Do Not Depart

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All One in Christ Jesus through Our Adoption

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Yesterday we had a speaker from Gospel for Asia at our church, sharing stories of tragedy and triumph from their ministry in India. He repeatedly called us, “brother and sisters.” Here was a man who has spent half his life in India, calling us “brothers and sisters.” And it’s true! As different as our backgrounds and lives are, we are brothers and sisters.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Galatians 3:28,

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The family of God exploded at Pentecost. Suddenly, it wasn’t just Jewish free men who were God’s chosen people, it was every person who confessed Jesus as Savoir, no matter their heritage, pedigree, or gender.

Paul goes on in Galatians, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir though God” (4:4-7).

It was Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross that opened the door wide for those of us born two thousand years later to be called sons of God. Not because of anything we have done, but because He loves us. I now have all the rights and privileges of a son. We are heirs of the promises God made to His people throughout Scripture—promises of His love, protection, guidance, and sanctification.

My family is in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. There’s a little boy right now halfway across the world who doesn’t even know that America exists. He doesn’t know there’s a daddy, mommy, and two big brothers waiting for him. But we have been working to get him home for almost two years. One day (pray it’s soon!), we’ll fly over the ocean, sign some papers, fly back, sign some more papers, and he will be ours. He will be my son. He will have two brothers. Our family will be a visible sign of the beautiful truth of Scripture. No matter who we are or where we come from, we are united as brothers and sisters, “for in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God, through faith” (Gal. 3:26).

Praise God today that through Christ, we can become part of His family!

Why the Cross? – (Part 2)

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I just have to start today’s post saying “THANK YOU” to the Lord for so great a salvation. This study has been a reflection of grace for this wretched sinner made saint! Perhaps it’s been the same for you.

Today, I’d like to do something a little different. At the end of this post are several links to songs that are beautiful expressions of thankfulness to the Lord for choosing nail pierced hands, a crown of thorns and a spear torn side. After reading “Why the Cross?” will you take a few minutes to listen to at least one of those songs, think about what He has done for you and worship Him – He is absolutely worthy!

Here’s today’s post:

Yesterday we took a journey to the beginning of time as we know it. We looked at the fall of man and the institution of the sacrificial system. Today we are going to focus our attention on the New Testament and the cross of Christ. But before we look forward to the cross, we’re going to look back at an epic event of monumental proportions. The Passover.

Moses had given Pharoah his final warning, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go,'” But Pharoah’s pride was bigger than his brain and he refused to listen to God for the last time. Unfortunately, this was going to cost him more than he ever imagined.

The plague of death was on its way. It would be a night of broken lives and shattered dreams as the plague of death seized every firstborn soul. But God’s people were given a way to protect themselves and their families. They were to take a spotless lamb, kill it and apply the blood to their doorposts. If they would do that, then the the plague of death would “pass over” them.

“The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:13

And that’s exactly what He did. He saw the blood and He passed over them. It was God’s grace on a people who would trust Him enough to do what He says.

Now, fast forward some 1400 years to a quaint upper room where Jesus sits with His disciples as He shares His last meal with them. It was the first night of Passover. It would be a Passover like no other, for the Lamb of God would lay His life down as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole human race.

You see, every sacrifice before that time was a “type” of Christ. A fore-shadow of what was to come. The Creator of the universe would become the spotless Lamb that would not just cover our sin, but cleanse it once and for all. He was the only One who could, because He is the only One who is perfectly sinless.

He came as the High Priest as well as the Sacrifice. Hebrews 9:12 says, “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Hebrews 10:1,10&12 says, “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”

Jesus came to be the final and ultimate sacrifice for our sins. That’s why we no longer have to sacrifice animals on the Day of Atonement. Christ is our atonement. We no longer kill the Passover lamb because, as John the Baptist pointed out, Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

As Jesus took His predetermined place on a cross between two thieves, His last words echoed through the portals of time – “It is finished!” He did what was necessary to restore our relationship with God that had been lost in the garden of Eden. What was lost in the fall was gained on the cross!

To be honest with you, no one knows why God chose to redeem mankind through the blood. Perhaps it was to demonstrate how vile sin is before a holy and righteous God. But He is God and we are not. He calls the shots. He makes the rules.

All I can say is I’m so thankful He chose to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. If He didn’t, you and I would be without hope, without peace, without purpose and without God. It was the cross that bridged that gap between a righteous God and fallen man.

Oh sweet sister, please take a few minutes to thank Him for the cross. As I write this, my heart is overwhelmed with unspeakable gratitude to a Savior who didn’t have to come. Who chose to be forsaken so I would never have to be. What a wonderful Savior! To Him be glory, honor, praise, worship and adoration forever and ever!

Click one of the links below and contemplate how great a price He paid for us.

“Thank You for the Cross” – Hillsong

The Wondrous Cross – Matt Redmon

Nothing But Your Blood – Matt Redmon

Have you received Christ and what He has done for you on the cross in payment for your sin? Please take a minute and share what the cross means to you.

Why the Cross? (Part 1)

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Why The Cross? – Part 1

Have you ever wondered why Jesus had to go to the cross? Or what the cross has to do with your life today? How can a 2,000 year old event possibly be relevant to us?

It’s rather complicated, yet clearly simple.

Man was created to live with God forever but he disobeyed God’s simple command to abstain from eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam’s sin placed all of mankind under the curse of sin and left us all in need of a Savior. The cross was God’s preordained response to our need for redemption. That’s why Jesus came…to reestablish our relationship with God that had been broken because of sin.

That’s the short version. But Scripture Dig doesn’t exist to sum things up. The passion of our heart is to thoroughly convey the truths of God’s Word as we all seek to grow and know Him more (at least to the extent our small space in cyberspace will allow in a blog). So, we’re going to take a walk through Scripture to get a thorough understanding of the plan and purpose of the cross.

It all began in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived the dream life. They had everything they could possibly need, Beautiful rivers flowing through jewel laden lands; food for the taking and the presence of the Living God. Certainly, beyond anything we could ever imagine.

But there was one stipulation – God told them they could eat from any tree in all the land, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His warning was clear. “…for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen 2:17)

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the enemy of our souls came dressed in snake’s skin with destruction on his heart and lies on his lips. Eve succumbed to the enemy and Adam succumbed to Eve. And that was the beginning of the end.

The forbidden fruit brought an awareness of their own nakedness. They quickly clothed themselves with fig leaves and tried to hide themselves from God. “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” Gen 3:9

The Lord knew where they were and what they had done, but it was confession time for the not-so-dynamic duo. The fig leaves may have covered their nakedness, but their sin and their shame remained.

After a couple of attempts to pass the buck, they knew they had to face the consequences. It was immediate death. Not physically, but spiritually. They were given the knowledge of good and evil and found themselves on the wrong side of the track.

With Adam and Eve standing there wearing nothing but their sin, shame and a couple of fig leaves, the Lord came to their rescue and clothed them in a coat made from animal skin. Since the skin of an animal is not available unless blood has been shed and death has occurred, it was obvious what had taken place. The animal’s life was sacrificed to cover the culpable couple’s sin and shame.

Genesis 3:21 says, “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.”

In what was the first animal sacrifice, we find a picture of things to come. Before the sacrificial law was ever established, Abel, Noah and Abraham offered sacrifices to the Lord as an act of worship. But the system of sacrifices wasn’t officially instituted until Moses passed through the Red Sea and set God’s people free.

In Exodus 28 we find Aaron ordained by God as the first high priest – the one responsible for carrying out acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. In Exodus 28 & 29, we encounter variety of offerings ordained by God, but in Leviticus 1 – 7 we find a more detailed description of Israel’s sacrificial system.

There was one sacrifice described in Leviticus 16 that was held once a year to “take away sin.” It was the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) – the Jewish High Day. During that holy day the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies where he offered a blemish-free bull before the Lord. He then sprinkled it’s blood on the Mercy Seat. Two goats were then offered. One as a sacrifice, the other as a scape goat. A bloody picture of the need for our sin to be cleansed and carried away.

All because of sin!

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 9:22 that, “according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”

Although space limits our ability to thoroughly cover the concept of the sacrificial system, today we we able to lay the Old Testament foundation for the cross. Tomorrow, we will move into the New Testament and discover why the cross was not only important, but necessary.

Do you struggle with understanding the purpose and the plan of the cross? Did anything in this post help you understand or appreciate why Jesus went the cross?



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