December 3, 2008

  • FOUNDATIONS [#7]

    taught at Awana Varsity 11/12/2008
    based on the series www.marshillchurch.org/sermonseries/doctrine/
    reference the book "Bible Doctrine" by Wayne Grudem

    Audio of this message can be found here -> http://audio.xanga.com/Eek_71/b16b52949072/audio.html

    God Dies... The Cross

    THE BIG IDEA?: Why is the death of Jesus on the Cross "Good News"?

    SO WHAT?: by His death on the Cross, Jesus was our substitutionary atonement.  He is our justification, our propitiation, & our expiation (& more).

    INTRO:
      •  the cross is the most important event in all of history... w/o it our lives would be MEANINGLESS and our future would be HOPELESS!
      •  the cross is the symbol of Christianity... the "emblem of suffering & shame"

    1.  WHAT IS CRUCIFIXION?
      •  invented by Persians 500 BC… perfected by Romans… outlawed by Constantine 300 AD
      •  crucifixion was reserved for the most horrendous criminals. Even the worst Romans were beheaded rather than crucified.  The Jews considered crucifixion the most horrific mode of death...
      •  excruciating = lit. "from the cross".  A word invented to describe the intense pain & suffering
      •  Death by ASPHYXIATION...
      •  Crucifixion was designed to make someone SUFFER for as long as the body could possible endure.... pain, blood loss, dehydration, shock... the person dies very SLOWLY
      •  Crucifixion was intended to be the most HUMILIATING & SHAMEFUL form of execution...

    2.  HOW DID JESUS DIE?

    SCOURGING
      •  many people died from scourging w/o even making it to their cross
      •  "cat-o-nine tails" = a whip of long leather straps... at the end of each were heavy balls of metal intended to "tenderize" the victim.  Along each strap were hooks and sharp bits of metal or bone
      •  Once the hooks were sunk deeply into the tenderized flesh, the executioner would rip the skin, muscle, tendons, and even bones off the victim... EXTREMELY VIOLENT
      •  Isa. 52:14  "many were astonished at you-his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind."

    CRUCIFIXION
      •  Jesus was young, and healthy, and strong... but, He was so physically devastated from his sleepless night, miles of walking, severe beating, and scourging that he collapsed under the weight of the cross (100 lbs)
      •  Jesus the carpenter, who had driven many nails into wood with his own hands, then had 6 or 7 inch long rough metal spikes driven into the most sensitive nerve centers on the human body, in his hands and feet. Jesus was nailed to his wooden cross. The cross would then be lifted and dropped into a hole.

    3.  WHY DID JESUS DIE?
      •  How on earth can Christians call this gruesome scene "good news"?...
      •  Jesus' death was SUBSTITUTIONARY.  His death was in our place solely for our benefit and w/o benefit for himself. Just to be perfectly clear, this means that Jesus took the penalty for our sins in our place so we do not have to suffer the just penalty ourselves. The wrath of God that should have fallen on us and the death that our sins merit fell on Jesus.
      •  PENAL SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT is the central, essential, and guiding principle for understanding what Jesus' death accomplished on the cross
      •  ref.  Isa 53:5, 12;  Rom 4:25, 5:8;  1 Cor 15:3;  1 Pet 3:18;  1 Jn 2:2;  Gal 3:13

    4.  WHAT DID JESUS' DEATH ACCOMPLISH?  (there are many aspects or facets to what Jesus accomplished on the cross... )
      a.  Jesus is our JUSTIFICATION  Galatians 2:16,  2 Corinthians 5:
          >  On the cross Jesus took our sin and gave us his righteousness. The result is that by grace alone, through faith in Jesus alone, we can be justified and DECLARED RIGHTEOUS in the sight of God.
      b.  Jesus is our PROPITIATION  1 John 4:10
          >  God justly and rightly hates our sin, he also is so loving that he poured out his wrath upon
              himself so that it would be propitiated, or DIVERTED, from guilty deserving sinners.          
      c.  Jesus is our EXPIATION  1 John 1:7 
          >  When we sin and are sinned against, the Bible says that we are DEFILED, DIRTY, FILTHY, and UNCLEAN. But on the cross Jesus took away our sin so that we could be CLEANSED from the presence and power of defiling sin.
      d.  Jesus is our NEW COVENANT SACRIFICE  1 Peter 1:18-19
          >  Jesus coming as our HIGH PRIEST, he whose body was the Temple, he who bled and died as a sacrifice so that we would be admitted into New Covenant relationship with God.
      e. Jesus is our VICTOR  Colossians 2:13-15
          >  On the cross Jesus seemed to have suffered the worst defeat in history. But in fact Jesus is the only Victor over Satan and demons, and in Jesus we can live free of demonic control.
      f.  Jesus is our REDEMPTION  Titus 2:13- 14
          >  Sin ENSLAVES us and rules over us.  Jesus liberates his people into FREEDOM to worship him. Free from Satan, sin, and death… this is the day of our great Exodus.
      g.  Jesus is our RANSOM  1 Timothy 2:5-6 -
          >  Our sin accrues an EVER-MOUNTING  DEBT to God. Jesus PAID our debt to God, described as our ransom.
      h. Jesus is our EXAMPLE  1 Peter 2:21
          >  While on the cross suffering and dying in our place for our sins… Jesus remains OBEDIENT to the Father and LOVING to his enemies, Jesus gave for us the perfect example of how to live, especially in the face of the unjust, evil, atrocity of sin.
      i. Jesus is our RECONCILIATION  Ephesians 4:31-5:2
          >  Sin breaks our relationship with God and others... But by dying for our sin, Jesus takes our sin away so that we can be in a loving, RECONCILED RELATIONSHIP with God and one another.
      j. Jesus is our REVELATION  John 1:18;  Colossians 1:15
          >  at the cross the character and nature of God was revealed, unlike anywhere else in all creation, because it was there that God's wrath and mercy were one. Therefore, for God to be known, the cross of Jesus must be understood, because it was there that God's person shown forth in perfect glory.

    CONCLUSION :

    5.  Doesn't the cross contradict God's love?
      •  Brian McLaren used the term "cosmic child abuse" to describe "penal substitutionary atonement"
      •  Others will protest that a loving God would never sanction the bloody, unjust murder of Jesus.  Scripture plainly states, however, that it is at the cross of Jesus that the love of God for us is most clearly seen. Jesus himself said precisely this: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)
      •  Other Scriptures show His death on the cross is the place where love is most clearly seen…
          >  John 3:16
          >  Romans 5:8
          >  1 John 4:9-10
      •  Clearly, Jesus' bloody death on the cross is about love and everyone who loves Jesus should know that.