Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Christ’s Loving Sacrifice

Romans 3:23-25 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
Today is Valentine’s Day. Many husbands will attempt to show their love to their wives through buying flowers, candy, a card, or by taking them to dinner. Last year, an estimated $13.7 billion was spent on Valentine’s Day gifts. Even though this is a lot of money, Christ paid a price far greater to show us His love for us over two thousand years ago.

Although the gift of salvation is free to all who believe on Christ, there is a price that Christ had to pay. He left Heaven and His royal throne to come to earth and die for our sins. He did not deserve to die, but He did so out of love for us. He was beaten, mocked, and crucified so that we may one day live with Him eternally. What love! Christ loved us enough to sacrifice Himself for our redemption.

Christ’s sacrifice was a perfect sacrifice. Luke 23:4 says, “Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.” Even the Roman ruler Pilate couldn’t find any crime that Christ had committed! Christ was our perfect sacrifice. He had never sinned or done any wrong. The only thing Christ had done that the Jewish leaders did not like was that He claimed to be the Son of God, which He is!

It is so important that Christ be recognized as our perfect sacrifice, for no other sacrifice would do. God’s demand to pay for the sins of mankind was a perfect sacrifice. No one else could have been our sacrifice for no one else was perfect. This was illustrated in the Old Testament by the offering of a spotless lamb. In offering a sacrifice to God, the people were required to bring a spotless lamb—one without blemishes or deformities. Only this spotless lamb would satisfy the payment for sins. The spotless lamb represented the spotless Lamb of God who would die for our sins. Only the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ could pay for our sins.

Verse 25 of our verses today states, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” That word “propitiation” is a Greek word that word refers to the mercy seat that was on the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle. Christ’s perfect sacrifice provided us with God’s mercy!

Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Only through Christ’s sacrifice can we have complete forgiveness for our sins. God can forgive anyone for any sin based on the work of Christ! No matter what we have done, God will completely forgive us if we ask Him!

Friend, Christ loved us so much that He sacrificed Himself for us. We must remember to thank Him for such a great sacrifice! As you spend time today showing others how much you love them, do not forget to show God how much you love Him as well.
by Dr. Paul Chappell



5 comments:

CindyMae said...

Beautiful post for Valentines day! Gods love for us is so much more than we could ever imagine!!!!!

NoHayNada said...

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." I John 4:10

Eden said...

Beautiful post, guys! Thank you!

God's love is complete!

Anonymous said...

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (Joh 15:13)

Great post!

The Good Reporters said...

Hope each of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Thanks for your comments.