It is an amazing
truth that to know that Jesus died for us, if it were not so I don’t know where
any of us would be today. However this regularly declared in most places while
being one of the foundational truths of the gospel can also be one of the most
damaging statements. Why? Because it is only a half-truth.
You see if Jesus
only died for you then what we are left with is a powerless
Christianity. If Jesus came to die in your place then we end up with a theology
that doesn’t change Christians.
Many sayings are developed out of this way of
thinking “God sees you through blood stained glasses”, “when God looks at you
He can only see Jesus” and other things like that. These are really nice
sayings but the problem is that they are fundamentally incorrect. Jesus did not
come to Earth to die on a cross to make God partially sighted! God can see you
just fine!
You see Jesus is not a perfect material cutout that
you hold out in front of you in case God would look upon your sinful self and
smite you!
No, Jesus did something much more than that. He
died AS YOU. He came to live your life as you and after going through your life
in the sinful flesh He declared on the cross “Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do” and when ahead to die as you. This is so that you can
live as Him.
Jesus doesn’t just cover your sins. He eradicated
your sins and made you righteous! Jesus did not come to Earth to blind God. He
came to Earth to radically alter who you were!
Your sinful self died with Him on that cross and you
were raised up a new creation, made completely righteous in His resurrection!
You are something God loves to look upon and in fact delights in! You are
accepted in the Beloved.
So remember today, Jesus did not just die for
you but rather He died as you! You are a new creation! There is therefore NO CONDEMNATION. You have been crucified yet you are now living His life. Hallelujah!