Christ’s Atonement
THE OLD TESTAMENT FORESHADOWED THROUGH ITS TYPES AND CEREMONIES, THE ATONING WORK OF CHRIST TO COME. When He came, He fulfilled them, manifesting the Old Testament’s work of projecting what the New testament revealed. Here are a few examples: when Christ died on the cross, His last words were, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
–A covering for sin and its shame was provided through Christ’s redemption, typified by the coats of skin by which God clothed Adam and Eve, Genesis 3.
–A more excellent sacrifice was offered by which man is made acceptable to God, typified in Abel’s offering, Genesis 4.
–A shelter from the storm of God’s wrath was furnished through Christ’s atonement, typified by the ark for Noah, Genesis 6-8.
–The substitutionary death of Christ, pictured by the offering of the ram caught by his own horns (power), in the stead of Isaac, Genesis 22.
–The deliverance from the death angel, typified by the applied shed blood of the Passover lamb, was supplied by faith in Christ’s blood, Exodus 12.
–Salvation from the serpent’s bite, typified by the brazen serpent raised up on a pole for man to look unto and live, was provided for by faith in Christ’s death on the cross for our sins, Numbers 21.
–The provision of a life-giving fountain, typified by Moses’s striking (smiting) of the rock and water came forth, was provided by Christ, Who is the Water of life, Exodus 17:6 & John 4:14.
AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.
But, the important matter is, have you seen that the atonement Christ made was for you, personally, and have you ever trusted Him by faith for the salvation of your soul? Friend, there is nothing any greater than redemption’s story, Christ dying in the place of sinners–the Just, for the unjust.
Sad to say, few are letting their mind’s eye catch the glory of God’s redeeming grace–“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15.
Many are ignoring God’s call to repentance and treating lightly the blood of Christ shed for them. Though one may easily reject God’s invitation to salvation in this life, the hard part will be when they are rejected by God unto being cast into the lake of fire.
DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!!
“Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2
“Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” Hebrews 3:15
Take Heart!
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” Ephesians 3:20
In most cases, if there is a project or a problem that we think we can handle, we remain upbeat about it. But once it goes beyond our ability to change or control, we grow weary in despair. We think the worst and we start contemplating what our losses will be.
But God tells us that when we reach the end of our resources, it is just the beginning of His. He tells us there is nothing too hard for the Lord. The fact of the matter is, when it comes to spiritual accomplishments, without Him, we can do nothing.
Another fact to consider, what we may think to be the end of the road, may just very well be the beginning of God working. When Joseph was sold into slavery, it seemed like a sure dead end. But it rather proved to be God’s highway of preparing Joseph for great position, power, and service.
Our God is a great parent! He uses His Word to teach us. But He also is able to use our mistakes to correct us. God’s forbearance allows us to realize the vanity of going our own way, rather than abiding with His will. Sometimes God allows His own to run their own course for a while and reap the consequences, so they will come to themselves and realize what they had in their Father’s house.
So whether it be loved ones or circumstances that you may think you have lost ground with, accept Christ’s invitation to bring it all unto Him for Him to do beyond all that you could ask or think. Our God specializes in things thought impossible.
Not only do we need to invoke God’s power to do all things for our own peace of mind, but also as our primary leverage to prove our case. When the three Hebrew children resisted Nebuchadnezzar’s command to worship his golden image, their knowledge that God was able, not only was their consolation, but it proved to be the challenge that brought about their victory in the eyes of the king (Daniel 3:17,28-30.) So the way to overcome is to take our stand with God, knowing that He is able to prove all things to all people.
Lest we be a miserable comforter like Job’s friends were, may we strive to perceive when our brethren are wrestling with a matter beyond their control, and rather than look for a failure to criticize, may we lift their hands and hearts up with the fact that with the Lord there is always hope, even in areas beyond our thinking ability.
We have no foe God cannot confound. We have no mountain that He cannot make plain. But we do need to believe in and give full honor to His power, in order to make room for it in our lives. For God works where God is being glorified! Ask David – 1 Samuel 17:45-47.
SHARING
The Power Of One
We live in a day when man glories in man. Man glories in his might, his power, his riches, in numbers, and in that which is approved of by man. But the Lord’s work operates differently: “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:29
When it comes time that we are sensitive to our fleshly wants for recognition, Satan tempts us to think the church fails to hold us to be as important as we are. But when it comes time that we neglect God’s work to do our own thing, Satan tempts us to think what we fail to be or do isn’t really that important in or to the church.
But the truth is, the local New Testament Church is a Body, the Body of Christ, and what one member does or does not do, affects the entire Body. The power of one is clearly seen in a Body. If each member fulfills their function, fine. But if one member is injured or fails, the whole Body is affected.
The witness and testimony of the Church rests with each member. People view the church through what its members are or are not. Each member is the only Christian that someone has in view. They either see Christ living within us, or they see a profession of faith without works, which is dead.
Lost people are not won to the Lord because they are looking at the overall scope of the Church. They are reached through the testimony of the individual members. The Philippian jailor was drawn to Christ through the unwavering faithfulness of Paul and Silas (having seen the genuineness of their faith in a time of crisis,) and not by looking at some grand church there at Philippi (the church wasn’t in existence there yet.)
Let us remember that each member makes or breaks the success of the Body. “What would my church be if every member was just like me?”
There is nothing to be gained for a Christian to forsake the Lord’s Church, or their faithfulness to God’s work. The law of sowing and reaping comes into effect, determining the result of all that we do: “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7) The only way to change what we are reaping, is to change what we are sowing.
CHRISTIAN, WHAT ARE YOU SOWING?
SHARING
