The Three Aspects of Sin

So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

First Good Friday = Most Paradoxical Day in History

Borrow from Dickens: Best of times and worst of times

· Best of times: Jesus’ death atoned for our sin

o Worst of times: Jesus (innocent) Charged as guilty & sentenced to sinners’ death

· Best: veil torn, signifying God’s welcoming of humankind into his presence—Showing that we are not forsaken

o Worst: Jesus because Jesus’ cried out, My God My God, why have you forsaken me.

· Best: Christ’s Death happened in accordance with God’s plan

o Worst: onlookers believed Christ had been defeated & God’s plan had been thwarted

Though this day was horrific in one sense, we celebrate it, for it is because of that day, that we can be reconciled to God. That is why we call it “Good Friday.”

Why Was Jesus Crucified?

· Most would answer, “because of our sin.” But why?

Some years ago, the late RC Sproul taught on “three Aspects of sin.” He was formational in my understanding of Jesus’ substitutionary work.

Purpose: Help us better understand and appreciate—to a fuller extent—what Christ has done.

1. First aspect of sin: Debt

· Model Prayer: Forgive Us our DEBTS

· God is our creator: has right to set boundaries and laws. We have a moral obligation

· God is holy and despises sin (the breaking of His Law)

· We are obligated to obey Law

· Yet, we are sinners…

Therefore, we are indebted to God… And this is a debt we can’t pay. We can never make it “right with God” in and of ourselves.

· If you don’t pay your debt on a house loan… the bank may foreclose on your house…

· If our debt to God is not settled = Eternal Death, Judgement, and Separation from God

2) Second Aspect of Sin: Enmity

· In are sinful state we all despised God

o Me? Argue: You loved your version of God

· We are not “Good People” Apart from Jesus

Colossians 1:21 ESV

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

· The Bible teaches that, apart from Jesus (in our rebellious state) we are actually enemies of God.

Romans 5:10 ESV

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

· As sinful enemies, we were under God’s wrath

3) Third Aspect of Sin: Guilt

· Legal guilt… we have transgressed against the law of God and thus, we must be punished. There is a legal penalty…

· God is not only loving… but He is also just… which means He can’t turn a blind eye to sin… the punishment had to be paid.

Sin = Death | Sin = Judgment

Jesus Dealt with All Three Aspects of Sin on the Cross

1) Our Debt Has Been Paid

○ In the last moments of His life, Jesus cried out “it is finished.” This is an accounting term that means “paid in full.”

A debt we could never settle… was satisfied at the cross.

2) Our Enmity Has Been Dealt With

Romans 5:10 ESV

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

3) The third aspect of sin is guilt:

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(Propitiation means that Jesus satisfied God’s wrath… the penalty has been paid). God’s justice has been satisfied.

Then, in verse 26, Paul says that God (through Christ’s atoning work) is both just AND the justifier.

● Bottom Line: Christ Became Our Perfect Substitute.

○ He owed God the Father nothing, yet paid our debt

○ He was forsaken by God so that we could be brought near to God…

He took on the wrath of God, so that we could be free of guilt and condemnation.

Closing:

Our greatest problems are not physical

Our greatest problems are not financial

Our greatest problems are not political

Our greatest problem is sin: And Jesus dealt with that at Calvary.

The Resurrection was God’s stamp of approval, that it is finished… it is finished indeed.

· The soldiers were shouting at Jesus to save Himself.

· Yet, paradoxically, Jesus remained hanging there to save them.

And this friends, is why we call it Good Friday.

How Do We Respond?

Repent and Believe the Gospel

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