The Art of Redemption

  I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and the idea of redemption came into my mind because of our conversation.

  My friend has a good friend who fell away from God.  This man was drinking, partying and accused of rape.  He, because of his drinking and partying wasn't sure really what happened.  This man, we'll call him Andy, knew God before these horrific events, yet he still fell.

Andy's reputation was tarnished as a result of the accusations and now he struggles to find his place back in the Kingdom of God, even though he is truly seeking healing.

  Andy needs redemption.

  I am a perpetual people pleaser.  I hate this about myself and I continue to ask God for healing from it, yet it seems to continue to pop up in my life and it hinders my ability to be all that He desires me to be.  I care too much about people's opinions of me and too little about His opinion of me.

   I need redemption.

 If I were to dig around in your life, your issues and your junk I think you would agree that we all need redemption, so why do we fight our redemption?  Why do we fight against others being redeemed?

You see, if I were to tell you Andy was a rich and famous person you may be tempted to not desire him to receive redemption (maybe you never wanted an alleged, or real rapist to ever have a chance at redemption anyways).  Why are we this way?  Maybe you thought of my struggle to be less than Andy's, but I will tell you it is a struggle to be a people pleaser, especially when you notice it in your people pleasing actions...it's a constant reminder of your humanity, and your utter inability.  What is it about Christians (famous or not) falling that gets us so angry and anti-redemption?  What is it about celebrities who struggle and publicly fall that makes us defame them...as if they were unworthy or redemption?

  I think we wrestle with our redemption because we have bought into the Enemy's lie of unworthiness.  He goes after our hearts with this one.  We feel utterly helpless and not worthy of God's lavish love, so when we sense the redemption coming, we may resist because we feel unworthy.  The other issue maybe we enjoy our sin too much to hand it over when the Spirit prompts us.  God knows the muck and mire we choose to swim in is not the best or safest waters, so he shows us the way, lets us know we will drown if we don't accept his help then waits for us to reach out.

  We get to loving the muck and mire and think Jesus is silly, or worse: stupid for saying we need to get out of the muck.  We may splash around in the mud and make mud pies and eat it because we are so excited to be in the mud.

   We need redemption.

 On the other hand, when it comes to seeing people be redeemed, we labeled "Un-Redeemable" we get upset. We begin to throw a Jonah-sized temper tantrum at God's gracious redemption.  Why?


  This question I think is much harder to answer because sometimes it is just plain on the individual to find out from God why their heart isn't right.

 However, I think there are some plain answers we can come to.  Maybe we don't like God redeeming people because we feel they "got away with something" then.  We may grumble at God for not judging that person harder because "they deserved more".  We may feel because of our "righteousness" we are now in a place to judge others.  We think our "goodness" secures us better than theirs because we are "better".

  Isaiah 64:6 says: "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away" (ESV).

  None of our good deeds mean much compared to Christ.  We all need redemption.  We all need the power of the cross to take away our sinful shame and restore us to the righteousness that is Christ's, given to us at conversion.  None of us deserves it, yet it is freely given.  Christ desires to redeem us.  Even when we fail and trip up as Christ-followers, his heart is to redeem us.  Buy us back from the sin and purchase us to a life of Righteous living.

  We could all be like Andy.

  We all need his lavish grace.  When I fail to be the Pastor, writer I am called to be, I need redemption.  When I fail at being the Husband and Father I am asked by God to be, I need redemption. The truth still remains that I, without Christ could be Andy, or Charlie Sheen, or Osama Bin Laden.  Pick your poison, but we could all be as bad as them and maybe inwardly we really are murderous, addicted and constantly cranky.

Christ by the Cross has bought us back from unrighteousness and has eternally Redeemed us (1 Peter 2:24), let us yield to the power of the Spirit and live redeemed lives.  May we live in the Redemption we have received, may we love those who need redemption and may we encourage those who are being redeemed to yield to Him.

  In another blog post, I will share a bit more about the "Art" of Redemption, so stay tuned... 



   

Christ on the Cross Pt. 3

This Friday (tomorrow) is 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!
We looked at the Atonement and at Justification. Christ, by His death atoned for our sins, Justified us before the Father and sanctifies 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 world 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)

Christ on the Cross Pt. 2

Good Friday is just 2 days away, again, it's 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 yesterday and today we will look at Justification and Regeneration. Christ, by His death atoned for our sins but he also Justified us before the Father!and regenerated our hearts!

As in atonement, to understand what it is we must ask certain questions and seek the answers.

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

Justification is simply being made into right standing with God, being made righteous and law-abiding. Some would say another simple definition is: “just as if I never sinned”. 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”. The law showed us just how sinful we are and how we could never meet a standard of being justified on our own the law was placed into motion to point us to Christ (Galatians 3:21-25), because we are all sinners and have fallen short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23). Thus, God sent Christ into the world to die, so that we may be justified by Faith in him, his death and resurrection! (Galatians 3:1-14)


What is the basis on which God justifies the sinner?

John 3:16 tells us that because of God’s love, he sent his son. It is upon us to accept that He died and rose for us, in order for us to be justified (Romans 10:9-10) and then it is by that faith (Galatians 3:22-25) that we receive the once, for all death of Christ which imputes His righteousness into us and makes us Justified before the sight of God.

Again in Galatians 2:16, we see the clear-cut basis in which God justifies the sinner: “know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”


Where in Scripture is Justification talked about?

Galatians 2:16 “know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”

Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

Galatians 3:23-25 “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[a] that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.”

Romans 4:5 “However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

  These passages are some of the primary passages dealing with justification. Christ’s death was a once for all event, in which if a person puts their faith in his death and resurrection, they will receive justification and new life (regeneration). God’s wrath demands blood for sins, Christ offered his own and was our sacrifice so that we could be justified and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). He will justify wicked people (as we all are before coming to Christ—Romans 3) and bring them into right relationship with Himself through the blood of Christ, for this atones for our sin and imputes the righteousness of Christ into us. (Romans 3:21-24) . This imputation is an imputation of Christ’s Spirit, which when we believe through faith that He is Lord and He raised from the dead, we will receive. Romans 8:8-11 says: “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”


What is the nature of the change brought about by justification?

When a person is justified, they become a new person. The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is also known as regeneration. The person who is now justified will be now living in and by the Spirit (Romans 8, Galatians 2&3). The Spirit will guide and direct them. The faith they have will bring them justification and this justified person will begin to do works of faith through the power of the Spirit. James says: “…Faith without works is dead”. This doesn’t mean that we receive justification through works, so we can boast about our greatness (Ephesians 2:8-9), but it means that we will be so transformed we won’t be able to help ourselves from lovingly following Christ’s commands. They now stand righteous before Christ, they now can die to sin and live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).


Justification will then lead to a discussion about Regeneration...

When a person is justified, they become a new person. The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is also known as regeneration. Both of these events: justification and regeneration happen instantly and simultaneously. They are not separate, but part of the same event of salvation. 1 Peter 3:18 says that Christ died for sin, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous. Regeneration happens, when we believe by faith that Christ died and rose again, because it is at this time the Spirit indwells us (Romans 8, Galatians 2&3). We know that this is the moment of regeneration as well as justification, for Jesus Himself says in John 3:3-6 that to be Born of the Spirit is to be born again.

Regeneration Defined

Regeneration is best defined by Scripture. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” The old us, the sinful us was crucified with Christ, and we have been re-born! 1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

Where does Scripture talk about Regeneration?

John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.”

1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

1 John 2:29 “If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.”

Who performs the work of regeneration?

The Spirit performs regeneration. John 3 is very specific on this point, Spirit gives birth to Spirit. We can only be Born or God through the Spirit of Christ (John 1:12-13).
What attitudes must be present in the individual before regeneration can take place?

There must be an attitude of remorse for your sins, a realization that you are sinful and that you deserve death. The your attitude should shift to realizing that only through Christ can one be saved. It is the gift of God, you must realize that you yourself can not achieve it, or attain it outside of Christ.

What is the nature of the change brought about by regeneration?
Romans 8:5-10 says: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man[e] is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind[f] is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” So, we are now controlled by the Spirit of God, rather than our sinfulness. 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Meaning that this change purifies us from all unrighteousness. 1 Peter 2:24 says: “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.” Meaning that we no longer have to live for our sinful nature but can now live for righteousness! Being made new allows us to live new lives, empowered by the Spirit of God, our Helper (John 12).
 
Tomorrow, we will unpack the idea of Sanctification!

Christ on the Cross Pt. 1

This Friday 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 the coming days of this series we will unpack Justification and Sanctification as well)

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!