John 19:28 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’ 29 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. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
Today we will begin where we left off yesterday. I John 4:10 says, “…in this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The word “propitiation” is a seldom used, often misinterpreted Biblical word that needs to be proclaimed. This word means, “wrath removing”. In other words, if the sacrifice of Christ served as the “propitiation” for our sins, then we must learn to speak of Christ as God’s “wrath removing sacrifice”.
As a result of God’s wrath that is being “…revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of man”, we are in huge trouble.
We cannot atone for our own sins. We must recognize that salvation is not an invitation to do better, but it is a free gift of God offered through faith Jesus Christ. Jesus has atoned for our sins, endured God’s wrath on our behalf, and offered eternal life. Christ’s wrath-removing work frees me to live my life no longer in fear of judgment, but for the glory of God.
The bottom line is this: there is nothing that we can do to make things right with God. Our greatest works cannot compensate for our sins. However, the Son cried out, “…it is finished”. Christ has both lived in our place and died in our place, He even endured God’s wrath in our place. Our salvation is not something that we can acquire through our efforts, but something that Christ accomplished on the cross.
The believer’s task, as a result of Christ’s work on their behalf, is not to maintain their salvation, but to walk in obedience to the Word through the power of the Spirit. I hope that you find joy in the fact that Christ has finished the work.
Thank God through Christ that His finished work frees and liberates you from having to try to finish it yourself.
