The Cross
Reading: Rom 5:1-11
Text: Rom 5:6-9

1. The Circumstances of Redemption
a. God’s plan of redemption did not include some contribution from us—Not weak, not with a little bit of strength, but without strength
(1) Without Strength—lost people are sinners, dead, deaf, insensitive to God, hating God and His Gospel, and such were we!
(2) One of the glories of the Cross is that we were totally helpless and totally alien to God, yet He sent His Son to die for us!
b. in due time…..The cross was part of an ancient plan, conceived by God, and carried forth in His time.
c. When was this plan conceived? 1 Pet 1:19-20 , Titus 1:1-2
d. Remember… The Gospel is Good News, but it is Not New—The Gospel is older than creation itself, The Gospel is older than time.

e. Before Time Began--
(1) God was God-- Psa 90:1-2
(2) Before Time Began, the Triune God existed in a loving, mutual relationship—Jn 17:24
(3) Before time began, the Bible was written down in Heaven—The Bible is not some afterthought—Psa 119:89, Psa 119:152
(4) Before Time Began, God ordained a Mysterious Purpose. Eph 3:8-9
(5) God ORDAINED his purpose--He made it an eternal law--and that eternal mysterious purpose was done for our benefit and glory. 1 Cor 2:7
(6) Before the world was made, God ordained the method of redemption and the redeemer--He filled in all the blanks in the plan.
(7) We are heirs to an eternal heritage, prepared for us from all eternity. Mat 25:34

f. In Due Timeè
(1) The plan was announced and prophesied, the prophecies were given—Rom 1:1-4, Rom 3:21,
(2) There are dozens of scriptures that predict the Messiah, in excruciating detail.
(a) The Time of His Birth
(b) The Place of His Birth
(c) The Manner of His Birth
(d) His Forerunner
(e) The Character of His ministry
(f) The manner of His betrayal
(g) The Manner of His death—and crucifixion had not even been invented at the time Psalm 22 was written—Ps 22:14-18
(h) The time of His Death—the evening sacrifice
(i) His resurrection, that He would not see corruption
(j) His Second coming as well as His first
(3) The prophecies were so mysterious that the prophets did not even understand what they were writing—1 Pet 1:10-12
(4) In Due Time…The plan was carried out by God. Gal 4: 4-5èActs 2:22-23, Acts 4:27-28

g. His Death was a Choice—Christ died for the ungodlyèJohn 10:11-18
(1) He was not murdered as a helpless victim
(2) He was not caught up in some thing over which He had no control.
(3) He was not part of some miscalculation by God
(4) He gave up the ghost, He laid down His life, He died, He was in control from beginning to end.

h. The death of Christ was a substitution.
(1) He died in the place of particular people—He died that we could live, He sacrificed, that we could be free, He died in our place. Isa 53:5-6
(2) He did not die for good people, there are no good people.
(3) Christ died for sinners, ungodly sinners, unholy sinners, dirty, rotten defiled sinners—sinners in need of a Savior, sinners totally without any spiritual resources whatsoever, lost, doomed sinners.
(a) And this is why we have hope
(b) And this is the Love of God that has been shed abroad in our hearts
(c) And this is the basis for all we are in Christ—Rom 5:6

3. Dying for Another is Rare

a. It is a Remarkable Thing to Die for Another
(1) The annals of heroism hold in highest esteem those who died for others, who made the highest sacrifice.
(a) The mother defending her children.
(b) The soldier protecting the lives of others.
(c) The police officer in defense of public order.
(d) The middle school teacher in Jonesboro who died shielding a student.
(2) It is rare even to die for someone worthy.

b. It is Even More Remarkable to Die for the Undeserving
(1) Though it is rare, and though we hold it in high esteem as evidence of great nobility of spirit and character, we can understand a mother sacrificing for her children, a father dying for his family.
(2) Though it is rare, and though we consider them great heroes, we understand somewhat how a man could die for his country or to protect his buddies.
(3) Though it shows unusual character, we can understand a teacher shielding a student or a policeman protecting a citizen, and paying the ultimate price.
(4) But to die for someone undeserving, or worse, for someone who deserves anything but this sacrifice, that is rare indeed.

b. That is the case with the cross—5:8
(1) What love! What Grace! We were rebels, murderers, haters of God and of His way, and He sent Christ for us!
(2) Again, God did not send His Son for righteous people—there are not any righteous people. God did not send His Son for nice people—in God’s eyes, we are all vile, hopeless sinners.
(3) God did not forsee us as believers and send His Son—while we were yet sinners He came!

c. It was a voluntary act of Love by a Sovereign, Triune God
(1) Christ did not die because He was too weak to get out of it.
(2) Our Lord and Savior was no helpless victim--as He demonstrated when He said, “I am” and they all fell down (Jn 18:4-6), Jesus could have wiped out the Roman Empire with a word and called for twelve legions of angels to do the light work and mopping up.
(3) No third party arbitrated a settlement between God and the human race--God did it Himself. John 10:11-18, 1 John 4:10, Rom 3:24-26, Heb 9:14
(4) The Cross, therefore, was all a work of God! It was undeserved by us, it was uncaused by us, it was All of God!

2. The Doctrine of the Cross—Substitution, Satisfaction, Blood Atonement, Propitiation!

a. The Cross is a substitution--Christ actually died in the place of sinners--He specifically took the punishment that should have been theirs
(1) 2 Cor 5:21, Isa 53:5
(2) How can the death of One man accomplish this? It is possible because He is infinite--He is God, and His blood sacrifice is of infinite worth.

b. The Cross is a Satisfaction –5: 9 The Cross is our Satisfaction (of the Law's demands).
(1) Unlike the "gods" of the world's religions, who either disregard sin or forgive it capriciously, the God of the Bible can state that all the demands of His law have been met. Rom 3:28-31
(2) And on the cross, God showed to the world that as He forgives people through faith in the blood of Christ, He has dealt with their sin...
(3) to demonstrate His righteousness, Rom 3:26
(4) There are three things in which Christianity is vastly different from the various human religions:
(a) We serve a risen Savior
(b) Our way of salvation is totally apart from human effort
(c) In the Cross, a Holy God DEALS WITH SIN

c. The Cross was a Blood Atonement—
(1) Every blood sacrifice made, every lamb, goat, bull, calf, or dove sacrificed, foreshadowed the great sacrifice Christ would make. He shed real blood for the real sins of real people!
(2) As on the first Passover—“Exo 12:13
(3) The New Testament is full of references to this: Mat 26:28, Acts 20:28, Eph 1:7, Eph 2:13, Col 1:14, Col 1:20, Heb 9:14, Heb 10:19, 1 Pet 1:2, 1 Pet 1:19, 1 John 1:7, Rev 1:5, Rev 5:9,
d. The Cross is a Propitiation— we shall be saved from wrath through him
(1) Rom 3:25 whom God set forth--We can never let this get away from our minds, that God is the Author of the Cross...as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, Jesus’ death on the Cross was a propitiation--this is a word in the Greek which carries several shades of meaning.
(2) It is the same word used for mercy seat--that place in the temple where the blood was sprinkled on the day of atonement
(3) In the context of the wrath of God revealed against sin, it means a sacrifice which turns aside the righteous wrath of God against our sin and rebellion and makes reconciliation.
(4) God propitiated His own righteous wrath which was aroused because of the interaction of His holiness and our utter rebellion against Him—John 3:36, Rom 5:8-9, 1 Th 1:10

e. The Cross is a finished work—John 19:30
(1) It cannot be repeated èHeb 9:27-28
(2) It cannot be supplemented by human works
(3) His suffering ended on the Cross....it was not added to in the days following
(a) I know there is a popular myth that Christ went to hell during the three days His body was in the tomb.
(b) The source of this myth is an addition to the Apostle’s Creed, made by pagans in the 6th century church.
(c) Among some groups of TV preachers, this myth has achieved giant theological meaning, tied in with their concept of Christ as being a mere man during His earthly ministry.

Luke 23:43-46
Jn 19:30..."It is finished!"