THE CROSS, OUR GAINS {Part 2}
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for inequities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed”
Isa. 53:5
It has been made very clear that The Cross upon which our Saviour was crucified carries messages of transverse, intersection, and or contradiction: life contradicting death, love contradicting hate, peace contradicting violence, forgiveness contradicting accusation, purity contradicting sin, wholeness contradicting broken life, restoration contradicting destruction, and victory contradicting defeat.
In the past The Cross was the cruelest form of execution, but today is a symbol of abundant life. All seemed to be lost on the cross, yet, everything is gained! THE CROSS IS OUR GAIN.
Somebody may ask why and how? And last Sunday we agreed it was because on The Cross, Christ took our place. Secondly, that also on The Cross Christ reconciled us with God. And thirdly, that on The Cross Christ paid our debt.
This morning we shall see more reasons The Cross becomes a gain to us.
WE WERE REDEEMED ON THE CROSS
Once a Ransom is paid a captive is SET FREE or REDEEMED. That exactly happened to me for whom Jesus gave His life. We were redeemed from the curse of the law by Jesus, He became a curse for us. (Gal. 3:13).
By nature we were under the curse of God’s holy law, which pronounces us guilty before God’s sight. But Jesus was under no such curse, yet, to satisfy the demands of divine justice He bore the curse of the law in full.
The ransom price Christ paid brought redemption. to helpless sinners which we are. He set us prisoners of sin free to live in a way that is pleasing to God.
WE WERE FORGIVEN COURTESY THE CROSS
Sin is a debt we owe to God as sinners. So, we for whom Christ died received not only redemption through His
His blood, but also the FORGIVENESS of our sins. (Eph. 1:7).
As a Christian believer, I was cut loose from the double burden of GUILT and DEBT, and I am freely and fully forgiven - for ever! Consider what happened to that woman caught in adultery in (john 8:3-11 ), it is same thing that happened to you! We are forgiven by The Cross!
FROM THE CROSS CAME OUR JUSTIFICATION
Justification is a legal term describing that which happens when a judge decides that the prisoner before him is not liable to any penalty demanded by the law and is treated as though he had never broken it.
God’s eyes are “too pure to behold evil” and He “cannot tolerate wrong” (Heb. 1:13). But then, how can we possibly be declared “NOT GUILTY” in His sight and treated as though we had never sinned? Jesus provided the answer (Heb. 7:26).
Christ’s death paid in full the penalty that God’s law demands. He was punished as if He had never been holy, so that we in whose place He died could be treated as though we had never been unholy. We were declared righteous based on the life and death of Christ, God’s Son, who acted on our behalf. See Paul’s claims in (Rom. 5:1). The justified sinner therefore received eternal life immediately, (see Luke 23:43, the account of the criminal crucified with Jesus on the Cross.
THE CROSS GUARANTEED OUR HEALING
The healing Christ’s death on The Cross brought us is not only spiritual, it is also physical. Sin brought all sicknesses there is in the World, but the blood of Jesus that was shed on the Cross brought far more healing possibilities than ailments and other challenges:
The lame man at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:1-9). Dorcas raised from the dead (Acts 9:36- 41). The woman with the issue of blood (Matt. 9:18-22).
Friends, there are unquantifiable gains which the death of Christ on the Cross afford us. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. Why remaining a slave when you’ve been freed? Why remaining a captive when you’ve been emancipated? His death is our gain!
