The Cross, Part 2—Rom 5:7-8
The Human race has little to commend itself to anyone.
1. God’s Illustration: Dying for Another is Rare—(Rom 5:7) "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die….”
a. “…Righteous and good…”
(1) “…Righteous…” refers to a man who is just in the sight of God and who lives a life consistent with that
(2) “…good…” refers to a person who does benevolent and kind things for other people
(3) In a mere surface understanding of these two words, there have been, and are, those who by God’s grace (for believers), who were righteous and good—but this is by grace only.
(4) Any “righteousness” and/or “goodness” that is self-generated, even by believers, is not real
(5) Any “righteousness” and/or “goodness” that comes from a lost person, is like filthy rags
(6) In reality and in the fullest sense, none of us are righteous and none of us are good.
b. It is a Remarkable Thing to Die for Another
(1) The annals of heroism hold in highest esteem those who died for others, who made the highest sacrifice.
(a) The mother who died defending her children.
(b) The soldier who died protecting the lives of others.
(c) The police officer who dies in defense of public order.
(d) The middle school teacher in Jonesboro who died shielding a student.
(2) It is rare even to die for someone worthy.
c. It is Even More Remarkable to Die for the Undeserving
(1) Though it is rare, and though we hold it in high esteem as evidence of great nobility of spirit and character, we can understand a mother sacrificing for her children, a father dying for his family.
(2) Though it is rare, and though we consider them great heroes, we understand somewhat how a man could die for his country or to protect his buddies.
(3) Though it shows unusual character, we can understand a teacher shielding a student or a policeman protecting a citizen, and paying the ultimate price.
(4) But to die for someone totally undeserving, or worse, for someone who deserves anything but this sacrifice, that is rare indeed, nearly totally missing in the annals of mankind, with the exception of the death of One Man, who died for the unlovable.
2. God’s Demonstration—“…8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…”
a. “But God…”
(1) Here again we come to a doctrinal crossroads—a contrast, a turning point
(2) Whatever heroic actions a man might do in dying for another man or group of men, even for a nation, as Nathan Hale or another hero, they pale in comparison to the act of God in sacrificing His Son for us.
(3) Man can say and do what he will, and all the imps of Hell can scheme and fret all they want, when “But God” is said, things change in drastic ways.
b. Language: The word here is sunistesin, to “… recommend, comment, give approval to..” and it is in the present tense, which means it is ongoing, it does not cease.
(1) God’s “own” love!
(2) ”We” and “us” in the Greek are the same construction, so it is talking about the same people.
(3) The Actor in the commending of His own love to us is God, because we had nothing to contribute to the matter.
(4) God’s love for us came first—(1 John 4:10) "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
(5) In our natural state, we don’t love God! (Rom 8:7) "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."
(6) Man, in his natural, unregenerate state, hates God and hates God’s people, no matter how calm and seemingly friendly a front that a lost man presents
(a) The world naturally hates believers—(John 7:7) ""The world cannot hate you,[said to his brethren, who were unbelievers at that time] but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil."
(b) The World hates Jesus, (the REAL Jesus), and the world hates His people (John 15:18-19) ""If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
(c) The World hates God (the REAL God, not the man-made imitation). (John 15:23) ""He who hates Me hates My Father also."
(d) The World hates even the Light shed by Christ and His followers. (John 3:20) ""For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."
(8) And it was in THIS state of hating God and hating God’s people, and hating even the Light that comes from God, it was while we were at our worst that God Loved Us beyond all measure in the Person and Work of Christ on our behalf!
c. “… while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…”
(1) God did not peer through a crystal ball at the future and see us as righteous and worthy of His sacrifice
(2) Apart from Christ we are not righteous, and we were not and are not worthy of His sacrifice because of anything in us.
(3) God saw us in the depth of our depravity, rebellion, and sin, and He died a substitutionary death—he died as our substitute—to save us.
d. It was a voluntary act of Love by a Sovereign, Triune God
(1) Christ did not die because He was too weak to get out of it.
(2) Our Lord and Savior was no helpless victim—as He demonstrated when He said, “I am” and they all fell down (Jn 18:4-6), Jesus could have wiped out the Roman Empire with a word and called for twelve legions of angels to do the light work and mopping up.
(3) No third party arbitrated a settlement between God and the human race—God did it Himself. John 10:11-18, 1 John 4:10, Rom 3:24-26, Heb 9:14
(4) The Triune God Authored and Acted out the Cross.
(a) The Father Sent the Son—Jn 3:16
(b) The Father Poured Wrath out on the Son—Rom 3:25, 5:9
(c) The Son laid down His life—Jn 10:14-18
(d) The Father Accepted the Sacrifice—Romans 4:25
(e) The Spirit was involved in a way that the Bible does not specify—Heb 9:14.
(5) The Cross, therefore, was all a work of God! It was undeserved by us, it was uncaused by us, it was All of God!
3. The Doctrine of the Cross—Substitution, Satisfaction, Blood Atonement, Propitiation!
a. The Cross is a substitution--Christ actually died in the place of sinners--He specifically took the punishment that should have been theirs
(1) 2 Cor 5:21, Isa 53:5
(2) How can the death of One man accomplish this? It is possible because He is infinite--He is God, and His blood sacrifice is of infinite worth.
b. The Cross is a Satisfaction –(of the Law's demands).
(1) Unlike the "gods" of the world's religions, who either disregard sin or forgive it capriciously, the God of the Bible can state that all the demands of His law have been met. Rom 3:28-31
(2) And on the cross, God showed to the world that as He forgives people through faith in the blood of Christ, He has dealt with their sin...
(3) to demonstrate His righteousness, Rom 3:26
(4) There are three things in which Christianity is vastly different from the various human religions:
(a) We serve a risen Savior
(b) Our way of salvation is totally apart from human effort
(c) In the Cross, a Holy God DEALS WITH SIN
c. The Cross was a Blood Atonement—
(1) Every blood sacrifice made, every lamb, goat, bull, calf, or dove sacrificed, foreshadowed the great sacrifice Christ would make. He shed real blood for the real sins of real people!
(2) As on the first Passover—“Exo 12:13 "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."
(3) The New Testament is full of references to this: Mat 26:28, Acts 20:28, Eph 1:7, Eph 2:13, Col 1:14, Col 1:20, Heb 9:14, Heb 10:19, 1 Pet 1:2, 1 Pet 1:19, 1 John 1:7, Rev 1:5, Rev 5:9,
d. The Cross is a Propitiation— we shall be saved from wrath through him
(1) Rom 3:25 whom God set forth--We can never let this get away from our minds, that God is the Author of the Cross...as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, Jesus’ death on the Cross was a propitiation--this is a word in the Greek which carries several shades of meaning.
(2) It is the same word used for mercy seat--that place in the temple where the blood was sprinkled on the day of atonement
(3) In the context of the wrath of God revealed against sin, it means a sacrifice which turns aside the righteous wrath of God against our sin and rebellion and makes reconciliation.
(4) This is a place where the doctrinal lines must be drawn with utter precision.
(5) Liberal theologians want to eliminate any sense of the wrath of God, but the entire premise of the long Romans passage on sin and justification is the statement in Romans 1:18 -- “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,...”
(6) But too many folks who love to manipulate people through guilt go off in the other direction and create a cave-man kind of God who is just plain bloodthirsty--WE must avoid both extremes and look at what the Bible is telling us here......
(7) God propitiated His own righteous wrath which was aroused because of the interaction of His holiness and our utter rebellion against Him—John 3:36, Rom , 1 Th 1:10
e. The Cross is a finished work—John 19:30
(1) It cannot be repeated è(Heb 9:27-28) "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."
(2) It cannot be supplemented by human works: His suffering ended on the Cross
Jn 19:30..."It is finished!"
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“Love Not The World”
”For the WHOLE world is under the control of the evil one”(I John 5:19)
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world will pass away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of The Only True GOD will abide for ever.” (I John 2:15-17)
“If you were of the world, the world would love it’s own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Master. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:19-20)
“Where do wars and fighting among you come from? Do they not come of your lusts that war in your members? You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war yet you have not, because you ask not. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts. You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is to be at enmity with The Only True GOD? Therefore whoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of The Only True GOD.” (James 4:1-4)
“The world cannot hate you; but the world hates Me, because I testify that the works of this world are evil.” (John 7:7)” and “The Messiah gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of The Only True God, Our Father.”(Gal 1:4)
The Messiah testified: “If the world hates you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”(John 5:18) Truly, Truly, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life in this world shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall have it unto life eternal.” (John 12:24-25)
John testified: “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you.” (I John 3:13) “ James testified, “Whoever would be a friend of this world is the enemy of GOD”(James 4:4)
The “earth” is The Creation of The Only True GOD, Father of ALL! The “worldly” systems are the creation of, and under the dominion of “the god of this world”, he who is “the father of lies”, he who “has blinded the minds of those who believe not The Messiah”! All the nations of this world are under the dominion of, and serve, the evil one for he provides the fuel that feeds mankind’s “imag”ination, and mankind’s “imagination is destroying and perverting Creation(land, air, water, creatures, Truth, Love, Peace, Faith, Simplicity, .etc.) ;-(
And the “strongest thing” in the evil one’s worldly systems? “Woman”…… yet The Truth, that which is of The Only True GOD, is stronger even than woman. (read I Esdras 3&4 of the Apocrypha) And Truth, Love, Peace, Faith, Mercy, Hope,,,etc,,, all that is “good”, is of The Only True GOD and is of HIS Spirit, not of this world. Those born of The Spirit, those born of The Only True GOD, are the brethren of The Messiah, for they received "a love of The Truth that they might be saved”. Reborn!
And those who have received "a love of The Truth” have separated themselves from this world and those of this world, for they have taken heed unto The Call of The Only True GOD to “Come out of her MY people.” They are “in, but not of this wicked, evil world”, and The Only True GOD has received them, and is "A Father unto them, and they are HIS sons and daughters”. And they follow, and desire to be like their Master and Brother, The Messiah, He Who was “the firstborn of many brethren”. And as “The Messiah was a servant of The Only True GOD”, so also His Brethren are “servants of The Only True GOD.”
The called out ones are not “adulterers and adulteresses”, they are not “friends of this wicked, evil world”, they do not “fornicate with the god of this world” for they know that “to be a friend of this world is to be the enemy of The Only True GOD.” They are at war against the evil spirits that possess those who are of this world.
And they do not “allow that woman Jezebel, which calls herself a prophetess, to teach. For she teaches others to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. The Only True GOD gave her a chance to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” (Rev 2:20-21)
“fornication” and “adultery..” in that which is recorded above signifies spiritual fornication with “the god of this world”, which is to love that which is of his world.
Once again, the “earth” is The Creation of The Only True GOD, Father of ALL! The “worldly” systems are the creation of, and under the dominion of “the god of this world”. Those who “love this world” all serve “the god of this world”, and play their part in the processes that seek to destroy The Creation of The Only True GOD. “And The Only True GOD will destroy them who destroy the earth.” (Rev 11:18) Global warming, polluted air, land and waters, toxic wastes, sexual perversion, evil inventions of destruction, greed, hate, carnal warfare, dis-ease ,,,etc,,, are all destructive processes that have their root in “the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life”. And as stated, “woman is the strongest thing of this world”. Yet stronger than woman is The Truth, which is in those who have “received a love of The Truth”. The Truth Is Alive in those who have been born of The Spirit for “they no longer love this wicked, evil world and it’s things, nor do they love their own lives in this world”. They but seek and desire The Will of GOD, as they await their final transformation. “Corruptible to Incorruptible" ndeed and Truth!
Now “the ground was cursed for Adam’s sake” because he “hearkened unto the woman”. Adam listened to a woman rather than obeying The Only True GOD. Yet because of Faithful Noah, The Only True GOD “no longer would curse the ground for man’s sake” because Noah obeyed The Only True GOD! (Genesis 8:21-22) And the Faithful today are exhorted to “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” And Faithful women are exhorted to “be in silence.” “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. For I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” “For Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (I Timothy 2:11,12,14) A man and woman joined together in obedience and submission unto The Only True GOD are blessed indeed. All who are not obedient, all who will not submit themselves unto The Only True GOD will have to answer to HIM..period.. Be not of those who deny and defy “The One GOD, Father of All”. Be not of those who are destroying and perverting HIS Creation(land, air, water, creatures, Truth, Love, Peace, .etc.)!
“The Only True GOD is The HEAD of The Messiah, The Messiah is The Head of the man, and the man is the head of the woman”. Multitudes pervert GOD’s Order because they have been seduced by ” the commandments and doctrines of men and devils”. Multitudes are seduced by the religious systems that are in and of this evil world. Seduced because they love this evil world and their own life in it! “Set your affections on things above”. Desire heavenly, eternal things. Quit serving ‘time’ in the prison that is this world and take heed unto the call to ”Come out from among them and be separate!”
Once again, “Come out” of the worldly systems, which are the product of mankind’s “imag”ination, especially the religious systems. “Come out” from among those who are destroying and perverting Creation and be of those who follow The Messiah on “The Way to The Truth of The Life”.
Peace, in spite of the dis-ease(no-peace) that is of this world……. francisco
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