Truth Magazine

Shortly after his resurrection, we are told that Jesus explained to his disciples that, “it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day” (Luke 24:46). Unquestionably, the death of Jesus stands out as the single most important event in all of human his- tory since the creation of the world. There is no escaping the great impact that his death has had, and continues to have on the human race. However, such a statement of Jesus as that recorded above causes us to carefully ponder the necessity of the death of Christ on the cross. Why did Christ die? What purpose did his death serve? According to the Bible, Christ died in order to:

1. Save the world. Before Jesus was even born, an angel told Mary and Joseph that “he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). With reference to his own mission, Jesus said, “the Son of man is come to save that which was lost” (Matt. 18:11). Nothing could be clearer from the New Testament than the fact that Jesus died in order to bring salvation to the world. As John put it, “We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).

2. Pay the debt for our sins. While briefly recounting the facts of the gospel to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). The Scriptures present the idea that “Christ died for our sins” in the sense that he was the perfect sacrifice given to pay the debt for our sins. As he was instituting the Lord’s supper just before his death, Jesus “took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Matt. 26:27-28). The death of Jesus was necessary because, “without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb. 9:22). Through his own death Jesus paid the debt we could not pay.

3. Fulfill prophecy. The Bible teaches that the death of Christ was part of God’s plan even before creation. Peter writes that Christ “was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Pet. 1:20). Isaiah, as well as the other prophets of the Old Testament, prophesied that Christ would die in order to bear the sins of the world several hundred years before Jesus was even born (Isa. 53:12). Jesus referred to these prophecies after his resurrection as he explained their fulfillment to his disciples saying, “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44). The death of Christ was the culmination of God’s plan for man’s redemption as revealed throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. As Paul put it, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3).

4. Abolish the Old Law. Speaking of the Law of Moses, Paul writes that Christ’s death accomplished the work of “blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Col. 2:14). Similarly, in his letter to the Ephesians Paul writes of Christ “having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Eph. 2:15-16). In order to bring salvation to the entire world, it was necessary for Christ to remove the Old Covenant, and replace it with the New Covenant at his death (Heb. 8:7-13; 9:16-17).

Bible teaches that sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4). As we have already noted, Christ died for the purpose of paying the debt for our sins. We ought to arrive at a good understanding of how seriously God looks at sin as we reflect on the fact that God the Son suffered a horrible death in order to bear the punishment for our sins and bring us back into fellowship with God. We also gain a better understanding of God’s love through the death of Christ as we realize that, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Conclusion

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9). Have you died with Christ (Rom. 6:3-5)?

By Larry Ray Hafley 

Zacchaeus, the little rich, notorious, conniving, defrauder and extortionist, has repented and been forgiven (Luke 19:8-10). Now, how do I treat him? He cheated me and my family out of a lot of money. Tell me, how am I supposed to act towards him? Should I coldly ignore him and hold him in contempt? Should I feel harsh toward those who forgive him and accept him back into the fold? Should I remain bitter and distrustful? What should I do? How should I act?

The most immoral woman in our town (Samaria), the one whose sinful deeds evilly affected and embarrassed our family, claims to have found the Christ (John 4:9-42). If this sexually impure woman has been forgiven, how do I treat her? She has ruined the lives of several families and has irreparably hurt and scarred the lives of the children involved. Should I continue to look down upon her as a “tramp”? Should I distrust and feel resentment toward those who receive her back into our community? Tell me, how am I supposed to act towards her now?

So this is what the music and dancing is all about (Luke 15:11-32)!  My so-called brother has finally come crawling back home, but only after staining the family name and wasting our father’s fortune. He threw it all away on prostitutes, and, now, when he has no place else to turn, he comes back home and expects to be received! Well, don’t expect me to accept him back with open arms! No siree! Let him stew in his own juice. After all he has done to de- grade and destroy our family, I cannot understand how dad can allow him back on the property, let alone give him a welcome home feast! What a travesty of honor and justice! I am going to let dad know exactly how I feel! (Later, after talking to his father and expressing his bitterness, the elder brother silently may have wondered, “How should I treat my brother when I see him?”)

Saul of Tarsus, our nation’s Brutus, and the Jewish equivalent to Judas, after killing my wife and my mother and father, after causing me to live underground and lose my business, has now been converted to our Lord! How am I supposed to treat this man who was the lead assassin in the murder of our beloved brother Stephen (Acts 7:58; 22:20)? I hear he may soon be asked to address the church I attend. I cannot bear to think of all the sorrow his actions have brought and how he has ruined my life; so, how can I face him and listen to him preach?

Simon the Sorcerer, the long-time spiritual quack and con man, has been up to some of his old tricks and has been forgiven after his alleged conversion (Acts 8:9-25). Years ago because she believed in him, my mother turned over our family’s inheritance to this man. He swindled her out of every penny my father left us. Now, he has asked for forgiveness after lapsing back into his old carnal ways. Tell me how I should treat him? It appears that Peter trusts him and has said that his repentance would secure his forgive- ness, but how can I accept such a deceitful man?

Perhaps the most disgusting fornicator the world has ever known apparently has repented (1 Cor. 5; 2 Cor. 2:6-11). Even some of the vile, immoral pagans were sickened by this man’s evil! How should I treat him when the whole church is come together for worship (1 Cor. 11:20-29; 14:23; 16:2)? Since I find him utterly repulsive, should I give him “the cold shoulder” and purposely ignore him?

Scriptural Answers

“Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:21, 22). “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14, 15). “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy” (Jas. 2:13).

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). “Forbearing one another and forgiving one another, if any man hath a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col. 3:13). “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1).

(After withdrawal from the fornicator in 1 Corinthians 5, it seems that he repented. Later, Paul commented on their action and on their present obligation.) “Sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest somehow such a one be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him” (2 Cor. 2:6-8). “Love . . . does not take into account a wrong suffered” (1 Cor. 13:4, 5).

“Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). “And they stoned Stephen. . . . And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:59, 60). “God, be merciful.

In an article I read recently, Dan Billingsly, a liberal preacher who teaches that a man can put away his wife for any cause and still be pleasing to God, wrote: “There is not one New Testament doctrine revealed in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John — before the cross.”

This is pure, unadulterated error. Let me point out some things.

When studying the four Gospels we must understand that Jesus was living under the law of Moses and commanding people to obey it. At the same time he was preparing for the coming of the kingdom and giving some of its laws.

Jesus came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). In his preaching to prepare men for the kingdom, he described it and gave some of its new teachings.

The Sermon on the Mount is not just a correction of incorrect ideas about the Old Testament law. It is the basis, or constitution, of the kingdom to come.

Matthew 18:15-17 cannot be Old Testament law. Jesus tells us to take the matter to the “church.” This teaching is not repeated in the epistles, but nevertheless it is still binding upon Christians.

In John 3:5 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” This statement did not apply to the time before Jesus died on the cross because the kingdom of God did not begin until Pentecost. John 3:5 has to find fulfillment in the kingdom. Jesus outlines the way of salvation there.

Mark 7:19 says, “Thus He declared all foods clean.” Foods were not clean until the law was done away on the cross. Yet Jesus “declared all foods clean” while he was on the earth. He gave New Testament legislation, intending for people to understand that it would come with the kingdom.

In John 4:21-24 Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The principle that worship is to be according to the New Testament (“in spirit and truth”), and that it will not require going to any particular place, is no part of the Old Testament. I do not know of any other place where the New Testament specifically states that the place where we worship is not important. This is N.T. legislation.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were written after the New Testament had come. They were not written simply to show the correct interpretation of the Old Testament law. They were written to help Christians to believe in Jesus, understand Jesus, and to understand the kingdom of heaven. Though the incidents before the cross occurred under the law of Moses, they are recorded because they are connected — vitally — to the New Testament.

Billingsly has an axe to grind. He wants to eliminate Matthew 19:9 so he can interpret 1 Corinthians 7 so as to get every divorced and remarried person into the church. Until he can eliminate Matthew 19:9, he cannot do what he wants. So he has taken an extreme position that everything in the four Gospels before the cross pertains to the Old Testament, and that nothing Jesus said before the cross belongs in the New Testament. He is wrong, tragically wrong, and it is apparent that he is wrong because he is driven by his desire to justify the marriages of all.

Matthew 19:9 does not explain the Old Testament law on divorce. It is different from Deuteronomy 24. The only explanation is that it is kingdom legislation.

Matthew 19:9 is for us today. Here is what it says: “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” No one has the right to divorce his or her mate — except for the cause of fornication! (See also Matt. 5:32.) These verses show that unscriptural divorce and remarriage results in adultery, which is sexual intercourse of a married person with a person he or she is not married to. These verses show why polygamy is a sin. A man cannot marry a second wife while he is still under God’s law to be faithful to his first wife. When he marries the second wife, he is committing adultery.

The only way an adulterer can receive forgiveness is for the adulterer to repent — and stop his adultery. This is a hard truth (as the disciples of Jesus understood — Matt. 19:10-12), but it is a truth which cannot be broken.

Some who are indifferent never were diligent or zealous. Others have lost the fervor they once had. What causes people to be or become indifferent?

1. A lack of fear of God. Fear toward God involves (a) respect and awe for the Creator of the world (Jonah 1:9; Luke 7:16) and (b) a dread of displeasing him (1 Sam. 11:7; Ps. 119:120). How could one who has fear for God be indifferent?

The fear of God causes one to do what God says. Moses plead with Israel to fear God as they pressed on into Canaan. His instructions connected fear with doing what God says.

Now this is the commandment . . . that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statues and his commandments which I have commanded you . . . (Deut. 6:2).

You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him (Deut. 13:4).

And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of his law and these statutes (Deut. 17:19).

The fear of God causes one to be dedicated, i.e., put their all into the service of God. Again, Moses connected the idea of whole-heart service with the fear of God.

And now, Israel, what does the Lord God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. 10:12).

Thus, I conclude that those who are indifferent just don’t fear God. We need not make excuses about how they would do better if. . . . When they fear God, they will do better!

2. Focus on the present world. We get wrapped up in this life to the point that spiritual things are pushed aside. The cares of the world can easily choke out the word (Matt. 13:22). Like Demas, our love for the present world may cause us to forsake or neglect what really matters (2 Tim. 4:10).

When we are materially blessed (as most of us are) it is easy to let our spirituality slide. The warnings are many that when we prosper there is the danger to forget about God. Moses warned saying, “. . . when you have eaten and are full — then beware, let you forget the Lord . . .” (Deut. 6:11-12). The Proverb writer said he wanted neither poverty nor riches, “lest I be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’” (Prov. 30:8-9).

We can easily lie in ease on beds of ivory and let our service to God deteriorate (Amos 6:1-6). Our activities do not have to involve anything wrong within themselves to be a problem. When we lose sight of the fact that this world is not our home, but we are seeking a better one to come (Heb. 13:14), we become indifferent.

3. Ignorance. Ignorance is a curse to any people. The prophets of old pointed to Israel’s and Judah’s ignorance as leading to their departure.

My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children (Hosea 4:6). Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge (Isa. 5:13).

Why would God’s people be ignorant? Some have not learned because they have not been taught. Jesus said we should teach, baptize, and teach them some more (Matt. 28:20). If we baptize them and leave them to “sink or swim,” we can only expect ignorance and indifference. Others have forgotten what they once knew (Heb. 5:11-12). Some ignore what they have been taught (cf. Rom. 10:3, 17 in context is saying that the reason the Jews didn’t believe is that they didn’t listen!).

What we don’t know makes a difference. If I don’t know the commands of God, I can’t obey them (Eph. 5:17). If I don’t know about the judgment to come, I will not fear (Heb. 10:27). If I don’t know what the text means, I may be violating it (1 John 3:4). If I don’t know the truth, I could easily be led into error (2 Pet. 3:16-18).

4. Softness. Soft preaching comforts those who are indifferent. Judah of Isaiah’s day cried out for “smooth things” (Isa. 30:10). Soft preaching does little to prick the heart in sin. “Positive” preaching that eliminates the “negative” makes people who are in sin and indifferent about it, feel good about themselves. Soft preaching is not identified by what is said as much as it is by what is not said.

When there is a lack of “teeth” in the message preached, the indifferent are encouraged in their sin. It is not enough to preach the truth, but elders and churches must discipline. That involves correcting, rebuking, encouraging, and with- drawing when there is no repentance. The work of elders is that of watching for the souls of men (Heb. 13:17; Tit. 1). All too often, brethren want the truth to be preached on some sin, of which, some of the members are guilty, but never follow through with any application or discipline!