|
Colossians 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present
you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: . How the redemption is procured: it is through his blood
; he has made peace through the blood of his cross , and it is in the body of his flesh through death, .
It was the blood which made an atonement, for the blood is the life; and without the shedding of blood there is no remission.
There was such a value in the blood of Christ that, on account of Christ's shedding it, God was willing to deal with men upon
new terms to bring them under a covenant of grace, and for his sake, and in consideration of his death upon the cross,
to pardon and accept to favour all who comply with them.
Salvation is free, b ut it is not cheap. Salvation
is a gift and costs me nothing, but it cost God everything--it cost Jesus His life. Tjhe Wages of sin is death (separation
from God). God's gift is eternal life (eternal union of the soul with God). This is possible because of the death
of Jesus on Calvary's Cross (Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Death is as due to a sinner when he hath sinned as wages are to a servant when he hath done his
work. This is true of every sinner. Jesus actually took sin's penalty for every man, woman, and ch ild who ever has
lived or ever will live.. As He hung upon the cross He cried, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" Being interpreted; He cried,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" ( Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,
saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? What the complaint
was--My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? A strange complaint to come from the mouth of our Lord Jesus, who,
we are sure, was God's elect, in whom his soul delighted , and one in whom he was always well pleased. The
Father now loved him, nay, he knew that therefore he loved him, because he laid down his life for the sheep; what,
and yet forsaken of him, and in the midst of his sufferings too! Surely never sorrow was like unto that sorrow which extorted
such a complaint as this from one who, being perfectly free from sin, could never be a terror to himself; but the heart knows
its own bitterness. No wonder that such a complaint as this made the earth to quake, and rent the rocks; for it is enough
to make both the ears of every one that hears it to tingle, and ought to be spoken of with great reverence.)
Jesus was separated from God the Father so that you and I do not have to be. This is the heart of the atonement.
The marvel of it all is that He did this while we were His enemies: "But God commanded his love toward us, in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. But Christ died for sinners , neither righteous nor good; not only such as were
useless, but such as were guilty and obnoxious; not only such as there would be no loss of should they perish, but such whose
destruction would greatly redound to the glory of God's justice, being malefactors and criminals that ought to die. Some think
he alludes to a common distinction the Jews had of their people into ndyqym--righteous, hsdym--merciful
, and rssym--wicked. Now herein God commended his love, not only proved or evidenced his
love (he might have done that at a cheaper rate), but magnified it and made it illustrious. This circumstance did greatly
magnify and advance his love, not only put it past dispute, but rendered it the object of the greatest wonder and admiration:
"Now my creatures shall see that I love them, I will give them such an instance of it as shall be without parallel." Commendeth
his love, as merchants commend their goods when they would put them off. This commending of his love was in order to
the shedding abroad of his love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. He evinces his love in the most winning, affecting, endearing
way imaginable.)
|
