The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as atonement for sin is the premise for the Christian faith. It is the fulfillment of the litigation between God and man concerning the payment for sin and the conclusion of the matter. Before Jesus died, he said, “It is finished.”, John 19:30. This phrase is translated from the Greek word tetelestai.
Throughout the Old Testament we read of the continual sacrifices of the high priest on behalf of the people. Each year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the high priest would sacrifice an animal in the temple and when he emerged from the Holy of Holies, he would declare, “It is finished.” The significance of Christ’s words reinforces the fact that the temple, laws and religious practices of the Jews were a mere shadow of the reality of God’s universal legal complex.
Hebrews 10:1-4, tells us, “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
The writer of Hebrews establishes that Christ, as the only perfect high priest, has the authority to accomplish atonement for sin at a much higher and more intimate level that cleanses us from sin right to the deepest workings of our souls. Hebrews 9:11-15, explains, “When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”
In first century Judea the phrase “it is finished” was commonly applied when someone paid off a loan. They were issued a receipt with the word tetelestai on it, reflecting that the debt had been paid in full. Similarly, Jesus paid our debt to God on our behalf once, for all. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” So if we have been cleansed from sin and made righteous before God, we ought to live as righteous people. Grace is free but not cheap.
Since it is up to us to either accept or reject the gift of grace provided by Christ, we are obligated to take a position that is either for him or against him. Being neutral is not an option. Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”, Mathew 12:30. When we choose to believe, we must repent of sin and live in a way that is pleasing to God. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:20, “you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
In the discourse recorded in John 8:34-36, “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” Paul goes to great lengths in the sixth chapter of the Book of Romans to articulate the implications of entertaining the continued indulgence of sinful living. In Romans 6:20-22, he wrote, “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
True believers are set free, but that is not freedom to do what they want, it is freedom to do what they ought. Those who continue to indulge in a sinful lifestyle have not wholeheartedly accepted the atonement of Christ, therefore, they are insincere and cannot be considered saved. While the work of Christ was completed on the cross, it is up to believers to embrace it through repentance, otherwise their faith is not genuine. 1 John 3:4-6, reminds us, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him there is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.”
Grace is a contentious concept that is misinterpreted by much of society. Religions that preach salvation through works are guilty of keeping the old testament laws part of their theologies despite the finished work of Christ while grace theologians and progressive Christian churches embrace and sanctify sinful lifestyles by ordaining gay and lesbian ministers and celebrating LGBTQ lifestyles in their congregations. Organized religion misses the mark when it doesn’t teach the whole gospel. Propagating scripture that aligns with societal norms and avoiding scripture that is contrary to one’s ideologies has become commonplace and is a product of religious dogma that is human in construct.
Twisting scripture to support a given narrative only serves to expose religious leaders who do not know the true Jesus as hypocrites . Paul plainly warns us in Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
Between these two extremes of salvation through works and the freedom to sin theology is the true gospel and the uncompromising, unchanging, nature of God, revealed to us through Jesus Christ. In Christ we have the complete fulfillment of the Law that frees us from the guilt of sin, yet leads us away from sin. When we surrender our lives to the Holy Spirit we become motivated to please him and in turn produce good fruit. The result is a life that is pleasing to God and free of anxiety regarding our eternal destiny.
James wrote that faith without action is dead (James 2:17) and that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness because he was obedient to God to the point of offering his son Isaac on the alter (James 2:21).
Paul advises us in Galatians 5:16-25, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Jesus completed the work of salvation for us. We ought to be motivated through gratitude to want to surrender to him wholly and completely, forsaking worldly values in favor of righteousness and having the confidence “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Amen!
