The Law, grace and love: Prt 3

Jesus became a curse for us.

Let's go back to the question of the law's curse. Man could not save himself, so the Son of God became a man.

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,”

Jesus fulfilled the covenantal obligations.

Matthew 5:17 ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Therefore he earned the blessings of the law. Early Christian writers understood Psalm 1 to be a prophecy about Jesus. “He is the man who fulfills the law, and is blessed.”

Matthew 12:37 “for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.””

Mark 12:30–31 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””

Jesus not only fulfilled the law by obeying it, but also paid our penalty for breaking it.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Previously the Israelites were commanded to make substitutionary animal sacrifices. They learned that sin was punishable by death.

This was the logic of sacrifice, a life could be substituted for a life.

This is exactly what Jesus did for us. He became the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus substituted His life for ours. When He went to the cross, our sins were transferred to him.

1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

Isaiah 53:5–6 ESV

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Our sins were imputed to Christ on the cross. He took the our curse upon Himself.

Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—”

When took our curse upon Himself, He redeemed us from th law’s curse.

Jesus’ is the propitiation for the sins of the world.

1 John 2:2 “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Propitiation

Turning away of anger by the offering of a gift. The word was often used by the pagans in antiquity, for they thought of their gods as unpredictable beings, liable to become angry with their worshipers for any trifle. When disaster struck it was often thought that a god was angry and was therefore punishing his worshipers. The remedy was to offer a sacrifice without delay. A well-chosen offering would appease the god and put him in a good mood again. This process was called propitiation.

Even though He died for the sins of the world, that does not mean the world is automatically saved.

The provision was complete for our salvation through his death and resurrection but the application requires a response from us.

Redemption may be summarized around three basic ideas. (1) People are redeemed from something; namely, from the marketplace or slavery of sin. (2) People are redeemed by something; namely, by the payment of a price, the blood of Christ. (3) People are redeemed to something; namely, to a state of freedom; and then they are called to renounce that freedom for slavery to the Lord who redeemed them.

Charles C. Ryrie