When you think of God, does His justice first come to mind? Or is He a God of mercy, forgiveness, or love? And Jesus - why did He have to die? Couldn't God have provided forgiveness for us in another way? He is God after all.
God's justice is where R.C. Sproul begins his treatment of the Cross. As we learned in the last chapter, there is a need for atonement based out of the reality of sin. Justice had to come about because of sin.
Sproul begins the chapter having readers look at exactly why Christ had to come to the world. Many people consider God's mercy or His love the reason, but if the thought is dwelt upon, we see that His justice is why we needed a Savior. Sin is utterly disgusting to God - it is not like Him in ANY regard. It is the antithesis of His character. And we, as humans, have sin. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:10b "There is none righteous, no, not one."(NKJV) We are guilty - no matter if we are ignorant of the fact or not. The Bible tells us also that we have inherited this from Adam, as Romans 5:18a shows us, "So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone..."(HCSB)
Taking into account a Biblical mindset, Sproul takes us to the Old Testament. With this in mind, it's good to expose the Jewish mindset of how the Bible was written. Now, traditional Jewish minds equate justice and righteousness together. Looking at God, for God to be a righteous God, He must be a just God as well. This is true of how the Bible was written and how our mindset is to be. Sin is unrighteous - we can look at this any number of ways, but it ends up wrong. So, we are wrong and God is right. And God cannot overlook that sin - it must be taken care of. Since we are not able to take care of this on our own, we need a provision. Therefore, if God wanted a relationship with us, either, He had to punish us, or provide a way for His wrath to be satisfied, and be atoned for.
Jesus Christ is the satisfaction of God's wrath. We will continue to learn more about this in the future chapters, but God's justice is something not to be taken lightly. Dwelling on this, He is a God that is to be feared; we cannot completely overlook this aspect of His character. That is why repentance is so imperative as well to our faith. We can trust Christ for our salvation because He did it all for us on the Cross.
I hope you are enjoying learning along with me. I am enjoying this book so far and seeing that it is a great exposition and reminding me how utterly important the Cross is.
God bless!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
"The Truth of the Cross" - Chapter 1
"Our need for salvation is not a paramount concern."
The cross of Jesus Christ has become common. It is merely a symbol and of little significance in this day and age. Why is that? Why have we made something so wonderful mean so little.
Dr. R.C. Sproul begins "The Truth of the Cross" by examining what this magnificent item has meant for the the faith of true believers and how it stands to be proclaimed in this day and time.
The chapter begins with a look at logos throughout the world. The world is full of them! In America, the most popular logo are the golden arches of McDonald's. Aside from whether this is right or wrong, it is still recognizable. Just as the Cross is with Christianity. It represents something significant to us!
Jumping into the profundity of the Cross, Sproul challenges us to really look at the Cross. When we look at the Cross, we are looking at "the essence of the ministry of Jesus." By looking at the Cross, we not only see "the central point of importance," but we bring emphasis to the work of Christ. The Cross is what He was born for, and why we live today. The Cross, and the atonement that took place on it, should be of utmost concern to all Christians. This is what we needed and what only He can provide for us.
But the need for atonement has been diminished. While talks of its importance have ranged over the years, it is becoming, once again, an increasingly heated topic of debate. How important is atonement to you?
We live in a time where reconciliation of our sins has become a misplaced thought. "People are not concerned about an atonement!" states Sproul. And all because we've forgotten about the holiness of God.
The time has come where knowledge of what Jesus did on the Cross needs to be made known! And that is a challenge for you and me to step up our game - to be the people God has called us to be, by speaking about Jesus to this lost and broken world.
We need the Cross - each and every single one of us. Sproul states it so aptly, "If you take away the Cross as an atoning act, you take away Christianity." This world needs Jesus. Over the next few chapters, we will take a deeper look at what the Cross completely accomplished and I pray it's significance will be of even greater value to you as you follow along with me.
God's blessings to you all!
Brandon
The cross of Jesus Christ has become common. It is merely a symbol and of little significance in this day and age. Why is that? Why have we made something so wonderful mean so little.
Dr. R.C. Sproul begins "The Truth of the Cross" by examining what this magnificent item has meant for the the faith of true believers and how it stands to be proclaimed in this day and time.
The chapter begins with a look at logos throughout the world. The world is full of them! In America, the most popular logo are the golden arches of McDonald's. Aside from whether this is right or wrong, it is still recognizable. Just as the Cross is with Christianity. It represents something significant to us!
Jumping into the profundity of the Cross, Sproul challenges us to really look at the Cross. When we look at the Cross, we are looking at "the essence of the ministry of Jesus." By looking at the Cross, we not only see "the central point of importance," but we bring emphasis to the work of Christ. The Cross is what He was born for, and why we live today. The Cross, and the atonement that took place on it, should be of utmost concern to all Christians. This is what we needed and what only He can provide for us.
But the need for atonement has been diminished. While talks of its importance have ranged over the years, it is becoming, once again, an increasingly heated topic of debate. How important is atonement to you?
We live in a time where reconciliation of our sins has become a misplaced thought. "People are not concerned about an atonement!" states Sproul. And all because we've forgotten about the holiness of God.
The time has come where knowledge of what Jesus did on the Cross needs to be made known! And that is a challenge for you and me to step up our game - to be the people God has called us to be, by speaking about Jesus to this lost and broken world.
We need the Cross - each and every single one of us. Sproul states it so aptly, "If you take away the Cross as an atoning act, you take away Christianity." This world needs Jesus. Over the next few chapters, we will take a deeper look at what the Cross completely accomplished and I pray it's significance will be of even greater value to you as you follow along with me.
God's blessings to you all!
Brandon
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Truth of the Cross
Hello everyone,
And I am blogging once again. This will be a site where I open up about the things I'm reading about and learning. So, it will keep me constantly reading, but it will also challenge me to be sharing my thoughts on the chapter. Sometimes, which I can guarantee, I will have a lot to say and sometimes, I won't have much. But in the process, we can all learn together. The book that will first be up here is called "The Truth of the Cross" by R.C. Sproul. I hope it is a great read and what we can learn benefits us all!
Brandon
And I am blogging once again. This will be a site where I open up about the things I'm reading about and learning. So, it will keep me constantly reading, but it will also challenge me to be sharing my thoughts on the chapter. Sometimes, which I can guarantee, I will have a lot to say and sometimes, I won't have much. But in the process, we can all learn together. The book that will first be up here is called "The Truth of the Cross" by R.C. Sproul. I hope it is a great read and what we can learn benefits us all!
Brandon
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