The Basis for the Forgiveness of Sins-The Death of Jesus Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ’s substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross provided the forgiveness of sins for sinful mankind.

Faith in Him appropriates what our Lord’s deaths accomplished on the cross.

This faith appropriates therefore, the forgiveness of sins.

There are many reasons why Jesus Christ had to suffer crucifixion and spiritual and physical death on the cross.

He had to suffer because the entire human race was in desperate need of deliverance from eternal condemnation, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death, the sin nature, personal sins and enslavement to Satan and his cosmic system.

The Lord Jesus Christ, through His human nature, suffered a spiritual and physical death on the cross, as a substitute for each and every member of the human race-past, present and future.

These substitutionary deaths dealt with all these problems facing sinful humanity.

Sinners appropriated this deliverance by exercising faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

Through the function of human volition, the sin nature produces personal sin, mental, verbal and overt acts of sin.

Spiritual death is the direct result of Adam’s original sin in the Garden of Eden.

His progeny, namely the human race are now sinners by nature because of his disobedience.

His sin not only plunged him into spiritual death but also his progeny which results in physical death and ultimately eternal condemnation.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems of the human race, our Lord had to suffer these deaths as a substitute for sinful humanity.

The Scriptures teach that salvation is deliverance from eternal condemnation.

It is also a deliverance from being condemned by the Law.

Furthermore, it is a deliverance from real spiritual death, the sin nature, personal sins, the devil and his cosmic system.

The Sin Nature

The Bible teaches that each and every member of the human race is a sinner by nature as well as by practice.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. (NASB95)

Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. (NASB95)

The Bible teaches that every person born into the world without exception received the imputation of Adam’s original sin in the Garden of Eden and the nature of Adam.

This nature is always disobedient to God and making them all physically alive but spiritually dead, having no capacity whatsoever to have a relationship with God.

The first man, Adam, brought sin and death into the human race resulting in a curse whereas the “Last Adam,” Jesus Christ, brought life and blessing to the human race and so therefore, the entire human race boils down to these two men.

1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (NASB95)

Romans 5:12 Therefore, based on this (principle), just as, through one man, the sin nature entered into the human race so that spiritual death entered through this sin nature. Thus, in this manner, spiritual death spread to each and every member of the human race without exception because each and every member of the human race sinned (the moment Adam sinned). (My translation)

Because of the imputation of Adam’s original sin to the genetically formed old sin nature, every member of the human race is born physically alive but spiritually dead.

Adam’s original sin plus Adam’s sin nature equals “spiritual death,” which means that every member of the human race is separated from God and has absolutely no capacity to have a relationship with God who is holy.

This is what we call in theology “real spiritual death” meaning that Adam’s original sin is imputed to the genetically formed old sin nature, thus, the need for everyone to become born-again by believing on the Lord Jesus.

The Lord taught in John 8:34 that the human race is enslaved to sin and that only He could set them free.

John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 35 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (NASB95)

Often in the New Testament, when the word “death” is used for Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, the word contains the figure of speech called “heterosis of number,” which means that the singular form of a word is put for the plural form of the word.

The New Testament writers use this figure many times when referring to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross indicating that when they are speaking of this death, they are referring to both His spiritual and physical deaths on the cross.

This is indicated by the fact that the first Adam died first spiritually as a result of his disobedience in the Garden of Eden and then physically.

Therefore, the Last Adam, Jesus Christ had to die spiritually first and then physically to negate the fall of Adam and to reconcile the first Adam and his progeny, i.e. the human race to a holy God.

Our Lord’s spiritual death is recorded in Matthew 27:46.

Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” (NASB95)

When the Lord Jesus Christ cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? He was experiencing spiritual death meaning that in His human nature he was separated from His Father.

In John 19:30, the Lord triumphantly said “It is finished” while He was still alive and which statement refers to the payment of our sins.

The fact that our Lord’s spiritual death was the payment for our sins and not His literal blood is illustrated in Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:10 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. 11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. (NASB95)

“Anguish of His soul” refers to the intense suffering of our Lord’s human soul as a result of being separated from the Father on the Cross and experiencing spiritual death as a perfect sinless human being.

This suffering no angel or man will ever be able to identify with since no angel or man has kept themselves experientially sinless and is God.

Notice that Isaiah says that the anguish of the Son’s soul while experiencing spiritual death “satisfied” the Father, which refers to propitiation.

This passage further substantiates that it was the Lord Jesus Christ’s spiritual death that propitiated the Father and not His literal blood.

When Christ cried “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” He was suffering the “consequences” for our sins, which was separation from the Father and was “not” coming into contact with our sins, nor was He becoming literal sin.

Substitutionary Physical Death of Jesus Christ

The physical death of our Lord is recorded in the Gospels (Matthew 27:47-50; Mark 15:22-40; Luke 23:33-49; John 19:16-30).

The Lord Jesus Christ did “not” die from suffocation or exhaustion, nor did He bleed to death, or die of a broken heart but rather He died unlike any person in history, namely by His own volition.

Remember what our Lord said in John 10:18.

If He had bled to death, He would have fainted.

The Lord Jesus Christ was in total control of His faculties and was totally and completely alert throughout all His suffering on the cross.

Our Lord’s voluntary physical death was another indication to those observing Him at the Cross that He was indeed the Son of God.

He died like no other man in history, namely, of His own choosing and this is why the centurion stated that our Lord was the Son of God.

Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. (NASB95)

The Lord Jesus Christ died physically in order to deal with the problem of the sin nature in the human race, which is located in the physical body of a person as a result of God imputing Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden to every person at the moment of physical birth.

Therefore, the Christian’s problem with his indwelling Adamic sin nature is resolved when he is identified with Christ in His physical death through the baptism of the Holy Spirit the moment they were declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior (Romans 6:1-10).