What a couple of weeks it has been! My wife, Jenna, and I have finally settled into our new residence in Birmingham, AL and are really enjoying getting to know the area. Sunday, we visited the Church at Brookhills, and really fell in love with it. It has been so nice reconnecting with friends around the area.

            As you can imagine, setting aside some time to do any writing has been almost impossible, but now that things are settling down, I’m looking forward to diving back into the attributes of God. Last time, I highlighted the justice of God and how it was carried out for believers at Christ’s crucifixion. Today, I want to take a look at the mercy that God grants towards sinners.

            Many people imagine that mercy and grace are fairly similar, but in reality, they are very different. God’s mercy is His act of withholding the penalty due us sinners for our sins. As we will see in the coming days, the Lord’s grace is displayed when He gives us what we don’t deserve (adoption as His children, our co-inheritance with Christ, etc.).

            The Lord absolutely loves mercy. As the prophet Micah wrote, “Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgressions of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy” (7:18). The Lord is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4), and His mercy towards His children is everlasting (Ps. 107:1).

            Every single person who has ever lived has experienced the mercy of God, even unbelievers. The very moment that we sin against the holy God who lives, we ought to be cast into eternal hell. Yet, the Lord in wondrous mercy, delays that punishment so that we might come to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus for the salvation of our souls (Lam. 3:22-23, cf. Rom. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). Daniel was correct when he wrote, “To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him” (Dan. 9:9).

            The Lord’s mercy is everywhere (Ps. 119:64), and is new every morning (Lam.3:22-23). He will not chide the repentant sinner but is tender (Ps. 25:6) and caring (Joel 2:13). His mercy gives us reason to hope in Him. “The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy” (Ps. 147:11). It is the only sure foundation of our escaping punishment for our wickedness (Is. 55:3). Today, if you have not responded to the longsuffering that God has displayed towards your sin, I urge you to be reconciled to God through Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:20-21).

For humanity, the justice of God is both comforting and terrifying. First, it’s comforting because unlike the false gods of mythology, the true God of the Bible is unwavering in His committment to righteousness (Job 3:8). He cannot be accused taking bribes and has never turned a blind eye to unrighteousness. “Surely God will never do wickedly, Nor will the Almighty pervert justice” (Job 34:12; cf. Deut. 10:17; 2 Chr. 19:7).

That comfort is quickly replaced with extreme fear when we understand that we ourselves deserve justice. Just imagine that you only commit one sin per day–that equals almost 24,000 sins in your lifetime (lifespan of 65) that demand action from God. We may believe that we are pretty good people in comparison with others, but the standard that God uses is not others’ lives. The Lord commands that we be blameless before Him (Deut. 18:13), but all of us have failed (Rom. 3:23). We love the justice of God until we realize that because of our sins we are due punishment. We desire God to punish the wicked until we realize that we are the wicked.

Some believe that God should just let bygones be bygones. But we would never accept that on a human level! When someone is convicted of a crime, his good works do not excuse the fact that he failed to live up to the standard that is set in place by our government, nor do we simply let the matter go. It’s the same with God. We have committed innumerable crimes against Him, and His justice demands that He punish us. He cannot turn a blind eye to our wickedness because that would cause Him to commit injustice Himself!

So what is the solution? The cross of Christ. At the cross, the Lord punished Christ for the sins of those who would believe in Him for salvation. “Much more then, having now been justified by His [Christ's] blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:9). For believers, your sins have been covered and you are blessed. As the psalmist wrote, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Ps. 32:1-2). For those who have not committed their lives to Christ’s work, I plead with you to do so. The Lord will not justify those whose sin has not been covered; He will not justify the wicked (Ex. 23:7). As we saw above, your good works will do nothing for you, and you will not be saved by them (Rom. 11:6).

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:18-21).

I thoroughly enjoy reading and writing about Christ. He truly is my passion, but there are many times when the words simply fail to capture His grandeur. A few days ago, I attempted to write of His holiness only to find myself highlighting the wide chasm that exists between His perfection and my sinfulness. With the silly notion that I at least somewhat correctly expounded on His absolute holiness, I want to turn our attention to His love. And once again, I’m experiencing a difficulty finding the words.

The vastness of His love and care makes a description of it almost impossible. However, one picture continues to rise from the pages of Scripture: the cross of Jesus Christ. “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). If you want to see the love of God look at the cross of Christ. In fact, every attribute of the Lord was on display during Christ’s suffering. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Let those words sink in–the love of God caused Him to send His only Son for your sins and mine.

The ultimate display of love occurred as Christ hung on the tree. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Sometimes we simply skim over verses that we have read time and time again, and they fail to reach our hearts. Don’t let that happen to you right now. Just think of it: The Lord knew of every deep and dark sin that you would commit, and He still sent His only Son to die the death you deserved! “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph. 2:4-5).

Not only is the love of God amazingly large in its scope but also in its certainty. Paul wrote that nothing was able to separate believers from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:39). Jeremiah wrote, “The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you’” (Jer. 31:3). How beautiful to know that nothing can ever snatch us from the love of God.

What about those who celebrated the fact that we are all still here? Already established in their belief that God does not exist, May 21 marked a day when they became even more fixed in their ways. The terror that would have overcome them had the actual Rapture occurred has been replaced with a renewed confidence that they will never be called to account for their actions and unbelief. “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1Thess. 5:3).

False prophets have always been a favorite weapon of Satan. Paul wrote that because Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, “it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 14-15). You see, false prophets are effective because their teachings are so carefully veiled in Christian terminology. Jesus warned of them when He said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15).

Harold Camping did not err in warning people about the coming of Christ. In fact, all believers should earnestly pray for the coming Christ and warn others about His impending return (1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Pet. 4:7). He went wrong by going beyond the Bible. He claimed to have been given a special revelation that went beyond the teachings of Scripture. Like the false prophets of the Old Testament, Harold Camping did not prophecy anything that was from the Lord, but spoke from “the deceit of [his] own heart” (Jer. 23:26).

So on the Monday following the revelation that Harold Camping is simply another false prophet, where do we go from here?

1. We reach out to those that have been deceived by Mr. Camping. If you have family or friends who have fallen for this demonic deception, you should reach out to them with the truth of Scripture.

2. Within the church, we should return to preaching the Bible. There can be no doubt that many of these people were so easily led astray because they were not prepared by the churches that they attend. Sermons based on anything but the Bible are worthless to defend against the attacks of Satan and should cease immediately.

3. We should continue to call people to repentance through the Gospel. Jesus Christ is coming back, and it could be today. Until He does return, we are to work to make His salvation known to all.

     If the God of the Bible truly exists, it is critical that we have a right understanding of Him. Failure to truly know God as He is leads to confusion, fear, and ultimately condemnation. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God said,

Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth (Jer. 9:24)

     Holiness is not a mere characteristic of God as if something outside of God’s influence could also be holy; it is not simply a description of Him. The Lord is holy. He is the very Beginning and Source of Holiness. Nothing apart from God can be described as holy, nor can it ever become holy. Everything separate from the Lord is unholy unless He acts upon it.

     Holiness carries the idea of pure righteousness that is fully separated from all stains of sin and imperfections. It is the Lord who sits enthroned above the earth and whose holiness is absolute. “No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God” (1 Sam. 2:2). Moses wrote, “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex. 15:11). The psalmist proclaimed, “Your testimonies are very sure; Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, forever” (Ps. 93:5).

    The Lord’s holiness is also the cause of our separation from Him. As sinful men and women, we do not possess the perfection that God demands of those who dwell with Him. In fact, the Lord cannot even look upon evil (Hab. 1:13). The writer of Hebrews cannot make our predicament any clearer: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). We are doomed apart from the Lord working in our lives. Remember, everything (including man) is separate from the very source of holiness, and unless we become holy, we will not see God nor dwell with Him for eternity. “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Eph. 5:5).

     Fortunately, God has not left us in our pitiful state. The Lord has called all men to repent of their sins and place their faith in Christ Jesus. When a person is granted the gift of faith and repentance (Eph. 2:8; cf. 2 Tim. 2:25), he puts on a new self, “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). “For our sake He [the Father] made Him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Believers’ sins were placed upon Christ and punished once and for all. This opened the door for His perfection to be placed upon those of us who have placed our faith in His sacrifice. True believers have been made holy through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Tim. 1:9).

     In Part 3, we discovered how Jesus Christ met three of the seven characteristics that our Redeemer must have if He is to sufficiently save us from the sin that plagues us. Today, we are going to finish off that list and get the complete picture of why Jesus Christ alone is our Savior.

4.     Jesus satisfied the wrath of God. I mentioned that death was not the only consequence of our sin; the judgment of God for that sin was also on the horizon for us. Propitiation is not a word that you hear very often today, but it carries the idea of satisfying the judgment of God. Romans 3:25 says that God put Jesus “forward as a propitiation by his blood.” Of Christ, John wrote, “He is the propitiation for our sins and not for our’s only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:2). You see, our sin puts us at monumental odds with God. He is at war with us, and we desperately need reconciliation. Jesus Christ bore our punishment on the cross by taking the wrath due to us upon Himself. ”For in Him [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20). Romans 5:9 says, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.” Yes, we need saving from the horrors of hell, but much more do we need saving from the holiness of God. Jesus Christ alone satisfies the wrath of God.

5.     Jesus was sent by God. Throughout His ministry, Jesus never failed to mention that He was sent by God. He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work” (Jn. 4:34).  At another point, the Bible says that He cried out, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in Him who sent me” (Jn. 12:44). In Galatians, Paul wrote, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4). In two of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture, John wrote, ”In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn. 4:9-10).

6.     Jesus does not expect repayment. Christ is perfectly aware that no human is able to repay Him for what He has accomplished. While He expects us to keep His commandments (Jn. 14:15), it is not out of a spirit of repayment that we are to do so. Romans 5:17 speaks of the “free gift of righteousness” that we have obtained through Christ. Earlier in his letter, Paul makes sure to say that our salvation is a gift and not a wage (Rom. 4:4-5). “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8). If we could ever repay Christ, we would have grounds to boast; we may have needed a line of credit, but we paid it off ourselves. But the Bible is clear that there is nothing that we could ever do to repay the glorious redemption that we have through Christ our Lord.

7.     Jesus has redeemed us because of His great love.  Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13). Christ not only displayed His great love for us during His life; He showed it in the clearest way through His death. John wrote, “By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 Jn. 3:16). Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Christ’s love “surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19), and it was from that love for us and for His Father, that Christ laid down His live to become the Redeemer of all who put their faith in Him.

     So as you can see, if our sin is truly an affront to God’s holiness, we need a redeemer. Not just anybody will do; these seven characteristics must be met. Jesus Christ is the only one who has met them, and He offers the redemption that is so needed by you and me.

     In the previous post, we examined seven requirements that a redeemer would have to meet in order to sufficiently restore humanity. I ended the post by claiming that only one Figure in history could fulfill the criteria mentioned–Jesus Christ. Buddha, Krishna, and Muhammad all fall before the throne of Christ because He alone is the true Redeemer. In this post, I want us to focus on the first three qualifications and see how Christ completely satisfies them all.

1. Jesus identified Himself with humanity. Not only did Christ associate with men and women; He took on the nature of a man Himself. “The Word [Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:14). Of Him, Scripture says, “Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in every aspect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17). He hungered (Matt. 4:2), thirsted (Jn. 4:7), and became weary (Jn. 4:6). Paul captured the incredible humility of Christ when he wrote that Jesus, “who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7). The humanity of Christ is so central to the Christian faith that every spirit that denies it is said to be demonic (1 Jn. 4:2-3).
2. Jesus was sinless.  Though Jesus shared in our humanity, He did not share in our sin. “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22). The writer of Hebrews  asserted, “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Jesus Himself challenged His opposition to convict Him of sin (Jn. 8:46) which they could not do. Pilate could find no fault in Christ (Jn. 18:38) and even one of the men being crucified alongside Jesus finally recognized that Christ had done no wrong (Lk. 23:41).
3. Jesus possessed the power over death. Throughout His ministry, Jesus raised numerous people from the dead. He did so from beside the bed (Matt. 9:25) and from far away (Jn. 11:43-44). Jesus did not shy away from the power that was within Him. He said, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will…For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself” (Jn. 5:21; 26). In one of the clearest declarations of deity, Christ said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (Jn. 11:25-26). Of Jesus, Scripture affirms, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:14).

     Tomorrow, we will finish by reviewing the final four qualifications for our Redeemer. In the meantime, review the list of criteria again to make sure that you truly understand why all of the requirements must be met.

     Yesterday, we became more aware of our need for redemption. Today, we turn our attention to the profile of our Redeemer. The immensity of our predicament as sinful creatures before a holy God demands certain things about the One who is to redeem us. We can’t rescue ourselves, and we can’t assume that anyone else who shares our problem of sin can restore us either. So what kind of Redeemer do we need?

1. Our Redeemer must identify with us. How is He to represent us before the holiness of God if He does not identify with us? We need Him to be associated with us so that He can stand in our place.
2. Our Redeemer must be free from sin. Sin is the very root of our problem. If the One who restores us is Himself not free from sin, then anything that He does is useless. So He must identify with every part of our humanity except our sin.
3. Our Redeemer must be more than a man. His power must extend beyond the faculties of a mere man. We are all destined to die because of our sin, and so the One who rescues us must have power that extends over the grave. He must be able to take on the death that we are to experience and do away with it once and for all.
4. Our Redeemer must satisfy the wrath of God. Our sin has put us at odds with a holy God who will not leave it unpunished. The Lord is not going to simply forget about the wickedness that we have done. As the perfect and just God that He is, He must punish our sin. Therefore, the One who Redeems us must be able to take the Lord’s wrath upon Himself and satisfy God’s holiness.
5. Our Redeemer must be sent by God. The Lord is going to allow nothing to pass if it doesn’t glorify His name. He is the One who is owed, and any restoration between man and God is going to have to proceed from the Lord. A self-appointed redeemer is no redeemer at all. Our Redeemer must be from the Lord.
6. Our Redeemer must not expect repayment. Man is dead in his sin with nothing to offer to his own redemption but the sin from which he needs rescue. Any plan that involves man working his way into redemption must be tossed aside because it cannot happen.
7. Our Redeemer must be motivated by a complete and faithful love. Our redemption will cost everything and only the One who truly loves us will be able to endure it.

     As you can see, the qualifications for being our Redeemer are incredible. They stem straight from our infinitely large problem: How can a perfectly holy God be reconciled with an awfully wicked humanity. There are not multiple ways to fix this problem because there are not multiple figures in history that fit the above profile. Only One stands out, and tomorrow, we will see how He alone is our Redeemer.

     We all enjoy a good story of redemption. Movies that chronicle people who have lost their way only to be restored leave us pleasantly satisfied that things are as they should be. I believe that we are so enamored with stories of redemption because they compare so well to our own stories.

     It doesn’t take long watching the news to understand that something has gone terribly wrong. Terrorism, government scandals, and health epidemics all speak to the obvious reality that things are not as they should be. As bad as these external issues are, they pale in comparison to the hopelessness that is so prevalent today. Oh sure, many hide it pretty well behind a pursuit for status and significance, but within the secret depths of their soul, people long for restoration–for redemption.

     So how did we get here? The Bible resoundingly answers with one word: sin. When Adam disobeyed the Lord, he plunged the whole of humanity into the condemnation associated with sin’s bondage. Creation was subjected to futility (Rom. 8:20), and sin became the master of every man and woman who has ever lived. Apart from redemption, everything is imprisoned under sin (Gal. 3:22), and there is no one who does good (Rom. 3:12).

     Not only that, but left to ourselves we are all under the condemnation of the law. Every one of us is able to distinguish between right and wrong, and by choosing to do what is right, we “show that the work of the law is written on [our] hearts” (Rom. 2:15). Yet we cannot keep the law perfectly and therefore we find ourselves under the curse of the law. By relying on our own actions in an attempt to redeem ourselves from the sin we recognize within us, we place ourselves “under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them” (Gal. 3:10). 

    So we are enslaved to sin and under the curse of the Law. All of this ultimately leads to death, both the end of our present lives and the eternal destruction that awaits the unredeemed (Rom. 5:12; 7:5).

     At this point, you’re probably wondering, “Why all the depressing news?” But that’s just it! Every story of redemption begins with the fall, and our story is no different. Every one of us is down and out. We have failed miserably and have not glorified the Lord. There is nothing that we can do to change our predicament even though we definitely need to be rescued. We need a redeemer, and in the next post, we will see what kind of redeemer we need.

     A few years ago, my wife Jenna and I caught the first season of Grey’s Anatomy, and we both really enjoyed the series. We don’t watch it like we did back then, but every once in a while we catch an episode together. For the most part the story lines are pretty interesting.

     This past week though, the propaganda machine was working at full capacity. You see, the show’s producers have decided to highlight a homosexual couple and their struggle to start a family and get married. We usually flip the channel when they get going on the topic, but this last week’s episode began delving into the subject of God and homosexuality. In the process of writing a book on the subject, I thought it would be interesting to see how they approached it. The show did not disappoint in terms of ridiculousness.

     After stereotyping everyone who disagrees with homosexuality, one of the characters said something along the lines of, “Some people haven’t caught up to God.” The implication of course was that God had come to accept homosexuality while some men and women have just failed to evolve in their own thinking. The God of the Bible has come to realize that some people are just different and that He shouldn’t judge them because they are finding happiness and fulfillment, and we should do the same.

     The sad reality is that many people believe such things about God. They believe that He can change and that He’s taking notes on what we find out about ourselves. The writers of the Bible didn’t know what we know now, so we don’t have to recognize the portions of Scripture that our modern views don’t line up with.

     Of course the Bible does not agree with such ludicrous assumptions about God. Instead, God is omniscient and unchanging. He has knowledge of everything–past, present, and future–and He never ever changes. James writes that with God, “there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:16). In no uncertain terms, the Lord says of Himself, “For I the LORD do not change” (Mal. 3:6).

     Can you imagine worshipping a God who changed? A god who changes is one who is not perfect. You cannot vary from one form of perfection to another; you are either perfect and unchanging, or you are lacking in some measure. How would God change from being the essence of perfect love? Would He become more loving? Of course not, because perfect love cannot become more loving…it’s already perfect! You see, any progression in God is actually a regression because it reveals that He was never perfect.

     Fortunately for believers, the God of the Bible does not change. He is the same God yesterday, today, and tomorrow. While it certainly means that what God condemned in Biblical times, He still condemns today, it also means that the sacrifice that He accepted back then on our behalf (the sacrifice of Christ for our sins), He still accepts today. It was a perfect sacrifice, and perfection cannot change.