Debt Paid in Full
Notes
Transcript
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 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? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
Introduction
Introduction
Edwin Cooper was famous across America, yet almost no one knew his real name. Coming from a family of circus clowns, Cooper began performing before audiences when he was just nine years old. After a stint with the Barnum and Bailey Circus, he became a fixture on television in the 1950’s as Bozo the Clown. In addition to entertaining both young and old, Cooper had a message for his “buddies and partners” every week: get checked for cancer. Yet Cooper was so busy working that he neglected to follow his own advice. By the time his cancer was discovered, it was too late for it to be treated. Edwin Cooper died at just forty-one years of age from a disease he had warned many others to watch out for.
Sin is far more deadly than the most aggressive and fast growing cancer. Sin kills and destroys everything it touches. From the Fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden until now, sin takes no prisoners. This is the purpose behind everything Satan does. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). Because of his evil nature and his hatred of everything good, the devil brings destruction to everything within his reach.
When we regard sin as God does, we find nothing amusing or humorous about it. We will not make it the subject of the jokes we tell or those we hear. We will not allow ourselves to be tempted to get a little closer to the line to see if we are still safe. God hates sin with a holy and righteous fury, and so should we. When we find ourselves amused by sin, it is time for us to focus on the cross. Seeing the price paid for our sin reminds us that it is no laughing matter.
My Pastor growing up used to always say, “Sin will cost you more than you want to pay, take farther than you want to go, and keep you longer than you want to stay. - Cecil Tolbert”
I’m sure he was not the first to say that but the point is clear. Sin has a high price. As we look at the last sense for the cross we will see that there is a price to pay for sin, and Jesus paid it all, and because of his payment all can be free from sin to have a relationship with God.
The Price of Sin
The Price of Sin
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 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?
To understand the gravity of what Christ did on the cross, we must first understand what sin is:
We most often think of sin as wrongdoing or transgression of God's law.
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Sin includes a failure to do what is right.
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Ultimately sin is rebellion against God.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king.
Further, the Bible teaches that sin involves a condition in which the heart is corrupted and inclined toward evil.
And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
I like what first John 5 tells us about sin, it pretty much sums it up for us.
All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
I believe simply by discovering what sin is we can determine then that all of us have sinned. But if you didn’t get it from all that the Bible is clear in Romans that we have all sinned.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Sin then is not only apart of every human life but is a choice we make everyday. We choose to act on the things, dwell on thoughts, or speak the words that displease God. As a result we are a sinful people.
But sin doesn’t simply cause us to displease God with no consequences. God is a holy and righteous God and He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. Again Romans gives us the price we must pay for our sins
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
James points out that sin brings death as well.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
The death we experience because of sin isn’t just a physical death but a spiritual one. The word death means to separate. When we die we are separated from our bodies and this world. But when we die a spiritual death we are separated from God in an eternal hell.
Now as we look at the text we open to Jesus already on the cross. He has been betrayed, accused, sentenced to crucifixion, tortured, and nailed to the cross.
Jesus has endured suffering and abuse for three hours, from about 9 am until noon. Then at noon even worse torture fell on Christ. The Father turned his back on the Son. The perfect communion of eternity past was broken. The Father, in essence, had to say “I do not know you” to the Son.
Why? Because Jesus Christ at that moment took on the weight of sin for all the world for all time. He paid the heavy price for the sins of the world.
The price for sin was death. In that moment He experienced the spiritual death as well, Separation from God. Jesus paid that price. Sin then was paid by the saviour.
Paid by The Saviour
Paid by The Saviour
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Imagine you are half a million dollars in debt. Someone comes to you and writes out a check for $500,000, saying, “This is all for you, to cancel your debt. You don’t have to do anything but reach out and take it, and it’s yours.” So you take the money and pay your debt. You are now debt-free and totally in the clear.
What do you have to boast about? Can you go around bragging that you had the power, the skill, and the brains to reach out and take that check? Can you talk about what a favor you did for your benefactor, taking all that troublesome money off his hands? Does that make any sense?
Of course not. You received grace—nothing more, nothing less. You were impoverished; you received riches from another person. The fact that you are now debt-free is a hundred percent due to your benefactor, zero percent due to you.
Who, then, deserves the praise and glory for your salvation? Clearly, not you! You have received riches from the resources of God. His grace made it all possible.
Galatians 6:14, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
Since the first sin, blood has been the required payment. We see it written in the law in Leviticus:
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Jesus paid the price of sin. The moment He shed His blood, He became the substitution for our his and the sins for the whole world. He said so Himself in Mark
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Christ was the atonement for our sins. The day of atonement according to the God’s law was a day once pre year that the high priest made a blood sacrifice and entered the Holy of Holies. Which was behind a great thick veil or curtain. Only the high priest could enter this holy place, and only once year. Inside was Ark of the Covenant and on it was the mercy seat. The high priest was to pour the blood on the mercy seat and there God would look down to see the blood instead of the sins of Israel.
But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
When Jesus died on the cross He became the atonement sacrifice for everyone. Matthew only records that Christ shouted with a loud voice but John tells us:
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
In the temple the holy of holies was the innermost sanctuary, the place where the presence of God was said to abide. This place was so sacred only one man could enter and only once a year. The thick curtain hung separating all of humanity from the presence of God - except the high priest, once a year. At the moment of Jesus’ death that all changed. salvation from sins became free for all to receive.
Now Free for All
Now Free for All
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
The Moment Jesus died on the Cross the curtain that hung separating God from man was torn. From top to bottom. Matthew recorded the direction in which is was torn to show that it was done at God’s initiative. And the tearing opened the way for anyone to enter the presence of God, through the substitutionary sacrifice of the Messiah, Jesus Christ!
During the centuries of Israel’s existence, it was unheard of for common people to consider approaching God. The penalty for such arrogance was death. But now God was inviting anyone to approach him. For the first time, provision had been made for God to accept sinful humans as forgiven, having been made righteous through the sacrifice of Christ.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
No longer do we have to come to God with out bulls and lambs and bring them to the high priest for him to offer on our behave. We can go directly to God without the help of any man but the one to died for you who is Jesus Christ.
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Because of what Christ did we can now all come to God. But it is only by placing our faith in Christ and coming in Jesus name. He is the one that paid the price for sin. He gave it all so we could go free.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
It is only through faith in the finished work on the cross can you be saved.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
On Sunday February 18, 2001, Nascar lost one of its greatest drivers. Dale Earnhardt, also known as “The Intimidator,” was in third place on the last lap of the Daytona 500 when his car was tapped from behind and sent head-on into the wall at 180 mph. In a matter of moments it was evident something was terribly wrong. Dale Earnhardt had died in the crash. On the following Monday an autopsy report revealed he had died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Some have suggested that if Earnhardt had been wearing the HANS (Head and Neck Safety Device), he would have survived the crash. Although this device was available, Earnhardt, like many other drivers that day, neglected to use it. His neglect of this safety device may have cost him his life.
God offers salvation to all, yet many neglect to take it.
Conclusion
Conclusion
“Christ died for sin. Believers die to sin. Unbelievers die in sin.”—Unknown
If you have never placed your faith in Christ the Bible says today is that day.
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
Don’t wait, I beg you if you have never trusted in Christ you cannot have forgiveness without Him.
Christian, the great news is that we are already forgiven, your sins are gone, as far as the east it from the west the Bible tell us. You can now live free from your sin and have victory over them because of Christ.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
You are free from your sin. But we always seem to make our way back to that sin nature. What ever sin you may be battling today, come to God through Christ and he offers you forgiveness and rest. Come to this alter and ask for God’s forgiveness and help and he will help you.
Sin has a high price. As we looked now at the last sense for the cross we saw that there is a price to pay for sin, and Jesus paid it all, and because of his payment all can be free from sin to have a relationship with God. Christian or not come and do business with God.