took on flesh was to save us from the lostness and dangers of a life separated from God. Humankind has lost its way. Apart from God, we wander around in the darkness of a purposeless, wasted life. Everyone wants eternal life, but instead eternal death awaits us. But Jesus has come to rescue us, to bring us back to God. As we discussed in the previous lesson, He turned on the light in our sin-sick souls and turned us in the right direction, giving us the light of His presence, and bringing purpose and meaning into our lives. Jesus calms our fears, gives us joy and peace, leads us away from the destruction that threatens us, and will one day take us to our eternal home. Write Luke 19:10 again: Jesus came to save us from the power of sin and Satan. He sets us free from our own sinful, rebellious, selfish nature and gives us the new nature as children of God. He breaks the power of temptation and frees us from desires and habits that destroy our health and harm our souls. In Jesus, we find safety from the attacks of Satan. We still have battles, but Jesus gives us victory: "But now that you have been set free from sin…" (Romans 6:22) 2 Corinthians 5:17— The Effects of Sin
And now . . . 6000 years later . . . we see what graceless humans with power and imagination are capable of doing against one another. Propped up on pedestals of our own making, millions of people were killed in the last century so people would remember the names of Stalin, Hitler, Mao Ze-Dong, Leopold II, etc. But perhaps the worst atrocity committed against other humans for the sake of personal rights and gain is the legalized murder of ± 50 million unborn babies in the "greatest country" in the world. "What are the effects of sin?" Do we really need to ask...? The Effects of Salvation And some day, not only will He give us new bodies that won't be subject to disease, but Jesus will also establish His rule on earth and purify the earth from all sin. "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now." (Romans 8:19-22) And in that day, even nature itself will be freed from violence and destruction. Everything will be restored to the perfection it had before sin entered the world. What a great salvation! Revelation 21:3-4— Isaiah 11:6— Meaning of the Name God the Father chose this name for His Son when He became human. He sent an angel to tell Joseph what to name the Baby whom Mary would soon deliver. The name "Jesus" would remind them constantly who Jesus was and why He had been born. He was the Son of God, coming to earth to save us from sin. "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) The Name of Jesus Why Wasn't Jesus Named "Immanuel"? There are many other names given to Jesus using the phrase "shall be called", in both the Old and New Testaments. This was a common way of saying that people would refer to Him in these various ways. Isaiah also prophesied of the Messiah: "...his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) Obviously, none of these titles was Jesus' actual name, but they were descriptions people would use to refer to Him. In chapter 1 of the Gospel by his name, the Greek physician Luke records three different names or designations for Jesus: "He will be . . . called the Son of the Most High" (v. 32), "the Son of God" (v. 35), and "prophet of the Most High" (v. 76). However, none of these was His actual name. In two different places, the prophet Jeremiah writes about the coming Messiah: "And this is His name by which He shall be called, JEHOVAH, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16 MKJV) Of course, we know that Jesus was never actually called "Jehovah" as though it was His name. Rather, His role was to bring the righteousness of YHWH/Jehovah/Yahweh to those who would believe in Him and to exchange that righteousness for our sin. Therefore, this is another one of the many titles or "names" by which we might know Him. In the same way, to say that Jesus would be called "Immanuel" is God's way of letting us know that the Messiah to come [Jesus] is God, that He would dwell among us in His incarnation, and that He is always with us. Jesus was God in the flesh. Jesus was God making His dwelling among us. No, Jesus' name was not Immanuel, but Jesus the Person who dwelt among us was the meaning of Immanuel: "God with us". Immanuel is one of the many titles for Jesus, a description of who He is. [Portions of the preceding excerpted from "Why wasn't Jesus named Immanuel?" at Got Questions?.org] Does It Matter How We Pronounce His Name? Is there a definitive answer as to what the Messiah's real name is? Yes, and it is found right there in your New Testament. As you have previously learned, the New Testament was written in Greek. If there were ever any original Hebrew manuscripts of the New Testament, they don't exist today. We only have Greek manuscripts from that period of time. Since we only have the Greek manuscripts, it is from them that we need to investigate what the Apostles wrote about Jesus. In other words, we begin our investigation based on what we do have, not what we don't have. But before we look at the word "Jesus" itself, let's ask this question: Is the pronunciation of a word the foundation or rule by which we determine if one is Christian or not? Of course not. It is the receiving of Jesus as Lord and Savior that makes us a Christian. We are saved by faith in Christ's work on Calvary, which can neither be undone nor made more valuable or precious by how we pronounce the name of our Savior. In fact, to insist on a particular pronunciation, as if there is some mystical power in it, rather relegates its use to a form of idolatry. We are not to worship or venerate anything except the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as we don't worship the cross or the blood as somehow having some superior spiritual power, neither do we worship the name. We worship the Man! The "God Who Died by Execution" Then a soldier took his hand gun, walked behind them, and started shooting them one at a time in the back of the head; and they would fall into the pit. After shooting several people, as the soldier came to one woman and placed his gun on the back of her head, the little lady shouted aloud, "OH GOD! THE GOD WHO DIED BY EXECUTION! SAVE ME!" Suddenly, the soldier lifted his gun off her head, put his gun in his holster, ordered all the other soldiers back into their vehicles, and off they drove, never to be seen by those villagers again! Those left standing at the pit, who knew they would have been killed next, just stood there in silence looking at the little lady who had just called on "the God who died by execution". She had never heard the name "Jesus". She only heard, one time in her life, that somewhere there was a God, who was the real and true God . . . and He died by execution... Those villagers, who had served thousands of gods and knew nothing of Jesus, except what that little lady had shared, then got down on their knees and each and every one called on "the God who died by execution". After they got back up, they gathered up all of their gods and destroyed them. Their testimony became well-known as those who "serve the God who died by execution". They still did not know His name or anything else about Him. All they knew about Him was "the God who died by execution" had saved all of them from certain execution! It would be 14 more years before a missionary would visit their little village and tell them the name of the God in whom they had already placed all their trust! So, the question again is: Do we become Christians by how we pronounce Jesus' name, or do we become Christians by putting our faith in "the God who died by execution"? The truth is, as linguists will tell us, no one really knows exactly how Jesus' name would have been pronounced in the ancient Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic languages. We might have a pretty good idea, but no one can be 100% certain of the correct pronunciation of any of the forms of the name of Jesus. Therefore, those who say we must pronounce Christ's name in a certain way, in fact, may themselves be mispronouncing His true name. Don't get caught up in "name calling" or anything else intended to cause division among God's people. Instead, get caught up and passionate about the Man whom we call Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer, Healer, Provider, Sanctifier, Justifier, Shepherd, "God with us" Immanuel, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God and Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the One who was and who is and who is to come, the One who died but behold is alive forevermore, "the God who died by execution"...! Power in the Name We must be careful not to separate the name from the Man! In fact, when some Jewish exorcists invoked the name of Jesus over a man with a demon, "the evil spirit answered them, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?' And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." (Acts 19:15-16) This is why, as we learned in "Studying the Bible", we must not take Scripture out-of-context. It is too easy to build a false theology. We must always view Scripture in its context to be sure we are receiving what the Spirit of the Lord intended when He gave us His Word. Peter and John healed a crippled man in Jesus' name as Peter explained in Acts 3:16— Notice, after Peter says that the man's healing was by faith in the name of Jesus, he stated that it was "through Jesus". The Lamb of God Did the people understand what John meant? Well, under the Levitical Law given to Moses, they had been sacrificing lambs for man's sins for several thousand years. The person who had sinned would confess his guilt before God and ask Him to accept the death of the lamb in his place. So they were familiar with the Law, the sacrificial system under which they lived, and the fact that God was one day going to send the Messiah to them. But did they understand that the Messiah would die for them? They should have. Or at least, the religious leaders should have. But the Gospel records make it clear that they did not have that understanding. Even Jesus' own disciples, whom He told plainly that He had to die, didn't seem to grasp what He was saying. "He was teaching his disciples, saying to them, 'The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.' But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him." (Mark 9:31-32) "'For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.' But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said." (Luke 18:32-34) As such, we must not assume that the people who heard Jesus introduced as the "Lamb of God" understood John's point either. But that doesn't change the fact that the Savior had come into the world to seek and to save those who were lost — all of us. Prophecy about the Savior
They Crucified Him If they had known Jesus was truly the Messiah and that His mission was to die for mankind, they probably would not have plotted to kill Him. They hated Him so much that they would have done anything possible to thwart His plans. "None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Corinthians 2:8) But they were mere pawns in the hands of a sovereign God who sent the Messiah to us to die for our sins. "At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, 'Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.'" (Matthew 26:55-56) "Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, 'Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.'" (Luke 22:52-53) Even Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was doing the Lord's work and fulfilling prophecy: "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me." (Psalm 41:9) "[Jesus prayed...] 'While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those that You have given Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.'" (John 17:12) They accused Him to the governor and hired witnesses to tell lies about Him at His trial. Pilate, the Roman governor, tried to appease the religious leaders by having Jesus scourged2 even though he knew Jesus was not guilty. But he cowardly gave in to the demands of the religious leaders to have Jesus crucified in order to avoid a riot.
Attitudes toward the Lamb Three crosses [or execution stakes] stood there on the hill; three men died that day on Golgotha. Really, in the attitudes of the people at Calvary, we can even see an accurate picture of the whole world's attitudes toward Jesus Christ today. And in the attitudes and responses of those two criminals, we may find a key to our own attitudes: "One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, 'Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!' But the other rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.' And he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' And he said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'" (Luke 23:39-43) The three images speak to us of:
Every person decides his own eternal destiny by what he decides and does with the Savior. Both thieves had the same opportunity. One clung to his rebellion and hatred, mocking the only One who could save him; the other went to Paradise. These men are a picture of us all. One was rebellious and lost; the other repented, confessed His need to Jesus, and was saved. Ephesians 1:6-7— 1 Peter 2:24-25— The Blood of Christ You may not agree with what we present here; and if you can provide corrections from God's Word, we will accept your correction. However, as we stated previously, we are not here to assent to our own opinions, church traditions, or previous errant teachings. We must seek at all times to align ourselves with God's Word, even if it feels uncomfortable or goes against what we've learned before. God's Word is the only authority and standard by which all truth is measured. Too Much Importance on the Blood?
In practicing some of these errant teachings, we have, in effect, made an idol of the blood of Christ. As is the case with which name we use for Jesus [as we discussed earlier], we must be careful not to spiritualize or form emotional or superstitious beliefs that Scripture does not support. When we do, we draw dangerously close to making an idol of that which really has little or no spiritual benefit. The Biblical Importance of Jesus' Blood While it's true that the actual shedding of blood was a necessary part of what God accomplished through Jesus' death, our attention must remain on Christ's death, not the blood. If Jesus had bled but not died, or if He had died but not bled, we would not have been redeemed. A quick review of terms in the Old Testament reminds us that in Scripture the "shedding of blood" usually refers to a violent death (see Leviticus 17:4; 1 Samuel 25:31,33; 1 Chronicles 28:3; Psalm 51:14; Proverbs 1:16; Ezekiel 16:38; 22:6, 9,12, 27, 37; 23:45; 33:25). Under the Levitical sacrificial system, the animals were violently sacrificed (throat cut), just as our Lord suffered a violent sacrificial death. Under the Old Testament system, forgiveness was not obtained on the basis of bleeding or merely on the basis of death. Forgiveness was granted because of the shed blood and death. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:14 KJV) "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." (Romans 3:25 KJV) Hebrews 9:22— This is why He could not let the religious leaders kill Him when they were offended at His sayings and wanted to stone Him (cf. John 8:59; 10:31). His death by stoning would not have effected our redemption. It was the two — the blood and the violent death — working in concert with one another that purchased our redemption. Jesus Did Not Bleed to Death "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." (John 10:17-18) "When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:30 emphasis added) 1 John 3:16— The Most Important Feature of Christ's Death What made Jesus' death more important to those of us who have received Him as Lord and Savior is that He experienced spiritual death. "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" (Mark 15:34) In that moment when the Father's heart was breaking as He was forced to turn away from His Son, when all of our sin was placed on Him, Jesus suffered the most unimaginable emotional and spiritual pain that far outweighed the physical pain He was enduring! He had never been separated from His Father. For all of eternity past, they had been One together, gloriously delighting and rejoicing in each other, head-over-heels in love with each other. And now, the Son was plunged into spiritual darkness to a depth that probably exceeded even His imagination, left to die alone . . . abandoned . . . forsaken... We can't know the severity of that pain. We have never lived in a world where the Spirit of God is not present. And we have never lived in a world where God's total majesty and brilliance consume our every minute, our very existence being caught up with and an actual part of Him. We weren't with the Father when He spoke the world into existence, when He created the stars and planets and moons, when He brought light out of darkness, when He caused the great flood or parted the Red Sea or caused the sun to stand still. We don't know the depth of their love for each other, so we cannot know the depth of their pain that day. Can we ever be worthy of a love so abundant that it compelled God to endure such dreadful suffering in order to bring us back to Him? What love! What a great and extravagantly-loving God we serve! When the Bible says He became the "firstborn from the dead", it's not just talking about physically, but as our Sin-bearer who died spiritually, He also became the "firstborn" spiritually. "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (Romans 8:29) "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent." (Colossians 1:18) Revelation 1:5— What the Blood Accomplished for Us
Hebrews 2:9— "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit." (1 Peter 3:18) (See also Ephesians 5:2; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:14; 1 Peter 2:21-24.) "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood." (Acts 20:28) Ephesians 1:7— "...knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19) "And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.'" (Revelation 5:9-10) (See also 1 Timothy 2:38, 41, 47; Ephesians 5:25.) "...for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:28) "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7) 1 John 1:7— Revelation 7:14— (See also Hebrews 9:22, 25-28.) "And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him" (Colossians 1:20-22) (See also Ephesians 2:12-16; Hebrews 5:8-9.) "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,' then he adds, 'I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.' Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin." (Hebrews 10:14-18) Hebrews 13:12— The Doctrine of Imputation of Christ's Life This false doctrine of imputation of Christ's life to us basically says:
R.L. Kilpatrick in Ensign Fair, quoted with approval by Arnold Hardin in Persuader, 5/28/78, via Neo-Calvinism) "...faith in Him [Christ] brings to the sinner's account the merits of his perfect obedience (satisfaction of law) and death (satisfaction of penalty for the broken law)." Hence, this false doctrine claims that sinners need two things to receive eternal life: (1) forgiveness of sins, plus (2) a record of having kept God's law without ever having sinned. Christ, we are told, is our substitute on both counts. He died in our place so we could be forgiven and He lived a sinless life in our place. They say we are saved by His doing and His dying. While it was necessary for Jesus to live a sinless life in order to take away the sins of the world, there is no Scriptural foundation for His life being a substitute for our lives. It is His death that atones for our sins, not His life. Is Everyone Saved through Jesus' Sacrifice?
However, as much as we all would like to believe that everyone will be saved and no one will be lost, that verse does not prove what the Universalists hope it does. So the question becomes: Can Jesus Christ be called the "Savior of the world" and yet not redeem all? Yes. All people are, by nature, born under wrath (cf. Ephesians 2:3) and deserve to die. The reason is simple. Because God is holy and we are sinners. As we've already discussed in this lesson, in fact, our sins against a holy, infinite God deserve an infinite punishment. By the infinite graces of our infinite God, however, believers are saved by faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God," (Ephesians 2:8) What a wonderful promise and hope we have in Christ! But as beautiful and reassuring as that promise is, Jesus also told Nicodemus quite clearly: "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." (John 3:18) Did Jesus lie to Nicodemus? Of course not! Well then, why not just destroy the unbelievers? Perhaps the best explanation comes directly from our Savior's mouth in His parable about the wheat and the tares [weeds]: "He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, "Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?" He said to them, "An enemy has done this." So the servants said to him, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?" But he said, "No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn."'" (Matthew 13:24-30) In the interpretation He gives later, He compares the good seed with those who are being saved. However, for the sake of the wheat [believers], the master of the field doesn't deal with the tares right away. He allows both to grow together until the harvest. So, you could say that the tares were saved from judgment, at least temporarily. But the fact remains that they were eventually dealt with, and rather severely — bound in bundles and burned. All Are Made Redeemable "...it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) It does not say, "after this comes another opportunity." What about 1 Timothy 4:10? First, it's important to notice that the verse says "living God", not "Jesus" or "Christ". Yes, as we have previously established, Jesus is God in the flesh. But "God", in a rather generic sense, is also referred to as "Savior" in Scripture. Psalm 106:21— Isaiah 45:15— "...I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior." (Hosea 13:4) Luke 1:47— "...at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior." (Titus 1:3) (See also 2 Samuel 22:3; Isaiah 43:3; 45:21; Acts 5:31; 13:23; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2:3; 4:10; 2:10, 13; 3:4; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1:25.) So, God is seen as the "Savior of all people" in that He has made salvation available to everyone. But not everyone has accepted it. Therefore, 1 Timothy 4:10 does not convey the assurance that all will be saved. -------------------------------- 2Scourging — v. The Jewish method of scourging, as described in the Mishna [Judaism oral Torah], was by the use of three thongs of leather with nails, bones, pieces of pottery and thorns tied to them. Its purpose was to tear or rip the skin and to bring unimaginable pain. The offender would receive thirteen stripes on the bare breast and thirteen on each shoulder, the "forty stripes save one". Often the person being whipped would die.  
| |
"The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10 KJV) That not only sums up the meaning of Christianity, but it's what makes Christianity different from all other religions. Christianity admits that man is sinful, wretched, spiritually bankrupt, and unable to save himself.
Jesus was crucified. This was the punishment for the worst criminals. He hung between two thieves on a hill called Calvary. And there the Lamb of God spilled His life's blood and died — the perfect sacrifice for our sins. "And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' And they cast lots to divide his garments." (Luke 23:33-34)
Although His death was brutal beyond words [skin torn off His body by scourging, 3-inch thorns piercing His scalp, His beard ripped out, spikes driven into the most sensitive area of His wrists guaranteed to cause the most pain...], the end result was His physical death and was no different than that of Adam and every other human who's ever lived. He died.