Sermons

Saved By What Christ Achieved On The Cross

Lessons: Isaiah 53:4-9; John 1:29-37

Text: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who   takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

Without preaching the cross to ourselves all day and every day, we will very quickly revert to faith plus works as the ground of our salvation. So, if you die tonight and you find yourself in heaven, what would you say? If you answer that in the first person – Because I. Because I believed. Because I have faith. Because I am the best…..We have gone wrong.

The correct answer is in the third person – “Because He did it for me! Think of the thief on the cross. He had never been in a Church, Bible Study, baptized, wore church uniform, but yet he made it to heaven. It could be possible that the angels questioned him – How did you find yourself here? What are you doing here? The man could have said “I don’t know.” What do you mean you don’t know? “Oh because I don’t know.” Are you clear on the doctrine of justification by faith? “I never heard it in my life.” Okay then, on what bases are you here? The man said, “The Man on the middle cross said I can come.” Our salvation depends on Christ alone and not on ourselves. We are saved by what Christ achieved on the Cross.

John the Baptist in John 1:29 points us to Jesus saying, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This time, he called Jesus “the Lamb of God,” a title he would repeat the next day (Jn 1:35-36). In one sense, the message of the Bible can be summed up in this title. The question in the Old Testament is, “Where is the lamb?” (Gen 22:7). In the four Gospels, the emphasis is “Behold the Lamb of God!” Here He is! After you have trusted Him, you sing with the heavenly choir, “Worthy is the Lamb!” (Rev 5:12).

The people of Israel were familiar with lambs for the sacrifices. At Passover, each family had to have a lamb; and during the year, two lambs a day were sacrificed at the temple altar, plus all the other lambs brought for personal sacrifices. Those lambs were brought by men to men, but here is God’s Lamb, given by God to men! Those lambs could not take away sin, but the Lamb of God can take away sin. Those lambs were for Israel alone, but this Lamb would shed His blood for the whole world!

What does John’s baptism have to do with Jesus as the Lamb of God? It is generally agreed by scholars of all denominations that, in the New Testament, baptism was by immersion. It pictured death, burial, and resurrection. When John the Baptist baptized Jesus, Jesus and John were picturing the “baptism” Jesus would endure on the cross when He would die as the sacrificial Lamb of God (Isa 53:7; Lk 12:50). It would be through death, burial, and resurrection that the Lamb of God would “fulfill all righteousness” (Mt. 3:15).

“Behold! The Lamb of God.” The title “Lamb of God” would be associated in the minds of the Jews with the Passover lamb (Exo 12) and the lambs used in the daily sacrifices for the sin offerings (Lev 14:12, 21, 24; Num 6:12). In calling Jesus the Lamb of God, John pointed to Jesus as the substitutionary sacrifice provided by God. Had the Jews considered the Messiah would be a lamb led to the slaughter (Isa 53:7ff.)?

Christ Paid in Full for our salvation. Every morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple for the sins of the people (Exo 29:38-42). Isa 53:7 prophesied that the Messiah, God’s servant, would be led to the slaughter like a lamb. To pay the penalty for sin, a life had to be given—God chose to provide the sacrifice Himself. When Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice, he removed the sin of the world and destroyed the power of sin itself. Thus God forgives our sin (1 Cor 5:7).

The “sin of the world” means the sin of each individual. Jesus paid the price of our sin by His death. We claim the forgiveness he provided by first taking ownership of our sin. If we insist we have no sin, then we gain no forgiveness. Repentance precedes forgiveness. If you don’t think you need to repent, check your life again. The Ten Commandments can help you evaluate how you’re doing by God’s standards.

“Who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus took away our sin by taking it upon himself. This is the image depicted in Isa 53:4-9 and 1 Pt 2:24. Thus, the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the following:

1. Expiation (Kuchotsa tchimo): This means the removal of our sin and guilt. Christ’s death removes – expiates – our sin and guilt. The guilt of our sin was taken away from us and placed on Christ, who discharged it by his death. Thus, in John 1:29, John the Baptist calls Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus takes away, that is, expiates, our sins. Likewise, Isaiah 53:6 says, “The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him,” and Heb 9:26 says “He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”


2. Propitiation (Kuchotsa mkwiyo wa Mulungu): Whereas expiation refers to the removal of our sins, propitiation refers to the removal of God’s wrath. By dying in our place for our sins, Christ removed the wrath of God that we justly deserved. In fact, it goes even further: a propitiation is not simply a sacrifice that removes wrath, but a sacrifice that removes wrath and turns it into favor. (Note: a propitiation does not turn wrath into love — God already loved us fully, which is the reason he sent Christ to die; it turns his wrath into favor so that his love may realize its purpose of doing good to us every day, in all things, forever, without sacrificing his justice and holiness (Rom 3:25-26; Heb 2:17 and 1 Jn 4:10).


3. Reconciliation: Whereas expiation refers to the removal of our sins, and propitiation refers to the removal of God’s wrath, reconciliation refers to the removal of our alienation from God. Because of our sins, we were alienated — separated — from God. Christ’s death removed this alienation and thus reconciled us to God (Rom 5:10-11).


4. Redemption: Our sins had put us in captivity from which we need to be delivered. The price that is paid to deliver someone from captivity is called a “ransom.” This means Christ’s death accomplished deliverance from our captivity through the payment of a price. There are three things we had to be released from: the curse of the law (Gal 3:13-14); the guilt of sin (Rom 3:24); and the power of sin (1 Pt 1:18-19). Christ redeemed us from each of these.


5. Defeat of the Powers of Darkness: Christ’s death was a defeat of the power of Satan (Col 3:15). Satan’s only weapon that can ultimately hurt people is unforgiven sin. Christ took this weapon away from him for all who would believe, defeating him and all the powers of darkness in his death (Col 2:13-14).


6. And he Did All of This By Dying As Our Substitute: The reality of substitution is at the heart of the atonement. Christ accomplished all of the above benefits for us by dying in our place — that is, by dying instead of us. We deserved to die, and he took our sin upon Him and paid the penalty Himself (Isa 53:5-6; Rom 5:8; Gal 2:20; 3:13). Substitution is the means by which we were reconciled with God (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pt 3:18; 2:24). And by dying in our place, taking the penalty for our sins upon himself, Christ’s death is also the means of propitiation.  

The cross of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith. The cross reveals to us the character of God: His love for lost sinners and His perfect justice meet at the cross. The cross is the place where all the wounds of sin are healed. If you suffer from emotional problems – guilt, anxiety, depression, anger, or whatever – there is healing in the cross of Christ. We are saved by what Christ Jesus achieved on the Cross. It is by grace that we are saved. 

AMEN!!!