April 26, 2010

• A little child shall lead us: Christ died for our sins (precious penal substitution)

  Last week I posted The Gospel: Penal substitution? Really? Yes, really! Later that morning I helped out in the children's program in our Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class.

  This year's study at BSF has been on the book of John, and last week's lesson was on the crucifixion. The children heard the Bible lesson, after which there were questions. It had already been taught that Jesus died on the cross to take away sin. It had also been mentioned that Jesus' friends were sad when he had died. After the telling of the story, the leader asked several questions, including "Why did Jesus died on the cross?" Then the final question came: "Why were the people happy?" with the intended answer something like this: "Because Jesus was no longer dead but now alive." Well, one of the children answered with a confident, yet quiet and all-wise voice: "Because their sins were taken away."

  Amen!

  A little child shall lead them indeed!

  "Because their sins were taken away."

  Amen.

  Precious!

  Precious penal substitution through the precious blood of Christ!

  Jesus died in our place so our sins might be taken away! Amen.

  Do you know the happiness of knowing God by having your sins taken away by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? There is no greater happiness than to know Him!

  Ah, that was spoken clearer than many who make themselves out to be ministers of the Gospel.

  A little child shall lead them.

  Let us remember that many have come to mislead us and the devil does not want the Gospel to be preached clearly for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe!

  The words of that little child so blessed my heart given the increasing tendency to neglect to preach clearly that seminal truth that Jesus died in our place so our sins might be taken away! (How often is the atonement of Jesus Christ spoken of and preached in your church? Is it preached at all?)

  After that question, came the memory verse, which was a shortened version of I Corinthians 15:3:

  "Christ died for our sins."

  Amen!

  Precious once more!

  Precious Word of God!

  Precious penal substitution through the precious blood of Christ!

  Christ died for our sins!

  This was especially precious to me at the time since it was heavy on my heart (and still is) how so many Christians, too many Christians, discount the atonement and shove it to the side. Actually, one Christian or one pastor or one teacher or one congregation or one denomination is one too many! How can you say you are preaching the Gospel and discount the atonement? How can you say you are a Christian and minimize the atonement?

  I've written a lot about false gospels previously. I've referred to them as ruins in the Church (please see the links at the end of this post). To me, this neglecting of the atonement is another false gospel. To speak of Christ and yet to neglect the cross, not to make the cross central, is incomplete teaching. It's one reason the Church is in such a wretched state today, another reason why the Church looks no different from the world. If your doctrinal foundation is not right, the rest of the building will not be strong. How can it be?

  Please read the apostle Paul's words in I Corinthians 15:

  1  Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2  and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
  
  3  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5  and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6  Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8  Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9  For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11  Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
  

  Paul received this Gospel from whom? Jesus Christ Himself (see also Gal. 1:12). Many people are saying that Jesus didn't teach this Gospel of penal substitution. Sorry, that's not going to wash. Paul is saying He received this Gospel from Jesus Himself.

  In the Old Testament priesthood, sacrifices and sacrificial system we find the shadows and copies of what was to come in the New Testament through Christ. We read prophesies of the suffering Servant, of Christ's death on the cross. Oh, and yes, going all the way back to Genesis, we have the protoevangelion in Genesis 3. If you have a Bible with cross references or footnotes or study notes, you can pretty easily go back and read the prophesies of Jesus' life, passion and death throughout the Old Testament.

  And in the Gospels Jesus Himself said He would lifted up (John 12:32-33) and that He came to give His life for the sheep (John 10). He said He was the ransom for many (Mark 10:45). At the last Supper, He spoke about the new Covenant in His blood. Sounds like penal substitution to me...

  Others in the Gospels also prophesied of Christ's atoning work on behalf of His people, e.g. - the angel who visited Joseph said the child would be named Jesus because He would save His people from their sins. How did He save them? By dying for them. In the same way John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. How did He take away sin? By dying on the cross. I'm just touching on a few things here. I can't begin to do it justice.

  Penal substitution! It's throughout the Bible: from beginning to ending! That's the story of redemption. There is no redemption apart from Calvary! None! There is no Gospel apart from the cross. If we claim to be Christians and we fail to uphold this blessed sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins, then we may as well pack it up and go home.

  Penal substitution! That is the Gospel pure and simple. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

  If there's no death of Jesus Christ for the sins of men, then there is no Gospel. That's the foundation of our faith.

  When Paul gave us his M.O. for preaching, what do we hear? Paul didn't want anything to be known among his hearers except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (I Cor. 2:1-2). If you peek into the book of Acts, you see the disciples there doing the same thing.

  Again, when Paul gives us instructions for the Lord's Supper, what does He say there? What are we to be proclaiming? The Lord's death.

  And again, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians in chapter 15, which I already quoted above, what was of first importance? Christ died for our sins...

  Is penal substitution, Christ's death on the cross – is this not of first importance? Was this not what Paul was so desperate to remind the Church of God? Isn't this what the Church was told to hold fast to?
  
  Can't we see how vital Paul considered penal substitution? If we are not reminding one another of this truth, then haven't we missed the things of first importance? Are we holding fast to this teaching?

  Yes, I know that we must apply the Gospel to our lives for sure, but we can get to where we all but hide the cross and we don't make it of first importance. First importance! We have no Gospel apart from the cross. May we never minimize the cross or obscure it or discount it any way! The wonderful cross on which the Prince of glory died! Do you understand what it cost Him? Do you understand how your sin grieved Him and the lengths He went to do reconcile you to God?

  A lot of teaching and preaching, including a lot of blogs here, have been managing to obscure the message of Christ and Him crucified. Let's remember that God is not the author of confusion. It God's desire that the Gospel of Jesus Christ never be hidden in any way. No, never. The cross must always be central! Always! That's why I found that child's words and my time in the children's class so precious that day! There was no confusion there. Christ died for my sins! Loud and clear! Would that all our pastors and churches and denominations made it so clear. Shout if from the housetops! Christ and Christ crucified is the wisdom from on high. There is a difference between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom...Let's not be dupes of the devil. We must hold the line on this.

  The implications of penal substitution...Consider if Christ did not die on the cross...

  Before I continue on, in case you may think I'm a little extreme, I want to flesh this out just a little bit...

  Consider that if we have no penal substitution, we have ...

  no church
  no redemption
  no salvation
  no ransom
  no sonship
  no reconciliation to God or the saints
  no peace with God or the saints
  no fellowship with God or the saints
  no propitiation of God's wrath
  no atonement for sin
  no sacrifice for sin
  no passing over of sin
  no forgiveness of sins
  no cleansing of unrighteousness
  no freedom from guilt
  no righteousness
  no life
  no regeneration
  no new creation
  no confidence
  no assurance
  no prayer
  no desire or power to put off sin
  no desire or power to mortify sin
  no desire or power to live a holy life
  no good works
  no gospel

  This is not an all-inclusive list by any means, but I hope you get the idea. You can look up the verses.

  Plus, and this a huge plus, in fact, this actually supersedes all of the above: Ultimately there is no glory to God and no true worship of God apart from the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

  God's aim in the cross is to bring glory to Himself. Yes, we benefit eternally. Yes, we are happy that are sins are forgiven. We are happy that we have been reconciled to God. We are happy that we once were lost but now are found. But let's not forget that God is all about His glory. Would we dare do anything to obscure or detract from the glory due His Name? Would you dare? Would I? That makes me tremble.

  Philippians 2:5  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7  but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

  God's passion for His glory revolves around the cross. God's means to glorify Himself revolves around the cross. Period. Therefore if we aren't preaching the cross, if we aren't making it of first import, if we aren't reminding each other of the cross, we are robbing God of His all-due glory.

  I don't know about you, but when the day of Judgment comes, I don't want to meet the spotless Lamb who hung on the cross in my place and have Him ask me, "So, Karen, you were out doing a lot of nice teaching, doing a lot of good works, and those are great, but, pray tell, why weren't you preaching about Me and Me crucified?"

  In the end we are all going to be worshiping the Lamb.

  Revelation 5:11  Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12  saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13  And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14  And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

  Please notice how the Lamb is described. He was slain. Slain meaning crucified. He died for our sins! If there is no slain Lamb, there is no true worship. We can't begin to worship God apart from coming to Him through the slain Lamb. There's no access to the Father, no access to the Most Holy Place except through the torn flesh and shed blood of Jesus Christ. What excuse do we have not to worship Him today by clearly proclaiming the salvation available through His atoning sacrifice?

  * * *

  A few closing words...

  ...about my other blogs...

  I have been praying that God would bring together like-minded believers who have a passion for the Gospel like me. I don't push these things on you, primarily because I do not want you to be convinced by my words or to come out of your own will, but to be led by the Spirit of God Himself.

  That said, I want to remind you that I have two other sites besides this site: tent of meeting and deerlife. I have mentioned them both before.

  • Tent of meeting is a site I began just over a year ago. It is dedicated to prayer for revival. I've written about it more here on this site, and you can also read about it here and here.

  • Deerlife is a site I just started up over a month ago for mutual encouragement for those of us who have a heart and passion to proclaim Christ and to pray for revival. I wrote about it here on this site and you can read more about it here.

  For those of you who are in the Xanga/Revelife community: You know that I have hardly ever recommended my posts on my other sites. I trust God to lead those He is calling. I do not want to manipulate or maneuver. That said, I do believe that there are times to let people know of the vision, mission and passion God has given me and then to let the Spirit work as He wills, and I do believe this is one of those times. I am not strong-arming you. I will say that I do not want you coming to those other sites just so I can add another friend to my list or you can add another friend to your list. I do not want you to come out of guilt. I am only letting everyone who reads this know there are other like-minded people out there who share a similar vision and heart for the Gospel and revival (not many, but a few). As I've said previously, I believe we are too thinly spread on the walls of Xanga and Revelife. I know this is a work that God alone can do and knit us together to be of one mind and one heart striving together for the Gospel. I will also add that i rarely comment on other people's sites from either of those sites, though I do on occasion from this site. I would ask you to prayerfully consider visiting those other sites and then ask God what He might have you to do in response.

  For those of you who read via an RSS feed, a reader or whatever: If you are looking in here regularly and are not a part of the Xanga/Revelife community, you are more than welcome to visit (or continue to visit) tent of meeting and deerlife. But with that, I would ask you to pray about becoming a part of this community because I think it would be good if we could more clearly identify one another. You can still stay anonymous and do that. I'm not going to take down your name and address or anything like that. I see people come through all my sites now and then and I have no idea who you are. It makes me happy you are visiting, but it also makes me sad, because though I know there are others out there for are like-minded, I am at a loss as to how can we effectively encourage each other. How can we do so if we don't know who we are? I can pray for you in general, but I really can't pray for you specifically, and those of us who are here really can't support you (and you can't support us here) if we don't know you. And though you can certainly understand the general teachings I'm putting out here and the burdens I have, I think you would far better appreciate them if you spend a little time reading some of the blogs here.
  
  
  ...about BSF...

  I've mentioned BSF on occasion, and once again I would like to invite you to check out a class if there is one in your area. The studies are thorough and systematic, unlike anything you'll find anywhere else. If you are serious about getting some good meat, and you have had trouble finding a place to do so, please prayerfully consider visiting a class. You can read more about BSF here and see if there is a class in your area by clicking here.

  I'll add that next year's class, which will begin this fall, will be covering the book of Isaiah. That's a new study, so I'm really excited about that. Lord willing, I expect to be part of that. But who knows what God might have for me.

  * * *

  Thank you, Jesus. These false gospels, this shoddy teaching grieves me. I cannot thank You for false teaching of any sort. I weep when I read and hear false teaching. I am tempted to despair when I read and hear false teaching. You know my heart in this. Yet I cannot help but thank You because it gets me out of my pit of complacency about the need to proclaim Christ. These false teachers and their teachings help me to get my mind and my eyes back where they belong: on the wonder of your love for us, where grace and truth met in Jesus Christ, so you might be just and the justifier of all who believe! What other message do we have but Christ and Him crucified? What other message have you entrusted to us? As Whitefield said, "Who can but drop a Word for God!" When we see the wonderful of the atonement, how can we not proclaim Christ and Him crucified? We who were unworthy, helpless, hopeless, powerless, condemned sinners are made worthy. We who were condemned are pardoned. We who were sinners are made righteous. We who were unclean are made clean. We who were far away from You were brought near. We who were Your enemies are made Your children. How? Through the atoning sacrifice of Christ! Charles Wesley asked, "How can it be?" The answer: Amazing love that died for me! The wonderful cross. The tree on which Your Son became a curse for us and bore our punishment on His body.

  I can see how you are using these false teachings to drive me to the true teaching.

  I can see how You are using these false teachings to give me a greater zeal to proclaim your Word boldly.

  I can see how you are using these false teachings to drive me to my knees in prayer for revival.
  
  O, Father, I lament the ruins and I know I can get caught up in that lamentation in a bad way, and sink into a deep depression and sadness. Forgive me when I lose sight of Your faithfulness and begin to despair. I praise You that You are always faithful to pull me out of that pit of despair so I might proclaim Your Word boldly. It is like a fire! How can I not speak these things? They are – no – You are, too glorious to keep hidden! So whatever the devil is intending for evil – all his schemes to distort and misrepresent You and Your glorious Gospel – including every bad sermon, every bad blog, every bad blog comment – You are indeed sovereign over all that, every little word – You are working it all for Your glory, for the good of Your church, for the Gospel's sake and for the saving of many souls. I know that when I hear or read these things, yes, there's that discouragement and distress that rushes in like a flood, I want to throw up and throw up my hands, but then Your Holy Spirit comes in and floods my soul with a great zeal to seek Your face and to proclaim your truth!

  Whenever Your Gospel is not preached rightly, You are grieved. Whenever Your Gospel is preached You are revealed. How can men, women, boys and girls see the glory of the Gospel and come to faith in Christ if the Gospel is not preached?

  O, bless my efforts and Your other servants who are committed to Your truth for Your Kingdom's sake. Open blind eyes to see Christ. You know I grieve because so many are being deceived by these false teachings. Yet I know that not one of Your sheep will be lost; though for a time they might be distracted, in the end, they will hear Your voice and will not follow a stranger. No one can snatch them out of Your hand! Not one will perish whom You have given eternal life!

  May You be glorified as we hold fast to what is of first importance: That Christ died for our sins!

  Amen.
  

  ---

  Related posts:

  • a little child shall lead them in life and in death
  • Good Friday: Jesus Christ & the cross ARE an offense...What does that mean for us?

  Some posts on ruins in the Church and the need for revival:

  • the lost treasures of Christianity & the call to pray for revival (Bible reading: Ezra 1)
  • 492 years later: You say you want a reformation? (my theses and a call to prayer)
  • the shepherds' confession: may Christ and His Gospel become a joy and delight to us once more
  • Postcards from England: do you care?
  • postcards from England: "The Burden for Revival" (ML-J)
  • postcards from England: are we excited over a dead fish and a car wreck?
  • Naphtali News: the Ministry of the Word & Prayer
  • Revival resources, etc.
  • More revival resources: opportunity and eyes to see the ruins, a burden from God
  • Church, let's remember what we're all about!

  Recent posts on penal substitution:
  

  • Honestly...apart from the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ...
  • Go hard or go home
  • The Gospel: Penal substitution? Really? Yes, really!

  • 6:55 PM
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