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His Death |
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Though some do weird things to avoid death, all men die. Benjamin Franklin said, "In this world
nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." It has been more than two centuries
since he uttered those words, but they are still true today. Paul said, "...death reigned
from Adam until Moses..." (Rom. 5:14 ASV). Even our Lord died.
Paul states that, when Jesus died, He, unlike other men, was the substitute for the sins of men. "...it is appointed unto men once to die... so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation" (Heb. 9:27-28 ASV). There is no redemption outside of Christ. Man's redemption permeates the pages of the Bible, from cover to cover. Verse after verse in the New Testament speaks specifically of the vicarious death of the Lord. Here are two: "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him" (Rom. 5:9 ASV). "...we thus judge, that one died for all, therefore all died; and he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again... Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:14-15, 21). Jesus' death was physical; He did not die spiritually! Therefore, because of His sinlessness He is the only One who could die for us. The following illustration from the World Library helps us to understand how one may be worthy and valuable enough to die on behalf of many. A war broke out between two tribes in the territory that is now Alaska. One old chief saw that if the war continued, neither tribe would put up its winter supply of food (mostly berries and salmon) and both tribes would die of starvation. Under a flag of truce he pledged that his men were willing to stop fighting. The other chief said, "No," since his tribe had lost ten more men in the war. The old chief than declared, "I am a chief. I am worth more than ten of your men. You may kill me and let the people have peace." The proposal was accepted. They killed the chief and peace came. It is claimed that years later a missionary came and preached to those tribes. When the cross was proclaimed to them, it made sense to the people as they remembered the kind old chief. If we reject Jesus' sacrifice for the sin of our souls, there remains no other method or manner of atonement (Heb. 10:26-27). Forgiveness is possible for all, no matter how wicked one has been. Contact us if we can help. |