Verse Text: "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." 1 Peter 2:24
We often thank God for providing for our needs, blessing us, expanding our borders and answering our prayers. And we certainly thank Him for His grace, forgiveness, guidance and direction. But is there anything that is more central to our Christian faith than Christ’s cross? Without the cross, and Christ’s victory over death and judgment through it, there would be no gospel. Life would have no meaning because we would still be in our sin and have no way of communing with God. Jesus would have been just another “good guy” who changed water into wine and healed a few people along the way, but His life would have had no true purpose other than to show that He could live morally and selflessly.The truth is that because Jesus suffered the penalty we deserve when He bore the weight of our sin, we DO have life. Not just life – but LIFE – abundant and eternal! And for that, it’s an understatement to say we have cause to thank Him. Our life – not merely our words – needs to reflect that we are thankful for what He accomplished for us on the cross. What exactly did Christ accomplish through the cross? Let’s look at a few passages to trace what the cross truly means to us.
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The book of Leviticus provides us a context for what God requires as an acceptable sacrifice for sin. Look at Leviticus 4:32. What kind of animal is to be offered before God as an acceptable sin offering? What must be true of this animal?God has always required the death of a perfect, unblemished lamb without defect to be a sacrifice for one’s sin. Read John 1:29. How does John the Baptist refer to Christ? Why is this significant? Through a study of the Old Testament, we see that God required atonement (payment) for sin through the blood sacrifice of a spotless animal, usually a lamb. Now, read 1 Peter 2:21-24. What kind of life did Christ live? (v.22) In the New Testament, we find that Christ – because he lived a sinless life – became OUR perfect Lamb whose sacrificial death on the cross was sufficient to pay the penalty for our sin. However, it wasn’t merely the fact that Christ was sinless that made His death a proper sacrifice for us. What else does this passage tell us about what happened to Christ on the cross?
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