Amidst all the contending for the truth that goes on here, it is important to remember the truth we contend for, and why it is so worth contending for. At the heart of the Gospel lies the truth of Penal Substitutionary Atonement. A doctrine disdained and despised by many who cannot reconcile God's love with His wrath. But God is not a sociopath! It is precisely because of God's immense love that His wrath against wickedness is also so great. And the highness of His character demands that He deal with the smallest of sins.
And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty (Exodus 34:5-7a)
A Holy God cannot just clear the guilty or He would violate His Holy character. God had to find a way to demonstrate His reconciling love toward sinners without violating His character and nature. This is one of my favorite ever songs (perhaps my favorite) because in it, Steve Camp captures the only solution God had for this great problem - Penal Substitutionary Atonement. There is only one way because Jesus is the only way! Christ had to die for God!
Christ died for God and God was satisfied with Christ
Pure, unblemished sacrifice
Oh, Son of Grace
For who are we to boast not of works that we have done
But by faith in God's own Son
We are saved
And we cry, Holy
Worthy is the Lamb
God's love revealed to man
In the earth
And we cry, Holy
Glory to the King
Through Whom salvation brings
The new birth
Christ died for God and God has made Him Lord of all
For He drank the bitter gall
The cup of wrath
But He rose in majesty that grace might reign through righteousness
Blessed obedience
Our Sabbath rest
And we cry, Holy
Worthy is the Lamb
God's love revealed to man
In the earth
And we cry, Holy
Glory to the King
Through Whom salvation brings
The new birth
Friday, April 19, 2024
9 hours ago
2 comments:
If Jesus Christ became Sin for me, and the curse thereof was literally borne out in his body in his stripes and murder, then my iniquity and sin was literally imputed (figuratively or practically as the Greek would have it) to his flesh. Ephesians 5:30 tells us that "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." So not only was this curse thrown upon him as that of the sounder of swine suffered the curse of the madman from the tombs, so to this curse of sin on my head is literally released and expunged from my body by his self sacrifice, and evidence of his faith working daily in me. Not only was this work done to literally free me from sin and its curse and cause me to be dead to sin, but (being one flesh and spirit with this man), the reverse is true also in that his perfect spirit of righteousness is also imputed to me (figuratively or practically as the Greek would have it) by his self sacrifice and evidence of his faith working daily in me. This work is embodied in the obedience which comes from his faith in the doing of his will, which in spiritual poverty, is the daily belief at the throne of Grace for the very Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is our daily consecration and sanctification in full, not in part, nor just a work in progress.
Is my eternal redemption and justification dependent on my active obedience? No. Is my daily redemption, justification, freedom from sin and its curse, and quickening to good works dependent on my active daily obedience? Yes.
Therefore to imply justification is a legal construct only is one dimensional in the extreme in my opinion. This denies full daily regeneration, and is the curse of Calvinistic doctrine of justification.
Regds
Dav0
Dav0,
The Bible teaches that justification and eternal redemption are based solely upon faith in Christ's blood as stated here in Romans 3:28 and in Galatians 2:16. I am not sure what you mean by justification being a "legal constuct". Justification is imputed to those God the Father chose in eternity who will believe by God's mighty power,see John 6:37; as stated in Ephesians 1:4-23.
Original Calvin doctrine taught some saved and some appointed to destruction, but those who are lost are lost by choice because they reject as stated in John 12:47-48. The Old Testament Jews are a good example of rejection.
Calvinism also taught once saved always saved, but this is not Biblical as stated in 1 Cor. 10:12 and Rev. 2:10.
Finally, Romans 8:28-34 clears up any questions about who God saves and how they are saved. These verses in the Greek show that all of what these verses express is already completed. It was done in eternity in order to satisfy God's eternal plan of salvation.
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