What did Christ Accomplish? (Pt. 3)

Last Friday was Good Friday, a day that is set aside to celebrate the death of Jesus Christ. It is called "good" because of His death.



A lot of people ask why is a dude's death something to celebrate and the answer is quite simple.

Christ died so we could live! His death was the atoning sacrifice for our sins. By his death He has also brought about our Justification and Sanctification!
We looked at the Atonement and at Justification. Christ, by His death atoned for our sins, Justified us before the Father and sacntifies us continually through the cross!
As in atonement, to understand what it is we must ask certain questions and seek the answers.

The First question was: "What does Justification mean?"

The second and final question we will look at concerning the cross of Jesus is: "What does Sanctification mean?"

  Again, to get to the heart of what all this is, we must answer questions in order to find the true treasure of what these things are! 

Define sanctification


Sanctification is the continuing work of God in the life of the believer making the believer actually holy. Which is both experiential and positional.



How are Justification and Sanctification related?

Justification is the act of being made right before the Lord. This is imputing Christ’s righteousness into the new believer making him/her holy and righteous before God. (Galatians 2:16, Romans 10:9-10). Justification must happen in order for Sanctification to be able to occur. Before we can live by the Spirit (Romans 8 and Galatians 5) we need to receive the Spirit and this receiving the Spirit comes at Justification where we are declared righteous before a Holy God. Sanctification is the continuous act of being made Holy (Hebrews 10:14). Where we the believer allow the Spirit to work in our lives, being more and more filled with the Holy Spirit. That sis not to say we did not receive the full Holy Spirit at justification, being more filled means we give over more of our lives to the Holy Spirit. Sanctification will only finish it’s work when we die and are glorified. Justification and Sanctification go hand in hand. While Justification is the beginning of Sanctification.

What significance does sanctification have to your lifestyle?

Giving the Spirit more control over your life and allowing Him full access to you life allows you to do as Christ said we must do if we are to follow Him and that is to take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). Being sanctified means also that we are becoming more like Christ. This means, we will care for that which Christ cares for, love those whom Christ loves and seek justice the way he does. We will become more and more like the House of the Lord that he has designed, as well as we will seek to live Holy lives has He is holy (1 Peter 1-2). The significance is that we will be strangers and aliens in this worl and they will want to know why. This then will lead us into glorifying Christ alone and allowing us access to the people of this world to share the hope we have in Christ (1 Peter 3:15). It means I will not seek out the desires of this World as Paul and Peter urge us, but will rather be seeking the things of God!

Why must holiness be a characteristic of God’s people?

1 Peter 2:11-12 says: “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” Holiness must be a characteristic of our lives so that we can bring glory to God. When we allow the Holy Spirit to make us Holy (1 Thessalonians 5:23), we will become closer to heaven, and the world will see this in us and want to know why. They will ask questions about this hope we have and we can be prepared to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15). This news is news for the whole world (1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:2). Also in 1 Peter 1, we are reminded of a call to holiness from Leviticus, where God says: “Be Holy as I am Holy”. It is God’s desire that we become more like him. This then would truly separate us from this world where we can be strangers and aliens.



What is  positional sanctification?

Positional Sanctification is the imputed holiness of God that we receive at Salvation. It is where we are no longer bound to sin (Romans 6; 1 Peter 2:24) and are free in Christ (Galatians 5:1). It means that before God, we are declared righteous, saved and justified. We are renewed and a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Hebrews 10:10 says: “… we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”



What is experiential sanctification?

This is the continuing work of sanctification. 1 Thes. 5:23 says: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God is sanctifying us through and through. Also, Hebrews 10 (10:10) talks of positional sanctification, but also of experiential sanctification Hebrews 10:14 says: “because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” We are “being made holy”. Holiness on earth is not a one-stop shop, we have to as Jesus Himself said: “deny ourselves and daily pick up our cross and follow Him.”(Luke 9:23) We also must daily put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6). These are all pieces of the experiential sanctification. Also, we are called to work out our faith with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12) if it weren’t continual, why would we need to work it out? Also, in Romans 6:22, we see that this life we received from Christ leads to holiness…it is not a one-stop reception of all holiness.

 In what way is progression connected with experiential sanctification?

This is the continuing work of sanctification. 1 Thes. 5:23 says: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God is sanctifying us through and through. Also, Hebrews 10 (10:10) talks of positional sanctification, but also of experiential sanctification Hebrews 10:14 says: “because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” We are “being made holy”. Holiness on earth is not a one-stop shop, we have to as Jesus Himself said: “deny ourselves and daily pick up our cross and follow Him.”(Luke 9:23) We also must daily put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6). These are all pieces of the experiential sanctification. Also, we are called to work out our faith with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12) if it weren’t continual, why would we need to work it out? Also, in Romans 6:22, we see that this life we received from Christ leads to holiness…it is not a one-stop reception of all holiness. Meaning that the very nature of experiential sanctification is indeed progressive, so that progression is connected to it thoroughly and completely in it’s very nature.



In what way is the believer “dead to sin and alive In God”?

Romans 6, is entirely about this question. Through the power of the cross, the Holy Spirit can now take charge of our lives if we believe and confess it (Romans 10:9-10) and become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). When Chris died on the cross, he nailed there with him our sins and he himself took our death on that tree. 1 Peter 2:24 is my favorite verse when it comes to the way in which we can be dead to sin, but alive in God. It says: “He Himself bore our sins on the tree, that we may die to sin and live to righteousness”. It is only through His death and resurrection that we can achieve this successfully!


What is meant by the phrase “the indwelling Christ?”

This comes from Romans 8:9-11 where the Spirit of Christ dwells within us and changes our very lives. We no longer live by the sinful nature, but we live by the Spirit of Christ and it is by this indwelling that “our body is dead because of sin, but our spirits are alive because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10), in this indwelling, we received a spirit of sonship (Romans 8:15). Christ moves into our hearts and lives and sin moves out. God is light and where the light is darkness cannot be. This indwelling exposes those things hidden in the dark and causes us to confess that which light shines upon, so that we can continually live in the light and the indwelling Christ can remain Lord of our lives.


What are scriptural evidences of a sanctified life?

Romans 6,8 Galatians 5, Hebrews 10, James



 How does sanctification relate to the Lordship of Christ?

1 Corinthians 3 asks a HUGE question as to who is your Lord. Essentially what are you building your life around? (Hebrews 10, 1 John)

What did Christ Accomplish? (Pt. 1)

Today is Good Friday, a day that is set aside to celebrate the death of Jesus Christ. It is called "good" because of His death.




Some ask: "Why would you celebrate a day whe someone dies? Isn't that mean? Why does that make you want to celebrate?"



The answer is simple: Christ died so we could live! His death was the atoning sacrifice for our sins. By his death He has also brought about our Justification and Sanctification!
Well, that answer is simple, but let's unpack atonement. (In the following two posts in this series we will unpack Justification and Sanctification)
To unpack Atonement (as well as Justification and Sanctification) you have to start by asking questions and seeking the answers to those questions. 

First is: "What's atonement mean?"
Atonement is the act of forgiving a deserved punishment. Because we all have sinned, we deserve death (Romans 3:23; 6:23), However, our sins were atoned for, not by human effort, but by the wounds of Christ (1 Peter 2:24). The requirement for said atonement was blood of a pure sacrificial lamb or bull (Lev. 2) Which Christ became for us and he spilt his blood on our behalf. His righteousness, covered our unrighteousness, so we may be brought before God blameless and pure. (1 Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21)


Where did the plan of atonement originate?
The plan of atonement originated directly after the fall. In Genesis 3:15, God says to Satan: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This is known as the first mention of the Gospel. God is talking about how Christ will come and be bruised, but will do far more damage to Satan than Satan will do to Him. God already had this sacrifice in mind in order to reduce Satan to nothing.



Why would God want to provide atonement for us?
We see the main attribute of God that pushed Him to provide the atonement in John 3:16 being Love. It says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son…” His reason for giving his son was His love. 1 John 4:8-10 also says this very thing: that is was God’s love that motivated him to sacrifice Christ on our behalf. In Leviticus 2, we see that because of God’s wrath and hatred towards sin, the sin must receive atonement. He gave the people of Israel a means of this atonement through the sacrifice of animals and using their blood to atone their sins. God’s wrath demanded payment for the sins committed, this then was the second impetus, which moved God to provide atonement. His wrath towards sin could be propitiated; this is why Christ is also called our propitiation. (1 John 2:2 ESV)


Why do we even need atonement?
Man is all together sinful. When Adam ate of the tree, he signed the death warrant of all humanity, damning us to a sinful nature from birth. (Gen. 3). Romans 3:23 states: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Psalm 14 and 53 also show the utter depravity of man, as cited from Romans 3. This sinful nature cuts us off from a perfect God, who is light and in him is no darkness, which is sin. (1 John 1:5-10). This cutting off created a void between us and God that needed to be filled, or bridged so we could again meet with our Lord. In all reality, in His perfection he could’ve walked away without caring, but in Lev. 2, he sets up a sacrificial system and a law system in which an can learn deeper how depraved they are, yet still have the atonement to bring them back to the Lord. To make an eternal atonement, Christ had to die. The perfect lamb, without blemish or spot had to suffer in order for us to live (Isaiah 53).
How could God justly put man’s sins upon an innocent victim?
This question almost assumes that Christ was forced into being the ultimate sacrifice, while in fact he was a willing vessel. Justly, for the sins to be forgiven through Christ death he had to have volunteered for this position. Had he not been willing, the atonement would never have happened. In Philippians 2:5-10, we see Christ’s humility in stepping down to this task and role. We also see in the Garden of Gethsemane, in Matthew 23, Christ wrestles with His calling, but undoubtedly bends to the will of the Father. Christ was willing to be the suffering servant that Isaiah 53 talked about. He was led before the shears and was silent, he did not speak out about them being wrong. The innocence of Christ was also key. Had he been blemished by sin, the atonement would have been meaningless, for a tainted sacrifice will not appease the wrath of God.


What qualified Christ for being such an offering?
Christ being both God and man as well as sinless qualified him as this offering. He is eternal, so His death would ring throughout eternity and his resurrected hands would be a constant reminder to God the Father of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. He was also Human, so he dealt with each and every temptation that we did, yet did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). He overcame by living life through the power of the Spirit (Matthew 3-4), which is also our example as how we should now live. He humbled Himself and was willing to be the offering which would appease the wrath of God as well as atone for our sins. (1 John 1:5-10; John 3:16, 1 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:24)


Could anyone other than Christ have made an acceptable offering?
No



How do we know that Jesus was an offering that was acceptable to God?


Scripture is full of assurance that this offering was acceptable. First is the very fact that God in Matthew 27:46-47 turned his back on Christ, symbolizing Christ’s receiving of the sins of the entire world. It was such a wretched sight that God the Father had to separate Himself from seeing it! Also, after the death of Christ, in Matthew 27, we see the curtain which blocked the view of the Holy of Holies from view torn in two. This represented now that all men due to the atoning sacrifice of Christ have full access to God. Christ during his life in John 14:6 also said: “I am the way, the truth and the life no one comes to the Father accept through me”. This would give the reader the idea that Christ was and is enough. Also, we see throughout the epistles constant reassurance that Christ’s atoning death was sufficient to cover over all the sins of the world. 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,” His righteous sacrifice was sufficient! 1 John 2:2 says: “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”



Is there any limitation concerning who may benefit from the atonement of Christ?
The answer to that truly lies in a persons view of Calvinism. The Scriptures say that it was for all the world 1 John 2:2; 1 Peter 3:18. However, there is a view that God chooses only certain people to receive this said blessing of atonement. I believe that it is for all the world as the Scriptures clearly state, yet people still choose wickedness over righteousness. We can see this perfectly within the picture of the two thieves crucified with Christ. The atonement as attainable for both, but only one chose to accept it. The other chose to spit on it. Christ’s atonement was once for all.


Can the atonement in any way be effective in human lives where the gospel is unknown?
Romans 1:18-20 says: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” The atonement can and is effective throughout the world, whether or not they’ve heard the message. However, to make things more clear to the world we live in, we as the followers of Christ are called to go and make disciples.


Christ is our atoning sacrifice...that is some encouraging stuff!  No wonder we celebrate his Death!  Tomorrow, we will unpack Justification and on Sunday we will unpack Sanctification...as well as the Ressurection!