Reconciled in Christ's Death

As Keith has already mentioned, on Sunday morning we'll be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Even those who don't believe that resurrection from the dead is possible tend to like the concept of resurrection. In Sunday's sermon, we'll hear about the Greek philosophers in ancient Athens who mocked Paul for his preaching of the resurrection as a physical reality. Yet the Greek myths talked of Heracles, whom the Romans called Hercules, dying and being raised as a god by his father Zeus. Persephone, the goddess of vegetation, would descend into Hades in the fall, only to escape to the world of the living each spring. Even modern skeptics see the resurrection as an appropriate metaphor or symbol for rebirth and renewal. or a fresh start after a spiritual experience. Tonight, however, we are commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus. Neither ancient nor modern skeptics have had any trouble at all accepting the physical reality of Jesus's crucifixion. It's the concept of the crucifixion that they can't accept. The concept that we saw so well stated in the last song, this the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross. This the power of the cross, Son of God slain for us, what a love, what a cost, we stand forgiven at the cross. Almost 2,000 years ago, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that a crucified Christ was a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles. In modern times, some theologians claiming to be Christian have argued that the doctrine that says God intentionally sent his son to die on the cross as a sacrifice to satisfy God's anger at the sin of his people cannot be true because it describes evil. a repulsive representation of divine child abuse. However, that doctrine is not only true, it is at the heart of the gospel. Turn with me now to Romans 5, verses 6 through 11, which is on page 942 in the Pew Bibles. As we look through this passage tonight, I think we're going to see here that Paul's teaching, supported by the whole counsel of God's Word, shows us three truths. First, Christ died for sinners, verses 6 through 8. Second, Christ died to save sinners from the wrath of God, verse 9. And third, Christ died to reconcile sinners to God, verses 10 and 11. Let us read this passage of scripture together. Romans 5 beginning in verse 6. For while we were still weak at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore we now have been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now have received reconciliation. Let's go back and look at these verses in turn. First, Christ died for sinners, verses six through eight. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Verses six and eight say essentially the same things to believers. We were weak, we were ungodly, we were sinners. We were separated from God by our sin and our rebellion, deserving of death. But Christ died for us. Christ died for the weak. Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for sinners. This was not an act of abuse, but rather an act of love. This was an act of love, a fact that the apostle John focused on repeatedly. Everybody who's ever been in the church perhaps knows John 3, 16. For God thus loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And in John's letter, his first letter, also chapter three, verse 16, he says, by this we know love, that he laid down his life for us. Later in that same letter in 1 John 4.10, John writes and tells us how this act of love works. 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. This was not some accident. Christ didn't come to earth and without a plan end up on the cross and God had to make do with it. As it says in verse 6, Christ died at the right time. As John wrote, the son was sent and given. In the very first sermon of the church age at Pentecost, Peter says in Acts 2, Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst as you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. And verse seven makes the point of telling us exactly how amazing it is that Christ would die for the ungodly sinner. By human calculation, it is highly unusual for a normal person to be willing to intentionally die for anyone. Although in rare cases, someone might be willing to sacrifice himself for a particularly good or righteous person. But God's calculation is completely reversed. Christ, perfectly righteous and sinless, is willing to die for the evil and the unrighteous. He is the best man, yet he died for the worst. In the book of Revelation, the primary image of Christ in heaven is that of the lamb who was slain being worshiped by the saints for whom he died. Christ, both fully divine and perfect man, died for sinners such as we. Second, Christ died to save sinners from the wrath of God. Verse 9 says, since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. Christians are happy to refer to themselves as saved. It's a glorious, joyous declaration. But what have they been saved from? If you were driving along a wooded area and someone came running out of the woods and flagged you down and proclaimed, I'm saved, wouldn't your first question be, from what? What are you fleeing from? What have I saved you from? What are you now not worried about? Verse nine clearly tells believers that what they are saved from is the wrath of God. Not saved from the devil, saved from the wrath of God. This does not sit well with those who see God's sole attribute as love, or those who think of spirituality as easygoing, live and let live, tolerance of everyone following his or her own inner light. Even Christians in the Reformed tradition have struggled with this. In 2013, the Presbyterian Church USA, the most liberal of the major American Presbyterian denominations, rejected the Getty hymn, In Christ Alone, for a spot in their new hymnal, even though their congregations were telling them that it was very popular. The committee that was charged with looking at this wanted to change the line that said, till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied, to till on that cross as Jesus died, the love of God was magnified. Now that's true. The love of God was magnified on the cross. But the truth of scripture is that the wrath of God was satisfied on the cross. To their credit and to their integrity, the Gettys refused to give permission for them to change the words for the hymn. And so the committee voted not to include it in their hymnal. And these are the supposed heirs of John Calvin. Indeed, Paul tells us in Ephesians 2, verse 3, that we are all, by nature, children of wrath. That is our natural condition apart from Christ. The truth of Jesus saving us from God's wrath is not just here in Romans, but also in 1 Thessalonians 1.10, where Paul writes that we wait for God's Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. We've already heard from 1 John 4.10 how this saving action works. And 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. A propitiation is an atoning sacrifice that wipes away sin. John Stott in his book, The Cross of Christ, describes God's wrath and propitiation like this, the reason Why a propitiation is necessary is that sin arouses the wrath of God. This does not mean that he is likely to fly off the handle at the most trivial provocation, still less that he loses his temper for no apparent reason at all. For there is nothing capricious or arbitrary about the holy God. Nor is he ever irascible, malicious, spiteful, or vindictive. His anger is neither mysterious nor irrational. It is never unpredictable, but always predictable because it is provoked by evil and evil alone. The wrath of God and his steady, unrelenting, unremitting, uncompromising antagonism to evil in all its forms and manifestations. In short, God's anger is poles apart from ours. What provokes our anger, injured vanity, never provokes his. What provokes his anger, evil, seldom provokes ours. Wrath flows from God's holiness and justice. Wrath is necessary if God is to be holy, perfect, righteous, and just, because He cannot abide sin. We are sinners, and if God cannot abide sin, He cannot abide us. How then can we be forgiven of this sin that separates us from God? The writer of Hebrews tells us in 9.22 that, indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. In an act of supreme love, God the Father sent God the Son to become a man and take the punishment for sin that we have earned to spill his blood so that our sins would be blotted out. As Hebrews 2.17 says, therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. We heard this past week in Sam's sermon from Hebrews 12 that Jesus, who's the founder and perfecter of our faith, sacrificed himself for joy. For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." So Christ did this knowing God's plan, knowing that it was to save a people from himself, and this was joy to him. I do want to be very careful to say, though, that that doesn't take anything away from the pain and suffering of the cross, even if Christ knew the ultimate goal and how this would work out. The suffering was very real. He prayed in the garden before it was time to be arrested, that if it be possible, that if there were any other way that God the Father could accomplish his plan, that Christ ask that the current plan pass from him. It was also very real when he cried out on the cross, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Christ the Son who was one with God the Father from eternity past and will be one with God the Father to eternity future was separated on the cross from God the Father. Suffering for sin. The perfectly righteous father separated himself from the perfectly righteous son so that the unrighteous could be reconciled and united with him. Wrath is at the heart of the gospel. The gospel is hollow without wrath. Without wrath, there's nothing to be saved from. Repentance has no meaning. There's no consequence for the gross sin of unbelief. Without God's wrath, Christ's sacrifice is unnecessary. Explain away wrath and you don't need Jesus. In the book of Revelation, the primary image of Christ returning to earth is that of a wrathful warrior judge accompanied by his glorified saints. There are only two kinds of people, those that Jesus died to protect from God's wrath and those who Jesus will judge in God's wrath. It's important to understand that Jesus was the sacrifice, but He was also the Savior. Christ died to save sinners from the wrath of God. Third, Christ died to reconcile sinners to God. In verses 10 and 11. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now have received reconciliation. We weren't just going about our own business. We were enemies of God. We were sinning against him. We were in active rebellion against him. But by Christ's death, we are reconciled. We are made right with God. God not only takes away our punishment and gives it to Christ, but he also gives us the glories of a right relationship with himself. As Paul writes in Ephesians 2, but God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. We not only benefit from his death and the removal of punishment, but we get the great benefit of life with Christ. Paul writes of this again in Colossians chapter one. Speaking of Christ, he says, for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. God himself died for us. And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he is now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. Christ not only took away our sin, but he made us like himself, holy and blameless and above reproach. He took away our unrighteousness and replaced it with his own perfect righteousness. We can now be presented before God, not fearing his just wrath, but receiving his gracious love. And what does it say here that we are to do knowing this? Rejoice. Rejoice! Our response to all this immeasurable joy Christ has given, excuse me, our response to all this is immeasurable joy. Christ has given us true life and joy here on earth, an eternal life and joy, an eternity to come in the presence of God, whom we can now approach with boldness because of what Christ has done on the cross. We are also reminded here that he is not just Jesus the man, he is not just Christ the Messiah, but he is our Lord. He is our Lord Jesus Christ. He has not just saved us, we are now His. And we owe Him all obedience, all loyalty, all love. As we heard earlier tonight from Philippians, He is indeed Lord of all. Philippians 2, 6 through 11 tells us, Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and in earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The good news is that he is our Lord and he has saved those who would believe. The bad news is that even those who do not believe will ultimately come to the understanding and experience the reality that he is Lord. And as we have already said, there is judgment for those who do not believe. May God save many before it is too late. God's purpose here was to exalt Christ, that every tongue would confess him. God's purpose was not to punish his son, but to provide for his people. Jesus was not a victim. Jesus was the victor. Christ died to reconcile sinners to God. In conclusion tonight, I have one application that applies to everyone in this room. Don't run from the cross, run to it. Don't run from the cross, run to it. For those of you who are here tonight who are not believers, who do not know Christ, I beg you, run to the cross. You have heard the gospel tonight, the good news of Jesus Christ. God is holy and perfect righteousness. People are sinners. So you are eternally separated from God by your sin. But there is a solution. repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ, who was sent to die on the cross for your sins, to reconcile you to God and give you eternal life. This is the gracious gift of love the Father has given us. as we have read already in John 3.16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. I beg you tonight, confess Christ as your Lord and Savior. John continues in chapter 3. After the good news of 3.16, he reminds us of the problem in 3.36. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. For those who are believers here tonight, I beg of you, run to the cross. First, by the crosswork of Jesus Christ, you are saved from the wrath of God. Rejoice and live in that reality every moment of every day. Second, by the crosswork of Jesus Christ, you are reconciled to God. Rejoice and live in that reality every moment of every day. Third, the joy of your salvation and in your reconciliation with God should overflow and should be made evident by your desire to tell others this good news that He has brought you life through Jesus Christ. Proclaim Christ as your Lord and Savior. God has shown you his great love. Show the fruits of that love in all that you do. Now let us boldly sing our song of response, which we have not edited. The mysteries of the cross I cannot comprehend. The agonies of Calvary. You, the perfect holy one, crushed your son, who drank the bitter cup reserved for me. Your blood has washed away my sin. Jesus, thank you. The father's wrath completely satisfied. Jesus, thank you. Once your enemy, now seated at your table, Jesus, thank you. By your perfect sacrifice, I've been brought near. Your enemy, you've made your friend. Pouring out the riches of your glorious grace, your mercy and your kindness, no, no end. Let us all rise and sing together, Jesus, thank you.