The Day I Died

God takes sin seriously. Sin is a terrible thing in the Christian’s life. That is why God did not overlook sin, but dealt with it in one complete stroke of judgment by sending Christ to die for us on the cross.

Now that we have been saved by grace can we live any way we so please? Can we sin it up now that our fire insurance has been paid in full?

The apostle Paul responded to that arrogant attitude saying, “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2).

We died to sin. “Died” is in aorist past tense, indicating a once for all death in a judicial sense. We legally died (vv. 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 18). It refers to a single action that has taken place and has been completed in the past.

The idea of our death to sin is basic in this great chapter, and is essential to the sanctification of all believers.

“We died to sin.” When did you die?

The apostle Paul does not say we are going to die to sin, or we are presently dying to sin. He does not say we are continually to die to sin. The apostle has in mind a completed past action.

We “have died” to sin is already true of us if we have entered into a vital union with Christ. Charles Hodge notes, “it refers to a specific act in our past history.”

The apostle Paul tells us there is a watershed, a before Christ and after he came into our lives. Before Christ describes the old man, the old self, what I was like before my conversion. The after Christ came in describes the new man, the new self, what my life has been like after I was made a new creation in Christ. The before Christ ended with the judicial death of the old self. I was a sinner. I deserved to die. I did die. I received my righteousness in my Substitute with whom I have become one. It describes my resurrection. My old life is finished, and a new life to God has begun.

Our continuing in sin is unthinkable says Paul because God by His grace took us from the position of being in Adam and transferred us into the kingdom of Christ. It is something God has already done. It is not something we do, or have done, but something God has done to us. We have been joined to Jesus Christ. The old life ended in that transaction, and a new life has begun at the same time.

In Romans 6:1-11 the apostle Paul compares our dying to sin to how Christ died to sin. Although He had never experienced personal sin, He died to sin by suffering its penalty on the cross. “The wages of sin is death.” He died as our substitute. He was punished for our sin in our place once for all on the cross. Jesus died to sin once for all. His relationship to sin is finished forever. By dying in our place on the cross He put an end to its claim upon us once for all. Jesus died. That will never happen again. It will never be repeated. It is a completed action in the past. Paul makes this emphatically clear in verses 9-10, “knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”

Moreover, Paul tells us that our old life of sin in Adam is over. We died. Just as Christ can never go back and die again, we can never go back to the old life in Adam. That part of our lives died. The result of our vital union with Christ in His death and resurrection is that our old life in Adam is past, over with, and we now have a new life in Christ.

Our life is divided into two parts at the point in which we believed on Christ and were born again. At a specific act in past history we accepted Christ as our Savior and we became new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

Can you point to a time in your life and see the change before and after Christ separated by the new birth? When we put our faith in Christ as our Savior and were born again the old self died through union with Christ and was buried. The penalty of our sins was paid in full by Christ’s atoning death. At the same time the believer rose again from death, a new person, to live a new life in Christ. We were crucified with Christ and rose with Him to new life.

We died to the life of sin. God counts the utterly perfect righteousness of the risen Christ as ours. He sees us risen in Him. We live a new life in Christ. The old one died, and it was buried.

Does your life have a dividing line marked Christ?

“O for a thousand tongues to sing. . .” the triumph of His grace in a thousand different languages!Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006 Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

The Day I Died

God takes sin seriously. Sin is a terrible thing in the Christian’s life. That is why God did not overlook sin, but dealt with it in one complete stroke of judgment by sending Christ to die for us on the cross.

Now that we have been saved by grace can we live any way we so please? Can we sin it up now that our fire insurance has been paid in full?

The apostle Paul responded to that arrogant attitude saying, “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2).

We died to sin. “Died” is in aorist past tense, indicating a once for all death in a judicial sense. We legally died (vv. 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 18). It refers to a single action that has taken place and has been completed in the past.

The idea of our death to sin is basic in this great chapter, and is essential to the sanctification of all believers.

“We died to sin.” When did you die?

The apostle Paul does not say we are going to die to sin, or we are presently dying to sin. He does not say we are continually to die to sin. The apostle has in mind a completed past action.

We “have died” to sin is already true of us if we have entered into a vital union with Christ.

Charles Hodge notes, “it refers to a specific act in our past history.”

The apostle Paul tells us there is a watershed, a before Christ and after he came into our lives. Before Christ describes the old man, the old self, what I was like before my conversion. The after Christ came in describes the new man, the new self, what my life has been like after I was made a new creation in Christ. The before Christ ended with the judicial death of the old self. I was a sinner. I deserved to die. I did die. I received my righteousness in my Substitute with whom I have become one. It describes my resurrection. My old life is finished, and a new life to God has begun.

Our continuing in sin is unthinkable says Paul because God by His grace took us from the position of being in Adam and transferred us into the kingdom of Christ. It is something God has already done. It is not something we do, or have done, but something God has done to us. We have been joined to Jesus Christ. The old life ended in that transaction, and a new life has begun at the same time.

In Romans 6:1-11 the apostle Paul compares our dying to sin to how Christ died to sin. Although He had never experienced personal sin, He died to sin by suffering its penalty on the cross. “The wages of sin is death.” He died as our substitute. He was punished for our sin in our place once for all on the cross. Jesus died to sin once for all. His relationship to sin is finished forever. By dying in our place on the cross He put an end to its claim upon us once for all. Jesus died. That will never happen again. It will never be repeated. It is a completed action in the past. Paul makes this emphatically clear in verses 9-10, “knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”

Moreover, Paul tells us that our old life of sin in Adam is over. We died. Just as Christ can never go back and die again, we can never go back to the old life in Adam. That part of our lives died. The result of our vital union with Christ in His death and resurrection is that our old life in Adam is past, over with, and we now have a new life in Christ.

Our life is divided into two parts at the point in which we believed on Christ and were born again. At a specific act in past history we accepted Christ as our Savior and we became new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

Can you point to a time in your life and see the change before and after Christ separated by the new birth? When we put our faith in Christ as our Savior and were born again the old self died through union with Christ and was buried. The penalty of our sins was paid in full by Christ’s atoning death. At the same time the believer rose again from death, a new person, to live a new life in Christ. We were crucified with Christ and rose with Him to new life.

We died to the life of sin. God counts the utterly perfect righteousness of the risen Christ as ours. He sees us risen in Him. We live a new life in Christ. The old one died, and it was buried.

Does your life have a dividing line marked Christ?

“O for a thousand tongues to sing. . .” the triumph of His grace in a thousand different languages!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

The Common Grace of God

God owes us nothing.

God owes us nothing, yet He has poured out His blessings on every man and woman.

The two aspects of grace are available to all humanity in general and special or saving grace.

Common grace is available to all human beings without discrimination. The first mention of grace is found in Genesis 6:8. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” God extended His grace 120 years while Noah preached righteousness.

Fallen man has a fallen nature and without common grace mankind would be ultimately self-destructive (Rom. 1:18-2:16; 3:9-20). God in His common grace causes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust. This is the kind of grace that keeps radically depraved humanity from self-destruction.

Common grace gives order to life in spite of the curse of sin. The earth yields its fruit in abundance in spite of the thorns and briars. Depraved mankind knows the difference between good and evil, has religious aspirations, does good deeds, gives philanthropic gifts to others in need all because of common grace.

The effects produced by common grace or the influence of the Spirit common to all men are natural revelation whereby the creation testifies to the Creator through out the universe, presence of truth, good and beauty, fear of future punishment, a natural sense of right and wrong, restraints of governments, fear of God, religious interest not attended by genuine spiritual regeneration by the Holy Spirit, etc. Charles Hodge observes that the influences of common grace “are all capable of being effectually resisted. In all these respects this common grace is distinguished from the efficacious operation of the Spirit to which the Scriptures ascribe the regeneration of the soul.”

The response of most people to God’s common grace is “contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience” (Romans 2:4). How tragic that man in his arrogance and pride refuses to accept common grace.

To despise the riches of God’s grace is a terrible sin with eternal consequences.

The purpose of God’s common grace is to cause us to turn to Him to receive even greater grace.

Yet, in spite of our sinful depravity, God is good to us. He reaches down to us in His love and grace to save us. He wants us to repent and acknowledge His goodness and accept the riches of His saving grace.

A good example of common grace leading to effectual saving grace is the Gentile man Cornelius who feared God, gave alms generously and prayed regularly, but was never saved until the apostle Peter shared with him the good news of salvation through the atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus (Acts 10:1-48). It was common grace that led Cornelius to be devout, but he still needed efficacious saving grace. He responded to the light he had received through common grace, and God brought him to the greater light of the good news of Jesus Christ whereby he could believe and be saved. God the Holy Spirit moved him beyond common grace which does not save, to the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus.

The most uncommon thing that has ever happened is found in Romans 5:6-8. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

It was “while we were still sinners,” that God did everything to save us sinners. God sent His only begotten Son to come and die in our place on the cross.

God does not owe us anything. We deserve to go to hell. He does not owe us a chance to be saved. The only thing we deserve is judgment because we have disobeyed God.

The Bible says, “The soul that sins will surely die.” “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” “The wages of sin is death.”

We need more than common grace to save us. We need His special saving grace. “God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” We need His special grace that lifts us out of our sins and saves us.

Christ’s death for you demonstrates God’s unfathomable love for you. It commends itself to us to embrace Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. It calls every sinner to turn from his or her sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ and be saved.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

God loves you and wants you to respond to His love today. Will you believe on Him and receive His free gift of eternal life? “We love Him because He first loved us.”

Everyone receives God’s common grace, but have you responded to His special saving grace? “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Jesus Christ is our only hope. Only Jesus Christ could offer a sacrifice for our sins and pay the penalty in full. In His life and death Christ did all that God required of us. That is how much He loves you and wants you to come to Him and receive eternal life. If you have never done so please respond to His saving grace today.Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

Are You in Adam or in Christ?

Charles Hodge asked a crucial question: “If God requires one thing, and we present another, how can we be saved? If He has revealed a method in which He can be just and yet justify the sinner, and if we reject that method and insist upon pursuing a different way, how can we hope to be accepted?”

The safest answer, of course, is in the Scriptures. What has God revealed?

The first man sinned, but not just once; Adam sinned many times. Before he sinned the first time he was righteous. His righteousness was of his own doing, as a created being. It was the righteousness of a man. However, Adam never had the righteousness of Jesus Christ upon him. What he lost was his own self-righteousness.

When you and I put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior we are not merely given back a human righteousness that Adam had before the fall. We are given the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. God gives us “much more” in abundance, a superabundance of grace. He gives us the full weight of His perfect righteousness.

Adam did not stand in his own righteousness. He fell. If we attempt to stand in our own righteousness we, too, shall fall.

The gift of God in Christ far surpasses the effects of Adam’s sin and all other transgressions we have committed.

The humbling fact is we were all in Adam once, and we fell in him. He brought sin and death to the human race by his own sin.

How can you and I escape the effects of the fall of Adam on us?

We can stand in a divine righteousness provided by our divine substitute that will never be taken from us. It is God’s gift to us in His grace. The poet expressed it beautifully:

Jesus thy Blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress.

The apostle Paul wrote that we have received, “God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17).

We “reign in life” even now through Jesus Christ. We have been elevated to a position far above what Adam had before his fall. We not only have been “recovered from the fall, but made to reign through Jesus Christ.”

The righteousness of Jesus Christ has been put to our account, put upon us and it is a righteousness in abundance, ever superabundance.

Because it is of divine grace, all of the glory belongs to God alone. Adam stood at the head of the human race and brought death upon all, so our Lord Jesus stood for man and brings life to all who believe on Him.

Every one of us is in Adam. However, the most important question is, are you in Christ? We have Christ only through faith.

We are under grace because we stand before God as justified men. Grace is the state of justification. Because we have been justified, we remain justified and we can never be condemned.

We have been justified by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. There is no other way to have a right standing with a just and holy God. “Oh to grace how great a debtor.”

God was under no duress or compulsion to save us. Nothing made Jesus Christ die for our sins on the cross. Nothing made God credit the perfect righteousness of Christ to our account. God did it because He chose to do so out of grace.

If you are objecting to God’s revealed word saying how can I be saved by something someone else has done for me, it is probably because you are not saved.

The good news for all in Adam is that a righteous God by a judicial act declares sinful men to be in a right standing before Him, not on the basis of their own merits because they have none as sinners, but only on the basis of what Jesus Christ has done by dying in our place on the cross. Jesus took the penalty of death for our sins upon Himself and died on our behalf. Now those sins have been punished and God imputes the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to our account.

You are in Adam, but are you in Christ?Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

And for Our World.

God’s mercy and grace give me hope—for myself and for our world. Billy Graham

Christ Our Sanctification

Christ Our Sanctification

The cross of Jesus Christ is a demonstration of the infinite wisdom of God.

Every philosophy of life is proven by what it ultimately produces in a person’s life.  God’s wisdom produces perfect righteousness.

God made Jesus “who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

God in His grace gives a believing sinner a right relationship with Him based on the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.  Jesus died in the sinner’s place.  “The wages of sin is death,” and Jesus died that death for us.  Christ is our righteousness and for all who trust in Him as their Savior.

The apostle Paul tells us not only that Jesus Christ is the wisdom and the righteousness of God, but He is also our sanctification. “By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30, NASB 1995).

The Scriptures presents three tenses of our sanctification. We have a positional sanctification. Our position in Christ by faith is true regardless of the degree of our spirituality (1 Cor. 6:11; 1:2; Heb. 10:10). We have a progressive sanctification, which refers to our whole life (1 Pet. 1:6). We shall also have a future sanctification because we are not yet fully set apart. We shall see Christ and be complete in Him (1 Jn. 3:1-3; Eph. 5:26-27; Jude 24-25).

Christ imputed is not our sanctification.  Christ accredited to the believer by the work of the Holy Spirit is our sanctification.  Our sanctification is a process of development and growth.  It will not be completed until the day of our complete and perfect redemption with resurrected bodies when Christ returns.

We are to grow up in all things to Christ.  It is a matter of growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Sanctification is a process of separation by which our Lord Jesus Christ is imparted by the Holy Spirit to our daily life.  It does take time to grow spiritually.  But it should be a steady and continuous process of growing in the likeness of Christ.

The bottom line of all true wisdom is, “Am I becoming more and more like Jesus Christ?”  God’s wisdom in Christ brings us into conformity with Him who was perfectly conformed to God the Father.

Christ imputed is my righteousness.  Christ imparted is my sanctification.  One day I will be perfectly conformed to God in Christ. That will be my glorification.

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-3, NASB 1995).

In the matchless wisdom of God, we are to be in continual pursuit of holiness.  The standard had not changed:  “Be holy, for I am holy.”

In His wisdom God has given us the responsibility of walking in holiness.  He still says, “Pursue holiness, for without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).  It is a lifelong task.

This practical daily work of sanctification is a process, and it’s something we never completely attain in this life.  As we grow in our separation from sin and conform to the will of God in one area, the Holy Spirit reveals a need in another area.  We will always be pursuing holiness in this lifetime.

We are not alone in this spiritual struggle.  No one can attain this goal in his or her own strength. God has equipped us with the indwelling Holy Spirit and spiritual amour.

God wants us to walk in obedience to Him.  As we obey His Word, we grow in our sanctification.  God gives us the power to live the Christian life, but in His wisdom He expects us to assume our responsibility in obeying Him.

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006 Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

The Church of Christ

All of us who are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior are members of the true church of Christ. We are members of His body. We have experienced the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace. “We are accepted in the Beloved,” and we are “redeemed through His blood.”

The moment we put our faith in Jesus Christ we are born again, and at the same time placed in the body of Christ in a vital union with Him. The essence of saving faith is to rest upon Christ alone for eternal salvation. We trust in the atonement and the righteousness of Jesus Christ to save us. Saving faith is to trust in Jesus Christ and what He has done for your salvation.

Our justification is an instantaneous act from the moment we believed on Christ as our Savior.  Justification is completed in one instant never to be repeated. It is complete the moment a sinner believes on the atoning death of Jesus Christ. In that moment is the remission of all our sins. In that moment we are made clean by the blood of Jesus.

What a gracious joy to know that in one single instant we are declared just, complete in Christ, without a sin, freed from all its condemning power, guilt and iniquity. In an instant a person is pardoned. Never again will the Christian ever be unjustified! “There is therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

From the Day of Pentecost on as each believer became saved he also became a member of the body of Christ. It is impossible to be saved and not be a member of the church, which is Christ’s own body, because a part of the divine work of salvation is the uniting of the individual to Christ by the baptism with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13).

Every Christian is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ at the moment he or she believes on Jesus Christ to be saved. We are by the Holy Spirit brought into the body of Christ. This baptism into the body of Christ is not limited to any particular group of believers. Every Christian, from the moment he believes in Christ and is saved is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ and therefore the universal church of Christ. The church of all the people of God, all the redeemed, all believers is the real and only Church of Christ.

Are you a member of the true church of Christ? Are you a member of His body? Have you been saved by the grace of God alone through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ?

It is obviously true that an individual may be saved and not be a member of a local organized church. All born again believers should declare their identification with the death and resurrection of Jesus by believer’s baptism, and become a member in a Bible-believing congregation.

Moreover, water baptism and church membership are not required for salvation. The true church of Christ is composed of all people who have repented of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and who are thus joined together in one living union by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Does an individual have to be baptized in order to be saved? Yes, if you are referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit when you believed on Christ as your Savior; however no, if you are referring to water baptism.

The New Testament refers to the “church” in two ways. The main emphasis is on the church as a living organism, a vital living union of all true believers in Jesus Christ.

The second category is the local church, which is composed of professing Christians in any local community (1 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:1; Phil. 1:1).

The only candidates for membership in a visible local Bible-believing church are individuals who have put their faith in the work of salvation of Jesus Christ, and have given testimony of their salvation by water baptism.

Every person who is a candidate for baptism and church membership must give a clear testimony as to their salvation. Am I saved? Have I believed in Jesus Christ? Have I been born again? Church membership is simply the recognition of the profession of saving faith in Jesus Christ. It is to join the fellowship of other believers of kindred spirit.

You do not have to be a member of the local Church of Christ, or be baptized by one of their officials in order to be saved.

If you are looking for a perfect church, you will not find one on this earth. If you did find one, they would not let you become a member because you are not perfect. However, do find a local group of believers in the area where you live who are saved by grace through faith, and who are nearest to the Scriptures in doctrine, the ordinances of the church and practice. Become a member of the local church regardless of what tag their wear.

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006 Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

Christ Our Sanctification

Christ Our Sanctification

The cross of Jesus Christ is a demonstration of the infinite wisdom of God.

Every philosophy of life is proven by what it ultimately produces in a person’s life.  God’s wisdom produces perfect righteousness.

God made Jesus “who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

God in His grace gives a believing sinner a right relationship with Him based on the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.  Jesus died in the sinner’s place.  “The wages of sin is death,” and Jesus died that death for us.  Christ is our righteousness and for all who trust in Him as their Savior.

The apostle Paul tells us not only that Jesus Christ is the wisdom and the righteousness of God, but He is also our sanctification. “By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30, NASB 1995).

The Scriptures presents three tenses of our sanctification. We have a positional sanctification. Our position in Christ by faith is true regardless of the degree of our spirituality (1 Cor. 6:11; 1:2; Heb. 10:10). We have a progressive sanctification, which refers to our whole life (1 Pet. 1:6). We shall also have a future sanctification because we are not yet fully set apart. We shall see Christ and be complete in Him (1 Jn. 3:1-3; Eph. 5:26-27; Jude 24-25).

Christ imputed is not our sanctification.  Christ accredited to the believer by the work of the Holy Spirit is our sanctification.  Our sanctification is a process of development and growth.  It will not be completed until the day of our complete and perfect redemption with resurrected bodies when Christ returns.

We are to grow up in all things to Christ.  It is a matter of growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Sanctification is a process of separation by which our Lord Jesus Christ is imparted by the Holy Spirit to our daily life.  It does take time to grow spiritually.  But it should be a steady and continuous process of growing in the likeness of Christ.

The bottom line of all true wisdom is, “Am I becoming more and more like Jesus Christ?”  God’s wisdom in Christ brings us into conformity with Him who was perfectly conformed to God the Father.

Christ imputed is my righteousness.  Christ imparted is my sanctification.  One day I will be perfectly conformed to God in Christ. That will be my glorification.

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-3, NASB 1995).

In the matchless wisdom of God, we are to be in continual pursuit of holiness.  The standard had not changed:  “Be holy, for I am holy.”

In His wisdom God has given us the responsibility of walking in holiness.  He still says, “Pursue holiness, for without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).  It is a lifelong task.

This practical daily work of sanctification is a process, and it’s something we never completely attain in this life.  As we grow in our separation from sin and conform to the will of God in one area, the Holy Spirit reveals a need in another area.  We will always be pursuing holiness in this lifetime.

We are not alone in this spiritual struggle.  No one can attain this goal in his or her own strength. God has equipped us with the indwelling Holy Spirit and spiritual amour.

God wants us to walk in obedience to Him.  As we obey His Word, we grow in our sanctification.  God gives us the power to live the Christian life, but in His wisdom He expects us to assume our responsibility in obeying Him.

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006 Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent

I Say Our

I say our lives are the greatest testimony for Christ. Joseph- Anthony a son of Jehovah

Christ Our Propitiation

Please don’t let that title scare you off. That is a beautiful and profound word.

Christ’s death turns away the wrath of God. The apostle Paul said Christ is our propitiation. He is a propitiatory sacrifice. It refers to what Christ did on our behalf before God.

We are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith” (Romans 3:24-25).

God gave His Son as the means of the propitiation, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). A. T. Robertson said, “God could not let sin go as if a mere slip. God demanded the atonement and provided it.” It was “by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).

The word “propitiate” in its classical form was used of the act of appeasing the Greek gods by a sacrifice, of rendering them favorable toward the worshipper. The sacrifice was offered by the pagan worshiper to buy off the anger of the god and buy his love. Note very carefully that this idea is not brought over into the New Testament. The LORD God does not need to be appeased nor is His love for sale.

In the New Testament it refers to the act of getting rid of sin which has come between God and man. The word hilasterion is used in the Greek translation of Leviticus 16:14 to refer to the golden cover on top of the Ark of the Covenant. In the Ark, below this lid, were placed the tablets of stone upon which were written the Ten Commandments, which Israel had violated. On the Day of Atonement before the Ark stood the High Priest representing the people who had sinned. When the sacrificial blood is sprinkled on this cover, it ceases to be a place of judgment and becomes a place of mercy. The blood comes between the violated law and the violators, the people. The blood of Jesus satisfies the just requirements of God’s holy law which mankind broke, pays the penalty for man, and thus removes that which had separated between a holy God and sinful man, sin, its guilt and penalty. This is far removed from the pagan idea of propitiation. Jesus Christ is God’s High Priest who was both the Mercy Seat and the Sacrifice, which transforms the former from a judgment seat to one where mercy is offered a sinner on the basis of justice satisfied.

Bengel observed that God, “’placed before the eyes of all’ unlike the ark of the covenant which was veiled and approached only by the high priest.”

The LORD God set forth His Son, the Lord Jesus, as the One who would be the satisfaction for our sins. Because God is satisfied with the payment of the sin debt, His wrath is turned aside, away from the believing sinner. Christ absorbed the wrath of God on our behalf. He bore our punishment as our substitute.

When God looked down upon the sacrifice He judged man guilty, the payment was paid in full, and in His righteousness could therefore acquit the believing sinner who put His trust in the Lamb of God. That mercy seat is the place were God met man in His grace since the sacrifice turned away the wrath of God because His righteousness was satisfied. The guilty sinner is spared because of the death of Christ in our place. When God looks down upon the believing sinner He sees not our sins and guilt, but the blood of Jesus. He is our expiatory sacrifice that satisfied the righteousness of God. His death paid our debt in full and a holy God was satisfied.

All of the lambs in the sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed to God’s perfect Lamb who would wholly remove our death penalty.

How do we know this is all true? We know we can trust God because a holy and righteous God tore the veil in the temple from top to the bottom. The moment Christ died it was like God the Father reached in and took hold of His outer garment and tore it from the top to the bottom in His mourning for His only Son. God tore the veil in two to open the way into His presence for all who believe on His Son as their sinless sacrifice who died as their propitiation. Bloody sacrifices came to an end in the temple because the death of Christ alone met all the holy demands of a thrice-holy God.

Have you placed your trust in God’s Lamb?