Sunday, May 8, 2016

Three Elements of the Cross


John 19:17-18 “Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”

Have you heard that when Jesus was crucified at “the place of the Skull”, three elements came together to produce Calvary. The first one was the sin of man. If man had never sinned, there would have been no need for Christ to come and die. The second ingredient is the justice of God. God must punish sin because He is just. To not punish sin is unjust. Injustice is a sin and He would not be God.

Combining mankind’s sin with God’s justice always and inevitably produces Hell. Therefore, we need a third ingredient: the infinite, inexpressible, unfathomable love of God – the love of our Creator, who came to die for the creature’s sins. How vast is that love that God has for you and me. The sin of man, the justice of God and the love of our Maker is what produced Calvary.

Romans 5:15-17 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!


In Christ, Brian

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