majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Galatians 3:1b,
"Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified."
As Paul excoriates the Galatians for embracing the false teaching that
had come to them, he points to a key central theme of the true gospel
message he had brought the Galatians: Jesus Christ had been crucified!
In another letter by Paul, to the church in Corinth, Paul refers to
the death of Jesus Christ as a key theme of the gospel message, "Now,
brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which
you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel
you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.
Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on
to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third
day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter..." 1
Corinthians 15:1-5a.
How can the death of anyone be of good news? In this letter to the
church in Corinth Paul explains why. Jesus Christ suffered and died on
that cross as a payment for our sins: "Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures". In Jeremiah 9:24 the Lord says, "I am
the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight". The Lord has his own system of justice and it
will be satisfied. In order to save us from his punishment of our
sins, he sent his Son to die on our behalf, to pay the penalty for not
just our sins but the sins of the whole world.
In the efforts of the false teachers who had come to the churches of
Galatia, keeping the law nullified the impact of the death of Jesus
Christ. Since full payment for sins had already been made, why attempt
to earn God's acceptance by keeping the law? All who embrace Jesus
Christ in faith already have God's full acceptance.
As I think of these things I can't help but think of the wonderful
kindness, love and mercy our God has demonstrated to us in sending his
Son to die for us!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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