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Thank you for your comments.
I truly hope
and pray that you can see the distinction that I am going to explain
here. I am not just splitting hairs. Yes, history revisionism and
its practices have changed the way people look on our present
blessings as a nation. However, if we apply this to the
Scriptures (in light of The Passion), we have to look at the Bible,
not our present feelings.
What was God's perspective of the cross? He
said He saw the travailing of His soul (Isaiah
53:11). The greatest agony came from the
spiritual separation and accepting the sins of the whole world. The
physical extremes which He suffered on the cross had nothing to do
with how much sin was taken away, or even on the matter at all. God
said that the wages of sin is death.
In the Greek, the definitions of
death is not 'suffering grotesquely for hours', it is "that
separation (whether natural or violent) of the soul and the body by
which the life on earth is ended", and that the separation will be
eternal away from God. That is all that had to be satisfied. With
that, however, is the requirement of shed blood. That is why Christ
could not have drowned for us, or have been strangled for us. Again,
the details of the method employed had no bearing on the
accomplishment.
You mentioned that the word "passion" means
"suffering". The only time 'passion' is mentioned in the Bible
is Acts 1:3, and even then it just brushes over it as a time
reference. The Catholics dwell on the term 'passion' because they have
a continually dying savior, while 'protestant' Christians have a
Savior who settled the requirements (substitutionary atonement) once.
It
is remarkable, also, that the word 'suffering' only appears once
in the Bible in context with Christ! "But we see Jesus, who was
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death,
crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should
taste death for every man." Hebrews 2:9. A few verses later, it
says, "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto
his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in
things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the
people." Hebrews 2:17
Jesus did not come to suffer for our
sins, He came to take our place! That is what we remember in the
Lord's Supper, that is what is focused on in the Scriptures, and that
is what Christ Himself told us to remember! When you mix this
suffering as an object of worship with the object of
worship (Christ, the substitutionary atonement), dangerous practices
and doctrine can seep in.
It can excuse seeing Christ as one who
continually suffers, that somehow suffering (even self-inflicted) is
involved in worshipping Christ, and it can take your focus off of the
greater import that He took our sins upon Him, and placed His
righteousness on those of us who accept His free gift
(Isaiah 53:11)!
II Cor. 9:15 illustrates this focus when the it says,
"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."! - not
His unspeakable suffering!
Paul makes numerous mention in his defense about the primary focus,
the most important thing to think about regarding what Christ did, is
His gift! He mentions it 6 times in 4 verses! That is what
oftentimes convinces people of the need for a Savior! - that someone
would die for their sins, and that it is a gift. Emphasizing the
sufferings of Christ never saved anyone - look at the Catholic
church! It makes for a thrilling emotional experience, but does not
have the convicting power of the gift!
Romans 5:15-18
[emphasis mine]"But not
as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the
offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the
gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded
unto many."
"And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the
gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free
gift is of many offences unto justification."
"For if by one
man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign
in life by one, Jesus Christ.)"
"Therefore as by the offence of
one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the
righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto
justification of life."
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord."
To further show that the "gift" was his
focus, Jesus even emphasized it before he went to the cross!John
4:10 says, "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the
gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to
drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee
living water." When Jesus explained that He could met this
spiritual need in her life with His gift, it changed her life and
"many more believed because of his own word". They knew that this
was the promised Messiah (John 4:29)
and they believed and received His gift! His 'passion',
as the Catholics call it, had not even happened yet! It is not
important and has nothing to do with the gift!
What Christ did, and what Christ went through, are two
different things. One is critical; the other, distracting.
The
world saw only a man dying on a cross.
The soldier saw what the 'man'
had the power to do - forgive sins.
The repentant thief also recognized
that this was the Messiah, like the Samaritans.
Mary saw the one she
cared for die as a man on a cross - and was reminded later that He
was not a man.
How do we see our Jesus?
As a man... or as a Savior.
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Please leave a comment! |
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If this article made you think
about your role, ministry, and purpose as a Christian, I would love to
hear from you! Questions and comments are also welcome. |
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