10. The One Act Of Obedience

CHAPTER X The One Act of Obedience

"For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" (Romans 5:19). In Romans 5:18 the Apostle wrote about "the righteousness of one" and the result thereof. It is important to note that Paul does not say the many righteous acts. Every act of our Lord was infinitely righteous; yet one is singled out from among all the rest, and this one righteous act was the one that brought salvation to lost sinners.

Many say that it was not absolutely necessary for the Lord Jesus to die on the Cross; God could have saved lost sinners through some other means. Others claim that it was through His life of perfect obedience that we are saved. His infinitely perfect life does enter into our redemption for just as the Old Testament offerings had to be perfect both outwardly and inwardly, so Christ as our Sacrifice was the "Lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19). Our Lord "knew no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21), and He committed no sin; He was therefore the one and the only one that was qualified to suffer in the place of sinful men. In that aspect His life of perfect obedience does enter into our redemption from sin. But, and if, our Lord had lived on in the flesh in infinitely perfect obedience up to this very moment, we of the Gentiles would still be without a Saviour. Concerning the Gentiles we are told, "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). We also read, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).

These Scriptures reveal the absolute necessity of the death of Christ on the Cross, by the Apostle Paul designated as the supreme act of obedience on the part of our Lord. He writes, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Php 2:8). Our Lord’s obedience unto death is the one righteous act of the Second Man that reaches unto all unto justification of life, and is placed over against the one offence of the first man that reached unto all men unto condemnation. This one righteous act is what Paul refers to when he defines the gospel that he preached--"that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3). Apart from this one righteous act there is no gospel--no hope for guilty, lost, undone sinners.

Things Accomplished by the Death of Christ on the Cross.

Before looking into the things that the death of Christ on the cross accomplished, we shall briefly sum up what we have so far considered.

Sin, the most awful thing in the Universe, entered the world through Adam, the first man. His original sin is imputed to the race; every child of Adam is a partaker of his fallen nature and is therefore predisposed to sin. Sin so degrades man that he has no ability whatsoever to do that which is good in the sight of God. Man is not only a sinner, he is dead in trespasses and sins, and can produce nothing but sin. The Law was given to Israel, but not as a cure or a remedy for man’s fallen and lost estate. It was not given to justify, to save nor to make man good. In that respect it was and still is a total failure. The Law is good only when lawfully used, and we have seen from the Word what its true purpose is. The Law could not rescue man from his lost estate, because "it was weak through the flesh."

Christ, the Eternal Son of God, came into this world in "the likeness of sinful flesh." He became man, primarily that He might die; He was born for that very purpose. He was the Lamb provided by God the Father and as the Lamb of God went all the way to the Cross where He, the "Second Man," gave Himself as the sacrifice for the sin and the sins of the first man and his posterity. He had to become man in order that He might die but He had to be God in order that His death might be efficacious as the sacrifice for sin. The Cross was both the supreme manifestation of God’s love and the supreme manifestation of sin. And now, we are ready to look into the things His death once and for all accomplished. The Scriptures indicated on the Chart are but a few of the many that will be considered.

1. On the Cross There Was a Dealing with Imputed Sin -- John 1:29 -- "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." The sin that entered through the first man and which was imputed to the rest of the race was taken away by the Second Man when He, as the Lamb of God, died on the Cross.

He was the burnt offering, which typifies Christ offering Himself without spot to God in pure delight to do His Father’s will even unto death. His sacrifice was voluntary for He said, "No man taketh it (His life) from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father" (John 10:18).

Through the sacrifice of Christ as the Lamb of God provided for sin, God was glorified concerning sin. This aspect of the death of Christ is the ground upon which the innocent child is saved. He dies because he is guilty in Adam, but is saved, not as some teach, on the ground of innocency, but because Christ as the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world.

2. On the Cross There Was a Dealing with Sin in Nature -- 2 Corinthians 5:21 -- "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."

Here the reference is to the sin nature that every one possesses--what man is in Adam. It has in view Christ’s death for sin, not sins. Christ did not descend by natural generation from Adam and so He was not involved in Adam’s sin. He was "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). On the Cross, He was made what we were that we might become or be what He is.

It is not said that Christ was made a sinner but that He was made sin. There is a vast difference between the two terms. God loves the sinner but He abhors sin. And yet His own and only beloved Son was made sin that we might become in Him the righteousness of God. His death was a judgment upon every aspect of sin. Paul says, "God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." (Romans 8:3). The old sin nature was not only judged and condemned but it was also executed, for we are told that "our old man is (was) crucified with him" (Romans 6:6). We were identified with Christ on the Cross; had we not been there, He never would have been there because He was the Sinless One. He had no sins to suffer for and was therefore deathless--beyond the reach of death.

We also read, "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead" (2 Corinthians 5:14). Paul uses the Greek aorist tense, so the last phrase should read, "then all died." From these Scriptures we learn that our Lord’s death on the Cross was for sin, but it was also unto sin. Sin, the old nature, is therefore judged, condemned and executed--judicially dead. And so, we, as believers through the Cross have been delivered from sin, the cruel master by whom we were held in bondage. "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11).

3. On the Cross There Was a Dealing with Sin in Action -- 1 Peter 2:24 -- "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." This refers to sins, sin in action. Sin is what we are in Adam, our sin nature; sins are the outworking of that nature and so what we ourselves do. Sin is the tree, sins, the fruit.

Christ, as the trespass offering in a very special way, took care of sin in action. Note carefully that Peter says, "That we, being dead to sins." Paul tells us that our death with Christ was "unto sin." The believer is therefore dead unto sin and sins; the shackles of sin and sins are for ever broken. Being "dead to sins" does not mean that Christians can no longer sin, but it does mean just what Paul says when he writes, "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Romans 4:8). Here Paul speaks about the one that God has declared righteous through faith in Christ. "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5).

One of the immediate results of Adam’s original sin was that he acquired guilt. The whole race was condemned in him. Paul, in the Epistle to the Romans, in speaking of the full result of the Gospel of Grace, asks, "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth" (Romans 8:33). No, God will never reverse His verdict. The justified one is cleared of all guilt, past, present and future. The believer has entered into a new relationship with God. He is no longer dealt with as a judge deals with a criminal, but rather as a loving father deals with his child. He will chasten His sinning child, but never condemn him with the world, "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world" (1 Corinthians 11:31-32). The result of this judgment is stated in (1 Corinthians 11:30) where we read, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (have died).

4. On the Cross There Was a Final Dealing with Pre-Cross Sins -- Romans 3:25 -- "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission (passing by) of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." When Paul says God "passed by" sins, he does not imply that He in any way made light of sin, for God can not do that. The cross of Christ is a manifest token that this is impossible. On the cross there was a final dealing with the sins of the Old Testament saints. We are told, "And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament (covenant), that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament (covenant), they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:15).

Before the cross, animal sacrifices were offered to atone for (cover) their sins. But it was not possible for the blood of these sacrifices to take away sins; it only covered them. God forgave their sins on the ground of what was to be accomplished by Christ on the cross. There all sins that had been but covered before were completely blotted out. This is clearly revealed in the Scriptures. "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 your soul" (Leviticus 17:11). The Hebrew word translated "atonement" means "covering." Theologically the word "atonement" has been used as the term covering the whole sacrificial and redemptive work of Christ. This is not altogether correct according to the Scriptures. Much more than "atonement" was accomplished by the cross of Christ. We read, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4); "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:11-12). The legal sacrifices covered the offerer’s sins and secured for him divine forgiveness. They were forgiven on credit; God, so to speak, gave them a promissory note. This was redeemed on the cross of Christ.

5. On the Cross There Was a Spoiling Judgment Upon Satan and the Powers of Evil -- Colossians 2:15 -- "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it"--The Cross. When the LORD God pronounced sentence upon Satan way back in the Garden, He said, "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:14-15). For centuries Satan has ruled the world (kosmos) as a usurper without right and title. He is still the "prince of this world" (John 14:30); and "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Before the cross he had a strangle hold on the Gentiles since they had no way of approach to God whatsoever. Christ was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). This was accomplished on the cross. Our Lord referred to it when He said, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out" (John 12:31), and, "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged" (John 16:11). "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). On the cross Satan was stripped or disarmed of the power of death. He is defeated, a conquered enemy, and under the sentence of death. In God’s own time he will be cast into the lake of fire, the place especially prepared for him and his angels (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). For we read, "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are the beast and the false prophet, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).

6. On the Cross the Law Came to An End -- Romans 7:1-6 -- "Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law, how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Romans 10:4). The Law was not given as a permanent institution; for we read, "It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made" (Galatians 3:19). This plainly teaches that the Law is done away with for that person who exercises saving faith. This does not mean to merely quit sinning in action, for if every unsaved person would cease sinning and never commit another sin as long as they lived, that would not make one more Christian. For, if one who has broken the Law suddenly begins to keep it, that does not take care of the Law that has already been broken. The Law is not established until the full penalty of the broken Law is paid in full. Christ established the Law by paying the penalty of the Law and that to an infinite degree. When a sinner exercises saving faith--ceases from his own work and trusts in Christ for salvation--he is justified, declared righteous, and we are told that "Law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine" (1 Timothy 1:9; 1 Timothy 1:19).

Paul calls the Law "the ministration of death." It was given to Israel and was the means by which the old creation was slain. Paul says, "For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God" (Galatians 2:19).

Sin and the Law are inseparably linked together in the Scriptures. When the Law killed the old man it drove him out of its realm, beyond its reach. "For he that is dead is freed from sin" (Romans 6:7). The Scriptures clearly teach that the Law is done away with both as the means of justification and as the rule of life and conduct for the one who through faith in Christ has been justified from all things, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:24-25). The believer is not under the Law, but under grace. Concerning this Paul says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). The grace rule of life is the heavenly standard; it warrants a heavenly walk of a heavenly people right here on earth.

Before the cross the Mosaic Law was the divine rule of life for God’s earthly people. The Kingdom Law will be the rule of life during the Millennium. Between the two legal rules of life stands the heavenly, a rule of pure grace. The moral and spiritual values of the Law are carried over into the teachings of grace, but always and absolutely without the meritorious feature. All but one (the fourth) of the Ten Commandments reappear under grace, but without the meritorious feature.

Between the Word of God and modern theology there is an absolute contradiction with reference to the Law. Modern theology says we are under the Law as a rule of life. The Word of God says, "But after faith is come, we are no longer under the schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:25). With which do you agree?

While it is true that the Law by means of death drove the sinner out of its realm and beyond its reach, there are many who today are under the Law. Who are they? and why are they there? Many say the Jews, to whom the Law was given, are still under the Law. Others believe the unsaved are under the Law. Neither answer is correct. Before the cross Israel was under the Law, and as God’s covenant people enjoyed all the privileges and blessings. There was between the Circumcision and the Uncircumcision a vast difference positionally (not morally). Concerning Israel Paul writes, "Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen" (Romans 9:4-5). Concerning the Gentiles he says, "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). The cross completely eliminated this difference; not bringing the Gentiles up to the level of the Jews, but rather by bringing the Jews down to the level of the Gentiles. They are all "under sin" (Romans 3:9) and judicially dead (2 Corinthians 5:14). All must come to God through faith in Christ. Paul says, "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might come to them that believe" (Galatians 3:22).

Neither are the unsaved under the Law. There is no rule of life for a dead person. The issue between God and the unsaved is not how they are to behave themselves, but what they do with Christ. Preaching a rule of life to the unsaved is as unreasonable as going into a mortuary and telling the lifeless bodies that may be there, how to conduct themselves. No, the message to the lost is the Gospel of God’s grace, which reveals to lost and undone sinners how they may obtain life.

It is the one who voluntarily places himself on legal ground by trusting in his works to justify or to keep himself justified and so complements grace that is under the Law. We read, "For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law" (Galatians 5:3).

It is just as much out of place for a Christian to put himself under the Law, and so be under the Law and grace at the same time, as it is for a woman to have two husbands. There are many who are guilty of spiritual polyandry. To apply the "by works" principle to the unsaved is to be guilty of preaching "another gospel"; and to apply the same principle to the saved is to encourage them to "fall from grace." The cross brings to an end all that man is, and all that he can be or do by nature. It ends his life and reckons him dead before God; a dead man, whose death was the death of one guilty of the greatest crime in the Universe. To impose the Law upon the one that God has declared righteous in Christ is but to resurrect the criminal. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law" (Romans 3:31).

7. On the Cross the Work of Redemption Was Once and For All Accomplished -- 1 Peter 1:18-20 -- "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these last times for you." To redeem means to loose, to set free or deliver by paying a price. Man is "sold under sin" (Romans 7:14); he is under the sentence of death (Ezekiel 18:4). Redemption is by blood and by power. It is wholly of God both in type and antitype. When the Lord called Moses He said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:7-8). "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Note that God said "I am come down," and that it was He who loved, and gave His all for our redemption.

Redemption is through a person, and this person must be a kinsman of the one that is to be redeemed. We read, "If thy brother be waxed poor, and hath sold away some of his possessions, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold" (Leviticus 25:25). "After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him; either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself" (Leviticus 25:48-49). But in order that he be able to redeem, the kinsman must not in any way be involved himself. Christ our Redeemer met this requirement for He was "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners." A redeemer must also be willing to redeem. Our Lord said, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself" (John 10:18). The redemptive work of Christ includes the redemption of the body (Romans 8:23); the whole creation (Romans 8:21); the kingdoms of this world (Daniel 2:44-45; Revelation 11:15); and the heavenly realm (Revelation 12:7-12).

8. On the Cross the Work of Reconciliation Was Accomplished -- 2 Corinthians 5:19 -- "To-wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

Reconcile means "to change thoroughly from." It is accomplished by removing the cause of disagreement or disharmony. It is to restore peaceful relations between two persons at variance. In the business world the word reconcile is often used with reference to the balancing of accounts. As redemption is toward sin, so reconciliation refers to the effect of the death of Christ upon man.

It was accomplished on the Cross ("And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight" Colossians 1:21-22) and it was while man was yet an enemy ("For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life," Romans 5:10). In his letter to the Colossians Paul says, "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven" (Colossians 1:20).

"The things on the earth" refers to man. This is clear from other portions of Scripture. "The things in the heavens" is by some taken to refer to the fallen angels. One statement of Scripture, however, excludes, this view. We read, "For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham" (Hebrews 2:16). In order that He might become the author of eternal salvation, we are told that, "in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation (propitiation) for the sins of his people" (Hebrews 2:17). The true meaning of the words of these two verses we understand to be that the Son of God interposed for the deliverance of men, and not of angels. He became man in order to provide salvation for men; He did not become an angel in order to save the angels.

If not the angels, what then in the heavens could be the object of His work of reconciliation? May we not in this statement see that there was through the death of Christ a reconciliation between the attributes of God? His holiness demanded, and that eternally and inflexibly, that the guilty sinner be punished for his crime. His love yearned to save and to bless the sinner. The cross of Christ removed every obstacle, so that God is now infinitely free to do everything He desires for both the sinner and the saint.

9. On the Cross the Work of Propitiation Was Accomplished -- Romans 3:25 -- "Whom God hath set forth a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

"Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation (propitiation) for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17).

Christ, by means of His death, made propitiation; He also is our propitiation. This work of His tells of the effect of His death upon God. God is now propitious toward the sinner. He could not save the sinner apart from blood. In the Old Testament, only the sprinkling of blood on the Ark of the Covenant could change it from a seat of judgment to a mercy seat. So the shed blood of Christ provides a righteous basis upon which an infinitely holy God can meet and commune with sinful man. In Hebrews 9:5 we read, "And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly." This is one of God’s marvelous provisions for our salvation and safekeeping. We are told, "Herein is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10); "And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2). In and through the Cross of Christ God’s holiness was vindicated rather than His wrath appeased.

10. On the Cross the Ground of the Sinner’s Justification Was Accomplished -- Romans 4:25 -- "Who was delivered for (because of) our offences, and was raised again for (because of) our justification." Had He not been delivered up because of our offences we would have had to be delivered up because of them. If this is not substitution, words do no longer have any meaning. The words, "He was raised again because of our justification" mean that the ground of our justification was accomplished by His vicarious death. The ground of our justification was accomplished once and for all, because then every obstacle was for ever removed and every condemnation that had come upon man because of sin, was perfectly and righteously taken care of. Every demand of infinite justice had been met.

Justification is a judicial term. It is the act of declaring righteous. A judgment will result either in condemnation or justification. God’s judgment upon sin could result in nothing but condemnation. Concerning this we read, "God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). But when the sinner with the heart believes unto righteousness, he is justified, declared righteous in Christ, and is clothed with a robe of righteousness that is infinitely perfect. Concerning the redemptive work of Christ as the ground of the sinner’s justification, Paul writes, "Being justified freely (without cause) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 2:24).

Justification is not progressive nor is it something one receives in portions. A child of God is no more justified after years of devoted service than he was the day he was saved. It is not something that takes place in the nervous system nor in the emotional nature of the individual, but rather something that takes place in the mind and reckoning of God.

11. On the Cross Peace Was Made -- Colossians 1:19-20 -- "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And having made peace through the blood of his cross."

Peace is the logical result of reconciliation, the enmity having been removed. Sinners are often called upon to make their peace with God. This has already been accomplished once and for all on the cross--"Having made peace through the blood of his cross."

We are told that, "He is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14) and that "He came and preached peace" (Ephesians 2:17). "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). In his letters to the Colossians and to the Philippians Paul speaks of the "peace of God." This is not the same as the "peace with God" that we have through our Lord Jesus Christ. All that have been justified have peace with God. But it is not true that all that have peace with God enjoy the peace of God. It is in the measure that we come to know God as our Father that we will experience the peace of God. Note carefully the context of the words of our Lord, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). It is the Lord Jesus who makes God known as Father, and that knowledge produces rest of soul.

Note what the peace of God does for the one who has learned to bring everything to Him. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Php 4:6-7). It will safeguard the heart and mind of the believer just as an army will garrison a city that is the objective of an enemy. Wonderful provision that has been made for all sinners saved by grace!

12. On the Cross the Means of Perpetual Cleansing Was Provided -- 1 John 1:7 -- "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." This is addressed to the Children of God, and it speaks of the need of perpetual cleansing. Sin is not reckoned as guilt to the one that God has declared righteous in Christ, but it does defile the justified one. God cannot have fellowship with a defiled child of His, but He can and will cleanse, upon one condition, which is "if we walk in the light."

Walking in the light will reveal that we have sin. The one who says he has no sin is deceived. The full revelation concerning walking in the light is given to us by John when he writes, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (1 John 1:8-10).

We repeat, that walking in the light will reveal that we are still possessors of a sin nature, and that we have therefore sinned. This will be followed by honest confession, and upon that one condition God forgives and cleanses. In the Old Testament this aspect of the work of Christ is typified by the sacrifice of the red heifer (Numbers 19:1-22). The ashes of the burned animal were mixed with water and sprinkled on the people as a means of ceremonial cleansing. Ashes speak of a finished redemption, applied in water--the Word of God.

13. On the Cross the Sting of Death Was Removed -- 1 Corinthians 15:55-56 -- "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law."

These verses speak of another blessed accomplishment of the cross. Christ bore the sting of death; it is therefore for ever gone for the believer. If the Lord tarries, death will overtake us, but the death and resurrection of our Lord have forever removed its sting.

Many years ago I had a painful experience. Now as I look back upon it I find it serves to illustrate this particular truth.

It happened on a beautiful summer day at a Sunday School picnic in western Washington. I was walking along with a friend when suddenly something hit me on the top of my head. I reached up to remove it and found a bee. Immediately, I released it. My friend remarked, "Well--that bee will never sting again." "Why not?" I wanted to know. "Because its sting is gone," he replied. "But where is it?" "It’s in your head," he answered--and that was not difficult for me to believe.

Just so, though death may overtake us, the sting of death is for ever gone, for the believer, because Christ bore it on the cross. No wonder the Apostle Paul speaks about death as he does when he says, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand" (2 Timothy 4:5). The Greek word translated "departure" is a nautical word, which refers to spreading the sails, weighing the anchor and sailing out into the wide open sea. That is the way Paul looked upon death. He did not think of contraction but rather expansion, and that of the most wonderful kind. This same thought is found in his letter to the Corinthians, where he says, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Death holds no fear for the believer, for when his time on earth is over, he will enter into a far better realm with the precious promise that one day his body will be raised again and be glorified, and so be with the Lord for ever.

14. On the Cross a New and Living Way Was Consecrated -- Hebrews 10:19-20 -- "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh." In the Tabernacle the veil separated the holiest from the holy place and the outer court. The high priest only could enter within the veil, but not without blood. When our Lord died on the Cross the veil in the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. This signifies that a "new and living way" is open for all believers into the very presence of God through Christ our High Priest and Mediator. Apart from Him we have no access to God, for it is through the shed blood of Christ that the way is open and consecrated for us. We read, "And having a high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed With pure water" (Hebrews 10:21-22).

What a wonderful privilege it is, that we, unworthy as we are, can come into the presence of an infinitely holy and righteous God, and that we can so come with boldness.

15. On the Cross the New Covenant Was Confirmed -- Hebrews 9:15-17 -- "And for this cause he is the mediator of a new testament (covenant), that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first testament (covenant), they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament (covenant) is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."

Here the apostle compares and contrasts the new covenant with the old, the Mosaic. The Mosaic covenant was sealed with the blood of the animal sacrifices. The New Covenant was sealed and confirmed with the blood of Christ. He said, "For this is my blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28). The Mosaic covenant was made with Israel and, according to the plainest of teaching in the Old Testament and in the New, the New Covenant was to be made with the same people. In the Old Testament we read, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their hearts; and will be their God, and they will be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

During the Kingdom Age, God’s earthly people will be under the New Covenant, and enjoy its blessings. God never made any covenant with the Gentiles for they were "strangers to the covenants of promise" (Ephesians 2:12). The child of God is not related to Him on the basis of any covenant that He has made with man; he is related to Him by birth. Believers are born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23). Have we then no part in God’s blessings? Of course we have, but they are secured for us under another covenant, of which we will now speak.

16. On the Cross the Covenant of Redemption Was Confirmed -- Hebrews 13:20 -- "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting (eternal) covenant." Are not "everlasting" and "eternal" identical in meaning? No, something may begin today and go on for ever--that is everlasting. But that which is eternal in the true and full sense of the word is something that always was and always will be. It is from eternity to eternity. But, some one will say, "I received eternal life at such and such a time." Yes, indeed, but remember, the life you received when you were saved was the life of our Lord, who is before all time. When you with the heart believed unto righteousness you were by the Holy Spirit joined to the Lord. His life became your life, just as when a tender shoot is grafted on to a tree. If the operation is successful, the young branch will become a part of the tree; it will take part of the life of the tree that is past, that which is present, and also that which is future. Our Lord said, "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" (John 14:20). The death of Christ was the confirmation of the eternal covenant. This covenant is sometimes called the "Covenant of Redemption" and is referred to as the "Before all time Covenant." It is the covenant that Paul speaks of when he writes, "Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect" (Galatians 3:15-17). This covenant was not made between God and man, but between the Persons of the Godhead, and it is concerning the salvation of man. It is now in force and has been ever since Christ’s death on the cross. This covenant secures for ever for the believer "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." It provides far more and greater blessing than the Mosaic Covenant provided for God’s earthly people before the cross, and also far greater blessings than the New Covenant has in store for God’s earthly people in the yet future Kingdom Age.

17. On the Cross Those Who Were Afar Off Were Made Nigh -- Ephesians 2:13 -- "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." When Paul says, "ye who once were afar off," he refers primarily to the pre-cross position of the Gentiles? They are said to have been "afar off" (Ephesians 2:17) as compared with the Jews. But there is a vast difference between the nigh position of the Jews as God’s covenant people, and the nigh position of the one who today is "in Christ."

Through the animal sacrifices and the whole sacrificial system of Judaism, the covenant people had access to God, but the Gentiles had no way of approach to Him.

Note also, that we have been "made nigh by the blood of Christ." No works of our own, however good they may have been, could bring us nigh to God. This is one of the exalted positions into which every believer is brought when he is saved. He is then made as nigh as he ever will be in time or eternity. But just how nigh are we? We are in Christ, members of His body, and therefore just as nigh to God as Christ, His own and only beloved Son, is. Oh, but we are not worthy of such an exalted position! No, praise God, He deals with us according to His mercy and grace and not our merits. When James writes, "Draw nigh unto God, and he will draw nigh unto you" (James 4:9), he refers to the experimental aspect of nighness. Every position of the one that is in Christ has its corresponding experience in life. This is what James refers to.

18. The Death of Christ Released the Blessing of Abraham -- Galatians 3:13-14 -- "Christ hath redeemed from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." The blessing promised to Abraham is, "And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3); "the promise of the Spirit" is a reference to the words of Joel when he says, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh" (Joel 2:28). The finished work of Christ--His death, burial and resurrection--opened the floodgates of divine love and grace to the Gentiles. He loved the Gentiles before, but the cross removed the hindrances which prevented the exercising of His love toward them, so making it possible for the blessing promised to Abraham to flow to them. God could not save them apart from blood. "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22).

God is said to stretch out His arms ready to receive all who come to Him by Jesus Christ. No one needs to beg God to save him. Too often this legalistic feature has been imposed upon the unsaved. God is not unwilling to save sinners. "But," says some one, "I was saved when I prayed and asked God to be merciful to me." Yes, many have been saved when they prayed, but it was not because of their prayers they were saved. Many have prayed and did not get saved. The writer is one of them. A lost sinner is saved when he with the heart believes unto righteousness. The sinner is justified by faith, and the sinning child of God is forgiven and cleansed when he confesses his sin. The Apostle John writes to "my little children" when he says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

19. On the Cross It Was Made Possible for God to Exercise Absolute Justice and Mercy at the Same Time -- Romans 3:26 -- "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." In this verse is revealed the solution of one of the greatest problems, if not the greatest, that infinite wisdom has solved. How could an infinitely holy and righteous God declare a guilty, vile sinner righteous and yet remain just?

Justification is a court matter and has to do with the relation of the accused one to the law. If someone has violated the law and is brought into court to answer the charges preferred against him, the judge that tries the case cannot exercise justice and mercy at the same time. If the violator of the law is sentenced to pay the full penalty of the broken law, there is no mercy. If the judge is lenient with the guilty one, and "lets him off easy," he does not exercise justice. It is not what the judge feels or thinks, but what the law says. The law is established when the penalty of the broken law is paid in full, and not until then. Christ on the cross endured the full penalty of the broken Law, when He once and for all met every demand of infinite holiness against sinners. It was on the cross that the broken Law was established.

Many years ago in a western court, a son of the judge was brought into court on a charge preferred against him. There father and son faced each other--the father on the bench as the judge and his own child before him as the accused one. The boy pleaded guilty and was by his father sentenced to pay the full penalty of the law. That was justice. But no sooner had the father pronounced sentence upon his child, than he stepped down from the bench and paid the fine he had sentenced him to pay. That was mercy. So today, because the Lord Jesus Christ, as the substitute for sinners, died in our room and in our stead, "the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18); every charge has been met, and God is infinitely free to do anything He desires for both sinner and saint. Every act of God in connection with our salvation is an act of infinite justice made possible by the cross of Christ.

20. On the Cross the Sanctified Were Forever Perfected -- Hebrews 10:14 -- "For by one offering hath he perfected for ever them that are sanctified." This is in sharp contrast with the result of the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament economy, which merely covered sin for the time being. His precious blood shed upon the cross will never lose its efficacy. This perfection refers to the believer’s position in Christ.

All these things that we have considered were accomplished once and for all when our Lord died on the cross. They represent what God has done for our salvation. Through them every obstacle has been removed. Through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, man has been brought into a new position before God--not a saved, but a savable one. Jew and Gentile alike "are under sin." All merit is excluded. Every condemnation which divine righteousness could impose because of sin, and every human obligation has been disposed of. Every work of man has been set aside, and salvation is now offered to the guiltiest of sinners, as a gift of God’s grace and upon the one condition of saving faith, which is to cease from one’s own works and rest one’s all in the finished work of Christ on the Cross.

Saving faith deposits one’s eternal welfare and destiny into the grace of God. This is a definite act of the heart (the power to reason), "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness" (Romans 10:10). Have you so with the heart believed and received the gift of eternal life? When salvation is made to depend on anything else than believing, the Scriptures are violated and the whole plan of salvation by grace is confused and made of none effect. Believing is the opposite of doing something in order to be saved. The Gospel of grace does not teach that the sinner must "believe and be baptized," "believe and pray," "believe and make restitution," "believe and repent," or "believe and confess." No, the sinner is saved by grace through faith plus nothing. To impose the principle of works as a condition for salvation is to place the individual on legal ground. Remember the words of Paul, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5). "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that hath entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his" (Hebrews 4:9-10).