Dear Church Family,
I must follow up on a couple of points from yesterday’s sermon.
The first is a quote I used from Steve Lawson – “In an instant you go from being spiritually bankrupt to being unbelievably spiritually rich.” I love this insight because it paints a glorious picture that has two frames. In the first frame we stand in filthy rags with darkness and gloom smothering us. Though created in God’s image, sin has permeated every pore of our bodies. We have nothing to offer him. Our net worth registers in the negative millions.
The second picture frame shows us completely transformed by the saving work of our Savior. The dirty rags are gone and the righteousness of Christ clothes us. We are surrounded by untold riches that the world cannot understand. We have peace with God and sins forgiven with a new identity. A sure hope undergirds us as we live in the wonderful light of the creator God. All this said to give just a little taste of what change comes to all who by faith alone in Jesus are new creatures. We thank God that the old is gone and the new has come.
I hope you noticed how important to understand the Gospel is the accounting concept of credit. A debit takes something away from you. A credit adds something of value to you. The second point was a combination of observations from several commentators. It reads, “It was credited to him alone as an eternally secure finished spiritual transaction.” This is a rough paraphrase of Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” This quote teaches that the transaction that Jesus accomplished on the cross was a once for all event. He died for Abraham’s sins 2,000 years after they happened and for our sins 2,000 years before they occurred. Nothing can change what Jesus did. It is a historical fact. Therefore by faith in Him alone we are secure in Him both now and forever! Jesus used a commercial term when He cried out, “It is finished” on the cross. It meant the debt has been paid. Because of Jesus we can cry out like someone who follows Dave Ramsey’s financial advice, “I’M DEBT FREE.”
God’s Word declares the truth of justification by faith alone (JBFA)! Jesus has paid the debt of our sin. He took on our debt, we took on His righteousness. What a deal! What a Savior!
With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin